How to Get Into UIUC for Engineering: 23.3% Grainger Admit Rate, First-Choice Majors and Fall 2027 Deadlines

What is the UIUC engineering acceptance rate?

The Grainger College of Engineering admitted 23.3% of its first-choice applicants for fall 2026. Illinois publishes this rate on its First-Year Admit Rates page under “Admit Rates: 2026 First-Year,” with the note that “These admit rates represent students’ first-choice majors only.” The campus-wide figures for the same year are a 38.1% total admit rate and a 32.8% first-choice major admit rate. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions 10th Day Reports give the counts behind the Grainger rate.

34.4% of all first-year applicants for fall 2026 listed a Grainger major as their first choice, and its first-choice applications rose 13.4% from fall 2024 to fall 2026, by our calculation. Of the 11 colleges on the admit-rates page, only the Gies College of Business, at 22.5%, had a lower first-choice rate than Grainger for fall 2026. Grainger enrolled 2,477 first-year students in fall 2026: 1,273 Illinois residents (51.4%), 736 nonresidents (29.7%) and 468 international students (18.9%), according to the fall 2026 report. Campus-wide, the same report shows Illinois admitted 49.8% of resident, 31.6% of nonresident and 32.3% of international applicants for fall 2026. Our UIUC acceptance rate analysis and UIUC out-of-state acceptance rate guide cover the campus figures.

What does UIUC not publish about engineering admissions?

Illinois does not publish admit rates for individual engineering majors, including computer science, computer engineering and mechanical engineering. The admit-rates page and the 10th Day Reports stop at the college level, and Grainger says that “Our competitive majors typically have a lower acceptance rate. Our other majors have a higher acceptance rate” (Grainger Admissions FAQ). Illinois also does not publish Grainger admit rates by residency, by Early Action or Regular round, or for students admitted to a second-choice major, on the pages we reviewed. Major-level percentages for computer science that circulate online do not come from these Illinois sources, so in our view families should treat them with caution.

How does admission to Grainger engineering work?

Grainger admits students directly into a major: “At Grainger Engineering, you apply directly to your engineering major of interest” (Grainger First-Year Admissions). “At the University of Illinois, you can apply for up to two majors,” and Grainger says that choosing two engineering majors “will prompt the admission review staff to exhaust all options to admit you into one of our engineering majors.” Some majors must be listed first: “there are some majors that are first-choice-only majors due to their demand. Those majors for first-year engineering applicants include computer science (including CS+X), computer engineering, and mechanical engineering” (Grainger, Choosing a Major).

A student admitted to a second-choice major is told that “it means space was limited in your first choice” and is automatically considered, “(wait listed) for your first-choice program” (Illinois, How Admission Works). Students can also enter as Engineering Undeclared, where “Students specify their target majors at the end of their first semester,” and “While we try to place you in your first-choice major of interest, it is not guaranteed.” Grainger adds: “You can NOT declare the Computer Science (CS), CS+Bioengineering, and CS+Physics majors if you begin as an Engineering Undeclared student” (Grainger Admissions FAQ).

The main computer science degrees in Grainger are closed to students who are already enrolled at Illinois. The Siebel School states that first-year students admitted to its computer science majors in Grainger “in the fall of 2022 and thereafter are direct admit only and closed to on-campus transfer (ICT/IDT),” listing the B.S. in Computer Science, CS + Physics and CS + Bioengineering (Siebel School, Transfer Students). A student already at Illinois cannot transfer into these three majors, so a student who wants one of them should apply to it as a first-year applicant. The CS + X majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, such as Mathematics and Computer Science, have their own on-campus transfer procedures (Siebel School, Transfer Students).

When are the UIUC engineering deadlines for fall 2027?

Illinois offers non-binding Early Action and a Regular deadline, with no Early Decision. Its First-Year Dates and Deadlines page describes Early Action as “Apply early for top consideration. Non-binding.” The Early Action application deadline of November 1, 2026 has passed; the Regular deadline of January 5, 2027 is open.

What GPA and test scores do UIUC engineering admits have?

Illinois publishes middle 50% ranges for admitted students, described as “A snapshot of the students we admitted over the past three years,” on its Class Profile page. Grainger admits show a higher GPA and higher scores than the campus, and a larger share of them submitted scores; the fall 2026 10th Day Report shows the same pattern for enrolled students.

Illinois is test optional: “Applicants who choose not to submit test scores are not disadvantaged in the review process” (Illinois Admission Review Policy). Grainger adds that “If you provide your scores, they will be used in our decision-making process, as well as for course placement and academic advising” (Grainger First-Year Admissions). For first-year applicants, Illinois lists “Greater emphasis on high school coursework and performance” and says that “Senior-year courses are important” (Illinois, How Admission Works). In our view, since Grainger uses submitted scores in its decisions and 84% of Grainger admits submitted them, an engineering applicant with a score in or above the 1490 to 1550 SAT range should usually send it.

What should UIUC engineering applicants write?

The first-year application includes two or three Illinois essays of about 150 words each and one Common App essay of 250 to 650 words (Illinois Essay Prompts). The two first-choice major prompts ask applicants to explain, in detail, an experience from the past three to four years related to the first-choice major, and to describe their personal or career goals after graduating from Illinois and how the first-choice major will help them achieve those goals. Applicants who list a second-choice major answer an extra prompt that asks them to “explain your interest in your second-choice major or your overall academic or career goals.”

In our experience, the strongest engineering answers name one concrete experience, such as a project, research, a robotics or design competition, or a demanding course, and show what the student built, tested or learned. With about 150 words per answer, the experience prompt rewards one detailed example more than a list. A second-choice answer should give a real reason for the second major, because a student admitted there starts in that major while wait listed for the first choice.

How should families plan a UIUC engineering application?

The view of Oriel Admissions is that the choice of majors is the most important decision in a Grainger application: a student set on computer science, computer engineering or mechanical engineering must list it first, and a student who wants the B.S. in Computer Science, CS + Physics or CS + Bioengineering should not plan on switching into it later. A well-matched second engineering major gives the review staff another way to admit the student. The Illinois cost calculator does not yet list a fall 2027 start; for students who started in fall 2026, the 2026-2027 Grainger cost of attendance is $43,480 for an Illinois resident and $69,420 for a non-Illinois U.S. resident (Illinois resident and non-Illinois resident figures, Illinois Cost of Attendance).

Our ranking of the best colleges for engineering, our list of best colleges for computer science, our comparison of Cornell, Michigan and Georgia Tech for engineering and computer science and our guide to getting into Virginia Tech for engineering cover other options.

Frequently Asked Questions About UIUC Engineering Admissions

Sources: Illinois Undergraduate Admissions, First-Year Admit Rates (2026), First-Year Enrollment 10th Day Report, Fall 2026, First-Year Enrollment 10th Day Report, Fall 2025, First-Year Enrollment 10th Day Report, Fall 2024, Illinois First-Year Dates and Deadlines, Illinois, How Admission Works, Illinois Admission Review Policy, Illinois Class Profile, Illinois Essay Prompts, Grainger College of Engineering, First-Year Admissions, Grainger College of Engineering, Choosing a Major, Grainger College of Engineering, Admissions FAQ, Siebel School of Computing and Data Science, Transfer Students, Illinois Cost of Attendance, non-Illinois U.S. resident, 2026-2027, Illinois Cost of Attendance, Illinois resident, 2026-2027. All read November 4, 2026.

About Oriel Admissions

Oriel Admissions is a college admissions consulting firm advising families nationwide on elite university admissions strategy, with offices in Princeton, New Jersey and New York. Our team pairs deep admissions expertise with a distinctive 360 approach spanning academic planning, extracurricular strategy, essays and application execution. To discuss your strategy, schedule a consultation.