Admissions Processes

The University’s recruitment efforts are designed to attract to each campus a diverse body of students with the background to be successful in the academic programs of that campus and to meet that campus’ enrollment goal. Within this framework and consistent with planning instructions from the Provost, each school and campus develops specific goals for the size of the freshman class and number of transfer students and proposes admissions guidelines that are subject to review and approval by the Office of the Provost. The admissions guidelines proposed by each school and campus articulate those attributes that the school or campus believes characterize the students who will be most successful in the University’s programs. These typically include various dimensions of diversity, academic preparation, aptitude, and student interests. Through a holistic review process, admissions offices admit students based on these guidelines.

Each campus is then responsible for managing its own recruitment, admission, and financial aid/scholarship strategies and programs. Recruitment for the undergraduate schools on the Pittsburgh campus is handled centrally through the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid (OAFA), which also manages the University’s referral program, where by students who apply to the Pittsburgh campus can be identified as fitting the specific academic programs atone of the regional campuses if they cannot be admitted to the Pittsburgh campus.