* High school GPA: Your overall academic performance is crucial.
* Course rigor: The difficulty of your high school courses (AP, IB, Honors) significantly impacts your application.
* Rank in graduating class: Your position within your class provides context to your academic achievements.
* Extracurricular activities: Involvement in clubs, sports, volunteer work, etc., demonstrates well-roundedness.
* Essays and letters of recommendation: These provide insight into your personality, goals, and potential.
* Specific program requirements: Some programs within UT may have higher admission standards than others.
While UT doesn't publish a minimum ACT score, you can find some helpful information on their website. Look for their admission requirements page, which often provides average ACT scores of admitted students. This gives you a sense of the competitive landscape, but remember it's an *average*, not a cutoff. A score *above* the average increases your chances.
In short: Aim for the highest ACT score you can achieve. While there's no magic number, a higher score significantly improves your likelihood of acceptance, especially for competitive programs. Contact the UT admissions office directly for the most up-to-date and specific information.