University of Houston supplemental essays
University of Houston asks for one essay in 2026-27, chosen from four options. ApplyTexas, Common App. The essay above is the personal statement itself: UH asks every applicant to complete the short admissions essay using Common App essay prompts 1, 2, 3 or 5, which is that essay.
That is one piece of writing in all, and it is the ApplyTexas personal statement, not an extra on top of it. The application closes May 31, 2027. Every University of Houston prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it, checked against the college’s own admissions page.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Application deadline | May 31, 2027 |
Checked against www.uh.edu/undergraduate-admissions/apply/incoming-freshman. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Required (choose 1 of 4)
Some students have a background, identity, interest or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
UH labels this 'Topic 1' under 'Common App Essay Prompts'. UH says to complete the short admissions essay using Common App essay prompts 1, 2, 3 or 5 only. No word limit is printed on UH's page.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired (choose 1 of 4)
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
UH 'Topic 2'.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired (choose 1 of 4)
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
UH 'Topic 3'.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired (choose 1 of 4)
Discuss an accomplishment, event or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
UH 'Topic 5'.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this prompt
Your University of Houston checklist
One supplement, required. The application deadline is May 31, 2027.
- Supplements 1 to 4Required
It saves these rows to your essay manager, where each one carries a status you set yourself and the prompt stays attached to it. Add your other schools and they land on the same page, in deadline order. Nothing written yet? The topic quiz is free as well.
Free: this page, the checklist, the essay manager and the topic quiz. Paid: a written review of a finished draft, $49 an essay.
Paste your essay for a free read
Have it in a document? or drop one here (Word, PDF, or Text).
Not sure what a review is? What an AI college essay review can and cannot do, and what a college essay grader leaves out. What the read checks against University of Houston’s own prompts is on the University of Houston essay review page.
Getting into University of Houston
University of Houston admits 73.9% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1160-1340 on the SAT and 23-29 on the ACT.
About 7 in 10 applicants are admitted, at a college of 38,380 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1160 | 1250 | 1340 |
| SAT reading and writing | 590 | 630 | 670 |
| SAT math | 570 | 620 | 670 |
| ACT composite | 23 | 26 | 29 |
What SAT score do you need for University of Houston?
A 1340 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1250 at their midpoint, and a 1160 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 23, 26 and 29. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for University of Houston?
- University of Houston sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1160-1340 on the SAT: a 1160 sits at the 25th percentile, 1250 at the median and 1340 at the 75th. A score at or above 1340 is a clear strength in the application; below 1160 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures University of Houston reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for University of Houston?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 23-29 on the ACT, with a composite of 26 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 23. Reported by University of Houston to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for University of Houston?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for University of Houston is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that University of Houston admits 73.9% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into University of Houston?
- University of Houston admits 73.9% of the people who apply, which is about 7 in 10 applicants. Numbers inside the reported range put you in a real position here, and the application itself decides the rest.
What University of Houston costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
University of Houston essay questions, answered
- Does University of Houston have supplemental essays?
- Yes. University of Houston asks for one essay in 2026-27, chosen from four options. Every prompt is printed in full on this page.
- How many essays do you write for University of Houston in 2026-27?
- One in total. The essay above is the personal statement itself: UH asks every applicant to complete the short admissions essay using Common App essay prompts 1, 2, 3 or 5, which is that essay.
Schools with similar admit rates
University of Houston admits 73.9% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Seton Hall University (73.3%), Louisiana State University (LSU) (73.3%), Elmhurst University (73.6%), Meredith College (74.2%), University of Buffalo (SUNY) (74.2%), University of Arkansas (74.3%).