Admission

First-Time Freshman Admission Policy

Balanced consideration for university admission is given to all aspects of an applicant's high school performance, including selection of college-preparatory courses, academic rigor, grade point average, grade pattern throughout high school, and record of leadership and service inclusive of extracurricular and cocurricular activities.  Listed below are admission requirements for St. Mary’s University.

Requirements for Admission

  • Application for Admission
  • Official High School Transcripts or equivalent (GED)

Recommended Documentation:

  • Personal Essay
  • Letter of Recommendation
  • SAT or ACT Scores
  • Resume or Record of high school extracurricular involvement

Admitted freshman who elect to defer their offer of admission to a subsequent term may do so for one consecutive year without needing to submit a new application. Any deferral past one academic year would necessitate the submission of a new application for admission. First time freshman should not enroll in courses at any other institution during their gap or deferral period. Should an enrollment occur, re-application to St. Mary’s University will be required as a transfer applicant and transfer admission criteria will be applicable.

Students that do not meet our admission criteria upon initial evaluation of their academic and cocurricular credentials may be deferred and given the opportunity to submit additional supporting documentation to strengthen the quality of their application.

Students that do not meet St. Mary’s admission standards will be denied admission from the university.

Transfer Student Admission Policy

A transfer student is any student new to St. Mary’s University who enrolled at another college/university or earned college credit after high school graduation prior to attendance at St. Mary’s University. 

Admission Requirements:

  1. Application for Admission - A completed application for admission is available using either the St. Mary’s University online application at www.stmarytx.edu ,  ApplyTexas application, The Common Application, or the Coalition for College Application.
  2. Transcripts - Present an official transcript from each college-level institution attended.   Failure to list all previously attended institutions on the application can result in future dismissal or rescinding of offer of admission.   

Transfer students with fewer than 30 transferable semester hours of college work must submit an official high school transcript from which the student graduated or an official copy of the General Education Development Diploma (GED) test results. 

Upon admission to St. Mary’s University, all course work from regionally accredited institutions and foreign institutions will be evaluated for equivalent credit on a course-by-course basis provided a grade of "C" (2.0/4.0) or higher is recorded on an official transcript.  The grades of transfer courses are not computed in the St. Mary’s grade point average, but are computed in the determination of the transfer applicants cumulative transfer GPA for admission purposes.

Admitted transfer students who elect to defer their offer of admission to a subsequent term may do so for one consecutive year without needing to submit a new application. Any deferral past one academic year would necessitate the submission of a new application for admission. During the deferral period, should a student have attended any other institution of higher education, a re-review of the student’s application will be indicated with updated supporting documents as outlined above submitted.

Students that do not meet our admission criteria upon initial evaluation of their academic and cocurricular credentials may be deferred and given the opportunity to submit additional supporting documentation to strengthen the quality of their application.

Students that do not meet St. Mary’s admission standards will be denied admission from the university.

International Undergraduate and Transfer Admission Policy

Balanced consideration for university international freshman admission is given to all aspects of an applicant's high school performance including selection of college-preparatory courses, academic rigor, grade point average, grade pattern throughout high school, and record of leadership and service inclusive of extracurricular and cocurricular activities.  Listed below are admission requirements for international admission to St. Mary’s University.

Requirements for Admission

  • Application for Admission
  • Official High School Transcripts or equivalent (GED), in English if in a foreign language
  • Proof of English proficiency as demonstrated by the IELTS, TOEFL, or Duolingo exams:
    • IELTS minimum requirement: 6.0
    • TOEFL ibT minimum: 80
    • Duolingo minimum: 110

Recommended Documentation:

  • Personal Essay
  • Letter of Recommendation
  • SAT or ACT Scores
  • Resume or Record of high school extracurricular involvement

Admitted international freshman who elect to defer their offer of admission to a subsequent term may do so for one consecutive year without needing to submit a new application. Any deferral past one academic year would necessitate the submission of a new application for admission. During the deferral period, should a student have attended any other institution of higher education, a re-review of the student’s application will be indicated with updated supporting documents as outlined above submitted.

Students that do not meet our admission criteria upon initial evaluation of their academic and cocurricular credentials may be deferred and given the opportunity to submit additional supporting documentation to strengthen the quality of their application.

Students that do not meet St. Mary’s admission standards will be denied admission from the university.

International transfer students are defined as students who have enrolled and attended at least one foreign college or university. In addition to the above requirements, international transfer students must submit a course by course credential evaluation provided by a NACES approved credential evaluation firm as part of their admission application. International undergraduate transfer students may be exempted from the English proficiency requirement if they have satisfactorily completed the equivalent of English Composition I and II at their foreign institution of higher education.

Visiting Student Admission Policy, Exchange, Non-Degree Seeking (Domestic and International)

A visiting student is defined as a student who is enrolled at St. Mary’s on a per semester basis and is non-degree seeking. Admission requirements for visiting students include:

  • Visiting application for admission
  • A transcript from the student’s current institution showing satisfactory academic standing

Visiting international students or those non-degree seeking/exchange attending St. Mary’s not in pursuit of an academic degree must satisfy the following requirements in addition to the aforementioned requirements:

  • Proof of English Proficiency as demonstrated by the IELTS, TOEFL, or Duolingo exams or recommendation from home institution:
    • IELTS minimum requirement: 6.0
    • TOEFL ibT minimum: 80
    • Duolingo minimum: 110

Visiting admission is granted on a semester by semester basis.