It is the responsibility of each public four-year college or university to decide which of the following selectivity categories it will choose. Students who are admitted as exceptions to the standard admissions requirements of highly selective, selective, and moderately selective institutions are expected to perform at levels comparable to regularly admitted students.
Highly Selective
Highly selective institutions admit first-time, full time degree-seeking students and transfer students who have:
- Completed 23 or fewer credit hours.
- Attained a combined percentile score (from adding their high school percentile rank and the percentile rank attained on the ACT or SAT) that is greater than or equal to 140 points.
Students who achieve a score of 27 or better on the ACT or an equivalent score on the SAT are automatically admitted to highly selective institutions.
No more than ten percent of the first-time, full time degree-seeking freshman class will have a combined percentile score of 139 or less.
Missouri's highly selective institutions:
- Missouri University of Science & Technology
- Truman State University
Selective
Selective institutions admit first-time, full time degree-seeking students and transfer students who have:
- Completed 23 or fewer credit hours.
- Attained a combined percentile score (from adding their high school percentile rank and the percentile rank attained on the ACT or SAT) that is greater than or equal to 120 points.
Students who achieve a score of 24 or better on the ACT or an equivalent score on the SAT are automatically admitted to selective institutions.
No more than ten percent of the first-time, full time degree-seeking freshman class will have a combined percentile score of 119 or less.
Missouri's selective institutions:
- Missouri State University
- University of Missouri - Columbia
- University of Missouri - Kansas City
- University of Missouri - St. Louis
Moderately Selective
Moderately selective institutions admit first-time, full time degree-seeking students and transfer students who have:
- Completed 23 or fewer credit hours.
- Attained a combined percentile score (from adding their high school percentile rank and the percentile rank attained on the ACT or SAT) that is greater than or equal to 100 points.
Students who achieve a score of 21 or better on the ACT or an equivalent score on the SAT are automatically admitted to moderately selective institutions.
No more than ten percent of the first-time, full time degree-seeking freshman class will have a combined percentile score of 99 or less.
Missouri's moderately selective institutions:
- University of Central Missouri
- Missouri Southern State University
- Northwest Missouri State University
- Southeast Missouri State University
Open Enrollment
Open enrollment institutions may admit any Missouri resident with a high school diploma or its equivalent as a first-time, full time degree-seeking freshman. Open access to a particular institution, however, does not guarantee access to selected programs that may have additional institutionally approved admission criteria. Public two-year colleges must provide open enrollment.
Missouri's open enrollment institutions:
- Crowder College
- East Central College
- Harris-Stowe State University
- Jefferson College
- Lincoln University
- State Technical College of Missouri
- Metropolitan Community Colleges
- Mineral Area College
- Missouri State University - West Plains
- Missouri Western State University
- Moberly Area Community College
- North Central Missouri College
- Ozarks Technical Community College
- St. Charles Community College
- St. Louis Community Colleges
- State Fair Community College
- Three Rivers College