FAQ for Admission

We offer Early Decision 1, Early Decision 2, and Regular Decision. Please note that Early Decision is binding, meaning that if you are admitted in an Early Decision round, you are committing to enroll at Denison and withdraw any applications you have submitted to other institutions.

There are two primary advantages to applying as an Early Decision applicant.

First, a higher percentage of students are admitted in Early Decision—as the pool of applicants is smaller than in Regular Decision. If you are confident that Denison is the right fit for you, we encourage you to consider applying as an Early Decision applicant.

Second, you find out if you’ve been admitted sooner! ED applicants typically receive their admission decisions about 1 month after each ED deadline (RD applicants receive decisions in mid-March). The ED1 deadline is November 15 and ED2 deadline is January 15. There is no difference in how applicants are reviewed between the ED1 and ED2 rounds.

In Early Decision rounds, students are notified on a rolling basis once the Office of Admission has received all the required application materials. All decisions will be released within one month of the application deadlines. In the Regular Decision round, our application deadline is January 15th, and all applicants receive their admission decisions by mid-March.

Absolutely, as long as you do so before February 20th. You should email us at admission@denison.edu to let us know you would like to make this change, and we will require you complete the early decision agreement (requiring your signature, along with a parent’s and a counselor’s signatures.)

Perfection…just kidding.

In evaluating your application to Denison, we take a number of things into consideration about you as an individual. We are seeking students who have demonstrated a seriousness toward their academic lives and who, in addition, would bring a variety of interests, characteristics, and personal qualities to our dynamic campus community.

Typically, applicants who are admitted to Denison take challenging courses in their high schools and have done well in those courses. We also consider test scores, if you choose to submit them (see our test optional policy).

Denison’s community is largely characterized as a highly engaged one with many opportunities. As such, we are looking for students who have demonstrated that they are involved in their passions and have taken advantage of the opportunities they’ve been provided thus far. It is important to note: Quality over quantity is valued here. Taking on a high level of involvement in one or two passions is much more impactful than involvement in 100 activities that you simply “show up” for.

Think of this as synonymous to when your crushes passed you notes in elementary school asking you if you liked them (we know, no one passes notes anymore). College admission kind of works the same way. We provide a lot of ways for you to learn more about us and for us to learn more about you. When you engage with us, we get the hint that you might like us. And of course, we want to admit people who like us. Again, there are so many ways to engage: visiting campus, participating in one of our many virtual offerings, completing an admission interview, reading our emails, submitting an arts supplement…the list goes on. And don’t forget, the best way to tell us you like us is to APPLY!

Absolutely! No questions asked! Actually- Denison has no application fee, and we accept self-reported test scores (if you choose to submit them). So, there should be no fees associated with your application for admission.

Please note that if you are applying for financial aid, the CSS Profile requires a $25 application fee.

Once you’ve submitted your application, you can’t make any edits. If you need to make a change to something like your essay or activity list, please email admission@denison.edu with the updated information and it’ll be added to your file.

You will get an email from Denison confirming that we have received your application. In addition, you will receive your credentials to log in to your applicant portal. In your applicant portal, you will be able to see a checklist of required application materials. If any of those materials are missing, we provide further information on how you are able to ensure they are submitted.

Pro Tip: Approach the college application process in an organized manner and give plenty of notice to the people submitting items on your behalf (e.g. counselors with high school transcripts, teachers with recommendations, etc.).

Students interested in cinema, creative writing, dance, music, studio art, or theatre are encouraged to submit supplementary arts materials for evaluation. If submitted, materials will be reviewed by members of the arts faculty in the designated area(s) and students become eligible to receive a scholarship. By sharing a portfolio, students are able to showcase their artistic talents, regardless of their major.

You can submit your portfolio by simply uploading your materials through your applicant portal. You will receive your portal login information once you have submitted your application.

Recommendations on what you should consider submitting.

After you submit your Common Application or Coalition Application to Denison, you will receive an email with information on how to log in to your applicant portal.

We hate this answer, but it is the one we have to give. It depends. Start by taking a look at this information provided by our Registrar’s Office. If you have specific questions, we encourage you to follow up at registrar@denison.edu.

Regardless of what type of credit you receive, remember that Denison is designed as a four year experience, and you should plan on spending four years here to complete your degree requirements.

We do not have a minimum GPA as every application is reviewed holistically. While your GPA may indicate how you will do at Denison, the rigor of your courses is equally important.

There are no set courses required to be considered for admission. However, admission to Denison is highly competitive. Typically, the most competitive applicants complete four years of English and at least three years of mathematics, foreign language, science, and social studies during high school. We also encourage you to challenge yourself with rigorous courses, when available and within reason.

Arts supplements are evaluated by faculty members in the appropriate department. We consider both the supplement and the evaluation as part of our holistic review process.

Nope. We have a test-optional admission policy. If you do not submit a test-score, that’s a-okay with us. Our admission committee will simply focus on the other components of your application (transcripts, curriculum rigor, etc.) when evaluating your academic ability and potential.

Note that most competitive applicants who submit test scores have an ACT Composite score of at least 28 and/or SAT reading and math scores of at least 600. However, Denison practices a “no harm” policy when reviewing test scores. If you choose to submit test scores that do not help to strengthen your application, the test scores are simply ignored.

Absolutely not. We have been test optional long enough to know that students without test scores can be phenomenal members of the Denison community, and if we see things we like in your transcript, essays, and letters of recommendation, we won’t hesitate to admit you.

We accept both official and self-reported scores. Official scores need to come directly from the testing agency or an official at your school (principal, counselor, teacher, etc.). If you self-report your score and choose to enroll, we will require you to submit an official score report.

While “superscore” sounds like a video game accomplishment, it is actually in reference to standardized testing. Yes, Denison superscores, meaning that we take your highest section scores across all instances you took the ACT or SAT. It is important to note that when you submit your scores you need to submit all test section scores for each time you took a standardized test. Our admission committee will recalculate your superscore based on all of your test scores.

We would love to host you and your family on campus. The Office of Admission is open most weekdays (barring some holidays), and during the academic year, we offer Saturday visit options. You can easily schedule a visit online or by calling our office at 740-587-6276.

Please note that as we monitor the COVID-19 situation, our utmost priority is to ensure the safety of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors. As such, we may need to change or cancel admission events as new information becomes available.

Don’t sweat it. There are a lot of ways to learn more about us virtually—webinars, information sessions, virtual interviews, videos, and more. Start here. Also, don’t forget to check your email frequently, we will keep you posted as more opportunities arise.

Our students represent diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, political beliefs, abilities, and gender identities. In glancing at our student body, 21% of our students are domestic students of color and 16% are international students. We value, and celebrate diversity at Denison.

Denison provides a personalized world-class education to our students and to that end, we like to get to know hopeful Denison students as soon as possible. A great place for a first conversation is an admission interview. Interviews are about 30 minutes long and are conducted virtually via zoom as well as on campus. Please contact Jesse Leary Yeager ‘10 (yeagerj@denison.edu) for more information or to schedule a conversation.

Yes! An interview is not required but is a welcomed supplement to your application. Interviews are about 30 minutes long and are conducted virtually via zoom as well as on campus. Please contact Jesse Leary Yeager ‘10 (yeagerj@denison.edu) for more information or to schedule a conversation.

Successful transfer applicants to Denison, in many cases, are earning As or Bs in their current courses, whether that be in a liberal arts or other environment. Denison does not emphasize standardized testing for transfer applicants, although applicants are welcome to submit unofficial ACT/SAT scores. In absence of any complete college courses, the admission team will look to a final high school transcript to gauge students’ academic abilities. Letters of recommendation are optional; admission interviews are recommended and most successful applicants sit for an interview.