University of Minnesota – Twin Cities

Minneapolis, Minnesota | Admissions Phone: 612-625-2008

E-mail: twin-cities.umn.edu/contact-us | Website: www.twin-cities.umn.edu

ADMISSION

Admission Rate: 52%

Admission Rate - Men: 48%

Admission Rate - Women: 55%

EA Admission Rate: N/A

ED Admission Rate: Not Offered

Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): +7%

ED Admission Rate (5-Year Trend): Not Offered

% of Admits Attending (Yield): 27%

Transfer Admission Rate: 46%

# Offered Wait List: N/A

# Accepted Wait List: N/A

# Admitted Wait List: N/A

SAT Reading/Writing (Middle 50%): 620-710

SAT Math (Middle 50%): 650-770

ACT Composite (Middle 50%): 26-31

Testing Policy: ACT/SAT Required

SAT Superscore: No

ACT Superscore: No

% Graduated in Top 10% of HS Class: 50%

% Graduated in Top 25% of HS Class: 85%

% Graduated in Top 50% of HS Class: 100%

ENROLLMENT

Total Undergraduate Enrollment: 34,633

% Part-Time: 13%

% Male: 47%

% Female: 53%

% Out-of-State: 28%

% Fraternity: 10%

% Sorority: 10%

% On-Campus (Freshman): 89%

% On-Campus (All Undergraduate): 22%

% African-American: 5%

% Asian: 10%

% Hispanic: 4%

% White: 65%

% Other: 4%

% Race or Ethnicity Unknown: 4%

% International: 8%

% Low-Income: 21%

ACADEMICS

Student-to-Faculty Ratio: 17:1

% of Classes Under 20: 37%

% of Classes Under 40: 73%

% Full-Time Faculty: 69%

% Full-Time Faculty w/ Terminal Degree: 80%

Top Programs

Business

Chemistry

Computer Science

Economics

Engineering

Mathematics

Political Science

Psychology

Retention Rate: 93%

4-Year Graduation Rate: 65%

6-Year Graduation Rate: 80%

Curricular Flexibility: Less Flexible

Academic Rating: chpt_fig_127

FINANCIAL

Institutional Type: Public

In-State Tuition: $13,318

Out-of-State Tuition: $31,616

Room & Board: $10,358

Required Fees: $1,709

Books & Supplies: $1,000

Avg. Need-Based Aid: $11,360

Avg. % of Need Met: 76%

Avg. Merit-Based Aid: $5,058

% Receiving Merit-Based Aid: 19%

Avg. Cumulative Debt: $26,262

% of Students Borrowing: 57%

CAREER

Who Recruits

1. Enterprise Holdings

2. The Hertz Corporation

3. Aerotek

4. Thomson Reuters

5. Century Link

Notable Internships

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

2. Pratt & Whitney

3. U.S. State Department

Top Industries

1. Business

2. Education

3. Operations

4. Engineering

5. Research

Top Employers

1. Medtronic

2. Target

3. 3M

4. UnitedHealth Group

5. U.S. Bank

Where Alumni Work

1. Minneapolis

2. San Francisco

3. Chicago

4. New York City

5. Los Angeles

Median Earnings

College Scorecard (Early Career): $51,900

EOP (Early Career): $48,800

PayScale (Mid-Career): $104,000

RANKINGS

Forbes: 98

Money: 84

U.S. News: 70, National Universities

Wall Street Journal/THE: 95

Washington Monthly: 77, National Universities

Inside the Classroom

Home to almost 35,000 undergraduates and another 16,000 graduate students, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities can easily be overshadowed by its neighboring flagships (Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois). Yet, UMTC deserves its fair share of the Midwestern limelight, thanks in part to a number of academic programs rising toward the top of national rankings and the university’s positioning as a direct pipeline to the nineteen Fortune 500 companies located within state borders. While a 72 percent out-of-state tuition increase over the last seven years has slowed down the tidal wave of nonresident applicants, international students and out-ofstaters still make up 35 percent of the undergraduate student body. The average Gopher today boasts significantly better academic credentials than previous generations at the university. In fact, four- year graduation rates have doubled since 1997, a testament to both the improved caliber of student as well as increased institutional support.

There are 150 majors on tap across seven freshman-admitting undergraduate colleges, but all students are subjected to the same twenty-three-credit Diversified Core as well as fifteen credits worth of Designated Themes. Those combined thirty-seven credits include forays into the art/humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, literature, and history. More targeted topics include civic life and ethics, diversity and social justice in the US, the environment, global perspectives, and technology and society. All freshmen also must take a first-year writing course and one other course designated as “writing intensive” later in their educational journey. Students in the university’s Honors Program must complete eight honors courses and a culminating senior thesis.

Despite a massive number of graduate students, this school generally keeps class sizes in check. A 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio is deployed effectively so that 64 percent of sections enroll twenty-nine or fewer students. On the other end of the spectrum, 20 percent of courses enroll fifty or more students, so you can expect some highly impersonal lecture-based introductory courses while in the Twin Cities. No matter your field of study, you can utilize UM’s well-maintained database of upcoming faculty research projects as a way to connect directly with the professor of your choice. In the summer of 2018, more than 250 undergraduates participated in a campus-wide undergraduate research program. An outstanding 34 percent of UMTC students study abroad during their academic career with the most popular destinations being Spain, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

The most commonly conferred degrees at the university are in biology (12 percent), engineering (11 percent), social sciences (11 percent), business/marketing (10 percent), psychology (7 percent), and computer science (6 percent). The College of Science and Engineering and the Carlson School of Management have strong national reputations and offer top-ranked programs in accounting, business, and every branch of engineering. The quality of the chemistry, economics, psychology, and political science departments is also well-known by elite graduate schools. The school’s reputation also helps those applying for prestigious postgraduate scholarships. Nine students won Fulbright Scholarships in 2019, and Minnesota also produced a number of Udall, Gilman, Critical Language, and Astronaut Scholars in recent years.

Outside the Classroom

Nine of every ten freshmen reside on the 1,200-acre Twin Cities campus in one of nine residence halls or eight apartment complexes; pretty much everyone else lives in off-campus housing as only 22 percent of the entire student body goes to sleep in university-owned domiciles. There are 3,400 students participating in Greek life, so fraternities and sororities play a fairly major role in social life. The Golden Gophers compete in twenty-three varsity sports; the most successful programs are the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams. Over 900 student organizations are active including nine student-run cultural centers, dozens of intramural sports, and a popular Outdoors Club. Arts and culture can be found right on campus at the school’s own art, design, and natural history museums as well as the nearby Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Guthrie Theater, Walker Art Center, and Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. Natural beauty also can be enjoyed on university grounds that contain 10,000 trees in the extensive Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, an area that also features miles of bike paths. For shopping or just hanging out, the famed Mall of America is only a fifteen-minute ride away. The Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses that together form UMTC are only three miles apart, and the best of both cities can be enjoyed from that advantageous central location.

Career Services

Instead of having one centralized career services office at the Twin Cities campus, the university has smaller offices housed within each of its undergraduate colleges. The College of Liberal Arts Career Services Office leads the way with eighteen full-time professional employees from the total of sixty-five across all colleges. That 538:1 ratio is within the average range when compared to other institutions profiled in this guidebook. However, for a school of UMTC’s size, that level of support is exceptionally strong. Whether students are in the College of Science and Engineering, the Carlson School of Management, or the School of Nursing, there will be a team of experts in the areas of career counseling, graduate/professional school advising, internship coordination, and employer relations ready to work directly on your behalf.

Career fairs are similarly segmented by discipline with annual offerings targeting those entering computer science, government, business, accounting, and health management. The College of Engineering (CSE) Career Fair draws around 3,500 students in the fall and 1,700 in the spring. The spring CSE event featured 175 companies such as Dell, Hewlett Packard, Tesla, Wells Fargo, and BAE Systems. A sampling of other career-related events in fall 2019 included a Harvard JD Admissions Information Session, a recruiting visit from Microsoft, and a staff-run Resume Writing Workshop. Having 225,000 working alumni, many of whom are local, is a huge advantage for carving out internships and other networking opportunities. The Carlson School of Management has a Long-Term Mentoring and Flash Mentoring program in which it will hand-pick a professional mentor from the business community to assist you. Between a sizable and friendly alumni base and a number of tight industry connections to Minnesota-based businesses, the Career Services Office at UMTC offers a wealth of opportunity to its undergraduates.

Professional Outcomes

The top seven companies snatching up the largest number of Gophers are all companies headquartered in the state of Minnesota: Medtronic (the largest medical device manufacturer in the world), Target, 3M, United Health Group, US Bank, Best Buy, and Cargill (the company with the highest revenue in the United States). Therefore, it is easy to see why roughly 70 percent of graduates remain in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area. San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Seattle also attract some graduates each year, and non-Minnesota-based companies like Intel, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Apple, and Facebook all employ hundreds of Twin Cities alumni.

With 130 graduate programs in science, art, engineering, agriculture, medicine, and the humanities, the University of Minnesota retains many of its graduates as they pursue their next degrees. However, some of the top graduate programs in the country routinely welcome UM grads. For example, in 2017, alone seven architecture grads matriculated into Penn, Cornell, Columbia, and Yale. Future doctors benefit from the BA/MD program in conjunction with the University of Minnesota Medical School. The university produces 300+ applicants to medical school every year, and many go on to study within their home state but, in recent years, Gophers also have been accepted to prestigious medical institutions like Emory, the University of Wisconsin, and Columbia University.

Admission

UMTC saw 52 percent of those seeking a place in the Class of 2022 gain acceptance. Minnesota is predominately an ACT state, and 91 percent of the 2018-19 applicants submitted results from that exam, scoring a mid-50 percent range of 26-31. Those submitting SAT scores had mid-50 percent scores of 1270-1480. Half of those attending the university placed in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and 85 percent earned spots in the top quarter. The applicant pool here has grown stronger over the last decade, but admission is only slightly more competitive now than it was a decade ago.

The only factors rated as “very important” by the admissions committee are rigor of coursework, GPA, class rank, and standardized test scores. Essays, recommendations, and interviews are not considered in the process. Freshmen accepted into the University of Minnesota Twin Cities are admitted directly into one of seven undergraduate colleges. The schools requiring the highest grades and test scores are biological sciences, management, and science and engineering (CSE). In fact, the ACT range for those admitted into the CSE is 30-34 compared with the 23-28 mid-50th range for those admitted into the College of Education and Human Development. The school does offer an early action option with a November 1 deadline.

Worth Your Money?

In-state tuition of $15k and reasonable room-and-board fees make the list price approximately $29,000 for those from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. After financial and merit awards, even families making over $110,000 end up paying an average of $23,000. That makes UMTC a strong value for Minnesota teens no matter their area of academic/career pursuit. While out-of-state costs will run your four-year total bill to just under $200k, the return on investment numbers are the strongest of any school in Minnesota, including for nonresidents. The Carlson School of Management and the College of Science and Engineering are so highly regarded that a degree from either is worth a private university-level price tag.