First-Year Students

Pay Application Fee

TCU requires a nonrefundable $50 application fee. (Waived for First-Generation applicants, students with an ACT/College Board waiver, students enrolled in the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program at their high school, or applicants who have been affected by a recent natural disaster)

Choose one from any of the prompts provided by the TCU application, the Common Application, the Coalition Application or ApplyTexas. Only one essay submission is required.

The prompts below are for applicants using the TCU application. Applicants using Common App, ApplyTexas or Coalition should use the prompts within their application.

TCU Application Essay Information

TCU is a selective university, and our Admission and Scholarship Committees review thousands of applications each year. The essay tells us a great deal about our candidates and allows for expression of writing skills, organizational skills, creativity and imagination. The essay should be 300-500 words in length. Feel free to be serious, humorous or somewhere in between. Compose your essay on one of the following topics.

1. At TCU, our mission statement is very important to us. “The mission of Texas Christian University, a private comprehensive university, is to educate individuals to think and act as ethical leaders and responsible citizens in the global community through research and creative activities, scholarship, service, and programs of teaching and learning offered through the doctoral level.” This is integrated into all aspects of the TCU experience. If you were to write a mission statement about your life, what would it be and how does this mission direct your life and goals?
2. Tell us about the most significant person, experience, or circumstance which has shaped your life thus far. How has he, she, or it influenced your character? How might you use what you have learned to achieve your goals?
3. Those we call great will usually point to some failure in their lives as a pivotal moment leading them to their successful path. Tell us about a time in your life in which failure propelled you toward success.
4. In her best-selling novel The Secret Life of Bees, TCU alumna Sue Monk Kidd wrote, “The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters.” What matters to you?

The Counselor evaluation/recommendation form (or secondary school report) must be submitted directly from the school official. We cannot accept this form from the applicant. The form may be submitted in the following ways:

• School-supported systems such as
  Naviance
  Parchment
  TREx
  Slate.org
  SCOIR
  Common App
  Coalition for College
  MAIA
  Duolingo
• Emailing frogmail@tcu.edu
• Faxing 817-257-7268
• Mailing to
  TCU Office of Admission
  TCU Box 297013
  Fort Worth, TX 76129

The Teacher evaluation/recommendation must be submitted directly from the school official. We cannot accept this form from the applicant. The form may be submitted in the following ways:

• School-supported systems such as
  Naviance
  Parchment
  TREx
  Slate.org
  SCOIR
  Common App
  Coalition for College
  MAIA
  Duolingo
• Emailing frogmail@tcu.edu
• Faxing 817-257-7268
• Mailing to
  TCU Office of Admission
  TCU Box 297013
  Fort Worth, TX 76129

TCU is test-optional through 2026.

TCU College Board code is 6820 and ACT code is 4206, but we welcome self-reported scores e-mailed to frogmail@tcu.edu. Be sure to provide your score on each section or a screen shot of your score report.

• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 80
• IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 6.5
• Duolingo English Test score of 110
• Completion of at least three years at a high school or college where English is the language of instruction
• Completion of at least 24 hours of transferable academic credit (including English composition) from a college in the U.S.
• English testing may be waived for applicants with strong SAT or ACT scores

Download PDF 

• Freedom of Expression Page 
  TCU values individuality and believes that students are more than just a GPA and test score. To help us get to know you even better, consider this opportunity to further express yourself. The only limitations are the boundaries of your imagination. Please submit an essay, poem, work of art or a URL that showcases another side of you.
• Apply to the Early Admission Masters Program
• Apply to the John V. Roach Honors College/Chancellor's Scholars Program
  An application to the John V. Roach Honors College is required for consideration for both entrance into the honors college and for the Chancellor's Scholars Program. The deadline to apply for the Chancellor's Scholars Program is November 15. Applicants who submit after that date will not be considered for the full-tuition scholarship, but will still be considered for the John V. Roach Honors College.