UNC-Chapel Hill Guaranteed Admission

Students who qualify for North Carolina residency, as determined by the Residency Determination Service (RDS), and graduate from UNCSA’s high school are eligible for guaranteed admission, effective with the Class of 2027. Students must meet UNC System minimum course requirements, successfully complete UNCSA's graduation requirements, maintain good academic standing, respond truthfully to questions about their conduct, meet the University’s community standards, and earn a cumulative unweighted GPA of at least 3.5. Out-of-state residents are not eligible for this benefit.   

Eligible UNCSA graduates must have a cumulative unweighted GPA of at least 3.5 and maintain good academic standing to qualify for guaranteed admission. 

High school graduates beginning with the UNCSA High School Class of 2027 and after. 

Students should complete and submit the UNC-Chapel Hill application by the Early Action or Regular Decision deadlines. Applicants will be considered for merit-based scholarships and other university opportunities through the application review process.  

Students who meet the 3.5 cumulative unweighted GPA requirement as of August of their senior year should apply to UNC-Chapel Hill by the applicable application deadline.  

Students who do not meet the requirement in August should wait until fall semester grades are available before applying for the January 15th Regular Decision deadline.  

• If the updated cumulative unweighted GPA meets or exceeds 3.5, students may apply for guaranteed admission. 
• If the GPA remains below 3.5, students may still apply to UNC-Chapel Hill through the regular admission process but will not qualify for guaranteed admission.  

Students who enroll at UNCSA for their senior year must have a qualifying cumulative unweighted GPA that includes their fall semester grades at UNCSA to be eligible for guaranteed admission. As a result, these students will only be considered for guaranteed admission through the Regular Decision deadline and application process.  

Students may still apply through Early Action, but they will not be eligible for guaranteed admission.  

Any UNCSA senior who is on track to graduate from UNCSA, but does not meet the GPA requirement, may still apply to be considered for admission. 

Eligible UNCSA graduates who meet the GPA requirement and graduate in good academic standing are guaranteed admission to UNC-Chapel Hill. However, guaranteed admission does not extend to a specific college, school, academic program, or department.  

Admitted students who wish to take a gap year must follow the University's established enrollment deferral process and submit a deferral request for consideration. For additional instructions and information, visit the Deferral Request policy page.  

Note: The UNC System Tuition Grant for UNCSA students is not available to students who take a gap year. 

The guaranteed admission policy and the UNC System Tuition Grant are separate initiatives, although both are intended to encourage UNCSA graduates to continue their education at UNC System institutions. The UNC System Tuition Grant allows in-state UNCSA high school graduates to receive a grant equal to the cost of tuition for undergraduate attendance at any UNC System institution to which they are admitted.  Thanks to these two initiatives, eligible in-state graduates of UNCSA High School programs can now receive guaranteed admission to UNC-Chapel Hill and also attend that university tuition free. Learn more about the tuition grant program at UNCSA.

The guaranteed admission policy was approved by the UNC System President and the Chancellors of UNC-Chapel Hill and UNCSA. The tuition grant is a separate state-funded initiative. The most recent state budget, signed in July 2026, extended the grant to include the UNCSA Class of 2027. 

Neither UNC-Chapel Hill nor UNCSA administer the tuition grant. Questions about grant eligibility, funding, and availability should be directed to the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority(NCSEAA).