How to Apply to Chemistry at Auburn University: In the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of the College of Sciences and Mathematics, with ACT/SAT Required and a Final Early Action Deadline of 1 December 2026, for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Auburn University (Auburn, Alabama) lists the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry under the College of Sciences and Mathematics on its colleges and departments page. This guide relies mainly on the pages of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Financial Aid and Scholarships, the International Students and Scholars office and the Registrar, covering US domestic, international and Chinese applicants, with transfer students at the end. Medicine, pharmacy, nursing, public health and chemical engineering degrees are outside this guide, so please see the university website; biology is not covered here.

1. Degrees and tracks

• Department and college: the colleges and departments page places Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Sciences and Mathematics; chemical engineering is in the engineering college and outside this guide.
• Degree types and tracks (B.S./B.A., ACS-certified tracks, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemistry education and so on): not published on the pages read. The Admissions pages point to the university bulletin for the list of majors; neither the bulletin nor the department’s program pages were read for this guide — check the website.
• First-year common courses, lab courses, capstone or research requirements and placement years: not published on the pages read.

2. How admission works

• At application: the Admissions freshmen page says review takes into account the applicant’s academic area of interest and related coursework or experience; the pages read do not say whether chemistry has its own admission cut-off or is admitted by major, nor when and on what conditions a major is declared after entry — ask Admissions or the department advisors.

3. Prerequisites and course advice

• High school courses: university-level requirements are in section 5; the department’s specific high school chemistry, math or physics prerequisites are not published on the pages read. Admissions says freshman review looks at grades in core courses, course rigor (honors, AP, IB, dual enrollment) and planned 12th-grade courses.
• AP/IB credit: see the Registrar’s credit tables (chemistry rows) in section 7.
• Math placement: the transfer page refers to ALEKS math placement requirements; how they apply to the chemistry major is not stated on the pages read.

4. Timeline and materials

• Rounds and deadlines (summer/fall 2027 entry, Admissions freshmen page): the application opens 1 August; non-binding Early Action has four rounds — Round 1 on 15 September (decision mid-October), Round 2 on 15 October (mid-November), Round 3 on 15 November (mid-December) and Round 4 on 1 December 2026 (early February) — and the regular deadline is 1 February 2027 (decision early March); the enrollment deposit deadline is 1 May 2027. For scholarship consideration, your file must be complete by one of the early action rounds.
• How to apply and the fee: use Auburn’s own application (AU App) or the Common App, with no preference; the site advises submitting only one. A complete file has the submitted application, the $50 non-refundable fee (waivers available), official ACT/SAT scores sent from the testing agency, and the high school transcript.
• Testing: the site says ACT or SAT scores are required for a complete application; Auburn accepts the ACT Superscore Report and calculates a superscore for the SAT, using only your best result. School codes: ACT 0011, SAT 1005.
• Essay and recommendations: the personal statement is optional, as are Academic Letters of Support; there are also two optional forms — an Activities and Interests Form (up to 20 items) and an Additional Academic Achievements Form (for example AP scores, dual enrollment, research). The site does not require recommendation letters or a science-teacher recommendation.
• How applications are reviewed: Early Action starts with a preliminary academic review (course rigor, GPA, scores, grades in 9th–11th grade, planned 12th-grade courses, grade trends, academic area of interest and so on); Regular Decision uses comprehensive review that adds engagement, service, awards, research and creative achievement, and work experience. The site says academic performance is the primary predictor of success, and as a land-grant institution Auburn’s mission is to serve Alabama residents, so it considers the mix of in-state and out-of-state students.
• Reference data (middle 50% of students enrolling in fall 2025, as printed): Alabama residents ACT 25–31, SAT 1250–1450; non-residents ACT 28–32, SAT 1280–1370; GPA 3.87–4.33 for both; the page also prints an overall acceptance rate of 50%.
• Competitions: the pages read do not say how science olympiads or similar competitions are viewed in admissions.

5. US domestic applicants

• High school course requirements: the admissions pages read do not list specific unit requirements for high school courses (the page points to admission policies in the university bulletin) — check the website.
• Costs (Financial Aid and Scholarships, 2026–27 estimates): for an Alabama-resident undergraduate living on campus, tuition and fees $13,572, housing and food $18,424, books and materials $1,200, personal $3,088 and transportation $3,232, with a printed total of $39,516; for non-residents, tuition and fees $37,596 with the other items the same and a printed total of $63,540. The scholarships page says resident tuition and student services fees are $13,874 for 2027–28. Business, engineering, nursing, architecture and some other programs have additional fees; this guide does not add the items up itself.
• Scholarships: the site says competitive scholarships need no separate application and are considered automatically from high school GPA and ACT/SAT superscore, with a complete file by 1 December and updated scores by 11 January, and enrollment right after high school graduation. Previous-year ranges are $5,000 to full tuition and student services fees for residents and $7,000 to $17,000 a year for non-residents, renewable for 8 semesters with a 3.0 cumulative GPA and 24 credit hours a year. The fall 2027 guide charts (not a guarantee) show, for residents, the Presidential Excellence Award (GPA 4.0, ACT 35–36) at full tuition and student services fees, the Presidential Scholarship (GPA 3.5, ACT 33–36) $11,500, the Founders Scholarship (ACT 30–32) $9,000 and the University Scholarship (ACT 28–29) $5,000; for non-residents, the Academic Presidential Scholarship (GPA 3.5, ACT 35–36) $17,000 (33–34 is $15,000), Heritage (31–32) $11,000 and Charter (29–30) $7,000. Alabama residents can also receive institutional need-based awards of up to $5,000 a year based on the FAFSA. General and departmental scholarships go through AUSOM with a priority date of 12 February, with most awards $1,500–$2,000. Auburn’s FAFSA school code is 001009.
• In-state priority or guaranteed admission: the site says Auburn’s mission is to serve Alabama residents, but the pages read do not state guaranteed admission.

6. International applicants

• Process: the Admissions international page says non-US citizens with or obtaining a visa (typically F-1) apply as international applicants, either directly to the university or through Auburn Global (for students with less English proficiency); those admitted directly are International Freshmen or International Transfers. International freshmen need: the application, the $60 non-refundable fee, ACT and/or SAT scores from the testing agency (required of international freshmen), TOEFL, IELTS or PTE scores, an official evaluated high school transcript, an Affidavit of Financial Support and a supporting bank letter.
• English requirements: TOEFL iBT 79 (the page also lists 213 computer-based and 550 paper-based), PTE 53 or IELTS 6.5, with scores sent directly by the testing agency. Alternatives are completing the equivalent of English 1100 and 1120 at an accredited US institution with a C or better in both, or graduating from a US high school.
• Credential evaluation: foreign transcripts must be evaluated by an independent credentials evaluator, with a GPA on a US scale and a document-by-document or course-by-course evaluation; the site lists World Education Services (preferred), ECE, JSA, IERF, IACE, IEE and The Evaluation Company.
• Proof of funds and costs: applicants must show funds covering tuition, housing, food, books, personal costs, transportation and health insurance for at least 9 months; the affidavit and bank letter must be signed within one year of enrollment and the bank letter must state a specific dollar amount. The International Students and Scholars office estimates for 2027–28: undergraduate tuition and fees $39,658, living expenses $15,000, health insurance $2,317, with a printed total of $56,975, and $6,000 a year for each accompanying dependent; architecture, business, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary and some other programs may have additional fees.
• Scholarships: the pages read do not describe scholarships specifically for international students, nor whether the automatic first-year merit scholarships apply to them; the international page gives a 12 February scholarship application date (AUSOM) — ask Admissions.
• Deadlines: fall freshmen apply by 1 February with an enrollment deposit by 1 May (or 15 days from acceptance); fall transfers by 1 July with a deposit by 1 August; spring applicants by 1 November with a deposit by 1 December. The application opens 1 August (summer, fall) or 1 July (spring). (The page prints no year — check that these are for 2027 entry.)

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao and Chinese high school records: the admissions pages read do not say whether or how the gaokao is used, and give no specific guidance on the Chinese school system — not published. Contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
• General requirements: applicants from China follow the international requirements in section 6: an evaluated high school transcript (World Education Services is the preferred evaluator), ACT/SAT scores, TOEFL, IELTS or PTE, the financial affidavit and bank letter, and so on.
• AP/IB credit: the Registrar’s credit tables show AP Chemistry 5 earning 8 hours (CHEM 1030, 1031, 1040, 1041), 4 earning 4 hours (CHEM 1030 and 1031) and 3 earning none; AP Biology 5 or 4 earning 8 hours (BIOL 1020, 1021, 1030, 1031) and 3 earning 4 hours (BIOL 1020 and 1021); IB Higher Level Chemistry 7, 6 or 5 earning 8 hours (CHEM 1030 and 1040 with labs) and IB Higher Level Biology 7, 6 or 5 earning 8 hours (BIOL 1020 and 1030), with a 4 earning none. Which major requirements this credit satisfies — ask the department’s advisors. Credit for A-Levels and other international curricula is not listed in the tables read.

8. Costs, scholarships, research and outcomes

• Costs and scholarships: see sections 5 and 6. The chemistry department’s own scholarships, undergraduate research programs and employment data are not published on the pages read; departmental scholarships go through AUSOM (see section 5).

9. Transfer students

• Who counts: applicants with at least 24 semester hours of college work after high school are transfer students; those with 12–23 hours are handled as Freshman Transfers.
• Requirements (Admissions transfer page): with 24 or more hours, at least 2 core courses completed and a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 (2.8 for the College of Architecture), with no test score required; applicants below that can go to Additional Review (from a 2.4 cumulative GPA, holistic). Freshman transfers with 12–23 hours need 1 core course, a 2.5 GPA (2.8 for Architecture) and must meet the current freshman admission requirements, including ACT/SAT. Admission of transfers depends on space.
• Deadlines (no year printed — check): spring entry opens 1 July, is due 1 November, with documents due 15 November; summer opens 1 August, is due 1 May, documents 15 May; fall opens 1 August, is due 1 July, documents 15 July. The application fee is $50 (waiver for Pell-eligible applicants).
• Credit transfer: the site offers a Transfer Course Equivalency database and warns that not all credits may be accepted and some may not count for the same classes; for how courses map to this major, ask the department’s advisors. International transfers also need evaluated college transcripts and a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 (2.8 for Architecture).
• Transfer scholarships: the pages read do not list transfer scholarships item by item — check with Financial Aid and Scholarships.

Checklist

US domestic applicants:

• AU App or Common App; Early Action Round 4 on 1 December 2026, regular deadline 1 February 2027; $50 fee; ACT/SAT required; high school transcript
• Scholarships: considered automatically from GPA and ACT/SAT, with a complete file by 1 December

International applicants (including China):

• $60 fee; ACT/SAT (required); TOEFL 79 / PTE 53 / IELTS 6.5; evaluated transcripts; financial affidavit and bank letter
• How the gaokao is used is not published; ask Admissions

After entry:

• How to declare chemistry, and capstone and research requirements, are not published on the pages read — ask the department advisors

Transfer students:

• 24+ hours, 2 core courses, GPA 2.5; fall 1 July, spring 1 November; check credits in the Transfer Course Equivalency database

Sources: Auburn University, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (as listed on the site); Colleges and departments; Admissions: freshmen; Admissions: international students; Admissions: transfer students; Financial aid: cost and affordability; Financial aid: first-year students; International students and scholars: estimated cost; Registrar: AP and IB credit tables. Information is for the 2027 entry cycle (cost pages show 2026–27 and 2027–28 estimates); where a page prints no year, check that the date is for 2027 entry. Check Auburn’s website for the latest.