Frequently Asked Questions

First and foremost, this does NOT mean that we are going to tell you who to vote for! Liberal arts has nothing to do with a political affiliation, despite popular belief. A liberal arts education simply means that it is a well-rounded education that focuses on many different areas including a "major" focus for your academic program of choice. We focus on stimulating discussion, developing employable skills, and creating life-long learners!

Yes, we have both residence halls for traditional student experiences (dormitories) and also we have on-campus apartments for those who want a little more independence at the upperclassman level. For more information, see the Housing section of this page and also visit the Housing website.

We have a vibrant and active campus life at Midwestern with more than 100 student organizations, 13 athletic teams and loads of traditions. You will easily find your niche and build a home and a family here at MSU.

We offer several programs for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as distance education courses. Feel free to take a look around to find the right fit for you! If you need more information, please contact us at 940-397-4334.

We are NCAA Division II and in the Lone Star conference, and we offer:

• Men’s and Women’s Basketball
• Men’s and Women’s Golf
• Men’s and Women’s Soccer
• Men’s and Women’s Tennis
• Football
• Women’s Cross Country and Track
• Softball
• Volleyball

For more athletic information, visit the Athletic Questions section of this page and also our Athletics Website.

Midwestern State University employs a fully functioning police department, rather than a campus security department as many campuses will have. Our students feel safe and secure. In addition, there are safety poles strategically placed around campus so students that would ever feel at risk or threatened simply have to push a button and an officer will respond accordingly. In general, our campus and our town are safe places to live. For a full report on Crime Awareness and Campus Security, please visit the website for our police department.

The estimate that we like to quote for about 15 credit hours per semester, including room and board (meaning your dorm room and your meal plan) is usually just under $18,000 per year. This can change a bit based on what meal plan you sign up for, how many credits you ultimately decide to take, if your courses have lab fees, etc. This estimate is for a Texas resident. If you are an out-of-state student your estimated annual cost is about $20,000.  

You can check out our academic calendar. 

We are in Wichita Falls, TX, which is about two hours from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and about two hours from Oklahoma City.

Wichita Falls has just under 105,000 people.

Wichita Falls is a growing, vibrant community! ChooseWichitaFalls.com has up-to-date listings of events that occur in the community each week, and in addition, the community has many amenities like a trampoline park, a bike trail, parks, kayaking, a food truck yard, a mall, and much more!

We will need to receive high school transcripts, dual credit transcripts if applicable, as well as either an ACT or SAT score. You will also need to pay the $40 application fee, which can be done securely through Mustang Marketplace.

Based on what scores you make on the corresponding exams, we certainly do. For more information on credit by exam, visit our exam policies page!

You will need to submit one writing score from either the ACT or SAT. If you retest and send additional scores, for our purposes, you do not need to retake or resubmit this portion of the exam.

Yes! You can see where you're at in the application process by following the step-by-step instructions on our check your application status online page, to see what documents we have received and stay up to date with where we are at with your application.

Once your file has been marked "complete", meaning that we have all the necessary documents that we need from you, we will have an admission decision for you in the next 7-10 days.

Once we have made a decision, you will be able to view your admission decision using the online tool to check your application status, and we will also mail a letter to the address you indicated on your application and notify you via email.

We take a variety of factors into consideration looking most strongly at your high school rank and your ACT or SAT scores. We will also be looking for students to have graduated or be intending to graduate on one of our approved graduation plans. For the full list of requirements for incoming students, visit the Freshman Admissions Page.  If you don't feel like you meet our immediate criteria, don't worry. We do have systems in place for students who are close but do not quite meet our criteria, and we would highly encourage you to still apply! For more information, contact your Admissions Counselor.

Your admissions counselor is responsible for assisting you with many of the aspects of becoming a new Midwestern State University student, like your application process, ensuring all of your supplemental documents have been turned in, and assisting you with knowing your TSI status, who your Academic Advisor is, signing up for orientation, housing, etc. There are some limitations of an Admissions Counselor as we have limited information on the financial aid process and the registration process.

For assistance with the class registration process, reach out to your Academic Advisor.

For assistance with financial aid, reach out to the Financial Aid Office. 

Yes! You are able to move your application up to one semester later than what you had originally applied for and you can only move your application to a later term once. You can do this either before or after you receive your admission decision. This must be done before the semester of your original application begins.  Contact your admissions counselor for a change of term request form.

A lot of exciting things! Before you get to campus, make sure you are working on our Admitted Student Checklist.

Please reach out to our IT Help Desk at helpdesk@msutexas.edu or 940-397-4278. You will want to provide them with your full name and your Mustang ID number.

Midwestern State University is very transfer-friendly! We would love to be your next college. While we offer degree assessments as part of our application process, you're able to view our transfer equivalency guides to start to see what courses will transfer in with a grade of a 2.0 or better. 

In order to receive the categorization of "transfer student", we are looking for at least 18 credit hours of post-high school, non-developmental courses. Dual credit hours might count towards your degree plan and the total number of hours that you will have accumulated towards your Bachelor's degree, but they do not count towards the required 18 credit hours of non-developmental courses to be considered a transfer student.

We will need to receive college transcripts from every institution that you have ever attended, including dual credit courses. You will also need to submit your $40 application fee, which can be done securely through Mustang Marketplace. 

There is no essay requirement on our application!

Once your file has been marked "complete", meaning that we have all the necessary documents that we need from you, we will have an admission decision for you in the next 7-10 days.

Once we have made a decision, you will be able to view your admission decision using the online tool to check your application status, and we will also mail a letter to the address you indicated on your application and notify you via email.

For transfer students, we are looking for at least 18 credit hours post-high school (so not including dual/concurrent credit) that are not developmental courses, and a cumulative GPA of a 2.0 or better. If you believe that you are not someone who meets our immediate criteria, we would still encourage you to apply as there are systems in place for students who are close but do not quite meet our requirements. For more information, contact your Admissions Counselor.

Meet Your Admissions Counselor!

Your admissions counselor is responsible for assisting you with many of the aspects of becoming a new Midwestern State University student, like your application process, ensuring all of your supplemental documents have been turned in, and assisting you with knowing your TSI status, who your Academic Advisor is, signing up for orientation, housing, etc. There are some limitations of an Admissions Counselor as we have limited information on the financial aid process and the registration process. To get the best help with these topics, you'll receive the best assistance by reaching out to your Academic Advisor or a Financial Aid Counselor.

A lot of exciting things! Before you get to campus, make sure you are working on our Admitted Student Checklist.

Some students aren't required to take the TSI due to the set of exemptions that are in place.  You can check to see if you qualify for an exemption by learning more about the requirements. If you do not have an exemption, you will be required to take the TSI tests and these help us determine what English and Math courses you should start off in here at MSU. IF YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE THE TSI, YOU MUST DO SO PRIOR TO ATTENDING ORIENTATION AND REGISTERING FOR CLASSES.

You're able to take the TSI in some cases at local community colleges, but each school differs. Midwestern State University also has a testing center that administers the TSI, and if you would like more information on testing on campus, please call 940-397-4676 or visit the Testing website. AGAIN, IF YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE THE TSI, YOU MUST DO SO PRIOR TO ATTENDING ORIENTATION AND REGISTERING FOR CLASSES.

Your meningitis shot must have been administered within the last five years, and must also have been administered more than ten days prior to the first day of school. Note: Students over the age of 22 are exempt from this requirement. 

Please see the Bacterial Meningitis Vaccination Requirements page for additional information.

New Student Orientation is a program that is required for all new entering undergraduates at MSU Texas. You can register on our Orientation webpage.

New Distance Education students and Transfer* students have the option to complete their orientation requirement online.

*A Transfer student is defined as a student who has completed 18 college credit hours AFTER high school graduation.

At New Student Orientation, you will meet new friends, receive important university information, learn about essential resources, and become familiar with the MSU campus!  

There are two late orientation sessions available at the end of August for incoming fall students. However, these are the last two dates to attend an orientation session. If you do not meet your orientation requirement, you will be dropped from the courses you are registered for.

If you have been admitted into the university, please visit the housing website to begin the process of signing up for housing.

Academic Advising at MSU is scheduled and coordinated through the Navigate Student app. You can download it for free in the App Store or Google Play by searching for “Navigate Student.” To login, use your same username and password that you use for your my.msutexas.edu account. Let Navigate keep you on track for success in class and on campus! https://msutexas.edu/navigate

Only an academic advisor is able to advise you and help you register for your courses.

For the most part... no! You are encouraged to reach out to your advisor prior to attending orientation to begin the process of building your schedule for the following semester and to register for your courses early!

Please check the schedule of classes.

Please reach out to our IT Help Desk at helpdesk@msutexas.edu or 940-397-4278. You will want to provide them with your full name and your Mustang ID number.

During the fall and spring semesters, we offer campus tours every weekday unless there is a conflict with a holiday or with our campus final exam schedules. Please be sure to register to make sure your date is confirmed. Our campus is beautiful and we would love to have you experience it for yourself! To register for a campus tour, please visit our campus tours page!

The University is closed on Saturdays. However, the Admissions Office will typically host 4-6 prospective student tours on select Saturdays throughout the academic year. Our campus is beautiful and we would love to have you experience it for yourself! You can register for your Saturday tour on our Campus Tours page.

Incoming freshmen have the opportunity to earn merit scholarships based on their ACT or SAT scores. These are four year, renewable scholarships that are available to any student who has the necessary test scores AND has been accepted (or has at least submitted all of their documentation in order to have a complete, pending file) by our scholarship deadline of April 1 for fall or November 1 for spring. For more information and to see if you qualify, please visit our scholarships page.

Incoming transfer students have the opportunity to earn merit scholarships renewable for three years based on the GPA from each institution attended and if they apply and are accepted by July 1 for fall or November 1 for spring. For more information and to see if you qualify, visit our scholarships transfer page.

The fixed tuition rate essentially means that you are "locked-in" at the tuition rate that is being charged at the time of your first semester for the duration of your education here. Some limitations apply, and for more in-depth information, speak with the Business Office.

Based on a set of criteria, some students who are coming from families that bear a financial hardship may qualify for what we call the Mustangs Guarantee program. This program helps to cover the cost of tuition in the event a student is having a hard time covering the cost him/herself. For more information and to see if you qualify, please visit our Financial Aid website.

We are NCAA Division II and in the Lone Star conference, and we offer:

• Men’s and Women’s Basketball
• Men’s and Women’s Golf
• Men’s and Women’s Soccer
• Men’s and Women’s Tennis
• Football
• Women’s Cross Country and Track
• Softball
• Volleyball