Prospective CAP Students

You must enroll in and complete at least one math course beyond College Algebra (Math 301) during the two or three semesters of your CAP year. If you are not prepared, at a minimum, to enroll in College Algebra during the fall semester of your CAP year, you will not be able to fulfill the minimum CAP math requirement within the allotted timeframe. This will disqualify you from enrolling at UT Austin. Tip: Consult with the UT System university you are interested in attending regarding your math placement.

The approved CAP course listings for each UT System school offer a large number of courses from which freshmen may choose. Most students find plenty of courses in which to enroll during their program's semesters. However, students who have earned a number of AP or IB credits in high school may have difficulty finding courses from the approved CAP course lists. If, after reviewing the approved course listing, you find there are not enough available courses to complete the 30-hour requirement, then CAP is not the best option for you.  You would be better served attending college elsewhere as a regular freshman. After attaining 24 college credits, apply to transfer to UT Austin. By doing this, you lose the guarantee of admission that comes with CAP participation and so will have to compete for a space with the transfer applicant pool. However, this option will mean that your freshman year will be more academically challenging and productive. 

Students who successfully complete the CAP requirements during their freshman year are guaranteed admission to the College of Liberal Arts (admission to specific Liberal Arts majors is not guaranteed). However, many CAP students are interested in applying to other majors at UT Austin, like Business, Natural Sciences, Engineering and Communication. Students interested in architecture or interior design should carefully consider their options before enrolling in CAP. Majors in the School of Architecture are not available for competitive transfer after CAP. The UT System institution you select for your freshman year will provide courses that will transfer as part of the university’s core curriculum, but they may not all serve as prerequisite courses for some majors at UT Austin. The participating CAP universities cannot guarantee that the courses you take as a freshman will help you to prepare for transfer into programs outside Liberal Arts. CAP students can ask to be considered in the transfer applicant pool for a non-Liberal Arts major without jeopardizing their automatic admission to Liberal Arts, but admission to some majors is highly competitive. If your goals clearly point to one of our most competitive majors, you should consider attending a college or university where your pathway to your desired major is more certain.