Johnson University
Knoxville, TN · private nonprofit
Official site ↗Admissions
| Admit rate | 53.8% |
| Applicants | — |
| Middle-50% SAT | 890–1090 |
| Middle-50% ACT | 19–24 |
| Avg GPA | — |
| Test policy | — |
| Avg net price / yr | $20,303 |
| Grad rate | 62% |
| Median earnings (10 yr) | $40,596 |
| Source | scorecard_bulk · 2025 |
Application requirements
- •Personal profile: Name, address, demographics, citizenship.
- •Family: Parent/guardian education and occupation (used for first-gen context).
- •Education: Current school, GPA/rank if reported, courses & grades, planned senior courses.
- •Testing: SAT/ACT scores (self-reported); many schools are test-optional or test-blind — check per school.
- •Activities: Up to 10 activities with role, hours/week, weeks/year.
- •Personal essay: One 250–650 word essay from the Common App prompts.
- •Recommendations: Counselor recommendation + typically 1–2 teacher recommendations.
- •School supplements: Per-school essays and questions (the 'Why us', short-answer, etc.).
Supplemental essays
Answer 1 of 5 — max 800 words each.
- "To promote literature in this rising empire and to encourage the arts, have ever been amongst the warmest wishes of my heart" (George Washington, 1798, first president of the United States and first major benefactor of Washington and Lee University). Describe a work of art that has influenced you, and discuss the impact it has had on you.
- In mathematics, the shortest distance between two points on a flat surface is a straight line. While geometry is predictable, sometimes daily life is not. Reflect on a time when your path was not as simple or direct as anticipated. How did you manage, and what did you learn?
- We live in a world in which much of our self-representation is curated online via short-lived social media 'stories' and disappearing photos. What photo or other representation of yourself is authentically you? What does it say about your growth into the person you are today and the person you want to become? Please use only the words in your essay to address this question. Do not include photographs or other materials in your answer.
- W&L's Spring Term is a four-week, intensive experience during which students take only one course, allowing for undivided attention to the subject matter. Spring Term courses are known for innovative pedagogy, interdisciplinary scholarship, travel, and fieldwork in diverse settings. If you could design a Spring Term course, what would you propose, and why would you choose to pursue that topic?
- In his October 1963, A Talk to Teachers, James Baldwin said "…the whole process of education occurs within a social framework and is designed to perpetuate the aims of society." Yet, as he aptly notes, "the paradox of education is precisely this – that as one begins to become conscious, one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated." Baldwin suggests that the purpose of education is to teach us to think for ourselves, to question – and change – the "framework" that we have come to understand and accept. What norms of your home or community have you become conscious of during your time in high school, and how would you like to use that knowledge to make it a better place?
Copied verbatim from the school's official admissions page (2025-26 cycle).