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Eligibility

The UW Academy accepts applications from students who are currently enrolled in the 10th grade in a school district in Washington state.

The UW Academy and EEP/Transition programs are funded by the Office of Superintendent for Public Instruction (OSPI). OSPI requires that students have a residential address within a Washington State school district.

The Robinson Center submits monthly enrollment reports to OSPI, and funding is provided only for months in which a student is registered at the UW. Therefore, the Robinson Center will only admit students who reside in a Washington State school district at the time of application to ensure programmatic funding.

Applicants must supply an unofficial high school transcript that includes first semester grades from their 10th grade year.  We are unable to consider applications from students in the 9th or 11th grades.

Admission to the UW Academy is competitive. We look for students who love to learn, who actively seek out academic challenges, and who have the personal maturity to succeed in the university two years early.  While there is no minimum high school GPA or test score required to apply to the UW Academy, admitted students tend to have excellent test scores and grades. For the incoming class of 2024, the range of ACT composite scores was 30-36 and the range of SAT total scores was 1410-1570. The range of high school GPAs was 3.8-4.0 (out of a 4.0 scale). That said, the Academy employs a holistic admissions model. This means that we carefully evaluate all elements of an applicant’s admission file (not just grades and tests) to determine whether the Academy and the UW are the right educational match for them. Unique educational experiences, community service, goals, or other non-academic strengths will also be considered in our admissions decisions.

Undocumented students: The Robinson Center and the University of Washington welcome applications from undocumented students. To learn more about applying, please consult the UW’s Undocumented Student Resource page.

Making an Informed Decision

We recognize that deciding to leave high school to come to college early is a big decision, one which must be carefully considered by both students and their families.  To this end, we provide multiple opportunities for interested parties to investigate the Robinson Center and the UW Academy program prior to applying, and even after they have been formally accepted.  We want all of our students to be able to make informed decisions about early entrance and to have the chance to ask themselves whether the UW Academy is the right fit for them!

Students and families who are interested in learning more about the program and who would like to meet the staff and students firsthand are invited to attend one of several Information Sessions, held both on campus and virtually in the fall. Here, students and families can learn about the program and ask questions of both UW Academy staff and current students. You can find the dates and RSVP for these information session on our Events page.

Prospective students are also encouraged to sign up for a UW Academy Visit Day, where they will be allowed to meet and ask questions of Academy staff in a more intimate environment and take a campus tour.  Visit Days occur throughout late January and early February, and priority will be given to current 10th graders. The RSVP for Visit Days for the 2026 admission cycle will be posted in late Fall or early Winter. 

Once the application process is complete, admitted students will have another chance to consider whether the UW is the right fit. During Decision Days in mid-May, students will shadow a current Academy student, meet with the Director of the Program, and get a chance to see what “a day in the life of an Academy student” is like.  Admitted students will be contacted to participate in Decision Days when they receive their decision letters.

Preparing to Apply

Application Fee and Fee Waiver Request

The fee to apply to the UW Academy Program is $85. Waivers are available for students and families who qualify for free/reduced lunch.

Application Guide (Includes Essay Questions and Portfolio)

Online Application Drop in Support for Students

From December through February, we host online drop in application support on Wednesdays from 4-5 pm PST for students. This drop-in support is provided to current 10th grade student applicants to help answer questions about the program or technical questions about the application. You can find the dates and RSVP for these sessions through the Robinson Center's Event Calendar.

Application Writing Workshops

The Robinson Center will hosts two online writing workshops in January  to work with a current Robinson Center student to get support with their application materials. You can find the dates and RSVP for these sessions through the Robinson Center's Event Calendar.

The Robinson Center understands the importance of providing prospective students with support during the application process. At the same time, it is important that we maintain a fair and objective admission process for all of our students whether they attend this session or not. Staff will be on hand to answer technical questions about the application process and the application itself, but will not be brainstorming and proofreading the essays with prospective students.

Priority Deadline for filing the FAFSA or WASFA at UW

All prospective students planning on exploring financial aid should submit a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid). These applications traditionally open on October 1st each year. Submitting by the UW’s priority deadline date helps to ensure that you are eligible for the maximum amount of aid (and doesn’t hurt you at all if you don’t end up applying). The priority financial aid deadline is February 28th each year. For more information on this process, please go the the UW Financial Aid website.

FAFSA not only helps to secure federally subsidized grants and loans to help fund your education, but it is also required in some outside scholarships as well (including the UW Academy need-based scholarships). Students always have the option to refuse any aid that is offered after filing. You do not have to have completed your annual tax return in order to complete the application. To find the application, go to https://fafsa.ed.gov. The UW’s school code is 003798.

WASFA is used to determine undocumented students’ eligibility for state financial aid. If eligible for WASFA you will have access to in-state tuition, either the College Bound Scholarship, or the Washington College Grant (formerly known as the State Need Grant). For more information please check the instructions and information on the WASFA website.

If you are confused and want to know whether you should apply for FAFSA or WASFA, please reference our guide.

Registration Deadlines for the ACT/SAT  (Optional)

Students applying for the UW Academy may choose to take either the SAT or the ACT Exam to submit as a part of their application, though this is an optional requirement. The optional essay portion of these exams is not required. Be aware, these exams are only administered on certain dates during the year, and you must register for them at least a month in advance. You must take your test prior to the end of February, or your scores will not be published in time for us to include them as part of your application. If you are considering submitting test scores as part of your application for the UW Academy, we recommend that you register for a test date ASAP! Register for the ACT here or register for the SAT here. For the ACT, please send to scores to both UW (4484) and to the Robinson Center (9899). For the SAT, please send to scores to both UW (4854) and to the Robinson Center (9899).  Free SAT online prep materials can be found here.

Communication with Applicants

Within one week of the application deadline, applicants will be notified by email that their complete application has been received. Decisions will be emailed approximately six to eight weeks after the application deadline. Please note that due to the volume of applications, we are unable to speak with applicants about the standing of applications during the review process.

Admission Decisions

Each year, approximately 40-45 students are accepted into the UW Academy. Before making their decisions about whether to join the Academy, accepted students attend events during Decision Days. During this time, accepted students are paired with a current RC Scholar for a “day-in-the-life” experience. Accepted students can also have an individual meeting with an Academy staff member. New Academy families can also look forward to an informational meeting to better understand what it means to support an incoming college student.

The Academy cohort is usually set by the end of May. A reception welcoming new students and their families is held in mid-June, followed by a family orientation for parents and guardians of incoming Academy students. At the conclusion of 10th grade, Academy students request final transcripts from their schools, withdraw from high school, and enroll as full-time students the following Fall.

Please note: all students admitted to the UW Academy will have REQUIRED Academy and UW academic counseling, orientation programming, and Autumn quarter registration workshops through mid-July, as well as bridge programming starting in mid-September. A calendar with more specific dates will be made available to students in May, once admission decisions are finalized. Please keep this in mind when making summer vacation plans.

Final High School Transcripts

Applicants who are admitted and who confirm their intention to enroll at the UW through the Academy will be required to send a final high school transcript to the UW Admissions office and to the Robinson Center that includes second semester of the 10th grade year. Final transcripts should be submitted as soon as the spring term of the sophomore year is complete and coursework and grades have been recorded on the transcript(s), but no later than July 15.

The UW Academy staff will verify that all admission requirements have been satisfied, and the offer of admission can be withdrawn if important discrepancies are discovered.