Knock, Knock: How Do I Get In?: What Do I Need to Be Admitted?

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Community colleges pride themselves on their "open door" or open admissions policies that do not impose many restrictions on admission"that is, the process of being officially recognized as a student at a college. Each community college, however, has its own admissions policies and requirements for documents you must have if you want to be accepted and enroll in courses for credit. So, you definitely should check with the college's Admissions Office before making your application.

If you're interested in taking non-credit courses through continuing education or workforce development, you can often directly register for and enroll in these courses. You don't usually need to meet the same admissions requirements as students enrolling in for-credit coursework  (although you may need to meet certain requirements or have educational or work experience to enroll in a particular course!).

If you are a first-time student at the college, you will need to complete an application for admission and submit it with an application fee, as well as some of the documents described below, before being admitted to the college.

Many community colleges have rolling admissions, that is, you can submit your application for admission at any time during the year. You will, however, need to indicate when you intend to begin your studies.  For example, you may apply to be admitted in the fall or spring semester of a particular academic year.

Usually, once you are admitted, you do not have to go through this process again unless you stop attending for an extended period of time.

Papers, Papers, Papers

Generally speaking, if you have an official high school diploma or GED certificate (general education diploma; also called high school equivalency), you will be eligible for admission to community college to take coursework for credit.  Some colleges also require that you be at least 18 years of age (16 in some states) to be admitted. For your application, you'll need an official transcript (the records of your grades) from your high school as well as verification that you have graduated.

If you have special circumstances"you do not have a diploma or GED, have been home schooled, or are 16 years or younger"it's best to check with the Admissions Office about additional requirements. Remember, you can study for your GED or your high school diploma at community college.

Although most community colleges do not require them for admittance, some do want SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or ACT (American College Test) scores for recent high school graduates. If you have taken either of these college entrance exams, the results can be helpful for placement purposes or for gaining advanced credit (discussed later in this chapter). Also, these test scores may be required or helpful if you want to enter an honors program or honors courses.