Calling All Truth-Seekers: Fall 2025 Applications Are Now Open.

Four-year, full-tuition scholarships for admitted students.

Welcome to a special edition of Inside UATX. Today, I am thrilled to announce that the University of Austin has opened applications for the Class of 2029, our next cohort of scholars and builders.

Apply now.

And there’s more.

Thanks to the continued generosity of our donors, each student in the Class of 2029 will be awarded a Founders Scholarship covering the full cost of undergraduate tuition for four years. 

That’s a value of approximately $130,000.

This financial award recognizes the significant vision, character, and commitment it takes to establish America's next great university. 

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Executive Director of Admissions Stephen Asoli and Associate Director of Student Recruitment Brynn Sandquist are not afraid to do things differently.

Brynn Sandquist and Stephen Asoli in the UATX Admissions Office

“The difference starts with the University’s constitution, which gives our academic deans authority over student admissions,” Asoli said. “This ensures that those who best understand the goals and demands of the undergraduate program are the same individuals charged with selecting and admitting students.”

Asoli affirmed the University of Austin’s commitment to standardized testing, notwithstanding that most colleges and universities today are test-optional. “We recognize that test scores, while imperfect, provide valuable insight into college readiness and are a strong predictor of future academic success, especially when paired with other measures of academic aptitude, such as grade point average and class rank,” he said. 

Regarding extracurriculars, Asoli said, “We are uninterested in mere resumé padding.

“Rather, applicants must convey why they have undertaken their commitments. By understanding how applicants choose to use their time, we better understand their personality, values, and character.”

Asoli described how the Office of Admissions introduces the University of Austin experience to students nationwide.

“Being so new, we frequently encounter young people who have not yet heard about UATX,” he said.

“It is gratifying to see when a student’s eyes light up after they realize that the University of Austin is exactly the kind of college experience they are looking for but didn’t know existed,” Asoli said. “Our integration of a rigorous liberal arts core with an education in entrepreneurship is distinctive and something that students will find rewarding no matter where their professional and personal lives take them.”

Brynn Sandquist offered her take on the integration of tradition and innovation at the heart of a UATX education.

“We’ve asked our students to ‘Dare to Think,’ but they must also be willing to ‘Dare to Build,’” Sandquist said. “A key part of our curriculum, alongside an education in the greatest works of our civilization, is an initiative we call the Polaris Project.”

“The Polaris Project is a four-year endeavor required of all students to create or discover something serving the human good,” she said. “Many students we meet balk a little at the term ‘entrepreneurial’ because they don’t want to start a company. 

“So let me assuage any doubts: we are looking for students who dream big and take risks in whichever field they pursue.

“What’s more, in addition to realizing their own dreams and goals, UATX students must be willing to press onward toward the goal of building alongside us. The University is a great project we are constructing together.”

I asked Asoli to walk us through this year’s Admissions cycle.

“For the 2024-25 cycle, UATX is offering various admissions plans so we can better meet students where they are in the college search and admissions process,” he said. “Our binding Early Decision plan has a deadline of November 15, and our non-binding Early Action plan has a deadline of December 1. To be considered in our Regular Decision 1 pool, applicants must apply by February 15. And they have until April 15 to be considered in the Regular Decision II pool. We are reviewing applications pretty much throughout the cycle.”

“Prospective students are invited to visit campus and speak with the Admissions team in person,” he said. “On these visits, students can sit in on a University seminar and see what the fearless pursuit of truth looks like in action.”

→Find more information and FAQs on the UATX Admissions website.

→Check out our recently launched profile on CollegeXpress.

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Prospective students can look to the University of Austin’s inaugural Class for insight into what we seek in applicants.

Admission to the University of Austin is selective: the Class of 2028 acceptance rate was 26%.

When asked about what characterizes the Class of 2028, Asoli responded, “every member is genuinely committed to the fearless pursuit of truth.”

“This commitment is the fundamental presupposition upon which our institution is built. For what greater guarantee is there to the free exchange of ideas than a genuine interest in discovering what is true?

“Our students are eager to read, experiment, debate, and learn. They launched the University’s first student-led publication, The Austin Beacon, even before arriving on campus. 

“Now that they are here, they have assumed responsibility for the Austin Union, the University's debate and speech society.

“Our students are not interested in the free exchange of ideas as some sort of casual, idle pastime. Rather, they routinely seek opportunities to engage one another and their professors in conversation so that they can undertake the often hard work of refining their opinions and beliefs and getting closer to what is true.”

Watch the Class of 2028 describe their quest in their own words:

Students in the Class of 2028.

Maggie Kelly is communications manager at the University of Austin. Email her at mkelly@uaustin.org.