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to get into

289 2.7
Be accepted by a school or university
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡɛt ˈɪntu/
translation icon : ingresar en
  • Usually, the richer, lighter-skinned students who live near the city get into the better schools.
  • get into college
  • get into school
  • get into a university

So I was really hoping to get into UCLA and USC.

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Examples

  • Open admissions made it easy to get into college; all one needed was a high school diploma.

    Academic text (1999)
  • These are lines of the teenagers trying to get into their school.

  • Why do you think I want you to get into a top college?

  • It's more of the same for companies that want to get temporary workers into the country quickly.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Care leavers need more help to get into education, employment, or training.

    Academic text (2009)
  • So I was really hoping to get into UCLA and USC.

  • Harold's parents never got over Harold's failure to get into medical school himself.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Getting into Juilliard is very different from getting into MIT or St. John's.

    Academic text (2005)
  • After studying hard for months, she was thrilled to finally get into her dream university.

  • He worked tirelessly to improve his grades and was excited when he managed to get into the prestigious law school.

Synonyms

to enter
vsto get into
535 1.1

To register to take part in a competition or event

is specific to being accepted into school or university study
to get in
vsto get into
297 2.7

To be accepted to a college or university after you apply

is limited to acceptance as a student at a school or university
to enroll
vsto get into
  • US
164 2.7

To register officially to take a course or join a group

refers to official registration rather than acceptance decision as a student
to matriculate
vsto get into
  • Formal
7 8.2

Officially join a college or university as a student

is about being accepted as a student rather than only formal registration

How Successful

scholarship
340 2.8
to get into
289 2.7
to waitlist
3 3.7
rejected
2.6

Surface Forms

get into infinitive
got into past
got into past participle
getting into present participle
gets into third person singular

Morphology

get + into

The sense 'to gain access to' is directly derivable from combining 'get' (arrive/obtain) with 'into' (movement or placement inside), so a learner who knows both words can readily infer 'enter' or 'access'. The shift from physical entry to digital/unauthorized access is a common, transparent metaphor in many languages, so a B1 learner would typically understand this use without prior exposure.

Etymology

Get into for schools paints the picture of being let inside a place: you get through the door into a college when they accept you. That's why it means 'to be accepted' as a student.