Undergraduate Admissions

Wayland Baptist University seeks to attract a student body distinguished by the ability and desire to pursue academic excellence in a Christian environment. Accordingly, the admissions standards, academic policies, and Student Handbook of the university (located on the Student Services page of the WBU website) have been designed to identify, attract and retain such students. The university and the admissions committee reserve the right to refuse admission to any applicant whose admission or continued enrollment is deemed to be undesirable. Although any application for admission will be processed promptly upon its receipt, students will not be formally admitted to the university until the Office of Admissions has received all documentation required for the appropriate admission category.

Wayland Baptist University has several campus locations with multiple session start dates. Applicants interested in attending one of Wayland’s campuses should consult the calendar portion of the catalog or the campus they wish to attend to determine the dates by which admissions paperwork should be submitted for each term.

Information regarding admissions may be obtained directly from the campus the student desires to attend or may be found online at www.wbu.edu. Students wishing to attend the Plainview campus may also request information from:

Director of Admissions
Wayland Baptist University
1900 West 7th St., CMB# 1294
Plainview, TX 79072-6998
Telephone: (800) 588-1928

Wayland provides two categories of undergraduate admissions, Degree Seeking and Non-Degree Seeking. Each category has a number of admission options. Admission categories and options include:

Degree Seeking

Students who plan to seek a degree or complete the requirements for a pre-professional program may be admitted under one of the following options.

First-Time Freshman Admission

This option is available for first-time freshman applicants who have not been enrolled in any college level institution except concurrently while in high school or during the summer immediately following high school graduation and before enrolling in the University for the subsequent fall. To be considered for this option, applicants must submit the following:

  1. A completed application for admission
  2. An application fee of $35 (non-refundable).
  3. An official transcript from an accredited high school which indicates graduation and the completion of four years of English, three years of mathematics, three years of social sciences, and three years of science.

First-time freshman applicants may be considered for conditional admission prior to high school graduation. In order to be considered, students must submit an official transcript which shows grades through at least six semesters or terms. Upon graduation from high school, such students must submit a transcript showing completion of high school requirements as listed in number 3 above.

As some college credit and merit scholarships are awarded based on ACT or SAT scores, students are encouraged to submit an official ACT or SAT score.

First-time freshman students admitted to the university will be admitted under either the regular freshman or alternative admission category.

Regular Freshman Admission

Students who fall into one of the following categories will be admitted to Wayland under Regular Freshman Admission:

  1. Students who have a 2.0 or better cumulative high school GPA at the time of transcript review for admission. This includes homeschool graduates as well as students who graduate from unaccredited high schools.
  2. Students who have between a 1.50 and 1.99 cumulative high school GPA, if the average of all high school-level English courses is 75 or above.
  3. GED recipients at least 17 years of age.

Alternative Freshman Admission

The following students may be considered for admission to Wayland under Alternative Freshman Admission:

  1. Students who have between a 1.50 and 1.99 cumulative high school GPA, but whose average of all high school-level English courses is not 75 or above.
  2. Students who have a 1.49 or lower cumulative high school GPA.

Admission under this category is at the discretion of the university’s admissions committee. After consideration of all documentation the committee may:

  1. Admit the student under the category Regular Freshman Admission.
  2. Admit the student under an Entrance Probation category with or without additional stipulations.
  3. Deny admission.
  4. Defer admission and require an interview or writing sample.

Entrance probation is an admissions status that limits the number of hours in which a student may enroll during the first term of enrollment at Wayland. Entrance probation at Wayland limits enrollment in no more than 14 credit hours during the first term of enrollment. In addition, to develop knowledge and skills required to satisfactorily perform at the collegiate level, students may be placed in appropriate developmental courses. All developmental courses in which students are placed must be taken in the first term in which the course is offered.

Transfer Admission

Students who have previously been enrolled in a college or university, other than as a concurrent or dual credit student, may be admitted to Wayland as a transfer student. To be considered for transfer admission, applicants must submit the following:

  1. Completed application for admission.
  2. Application fee of $35 (non-refundable).
  3. Official transcripts from each institution attended. It is the student’s responsibility to provide official transcripts of all postsecondary work completed as of the date of the application. Failure to disclose all colleges attended is considered grounds for denial of admission into Wayland as well as immediate suspension.
  4. Applicants placed on academic suspension or probation at any college within five years from the date of application must submit a letter explaining those circumstances. Applicants must be eligible to re-enter institutions previously attended.
  5. Applicants with fewer than 24 transcripted college hours will be required to submit an official high school transcript or GED.

Students meeting one of the following criteria will be admitted to Wayland:

Transfer students not meeting the above criteria may be considered for admission at the discretion of the university’s Admission Committee. After consideration of all documentation required for review, the committee may:

  1. Admit the student.
  2. Admit the student with entrance probation stipulations such as limiting the number of courses taken in the first session, repeating previously failed coursework, etc. The Admission Committee may also recommend course placement testing as a part of this option. These tests are designed to help ensure academic success by identifying subject areas that need preparatory coursework.
  3. Deny admission.
  4. Defer admission and require an interview or writing sample.

Readmission

Any fully admitted student returning to Wayland after an absence of one 16-week term at the Plainview campus must apply for readmission. Any fully admitted student returning to any other Wayland campus after an absence of one year or longer must reapply for admissions. There is no application fee required for this procedure, but the applicant must submit:

  1. A completed application for admission.
  2. Official transcripts from all institutions attended since last enrolling in Wayland.
  3. A letter explaining the circumstances leading to a suspension from any and all colleges within the last 5 years.
  4. A letter explaining the circumstances leading to a probation from any and all colleges within the last 5 years.

Students seeking readmission following attendance at another institution must be eligible to re-enter the institution(s) previously attended. Students not in good standing at the last university attended or a student on academic probation or suspension at Wayland must be approved by the admissions committee.

Non-Degree Seeking

Students who do not plan to earn a degree or complete the requirements for a pre-professional program may apply for admission through any of the following categories:

Concurrent High School Admission

Students may apply to be concurrently enrolled at Wayland following the completion of or the enrollment in 50% of the required credits for high school graduation. Students must be at least 16 years old by their first day of concurrent classes. Applicants must submit:

  1. A completed application for admission.
  2. An official high school transcript showing completion of required credits.
  3. Required test scores for concurrent consideration

*Note: in the event that COVID-19 prevents student access to ACT/SAT examinations, alternative entrance requirements will be used.

Applicants must qualify in both ACT Reading and English or SAT Reading and Writing to qualify for any concurrent classes except Math courses. If an applicant wants to take a science course that has a math pre-requisite, the math placement must be met.

If an applicant has the required composite score, and a subtest score that is short by 1 point only, the applicant may retake the ACT or SAT, or take an Accuplacer test at Wayland to try to qualify for the program. The Accuplacer is free of charge, is not timed, and is computer-based. Only one Accuplacer testing per discipline is allowed per 16-week term.

  1. A completed concurrent enrollment agreement, which can be obtained from the Office of Admissions. This agreement will require the signatures of the student, parent, high school principal or high school counselor, WBU vice president of academic affairs, and the registrar.

Costs for concurrent enrollment will include appropriate tuition and all stated course fees for the classes taken.

Concurrently enrolled students must abide by all university placement policies based on ACT, SAT, and Accuplacer test scores. Enrollment under this option is also subject to the approval of the instructor.

Students admitted under the concurrent high school admissions category may enroll in a maximum of nine credit hours total during a 16-week term, or nine credit hours over the course of two consecutive 8-week sessions (Fall 1 and Fall 2, or Spring 1 and Spring 2) online or at an external campus. Enrollment is restricted to lower-division courses (courses designated as freshman or sophomore level). At Wayland, these are indicated by a “1” or “2” in the initial digit of the four digit course number.

Students receiving a grade of “D” or “F” in a concurrent class must submit a letter of appeal to the Admissions Committee in order to attempt additional concurrent classes. Continued enrollment in concurrent classes will be at the discretion of the Admissions Committee.

Plainview Collegiate High School/Early College High School Admission (may be degree seeking or non-degree seeking)

Plainview Collegiate High School (PCHS) is a partnership between Wayland Baptist University and Plainview Independent School District that offers dual credit courses to eligible students. This partnership allows students the opportunity to earn an Associate of Arts degree or 60 college credits while simultaneously granting credit toward their high school graduation requirements.

In order to be admitted into the PCHS program, students must complete the following steps and/or meet the following eligibility requirements:

  1. Submit an application for admission to PCHS to the Plainview Independent School District.
  2. Be recommended by the PCHS principal or his/her designee (e.g., PCHS counselor) for participation in the early college high school program.
  3. Submit a dual-credit/concurrent application for admission to Wayland.
  4. In their freshman year of high school, be TSI College Ready on Reading and Writing prior to their fall enrollment in dual-credit classes.
  5. Score a minimum composite score of 18, reading score of 18, and math score of 18 on the ACT National or Residual test by their fall core course dual-credit enrollment of their junior year, as indicated in the chart below.

*Students who do not meet the above standards will be expected to participate in a summer bridge or other classes outside the regular class day with the intent to be TSI ready by fall of their freshman year and to score the minimum required ACT National or Residual test score for dual-credit enrollment the fall of their junior year.