Response to Hurricane Katrina

The University of Texas at Austin stands with the nation in expressing our sorrow in this time of terrible tragedy in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. We are committed to providing help this fall to colleges and universities in the New Orleans area which are unable to operate while they are attempting to recover and rebuild.

Updated 10 a.m. September 23, 2005

Information about Spring Enrollment
for Students Displaced by Hurricane Katrina

This information is based on the assumption that the campuses affected by Hurricane Katrina will be open for the spring 2006 semester. If an affected university is not open by the time The University of Texas at Austin begins its spring semester, affected students who are enrolled at UT Austin during the 2005 fall semester will be allowed to continue as visiting students during the 2006 spring semester. It is our expectation that all “visiting” students will return to their home campuses. We are not encouraging students to remain at The University of Texas at Austin. The following information is solely for the purpose of helping students complete their spring 2006 plans.

Displaced students seeking spring admission will have to compete with all other prospective students for the spaces available for the spring 2006 semester and must submit the admissions application and credentials by Oct. 14, 2005*.

[*Please Note: The online application is available until Oct. 1, 2005. To apply for spring admission after that date, affected students should submit the Texas Common Application in paper form, available for download at http://www.collegefortexans.com/applying/commonapp.cfm.]

We normally enroll about 100 new freshmen and 500 new transfer students for the spring semester. Many of the freshman places are already taken by students we deferred from the fall 2005 semester. Therefore, the competition for spring spaces will be very strong. Below are definitions and policies regarding students displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Definitions of Displaced Student Status

• Visiting transfers are students who attended an institution of higher education beyond high school graduation prior to becoming a visiting student at UT Austin. These students must have completed at least 24 college credits by the spring semester. They must use the application for transfer students at http://www.applytexas.org and follow the transfer policies at http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/transfer.

• Visiting freshmen are students who entered college for the first time during this fall semester at UT Austin as visiting students. These students must use the freshman application at http://www.applytexas.org and follow the freshman admission policies at http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/freshmen.

• Regularly admitted freshmen are students who had been originally admitted to UT Austin for the fall 2005 term but who elected to enroll in a university in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area. These students were permitted to attend UT Austin for fall 2005 as regularly admitted students and they do not need to take further action to remain for the spring and subsequent semesters.

Information about the Admission Process for Spring 2006

Visiting transfers: Must provide all required transfer application credentials (including the essay and statement of purpose) by Oct. 14*, with the exception of the official transcript(s) from institutions that cannot produce transcripts due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Transcripts from these institutions are required by Dec. 15 when we will close the decision process. Demonstrating the quality of prior college performance is a necessary part of the competition for a place at UT Austin, therefore we cannot make an admission decision until we have an official transcript from all prior institutions. We will begin making admission decisions in November and will continue to make decisions through Dec. 15.

[*Please Note: The online application is available until Oct. 1, 2005. To apply for spring admission after that date, affected students should submit the Texas Common Application in paper form, available for download at http://www.collegefortexans.com/applying/commonapp.cfm.]

Transfer grade point average (GPA) requirements vary slightly by major, but the most recent competition required a GPA in the range of 3.5 to 3.7 to gain admission to most programs. The required GPA is higher for programs with special requirements. There are also competitive requirements in addition to the GPA. Please review http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/transfer/ for full information about applying to UT Austin as a transfer student.

Visiting freshmen: As part of the university’s hurricane relief efforts, students who did not apply to UT Austin for fall 2005 and applicants who were denied admission in the normal process were accepted as “visiting freshmen” for fall 2005 but are expected to return to their home campuses.

• Visiting freshmen who applied for freshman admission at UT Austin for fall 2005 and were not admitted will not be eligible for spring admission. They may apply as a transfer student when 24 college credits have been completed.

• Visiting freshmen who did not previously apply for regular admission and who want to become UT Austin students must apply for freshman admission by Oct. 14* for admission for spring 2006. All application credentials must be submitted by Oct. 14, including official test scores directly from the SAT or ACT testing agencies. (The university does not accept test scores on high school transcripts as “official” scores.) Official transcripts from high schools that cannot produce transcripts due to the effects of Katrina are due no later than Dec. 15. The admission process is competitive and students will be selected through the university’s regular admission process for freshmen. Please review http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/freshmen/ for full information about applying to UT Austin as a freshman. We will begin making decisions in November and continue through Dec. 15.

[*Please Note: The online application is available until Oct. 1, 2005. To apply for spring admission after that date, affected students should submit the Texas Common Application in paper form, available for download at http://www.collegefortexans.com/applying/commonapp.cfm.]

The university community is also coming together to help the individuals and families displaced by the hurricane through events, fund raising and volunteer activities. This Web site will continue to be a resource for those needing or offering assistance. Check back often for information about these events and to read stories from some of the people at the heart of these efforts.

Read UT Stories: Professor Eli Reed and photojournalism students from the College of Communication’s School of Journalism discuss covering Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in “UT Katrina Coverage” from The Digital Journalist’s October 2005 issue.

Learn about how the Marine Science Institute is supporting post-Katrina research and how the Center for Space Research uses satellite mapping to aid efforts to rescue Hurricane Katrina victims.

The School of Social Work provided many volunteers during the Hurricane Katrina aftermath. At the Austin Convention Center they did assessments, helped people pack up, completed applications and organized donations. Read some of their personal recollections.

School of Nursing faculty, students and staff are committed to helping those affected by Hurricane Katrina. More than 100 volunteers from the school rushed to volunteer as evacuees arrived in Austin. Read two of their personal stories.

For news and events about hurricane relief in and around Austin, Texas, visit Austin Helping New Orleans. To view online maps of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and satellite imagery of Hurricane Katrina, visit the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection.

Read about how Ohio State and Texas teamed up for hurricane relief. The two universities encouraged donations to the American Red Cross at the Ohio State vs. Texas football game Sept. 10. Watch the public service announcement in Windows Media or QuickTime.

Learn about the admissions and tuition and fee policies adopted by The University of Texas at Austin for students affected by Hurricane Katrina. Or visit Katrina College Students, a message board established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, to learn more about how area colleges and universities are providing opportunities for students affected by Hurricane Katrina.