Undergraduate Admissions

Freshman Admissions

Academic Requirements

Candidates for admission to the first-year class at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, must file an online application for admission with the Admissions Office. Applicants must have a high school diploma or its equivalent from an educational institution duly accredited by the Department of Education of Puerto Rico.

Recently, the Governing Board of the UPR changed admission procedures through Certification 33 2022-2023 – Pilot Plan for Undergraduate Admission Policy at UPR, a new policy to be implemented with applicants of the 2023 cohort and henceforth.

In addition to changes to the traditional admission policy, it establishes a non-traditional admission policy.  

Traditional Admissions

Entrance Examination

Prospective applicants for admission to the freshman class must take the University Admissions Tests (PAA for its acronym in Spanish) administered by the College Entrance Examination Board. Application forms may be obtained in a high school or registering in their web page: Latam CollegeBoard.

Application forms for the English version of the test are available from Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT and Subject Tests on Literature, Spanish and Math level I or II). The online application may be obtained through the web page collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat. Candidates who take tests later than February of their last year in high school will submit their scores during the reconsideration process.

Traditional Application Procedure

First-year applicants are only considered for admission in August of the first semester.

The following official documents are to be sent to the Admissions Office:

  1. High school academic transcript including grades for the first semester of their senior year.
  2. Official report of test scores obtained on the college entrance examination (PAA or SAT).

If school and/or College Board provide GPA and/or score test electronically, physical documents are not needed.

Selection of Candidates: Admission to UPRM is based on an admission index formula. The General Admission Index (IGS, for its Spanish acronym) is based on the Aptitude Test of the College Entrance Exam or SAT. It is calculated as follows: 60% of the score is based on high school academic index, 20% on the mathematical aptitude section and 20% on the verbal aptitude on the Aptitude Test of the College Entrance Examination Board. These raw scores are converted to a scale figure in order to obtain the General Admission Index. To get an idea of your IGS, use this IGS Calculator on the UPRM Admissions Office or on UPR Webpage.

The Minimum Admissions Index (IMI, for its Spanish acronym) is established by the Administrative Board of the UPRM after consulting the academic department and College of Engineering. Candidates are ranked by IGS from the highest to lowest value and admission is granted to students until whichever condition is reached first: (1) the maximum number of freshman seats available, or (2) the IMI. 

For example:

Johnny Town has 4.00 of high school GPA and obtained 600 in the math aptitude section of the PAA and 600 in the verbal aptitude section. Using the online IGS calculator, an IGS of 345 is obtained. Using the 2020-2021 admissions cycle criteria, an IMI of 325 and 100 seats, for the chemical engineering program.

Since Johnny’s IGS ≥ IMI (i.e. 345 ≥ 325), he will be admitted if he is within the top 100 candidates applying to the program. However, if he is the 101th candidate he may not receive an admission offer to this program.

IMIs from the previous year published on the Admissions webpage, until an updated IMI for the current admissions cycle is certified and published. The historical IMIs (using the previous 50:50 IGS formula) are shown below.

Academic Year2016-20172017-20182018-20192019-20202020-20212021-20222022-2023
IMI329320320320325315300

Preliminary comparisons show that on average IGS calculated with the new 60:40 IGS formula are 13 points higher. For example, when recalculated the equivalent IGS for cohort 2022, which were 300 and higher, are now all above 315.

Admission to the Chemical Engineering Program at UPRM is highly competitive. Our students and graduates are generally of high quality. The number of first year students admitted to the program at UPRM has been maintained between 100 and 125 per year. In the past few years, over 300 students have applied annually to the program. Most of these students complete the degree successfully.

Non-Traditional Admissions

Prospective applicants for non-traditional admission to the freshman class do NOT have to take the University Admissions Tests (PAA for its acronym in Spanish) administered by the College Entrance Examination Board to be considered. (Nevertheless, this exam or an equivalent may be required for first-year courses placement, if admitted.)

Candidates identifying with either of these groups can apply to be evaluated by the non-traditional admission process:

  • Students from Specialized Schools
  • Talented Students or Special Interests
  • Students from University Articulated Program
  • Students from Dual Enrollment Program (currently unavailable)
  • International Students
  • Students from Marginalized Communities or Areas

Non-Traditional Application Procedure

First-year applicants are only considered for admission in August of the first semester.

The following official documents are to be sent to the Admissions Office:

  1. High school academic transcript including grades for the first semester of their senior year.
  2. Additional documentation.

The required documentation depends on the applicant’s group selection. Visit the UPR Admissions webpage for details. If documentation cannot be uploaded through the application process, an Admissions Official will contact the applicant to provide instructions.

Additional selection criteria and documentation requirements might be established by the undergraduate program to evaluate and rank applicants.

Non-traditional admission criteria for the chemical engineering program have not been established yet for 2023 admissions.

Selection of Candidates: Upcoming section

Additional Information

Advanced Placement

Advanced placement is granted to students who approve the College Board Advanced Placement tests with scores of 4 or 5 in the English, Spanish, Mathematics section (Level II), Calculus AB or Calculus BC. Students who meet these criteria, receive credits for the first-level course which appear in the student record as approved courses (P) and are placed in the next level course as specified by their curricula. These credits qualify as graduation requirements. Admission for students with scores of 4 or 5 varies according to the guidelines established by the specific academic department.

Placement in First Level Courses

Students who do not qualify for advanced placement (in a second level course) must take the first level course in Spanish, Mathematics, and/or English, but they may be placed in different programs following criteria defined by their respective academic departments which may include but are not limited to College Board Achievement test scores. Placement is compulsory.

Pre-calculus Intervention System

In accordance with regulations approved by the Academic Senate and recommendations from the Department of Mathematical Sciences:

  • Students who score 650 or less on SAT, or 604 or less on PAA on the mathematics part of the Achievement test of the College Entrance Examination Board must take a diagnostic exam prepared by the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
  • Students who score 50% or less on the diagnostic exam, are required to attend the Pre-calculus Intervention Laboratory during summer or first semester. After attending the Support Center for Pre-calculus and Calculus Teaching and obtaining a passing grade on the diagnostic exam, the student will be allowed to register in the pre-calculus course.
  • Students who obtain a score between 50% and 65% on the diagnostic exam are advised to voluntarily attend the laboratory and pass the diagnostic exam before taking the pre-calculus course. This will raise their probability of passing the course successfully.
  • Students with a grade higher than 65% on the diagnostic exam may take the pre-calculus course without restrictions.

Freshman Admissions at Articulated Transfer Programs

The Chemical Engineering Program at UPRM has articulated transfer program agreements with four other UPR sites: Arecibo, Bayamón, Humacao, and Ponce. Admission to any UPR site is based on the General Admission Index as defined above. The IMI has to be that established by the Administrative Board of the UPRM for the Chemical Engineering Program at UPRM. Candidates are ranked by IGS and selected in descending order until the maximum allowed seats for the programs are filled. The maximum number of seats at each site has been fixed by the agreements. The number of seats per site are twelve (12) for Arecibo, Humacao, and Ponce, and twenty-five (25) for Bayamón. Students are treated as engineering students since admission and may transfer automatically after approving at least 48 credits.

Admission After Completing an Associate Degree

Students from accredited technical engineering programs (or associate degrees) must have a graduation GPA of 3.50 (out of 4.0) or more and have approved at least 80% of the credits taken.

Applicants for a program will be evaluated by the department according to the minimum requirements established above. If a program does not have sufficient space to accommodate all qualified candidates, it will be filled with the best qualified applicants. The Mayagüez Campus reserves the right to grant admission according to the available capacity of each college, department, or program.