Dominican University (Dominican) Acceptance Rate, GPA, and Admission Requirements

Dominican's stated minimum is a 2.70 cumulative GPA with "special attention to grades in high school core courses," and the school is fully test-optional - ACT/SAT are accepted but never held against an applicant and never required. With both the GPA bar and testing removed as hard screens, the university's own language says decisions rest on a holistic read of "academic performance, engagement in and outside of the classroom, and your essay." Use the essay to demonstrate specific readiness for "rigorous liberal arts study" (Dominican's own phrase) - naming intended coursework, a Rosary College or Brennan School of Business program, or a specific faculty connection - rather than a generic personal narrative, since with GPA and scores minimized, the essay is doing more evaluative work here than at most schools.

Rolling admission decisions begin October 15, but November 15 is Dominican's priority date for merit scholarship consideration - not the admission deadline itself. Every admitted first-year student is automatically considered for a merit award (no separate scholarship application), ranging $12,000?$25,000 annually for 2025-26 and $13,000?$26,000 for 2026-27, renewable up to four years. Because the award amount is set from the same file used for admission, submitting a complete, essay-strong application by November 15 - rather than admission's later rolling deadlines - positions the file before scholarship allocations are made, which matters more here than at schools where merit aid is a separate application track.

Dominican is an established transfer partner with the City Colleges of Chicago's Chicago Star Scholarship program. A student who enrolls in Chicago Star while attending one of the seven City Colleges of Chicago, and later transfers to Dominican as an established partner university, can receive the Chicago Star award in addition to - not instead of - Dominican's standard transfer merit scholarship. For students currently at or planning to attend a City College of Chicago with Dominican as an eventual transfer target, enrolling in Chicago Star before applying to transfer is a stacking opportunity that isn't advertised on Dominican's general admissions pages.

Beyond the standard application essay, prospective Chemistry or Biology-Chemistry majors can submit a distinct 200?300 word essay explaining their decision to pursue that major and its connection to career plans, plus a recommendation letter from a science teacher, to be considered for a dedicated science scholarship worth up to $10,000 per year for first-year students (four years) or $10,000 for two years for transfers. This is layered on top of, not a replacement for, the automatic general merit award, and it lives on the scholarships page rather than in the main application flow, so most applicants to these majors never submit it.