Undergraduate Admission FAQs

You can find admission statistics on our main undergraduate admissions web page.  

Yes. Please submit an unofficial copy of the outside institution's transcript with your application.  

No.  As long as we can confirm you have taken the prerequisites and they appear on your transcript, you are welcome to apply.  If you are admitted to the major and email to let us know the issue, we can adjust your DARS at a later time, if necessary.  

No. We require a grade in each prerequisite course before students can submit their applications.

It is likely that you are registered.  When you submitted your registration through Catalyst, you should have seen a page that indicated it was your confirmation and that you would not receive an email from the department until 1-2 days prior to the exam.  The time and location are on our undergraduate website.  The email you receive 1-2 days prior to the exam will also have the time and location, and additional instructions.  

RTW scores will be included in your admission (acceptance or denial) email from the department.  We are unable to provide specific feedback on your RTW exam as the graders do not write comment on exams to preserve our double-blind grading process. However, you are welcome to email econadv@uw.edu to request the grading rubric and criteria used by graders.

Our department does a holistic review - we review each individual application, personal statement, and RTW score.  This means that all parts of your application are important.  While strong grades can help compensate for a lower RTW score, if the RTW score is very low, you may still not be admitted, even with high grades.   The same is true for students with very high RTW scores; you must still perform relatively well in your coursework to have a reasonable chance for admission.   

Because of the holistic review of each application, we are unable to provide an accurate outlook on chances of admission based on grades alone. A student's grades in prerequisite courses, score on the RTW Exam, clarity of personal statement, and overall academic performance are all factors considered. Strong grades in coursework does not guarantee admission, as all factors of the application are very important for consideration. Each application cycle, we will post admission statistics to showcase the average prerequisite GPA, average overall GPA, and average RTW score for each cycle of admitted applicants.  

Students may reapply to the major.  However, if you are not admitted, you should take a look at your application (grades, RTW score, etc.) to see why you may not have been admitted the first time.  If the answer is not clear, you may email the advisers (econadv@uw.edu) and they can provide information about why your application may not have been strong.  If you are able to improve your application in a reasonable amount of time, then you can consider reapplying. While you are in the process of reapplying, you should use the time to explore other majors you may find interesting.  If you are not admitted after reapplying, we generally recommend you move toward applying to another major as you will have accrued a higher number of credits and you need to make progress toward graduation.

You can always email the advisers to see if your statement was considered strong or if there were any issues.  If not, you can use your previous personal statement with additional information about how your application has improved since the last time you applied.  If you plan on rewriting your personal statement, we encourage you to seek assistance from campus resources: 

• Odegaard Writing & Research Center
• The Writing Center at The Center for Learning & Undergraduate Enrichment (CLUE)
• The Writing Center at the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity Instructional Center (OMA/D IC)
• Center for Experiential Learning & Diversity Personal Statement Writing Workshops (EXPD)

We are not concerned with which year a student is in; we are concerned with the number of credits a student has earned and their timeline for graduation.  If a student can finish their graduation requirements under the University's Satisfactory Progress Policy, they are welcome to apply to the Economics major.  

We do not take government sponsorships or scholarships into account when making admission decisions.  

No, you have not been admitted to the Economics major.  You should see our website for prerequisite course, GPA and application information.  

Possibly. To apply, students must have earned at least 45 college-level credits, have earned a grade in each prerequisite course, and meet our GPA requirements.

If you are admitted to both Econ and the other major and plan to complete both majors, then yes, you should submit an academic plan so that we can make sure you can graduate on time.  If you plan to only complete one of the majors, then you do not need to submit the academic plan.  

Yes.  Students can take the 200- and 300-level courses without being the major.  However, for ECON 301, non-majors must wait until Period 2 registration to enroll in any available spaces.  Our 400-level courses are reserved for Economics majors and for those students in programs that require students to take certain 400-level Econ courses. 

Based on the CIP codes, both the BA and the BS majors are considered STEM majors.