Freshman applications rise; Low standards and housing shortage 

For the Fall 2025 semester, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has already received over 12,000 student applications (up 2 percent from last year), not to mention there is still quite a bit of time for more to apply. This upcoming class is expected to be one of the largest classes in the history of the University. Anyone can apply to UL Lafayette, but in order to be accepted into the school, applicants must meet certain standards. 

Generally speaking, students must have an ACT English score of at least 18, an ACT Math score of 19 and a minimum 2.5 GPA for the Louisiana core four college preparatory curriculum. These basic requirements have been in place for over 10 years. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the majority of Louisiana schools, including UL Lafayette, adopted a new way of being accepted into schools. 

Due to quarantine and lessened opportunities to take the ACT and SAT exams, students could choose to either apply using test scores, or they could apply and be accepted with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and a Louisiana core four college preparatory curriculum GPA of 2.5. Dr. DeWayne Bowie, the vice president for the Office of Enrollment Management, said, “A lot of research was showing that the best single predictor of college success for the students, particularly in that first semester, that first year, was the cumulative high school GPA and not ACT or SAT scores.” 

The last way that a student can be accepted is if they got close to the requirements, but fell short because of extenuating circumstances. In that case, they can submit a statement explaining what held them back from reaching the grades that they needed. 

Bowie commented, “We do have a limited number of seats available for students that we do a holistic review, so they’ll submit an actual form to us and state their case, and then we have a committee that reviews those and looks at those holistically.” 

He continued, “So we look at more than just GPAs and ACTs, we also ask them about their involvement outside of the classroom, things like extracurricular activities.” 

Emily Wenzel, a sophomore nursing student, said, “I mean I’m an international student so I can compare to how we do it in Germany, …basically everyone here takes the SAT or ACT, so… you can compare every student better because like not every high school has the same standards.” 

One way that UL Lafayette encourages possible students to choose their school is through Academic Signing Tour. 

This is an event for those incoming students that have been awarded academic scholarships through the school. 

Various staff members visit high schools around Acadiana and give the students a chance to come up one at a time and sign their certificates in front of family and friends. After signing, they get a lapel pin that was made specifically for the event and some Ragin’ Cajun gear. 

Dr. Bowie said, “In many schools, they invite the student body in as well. It’s like a big pep rally, you know? And this is a way that we want to let students do well in the classroom and have earned an academic scholarship, this is our way of celebrating them and congratulating them and letting the world know these kids are doing well.” 

“We call it a tour because we have over 20 high schools that we’re going to visit in the Acadiana region and we just completed our fifth one, so we still have a few weeks to go before we complete our tour.” 

One issue that many students are concerned about is housing. 

As many students have experienced during the past couple semesters, UL Lafayette has had a major housing shortage, which has led to hotel housing off-campus. 

Makiya Vallien, a sophomore nursing major, said, “They need to do better, like the hotels and stuff like that, that’s wrong. They just need to do better.” 

Hailey Maldonado, a sophomore marketing major, said, “I was lucky to get a dorm, but I heard the hotels were not great and people had to pay higher rates and that’s not what they signed up for. So I think they should really look into fixing that housing situation and maybe look at how many people they accept or get more housing, something along those lines.” 

With the Spring 2025 semester coming to a close, many new students are getting ready to move onto the UL Lafayette campus and join the Ragin’ Cajun family.