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Admission Requirements

Regular Admission

Applicants who meet the following criteria may be granted regular admission:

  • One of the following test scores:
    • ACT composite of at least 20
    • SAT of at least 1030
    • CLT of at least 66
  • High school GPA of at least 3.00 or class rank in the upper half

Conditional Admission

Applicants who do not meet the regular admission requirements but meet the following criteria may be granted conditional admission:

  • One of the following test scores:
    • ACT composite of 17–19
    • SAT of 920–1020
    • CLT of 57–65
  • High school GPA of at least 3.00 or class rank in the upper half

Test Optional Admission

Those who do not wish to submit a test score as part of their application may apply for test optional admission. More information can be found on the Test Optional Policy Information page.

Pursuits Admission

Applicants who do not meet the criteria stated above may be admitted only by action of the Admissions Committee. Students wishing to be considered for admission by the Admissions Committee must submit the following materials:

Application Process

To apply for the Pursuits Program, you must complete the following requirements:

  • An application for admissions 
  • An official copy of your high school transcript
  • The most recent ACT, SAT or CLT score 
  • An essay that you have written in response to the prompt. Please follow the instructions carefully.
  • A personal interview with you and your parent or guardian. After we have received all the above materials, we will contact you and set up an appointment.
  • FAFSA—required for financial aid

Learn more about the Pursuits Program.

Freshmen Granted Conditional Admission

  • Will be limited to an enrollment of 13 hours the first semester.
  • May be required to enroll in all or part of an academic enrichment program as part of the 13-hour load.

Applicants having gained recognition of high school equivalency by passing the GED may be admitted as a regular or conditional student according to the criteria stated above, at the discretion of the Dean of Admissions.

Graduates of Unaccredited High Schools

Admission of unaccredited high school students will be based on ACT, SAT or CLT scores and a written description or high school transcript, respectively. The standardized test composite score must be at the level OBU requires for regular admission, and subscores must meet OBU guidelines for regular class placement. Special assessments or class placement may be required at the discretion of the dean of admissions.

Transfer Admission

Applicants coming to OBU with more than 24 semester hours completed need to submit transcripts from all institutions they’ve previously attended and have a cumulative 2.0 GPA in their college studies for admission. If a student has a GPA below 2.0 or whose transcript includes extensive remedial academic coursework may be admitted on probation at the discretion of the Admissions Committee.

Applicants coming to OBU with fewer than 24 semester hours completed must meet both the freshman admission requirements and transfer admission requirements. Applicants will need to submit transcripts from all institutions they’ve previously attended and have a cumulative 2.0 GPA in the college studies along with submitting their high school transcript and test scores and meet the minimum requirements for freshman admission.

Use our free tool to see how your current college credits would apply at OBU:

Free Transfer Credit Evaluation