% were accepted, and of those accepted, 51.0% enrolled.[42] The university's freshman retention rate in 2009 was 92.5% and the six-year graduation rate was 81.0%.[42] The Fall 2011 entering class had an average ACT composite score of 28 and an average SAT composite score of 1858.[4][43]

ing academic excellence and leadership development such as the Freshman Research Initiative and Texas Interdisciplinary Plan.
Admission[edit]
As a state public university, The University of Texas at Austin was, until recently, subject to Texas House Bill 588, which guarantees graduating Texas high school seniors in the top 10% of their class admission to any public Texas university. A new state law granting UT (but no other state university) a partial exemption from the top 10% rule, Senate Bill 175, was passed by the 81st Legislature in 2009. It modifies this admissions policy by limiting automatically admitted freshmen to 75% of the entering in-state freshman class, starting in 2011. The university will admit the top one percent, the top two percent and so forth until the cap is reached; the university expects to automatically admit students in the top 8% of their graduating class for 2011.[39] Furthermore, students admitted under Texas House Bill 588 are not guaranteed their choice of college or major, but rather only guaranteed admission to the university as a whole. Many colleges, such as the Cockrell School of Engineering, have secondary requirements that must be met for admission.[40]
For others who go through the traditional application process, selectivity is deemed "more selective" according to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.[41] For Fall 2009, 31,362 applied and 45.6% were accepted, and of those accepted, 51.0% enrolled.[42] The university's freshman retention rate in 2009 was 92.5% and the six-year graduation rate was 81.0%.[42] The Fall 2011 entering class had an average ACT composite score of 28 and an average SAT composite score of 1858.[4][43]
Rankings[edit]
University rankings
National
ARWU[44]    27
Forbes[45]    66
U.S. News & World Report[46]    52
Washington Monthly[47]    19
Global
ARWU[48]    35
QS[49]    68
Times[50]    25
UT Austin is consistently ranked as one of the top public universities in the country, with highly prestigious programs in a variety of fields. Nationally, UT Austin ranked 45th amongst all universities according to U.S. News and World Report,[51] and tied for 13th place among public universities in 2011.[52] The University of Texas School of Architecture was ranked second among national undergraduate programs in 2012.[53] Additionally, the McCombs School of Business was ranked seventh among undergraduate business programs in 2013,[54] and the Cockrell School of Engineering was ranked ninth among undergraduate engineering programs in 2009.[55] Internationally, UT Austin was ranked 67th in the "World's Best Universities" ranking presented by U.S. News and World Report,[56] and 35th in the world by Shanghai Jiao Tong University,[57] based on factors such as Nobel laureate affiliation and number of highly cited researchers. In 2009, The Economist ranked the school 49th worldwide.[58] In 2013 London-basedTimes Higher Education ranked the university 25th in the world,[59] while Human Resources & Labor Review ranked the university 42nd an