Coordinated Admission Program Frequently Asked Questions
Select a question below to reveal the answer to frequently asked questions about the Coordinated Admission Program.
If you have additional questions about CAP that are not answered on this page, contact the Office of Admissions at 512-475-7387 or send an e-mail to utcap@austin.utexas.edu.
General Questions and Answers about CAP
Following are common questions from students offered admission to the Coordinated Admission Program.
CAP Offers
Do I have to submit an application to the CAP school that I select to attend?
No, you do not. If you complete and submit the online Coordinated Admission Program agreement, we will send your application materials to the UT System university you select.
Why wasn’t I offered admission to some of the UT System universities?
UT Arlington, UT El Paso, UT Pan Am, UT Permian Basin, UT San Antonio and UT Tyler have established minimum enrollment requirements for CAP students. Students who do not meet the CAP requirements for one of these schools will not be offered that school as an option for their CAP participation.
What is the deadline for submitting the CAP agreement?
The deadline for submitting the online CAP agreement is May 1. Some universities participating in CAP may choose to extend the deadline past May 1. If a deadline is extended, the new deadline will be posted on your online CAP agreement.
Can any student attending a UT System school become part of CAP?
No, a student must have applied to UT Austin, been offered participating in CAP and returned the online CAP agreement by the deadline to be part of the Coordinated Admission Program and to take advantage of the offer of guaranteed admission to UT Austin.
Is it too late to get housing or financial aid at the UT System school I select?
The UT System participating institutions have made a commitment to provide available housing and financial aid for which CAP participants qualify. You can easily transfer your FAFSA information to the UT System participating institution electronically by following the instructions from the Office of Student Financial Services.
If you are interested in applying for scholarships or on-campus housing at your selected UT System school, you should contact your selected university as soon as possible.
Are there any additional requirements for this program?
Yes, unless you are exempt, you must also take the exam that is part of the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) (formerly TASP) before enrollment, as must all students who attend a Texas college or university. You may be exempt from the test if you earn at least the minimum score on the ACT, SAT Reasoning or TAKS exam. Visit UT Austin's TSI web pages for details about exemptions.
The UT System participating university you select to attend will inform you of additional requirements, if any, that you must fulfill before enrolling for your freshman year.
What happens if I don't pass the TSI (formerly TASP) test?
If your score on the TSI test is below the minimum required on one or more sections, you must enroll in a related developmental studies course. Courses taken to satisfy TSI deficiencies do not count as part of the 30 hours in residence required for the CAP. For specific information regarding the TSI test, please contact the TSI office at your selected UT System participating institution.
Am I exempt from the TSI requirements?
You may be exempt for the TSI requirement if you received certain scores on the SAT Reasoning exam, ACT test or TAKS test. A list of TSI exemptions is available on UT Austin’s TSI site.
If you are exempt from the TSI requirement because of a TAKS score, you must send an official copy of your high school transcript (that includes your TAKS scores) to the UT System school you select to attend.
If you are exempt based on SAT or ACT scores, you do not need to send your scores to the UT System school you select to attend if you already submitted those scores to UT Austin when you applied for admission to the university.
May I transfer from one UT System school to another while I'm in CAP?
No, once you have selected the UT System university you wish to attend during your freshman year, you must complete all your CAP requirements at that institution.
Completing the CAP Requirements
If I participate in CAP, what do I have to do to enroll at UT Austin next fall?
If you are offered participation in CAP by UT Austin and decide you want to accept the offer, you must return your completed online CAP agreement by the deadline.
During your freshman year at your selected UT System university, you must do the following to return to UT Austin for your sophomore year.
- Complete a minimum of 30 semester credit hours of transferable coursework specified by the UT System school that you choose to attend.
- Earn a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2 on the coursework that you complete while enrolled at your selected UT System school.
- Enroll in and complete at least one mathematics course beyond Math 301 (College Algebra) during the fall or spring semester.
- Complete all college coursework during the fall and spring semesters.
- Submit a final official transcript to UT Austin by June 1 from the UT System school that you select to attend.
How long do I have to complete the requirements?
You have until June 1, to provide UT Austin with an official transcript that shows that you have completed a math course beyond College Algebra and earned a minimum of 30 credit hours with a minimum cumulative 3.2 GPA at your selected UT System school.
What happens if I don't complete the requirements by June 1?
If you do not complete the requirements by June 1, you will no longer have guaranteed admission to UT Austin.
Will I have to submit another application or app fee to get into UT Austin?
No, you will not. If you meet the requirements and take advantage of your guaranteed admission to UT Austin, you will not have to submit a transfer application or pay an application fee. We will send you information during your freshman year about the process you must follow to inform us of your intention to enroll in UT Austin during the fall semester.
May I be admitted into any college I want on my return to UT Austin?
No, you are guaranteed admission only to the School of Undergraduate Studies (UGS), the College of Liberal Arts or the College of Natural Sciences. Some additional colleges and schools at the university may consider you and other CAP students for admission into majors that have space available. However, CAP students are not guaranteed admission into any majors outside UGS, Liberal Arts or Natural Sciences.
When will I select a major for my studies at UT Austin?
During the fall of your freshman year, UT Austin will contact you and ask you to complete a process by which you will inform us that you are still interested in taking advantage of your guaranteed admission to UT Austin. As part of that process you will be asked to select a first-choice major and a second-choice major.
What if I want to select a major outside of Undergraduate Studies, Liberal Arts or Natural Sciences?
While enrolled in your freshman year studies at your participating UT System university, we will contact you and ask you to complete an online process to indicate your desire to return to UT Austin to complete your studies. At that time, you will be able to select a first-choice major from a list of options available to returning CAP students.
If you select a first-choice major outside the School of Undergraduate Studies, the College of Liberal Arts or the College of Natural Sciences, you'll need to submit by March 1 two essays (a personal essay and a statement of purpose), transcripts of any college courses taken while in high school, and any special application materials related to the program to which you’re applying.
You’ll also need to submit a final official transcript of your freshman year coursework to the UT Austin Office of Admissions by June 1.
You will compete for a spot with others who apply for transfer into the same major for the fall semester. If you are not admitted to your first-choice major but you have successfully completed the CAP requirements, you will be offered guaranteed admission to UT Austin in the “Undeclared” major in the School of Undergraduate Studies or a major in Liberal Arts or Natural Sciences.
Coursework and Transferable Credit
What is “transferable credit”?
Transferable credit refers to the credit hours you earn taking specified courses at your selected UT System university; these are the hours that can count toward your degree requirements for a major at the University of Texas at Austin. For an individual course to be “transferable,” you must receive a grade of C or better.
Which courses are transferable?
UT Austin maintains an online list of approved courses* for CAP students. If you successfully fulfill your CAP requirements, the courses that you select from the list will transfer to UT Austin.
Approved Course Lists (Fall 2009-Spring 2010):
You should always consult with an academic advisor at your university before making a final decision about which courses to take.
* The lists available here include courses that were available to students participating in CAP during the 2009-2010 academic year. The available courses change each year; updates are made before CAP offers go out in the spring.
May I count placement credit or summer courses toward the 30 hours?
No, you must take at least 30 hours of required transferable coursework while you are enrolled at your selected UT System university in the fall and spring.
When you enroll in UT Austin during the fall semester following your CAP year, any placement credit that you have earned (from Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or dual credit courses in high school, for example) will be evaluated for credit beyond your 30 hours and accepted according to UT Austin’s standard policies.
UT Austin expects you to take all of your required CAP coursework while you are enrolled for the fall and spring semesters at your selected UT System university. If you do have additional coursework that you think is transferable when you enroll at UT Austin, the university will consider those courses for transfer credit.
May I take courses during the summer before or after my freshman year?
Taking courses from the prescribed list to satisfy your CAP requirements is a must. To avoid having coursework that might be taken before enrolling in CAP interfere with your ability to enroll in appropriate CAP coursework, you should take no college coursework in the summer before your CAP participation. However, you may plan to take courses in the summer following completion of your CAP coursework.
For More Information
Who do I contact with questions about courses that I may take while in CAP?
Contact the appropriate academic advisor or admissions representative at the UT System university you plan to attend.
Who do I contact with questions about returning to UT Austin?
Contact the Office of Admissions at UT Austin at 512-475-7387 or utcap@austin.utexas.edu.