The Four Steps to Admissions

May 18, 2021 • Rachel F.

Step 1: Submitting Your Application

Applying to college involves a lot of steps, but Liberty University makes the application process easy by breaking it down into four simple steps. These four steps start with your application and end with registering for your first semester of classes! This blog post is the first of a four-part series where I’ll go in-depth on what each step involves and hopefully answer any questions you have. The first step – applying –is the easiest part of the application process and it’s also where you’ll get your very own Liberty account.

Apply to Liberty

There are three ways that you can submit your application to Liberty; you can apply online or in person at the Hancock Welcome Center or over the phone with the admissions office.

The application has three different parts — academic interest, personal information, and institutional agreements.

1. The academic interest section will ask whether you are applying for an online or residential program, what degree you intend to pursue, and what high school you graduated or will graduate from.
2. The personal information section will ask for the basics such as your name, address, citizenship, and what your t-shirt size is.
3. Following the personal information is institutional agreements where you’ll answer a few basic questions and then you’ll be ready to submit your application! Once you’ve done this, you can sit back and relax for a couple days. It will take Liberty 1-2 business days to process the application.

MyLU Account

Once your application is processed, you’ll have access to your very own Liberty University account (myLU). With your myLU account, you’ll find your personalized Student Checklist that has everything you need to do before coming to Liberty such as your required math and English assessments upon acceptance. Additionally, you’ll now have your own official Liberty email. You’ll also have access to ASIST which is full of information personal to you such as financial aid information, student records, housing, etc. Your myLU account will have everything you need as a future student.

Once you’ve applied and set up your myLU account, you’ve completed the first step! Stay tuned for the next blog post on step 2 where you’ll submit your Enrollment Deposit, transcripts, and admissions essay.

Step 2: Get Accepted to Liberty

Congratulations, you’re one step closer to being accepted to Liberty University! Step two is making sure that you have everything submitted for the admissions office to make a decision. Once you’ve applied to Liberty, in order to receive a decision, there are a few documents you’ll need to submit — your admission essay, transcripts, and official test scores.. Once you’ve submitted these and get accepted, you’ll be able to submit your $250 Enrollment Deposit and move forward in the new student enrollment process! In this blog, I’ll talk a little bit more about each of these documents and what the Enrollment Deposit is.

1. Admission Essay

Your admission essay for Liberty consists of two different prompts that you’ll answer in regards to why you chose Liberty and how you’ll contribute to the mission of Liberty. Your two prompts have a word count of 100-150 words each and are a requirement in the admissions process. If you’re struggling with your admission essay, check out my blog here (will hyperlink when posted) for some tips and tricks!

2. Transcripts

Your transcripts are extremely important in the admissions process so it’s best you submit them as soon as possible. If you are in high school, your unweighted GPA will be accepted. If you are a transfer student with 12+ transferable credits, you are not required to submit your high school transcripts. To submit your transcripts, you’ll need to complete a transcript request form and fill out all of the necessary information.

3. Official Test Scores

There are three official tests that Liberty looks at; the SAT, ACT, and CLT. You’re probably more familiar with the SAT and ACT and these are the two scores you will need to submit. Liberty does super scoring which means that your best composite ACT and SAT scores based on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing sections and the Math section.

Once you have submitted all of these documents and are accepted to Liberty, you can submit your Enrollment Deposit if you haven’t already. Your Enrollment Deposit is $250 and secures your spot at Liberty. It is recommended you submit your deposit as soon as possible because this will qualify you for more scholarships such as the Champion Award ($8,000) and the Early Deposit Award (up to $2,000).

Step 3: Confirm Your Attendance

Confirming your attendance is the most exciting part of the application process because it’s where you get to complete Financial Check-In (FCI). FCI is a huge part of enrollment because it’s where you’ll choose things like where you want to live on campus and your meal plan. There are a lot of steps involved so I’ll be walking you through each one in this blog!

Courses

This section will give you an overview of which courses you will be taking during the upcoming semester. As a new student, you won’t be able to register for classes until FCI is complete but typically for this section you just make sure everything looks okay. If there are any issues with your courses, you will want to make any changes such as adding/dropping courses.

Vehicle

If you are planning to park on campus, you’ll need to let Liberty know as it is required for all students who park on campus to pay for a parking permit each semester. All you need to do for this section is select “Yes, I am” or “No, I am not”.

Room/Meals

Moving forward, you’ll get to choose your meal plan and housing! For the housing section, you’ll need to select if you’ll be living on or off campus. If you are living off campus, you will need to agree to the off-campus living agreement. If you are living on campus, you will select where you’d like to live from the wide variety of campus housing. To learn more about the different housing options, click here! For dining, there are two different dining plans to choose from. There is the Freedom Dining plan which has basic swipes and the Freedom PLUS+ plan which has plus swipes. To learn more about the dining plans offered, click here!

Flames Cash

When completing FCI, you’re given the option to add Flames Cash onto your Flames Pass. Flames Cash is funds that can be used at on-campus locations including places like the book store and all on-campus dining locations. You can even use your Flames Cash at a few different off-campus locations like Sheetz, Panera, Wendy’s etc. You can add up to $400 in Flames Cash when you complete FCI and you will also receive $80 with your meal plan.

Books

Just like you can add Flames Cash during FCI, you can also add money towards a book voucher. This amount will be placed on your account as a charge and sent to the bookstore. This voucher is for the bookstore and cannot be used anywhere else on campus or outside of campus. Adding money for books is optional but recommended.

Review & Complete

This section will ask you about refunds and give you your Summary of Accounts to review. If you are to receive any sort of refund, you have the option of receiving it electronically or by mail. Once you have chosen your preference, you will then see a breakdown of costs for each selection you have made. If you have reviewed this and everything looks good, you can then choose a payment plan, complete Financial Check-In, and you’re now able to register for classes!

Step 4: Register for Courses

You have made it to the final step! With Financial Check-In complete, you’re now eligible to register for courses when they are available. If you aren’t sure which courses to register for, you can visit the College of Applied Studies and Academic Success (CASAS) and view the Degree Completion Plans. Registering for courses is so exciting but it can also be confusing your first time. If you are struggling, CASAS is always available to help with their advising services who can guide and help you. Before you can register for courses, you’ll need to take the math and English assessments. In this blog, I’ll talk about how to register for your courses and some final steps needed to complete the process.

How to Register

1. Select Term

You’ll first want to select which term you are registering for because that will be dependent on which courses you can take as some are only offered in the fall or spring.

2. Search for Classes

You can search for classes by subject code, course number, and where it’s offered. The subject code is what type of course it is. For example, if it was a health course, the abbreviation would be HLTH or if it was biology it would be BIOL. The course number refers to what level course it is. 100 and 200 level courses are generally introductory courses while 300 and 400 level courses are upper level, more in-depth and usually have prerequisites. Classes at Liberty are offered on-campus and online so you can also search by where it is offered.

3. Register for Classes

Once you search for a class, usually a few different options will pop up. They will vary by professor, location, and time. You can choose which works best for your schedule and add it to your schedule. If a class you want to register for is not available, you are able to join a waitlist. As you add classes, you’ll be able to see an overview of your schedule to help avoid overlapping or registering twice. Once you’re all done adding classes, you will have completed the registration process.

Now that you’ve registered for classes, you’re almost all done with the admissions process, there are just a few final steps. First, you’ll want to submit a picture for your Flames Pass which is your student ID. Secondly, you need to register for FERPA in ASIST and complete the student health form for your immunization requirements. Complete these final steps and you are ready to attend Liberty!

Liberty operates on a rolling admissions basis which means that there is no hard deadline for applications but there are deadlines for scholarships and promotions. It’s important to complete these four steps as soon as possible because the sooner you complete them, the more money you’ll receive in scholarships. Make sure to take advantage of the new student checklist — it will help you through each step. I wish you the best of luck in your admissions process and can’t wait for you to become a fellow Liberty student!