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Virginia Commonwealth University announced Wednesday that it will guarantee admission to applicants in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class or those who have a GPA of 3.5 or above.
VCU, a public research university in Richmond with an acceptance rate of over 90 percent, is the first four-year institution in Virginia to adopt such a plan. The university’s admission guarantee is open to students nationwide, not just state residents.
Guaranteed acceptance policies have gained traction since the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admissions in June, with some arguing they’re a race-neutral way to ensure diversity in the admissions process. Some, like a recent policy adopted in Tennessee, are modeled on Texas public universities’ Top 10 percent Plan, itself implemented in 1997 after affirmative action was temporarily struck down in the state.
VCU already had a guaranteed admission plan for transfer students from the Virginia Community College system who meet certain requirements.
