First-Year Students

• Submit the Common Application for Undergraduate College Admission online. To directly add Gonzaga to your “My Colleges” list on the Common Application click here. 
• Submit one Teacher Evaluation and one School Report through the Common Application. Forms/letters can be mailed to the Admission Office, if not submitted online. 
• Homeschooled students: The School Report can be submitted by your homeschool instructor, but the teacher evaluation needs to come from someone other than your homeschool instructor (Community College teacher, pastor, employer, etc).
• Send a copy of your official transcripts to the Office of Admission. If you have completed any college courses (this includes all WA state participants of the Running Start Program), official college transcripts need to be sent as well.
• Submit a $60 non-refundable application fee. Applicants can pay the fee through the Common Application.
• Applicants suffering financial hardship may have this fee waived by selecting the “Common App Fee Waiver” when filing out the Common Application.  Please note that applicants must demonstrate need by selecting one of seven possible financial hardship categories, and that your counselor will be asked to verify your response.
  Applicants may also be eligible for one of the following application fee waivers: GU Alumni fee waiver or ROTC Scholarship applicants. Choose the appropriate waiver on the payment site of the Common App.
• TEST OPTIONAL*: You may submit score reports from either the Scholastic Assessment Test I (SAT I), or the American College Test (ACT). Gonzaga's institution code for the SAT I is 4330, and the ACT code is 4458. Gonzaga does not accept SAT II Subject tests.
  *There are two important notes to this policy: homeschooled students with less than 30 semester or 45 quarter college credits must submit an SAT or ACT and international students are required to submit a test score to demonstrate English proficiency through TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, iTEP, SAT, or ACT.

Before sending us your application, check to be sure you've completed all the necessary pieces. A finished application includes:

• The Common Application for Undergraduate Admission including the personal essay (choose one), short answer supplemental question, and activities list
• Official high school (and college, if applicable) transcript
• Letter of recommendation from a teacher/professor in an academic area
• Common Application School Report
• Optional: SAT I or ACT test scores

Gonzaga University admission is “test optional”, meaning it is not required to submit an SAT or ACT score. There are two important notes on this policy:

• Homeschooled students with less than 30 semester or 45 quarter college credits must submit an SAT or ACT.
• International students are required to submit a test score to demonstrate English proficiency through TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, iTEP, SAT, or ACT.

We will continue to review applications holistically, as described in our Admission Requirements. Students applying without a test have access to everything available to test-takers: admission, automatic merit scholarships, direct admission to nursing and engineering, the Honors Program, and other Gonzaga scholarships.

Please see our Test-Optional FAQ for additional information.

To complete a first-year application to Gonzaga students must submit an essay and short answer supplemental question. Nursing applicants are required to submit an additional short answer question. The essay and short answer question(s) will be submitted with the Common Application. You can view the essay prompts (see link) and short answer prompts below:

• Common Application Essay Prompts (select one)
  
  • Word count: 250-650
• Gonzaga Short Answer Supplemental Question (select one)
  • Response should be between five to ten sentences (300 word limit).
    • A Gonzaga education promotes dedication to human dignity, social justice, diversity, global engagement, solidarity with the vulnerable, and environmental stewardship. Reflecting on these values, how have you shown your commitment to standing for and with others in your actions?
    • Gonzaga’s Presidential Speaker’s Series invites leaders from around the world (such as LTC Olga Custodio, America's first Latina military pilot or Cotopaxi founder Davis Smith) to share their work and passions with the GU community. If you were able to invite any living person to come and speak to the GU community, who would it be? Why would you want to invite them?
      
       
• Gonzaga Nursing Short Answer Question (nursing applicants only)
  • Response should be between five to ten sentences.
    • What experiences have led you to choose the field of nursing? Why do you believe nursing is a good career path for you?

Gonzaga's Nursing Program accepts first-year applications only.  Applicants must apply to Gonzaga Early Action (Nov. 15) and choose "nursing" on their application to be considered. Admission to nursing is competitive and the Admission Committee will review curriculum carefully, preferring four years of math and science including senior year of high school. An understanding of the nursing profession is helpful.

Students are not permitted to change their major to nursing after enrolling at the University. The Nursing Program is a four-year program. If a student has received college credit or earned an AA degree through the Running Start program, credits will likely transfer, but the program remains an 8 – 9 semester degree. Enrolling with college credits may provide students with the opportunity to add a minor or study abroad, but will not allow for early entry into nursing courses. 

*Nursing is considered a “direct entry” program, meaning that a student must declare nursing as their major on the application to be considered for admission to the Nursing Program. 

November 15 - Early Action Application Deadline
February 1 - Regular Decision Application Deadline

*Important note for Nursing applicants - Nursing applicants must apply Early Action (November 15) and choose 'nursing' as their intended major to be considered for the program. Nursing applications received after Nov. 15 will be considered for the waitlist.

See our Dates & Deadlines page for additional information. 

November 15

See our Dates and Deadlines page for additional information.