BYU Enrollment Services is currently accepting applications for aspiring incoming freshmen.
Many students have chosen to submit their application by the priority deadline on Nov. 3, but Dec. 15 is the official deadline.
As years have come and gone, the application process has varied. Admission officers used to value grades and test scores more heavily, but have now switched to a more holistic review that prioritizes getting to know the students as a whole.
There’s a variety of reasons why applicants choose to apply to BYU. When asked why she decided to apply, Jemma Larkin, a senior in high school from North Carolina, shared that the community at BYU was important to her.
“I’ve found my best friends through church and seminary so I wanted to continue that experience,” Larkin stated. “My older siblings go there so I wanted to be close to my family.”
Garrett Eagar, a senior studying mechanical engineering at BYU, said that attending an affordable college with likeminded people attracted him to the university.
“I wanted to come to BYU, have some more member experience, since I had never lived around so many members. And it was really cheap, which was helpful,” Eagar said.
The application process focuses on academic preparation, essays, activities, recommendations, seminary and institute requirements. SAT and ACT scores used to be required, but have remained optional since 2020.
“The hardest part was writing all of the essays,” Eager said. “The easiest part was the endorsements, my bishop and stake president made it really easy and they gave me lots of advice.”
The BYU college experience is something many members of the Church can appreciate. The opportunity to go to a school that values Christ-centered learning, lives by an honor code, is academic rigorous and cultivates a tight knit community is uncommon in today's world.
Emily Taylor, a BYU alumni shared that her favorite part was meeting so many members of the Church.
“I went to a high school where I was the only female member of the Church in my grade. And so that aspect was the best dream come true for me,” Taylor said.
Although BYU presents many benefits for their students, many attendees can agree that some changes within the system could be helpful.
“I had to spend so much time studying just to barely keep afloat that I didn’t feel like I could enjoy the social aspects enough,” Taylor said.
Attending BYU is a huge goal for many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around the world, and the interest in attending BYU has only continued to grow.
According to BYU enrollment services, the 2025 freshman class is one of the largest classes in BYU’s history.
“The number of applications submitted this year continues to climb, with the university seeing the highest number since moving to a rigorous, holistic application process in 2018,” BYU admissions stated.
Despite the growing number of admitted applicants, several students are still denied admission every year.
“The only thing that is still so hard and tricky about the process is just how integrated it all is with the Church,” Taylor said. “It is so hard that in a lot of people's minds it is almost like Jesus himself is accepting or rejecting you.”
She also shared that BYU is a great choice for many people, but it is important to understand there are other options.
"I think the biggest thing I have come to realize over the years is that there are a lot of great choices and a lot of great and worthwhile paths," Taylor said.
Incoming freshman will be notified of their acceptance status on Feb. 16, 2025. For more information about the admission process, visit BYU Enrollment Services.