University of Alabama  800.933.2262 21 minimum ACT (990 SAT) with 3.0 OVERALL GPA, however all applications are considered on an individual basis.  Writing portion of ACT is required.  Algebra II required for admission.  1 year foreign language required for admission.  No paper admissions available for 2010.  Must apply online or download forms.  Minimums to qualify for merit scholarships 27 ACT and 3.5 GPA.  Scholarship deadline is December 1.

 

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)  975.0606  20 ACT (950 SAT) and a 2.25 overall GPA.  17 core credits required with 3 years math (Algebra I and higher and I year foreign language.  Priority deadline for admission and scholarships is December 1. 
Minimums to qualify for scholarsips are a 24 ACT and 3.5 overall GPA.  Scholarship deadline is December 1.  Honours Academy deadline is December 15.

 

University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH)  800.UAH.CALL  20 ACT and 2.9 overall GPA.  3.0 and acceptable ACT will be considered on a case by case basis.  Algebra II required for Engineering only.  Foreign Language not required.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 24 ACT and 3.0 GPA.

 

Alabama A&M University  256.372.5245

18 ACT and 2.0 overall GPA.  Algebra II is not required.  Foreign Language is not required.  Minimums to qualify to scholarships are 20 ACT and a 3.1 overall GPA.

 

Alabama State University  800.253.5037

2.2 overall GPA and 16 ACT and high school exit exam.  No application fee required.  Algebra II not required.  I year Foreign Language OR Computer is  required.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 17 ACT and 2.7 GPA.

 

Auburn University  800.253.5037 Applicants are reviewed on an individual basis.  The average GPA for students admitted to the 2007 freshman class was a 3.61and the average ACT score was 24.8 (1140 SAT).  Writing portion of the ACT is required.  Students are welcome to discuss their credentials with the admissions counselor Louisa Thompson.  She can be reached at 334.844.6484.  Minimums for automatic scholarships are 28 ACT (or comparable SAT) and 3.25 GPA.  Scholarship deadline is December 1.

 

Birmingham-Southern College  226.4695  21 ACT and 2.25 CORE GPA.  Essay required.  2 Reccomendations.  Algebra II is not required, but highly reccomended.  Foreign Language not required, but highly reccomended.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 25 ACT and 3.0 GPA, however other grant money may be available.

 

Huntingdon College  800.763.0313  20 ACT, with a 20 minimum in English (930 SAT with a minimum of 490 in verbal) and an academic 2.25 GPA.  Conditional admission can occur  with an aditional information including an essay and 3 reccomendations.  Two math courses above Algebra I are strongly reccomended.  Foreign Language not required, but reccomended.  Minimum to qualify for scholarships is acceptance to the college.

 

Jacksonville State University  800.231.5291  High School Diploma or GED certificate required with no specific GPA.  20 or over ACT--unconditional acceptance.  17-19 on ACT--student must take LS 104 Learning Skills class for remediation.  If student takes SAT:  950 or above--unconditional acceptance; 830-940--conditional acceptance.  Algebra II not required for admission.  Foreign Language not required.  Scholarship deadline is March 1 and minimums to qualify are 22 ACT and 3.0 core GPA.

 

Judson College  800.447.9472

18 ACT (870 SAT) and 2.0 academic GPA.  If not meeting with either of these requirements, you can apply to the Admissions Committee for possible Conditional Admission approval.  Algebra II not required but reccomended.  Foreign Language not required, but reccomended.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 20 ACT and 2.5 GPA.

 

Miles College  929.1655

Unconditional admittance given with high school diploma.  Algebra II is not required.  Foreign Language is not required.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 25 ACT and 3.0 GPA.

 

University of Montevallo  665.6030  20 ACT (850 SAT). 2.5 overall GPA.  Algebra II not required for admission, but reccomended.  Foreign Language not required for admission, but reccomended.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 25 ACT and 3.0 GPA.

 

University of North Alabama  800.825.5862  Unconditional admittance requires an 18 or above on ACT (870 or above on SAT).  GPA of "C" or 2.0 in academic core with a total of 13 core units.  Conditional admittance can occur when the following requirements are met:  16 or above on ACT (760 or above on SAT), at least 11 core units (4 English, 2 Math, 2 Natural or Physical Science, 3 Social Studies), and GPA is at least 1.75 on academic core.  Algebra II is not required for admission.  Forgein Language is not required for admission.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 25 ACT and 3.0 GPA.

 

Samford University  726.3673  An essay, 1 reccomendation, leadership profile and application.  No GPA requirement; hoever, the freshman class of 2008 had an average GPA of 3.6 and an average ACT of 26.  Must receive one official ACT or SAT report.  You can  go before the Admissions Committe if you are "borderline" and they will consider the whole picture.  Three math courses are required, Algebra II and Geometry preferred.  Foreign Language is required.  No dual enrollment will be accepted.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 28 ACT and 3.75 core GPA.  December 1 is scholarship deadline.

 

University of South Alabama  800.872.5247 19 ACT (SAT 900) with a 2.0 academic GPA.  There is a special programme which might admit you with a lower ACT (17-18) and a 2.5 academic GPA where you take remedial, non-credit courses until you are academically qualified.  You will need to talk to the Associate Director of Admissions to see if you qualify for this programme.  Algebra II is not required for admission, but highly reccomended.  Foreign Language not required for admission, but reccomended.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 24 ACt and 3.0 GPA.

 

Spring Hill College  800.742.6704  High school diploma, official transcript, letter of reccomendation from a teacher or counselor, and a personal essay.  Minimum of 20 ACT or 1010 SAT.  Algebra II not required for admission.  2 years of Foreign Language are required.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 20 ACT and 3.0 GPA.

 

Troy University  334.670.3179  Unconditional admittance given with a 19 ACT (870 SAT) and a 2.0 overall GPA.  Conditional admittance given with a 16-18 ACT and a 2.5 GPA.  Algebra II is not required for admittance.  Foreign Language is not required for admission.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 22 ACT and 3.0 GPA.

 

Tuskegee University  334.727.8500

21 ACT or 1000 SAT and 3.0 overall GPA.  Algebra II is not required.  Foreign Languae is not required.  Minimums to qualify for scholarships are 23 ACT and a 3.3 GPA.

 

University of West Alabama  205.652.3578  Unconditional admittance given with a 19 ACT and a C average.  Conditional admittance given with a 17-18 ACT.  Algebra II is not required for admission.  Foreign Language is not required for admission.  Minimums to qualify for shcolarships are 21 ACT and 3.0 GPA.  Leadership scholarships may require lower scores.

 

 

 

Advanced Placement (AP) courses — High-level, quality courses in any of twenty subjects. The program is administered through the College Board to offer high school course descriptions equated to college courses and correlated to AP examinations in those subjects. High schools provide the courses as part of their curriculum to eligible students. Based on the composite score on an AP test, which ranges from 0 to 5, a college may award college credit or advanced placement to a participating student. A score of a 4 or 5 on the AP test is usually required by colleges for credit or advanced placement in college courses. A 3 is sometimes acceptable in foreign languages and some other subject areas. Some colleges limit the number of AP credits that they will recognize. Check schools’ policies on AP credits.

American College Testing (ACT) Program Assessment — An alternative to the SAT, this test has gained wide acceptance by a broad range of institutions in recent years and is given during the school year at test centers. The ACT tests English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. These subject test scores can be used in lieu of SAT II subject tests, which are required for admission to some of the more competitive colleges. The score is the average of all four tests; the maximum score is 36.

Associate degree — A degree granted by a college or university after the satisfactory completion of a two-year full-time program of study or its part-time equivalent. Types of degrees include the Associate of Arts (A.A.) or Associate of Science (A.S.), usually granted after the equivalent of the first two years of a four-year college curriculum, and the Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.), awarded upon completion of a technical or vocational program of study.

Award package — This is the way colleges and universities deliver their news about student eligibility for financial aid or grants. The most common packages include Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, and Work Study (see below).

Bachelor’s or baccalaureate degree — The degree received after the satisfactory completion of a full-time program of study or its part-time equivalent at a college or university. The Bachelor of Arts (B.A) and the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) are the most common baccalaureates.

Candidates Reply Date Agreement (CRDA) — If admitted to a college, a student does not have to reply until May 1. This allows time to hear from all the colleges to which the student applied before having to make a commitment to any of them. This is especially important because financial aid packages vary from one school to another, and the CRDA allows time to compare packages before deciding.

College-preparatory subjects — Courses taken in high school that are viewed by colleges and universities as a strong preparation for college work. The specific courses are usually in the five majors area of English, history, world languages, mathematics, and science. The courses may be regular, honors-level, or AP offerings, and the latter two categories are often weighted when calculated in the GPA.

College Scholarship Service (CSS) — When the federal government changed the FAFSA form several years ago, the College Board created this program to assist postsecondary institutions, state scholarship programs, and other organizations in measuring a family’s financial strength and analyzing its ability to contribute to college costs. CSS processes the PROFILE financial form that students may use to apply for nonfederal aid. This form is submitted to some 300 private colleges and universities along with the FAFSA when seeking financial aid from these institutions. Participating colleges and universities indicate whether they require this form.

Common and Universal Applications — These college application forms can save students hours of work. The Common Application is presently accepted by about 190 independent colleges, while the Universal is used by about 1,000 schools. The colleges and universities that accept these standardized forms give them equal weight with their own application forms. Students complete the information on the standardized form and then submit it to any of the schools listed as accepting it. Some schools will return a supplementary form to be completed by the applicant, but most schools base their decisions on these documents alone. The Common Application is available on disk or as a hard copy and can be obtained from your guidance department. The Universal Application is available on the Web.

Cost of education — This includes tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses. A student’s financial aid eligibility is the difference between the cost of education and the Expected Family Contribution as computed by the federal government using the FAFSA.

Course load — The number of course credit hours a student takes in each semester. Twelve credit hours is the minimum to be considered a full-time student. The average course load per semester is 16 credit hours.

Credit hours — The number of hours per week that courses meet are counted as equivalent credits for financial aid and used to determine you status as a full- or part-time student.

Cross-registration — The practice, through agreements between colleges, of permitting students enrolled at one college or university to enroll in courses at another institution without formally applying for admission to the second institution. This can be an advantage for students in a smaller college who might like to expand options or experience another learning environment.

Deferred acceptance — the admissions decision is being moved to a later date.

Double major — Available at most schools, the double major allows a student to complete all the requirements to simultaneously earn a major in two fields.

Dual enrollment — This policy allows a student to earn college credit while still in high school. Many of these course credits can be transferred to a degree-granting institution, especially if the student maintains a minimum B average. A college, however, may disallow courses taken in the major field of concentration at another institution because its policy dictates that all courses in the major must be taken at the college. When considering dual enrollment, students should talk with admissions offices at the colleges they are considering enrolling in to make sure that they will accept credit transfers.

Early Action (EA) — A student applies to a school early in the senior year, between October 30 and January 15, and requests an early application review and notification of admission. The answer usually takes three to four weeks after application. If accepted, the student is not obligated to attend that institution but can bank this admission and still apply to other colleges during the regular admission cycle.

Early admission — Some colleges will admit certain students who have not completed high school, usually exceptional juniors. The students are enrolled full-time and do not complete their senior year of high school. Colleges usually award high school diplomas to these students after they have completed a certain number of college-level courses.

Early Decision (ED) — Sometimes confused with Early Action, the Early Decision plan allows students to apply to an institution early in the senior year, also between October 30 and January 15, and request an early notification of admission. The student and guidance counselor sign a contract with the school at the time of application that indicates that if accepted, the student is obligated to attend that institution. Some colleges and universities offer both ED and EA options.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC) — The amount of financial support a family is expected to contribute toward a child’s college education. This amount is part of the formula used by the federal government to determine financial aid eligibility using the FAFSA form.

Federal Pell Grant Program — This is a federally sponsored and administered program that provides grants based on need to undergraduate students. Congress annually sets the appropriation; amounts range from $400 to $3,000 annually. This is “free” money because it does not need to be repaid.

Federal Perkins Loan Program — This is a federally run program based on need and administered by a college’s financial aid office. This program offers low-interest loans for undergraduate study. Repayment does not begin until a student graduates. The maximum loan amount is $3,000 per year.

Federal Stafford Loan — Another federal program based on need that allows a student to borrow money for educational expenses directly from banks and other lending institutions (sometimes from the colleges themselves). These loans may be either subsidized or unsubsidized. Repayment begins six months after a student’s course load drops to less than halftime. Currently the interest rate is 0 percent while in school and then is variable up to 8.25 percent. The loan must be repaid within ten years.

Federal Work-Study Program (FSW) — A federally financed program that arranges for students to combine employment and college study; the employment may be an integral part of the academic program (as in cooperative education or internships) or simply a means of paying for college.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) — This is the federal government’s instrument for calculating need-based aid. It is available from high school guidance departments, college financial aid offices, and the Internet (www.fafsa.ed.gov). The form should be completed and mailed as soon after January 2 as possible.

Grants/scholarships — These are financial awards that are usually dispensed by the financial aid offices of colleges and universities. The awards may be need- or merit-based. Most are need-based. Merit-based awards may be awarded on the basis of excellence in academics, leadership, volunteerism, athletic ability, or special talent.

Greek life — This phrase refers to sororities and fraternities. These organizations often have great impact on the campus social life of a college or university.

Honors program — Honors programs offer an enriched, top-quality educational experience that often includes small class size, custom-designed courses, mentoring, enriched individualized learning, hands-on research, and publishing opportunities. A handpicked faculty guides students through the program. Honors programs are a great way to attend a large school that offers enhanced social and recreational opportunities while receiving an Ivy League-like education at a reduced cost.

Major — The concentration of a number of credit hours in a specific subject. Colleges and universities often specify the number of credits needed to receive a major, the sequence of courses, and the level of course necessary to complete the requirements.

Merit awards, merit-based scholarships — More “free” money, these awards are based on excellence in academics, leadership, volunteerism, athletic ability, and other areas determined by the granting organization, which can be a college or university, an organization, or an individual. They are not based on financial need.

Minor — An area of concentration with fewer credits than a major. The minor can be related to the major area of concentration or not; for example, an English major may have a minor in theater.

Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test (PSAT)/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test — This test, given in October, duplicates the kinds of questions asked on the SAT but is shorter and takes less time. Usually taken in the junior year, the test also acts as a qualifying instrument for the National Merit Scholarship Awards Program and is helpful for early college guidance.

Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) — Each branch of the military sponsors an ROTC program. In exchange for a certain number of years on active duty, students can have their college education paid for up to a certain amount by the armed forces.

Residency requirement — The term has more than one meaning. It can refer to the fact that a college may require a specific number of course to be taken on campus to receive a degree from the school, or the phrase can mean the time, by law, that is required for a person to reside in the state to be considered eligible for in-state tuition at one of its public colleges or universities.

Retention rate — The number and percentage of students returning for the sophomore year.

Rolling admissions — There is no deadline for filing a college application. This concept is used most often by state universities. Responses are received within three to four weeks. If admitted, a student is not required to confirm, in most cases, until May 1. Out-of-state residents applying to state universities should apply as early as possible.

Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) I: Reasoning Test — Also known as “board scores” because the test was developed by the College Board. This test concentrates on verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities and is given throughout the academic year at test centers. The maximum combined score for both sections is 1600.

SAT II Subject Tests — These subject-specific exams are given on the same test dates and in the same centers as the SAT I. More emphasis has been placed on these tests in recent years, not only because they are used for admission purposes, but also for placement and exemption decisions.

Seminar — A class that has a group discussion format rather than a lecture format.

Silent scores — The term is applied to PSAT scores because only the student and his or her guidance counselor see the scores. They are not reported to colleges. It is the “practice without penalty” feature of the test.

Standby — If a student registers for an SAT or ACT testing date and there are no seats available, the student may accept a standby position; that is, if a seat becomes available the day of the test, the student will take the test. The student must go to the testing center and wait to see if there is an open seat. A fee is attached to standby.

Student Aid Report (SAR) — Report of the government’s review of a student’s FAFSA. The SAR is sent to the student and released electronically to the schools that the student listed. The SAR does not supply a real money figure for aid but indicates whether the student is eligible.

Student-designed major — Students design their own majors under this policy. It offers students the opportunity to develop nontraditional options not available in the existing catalog of majors.

Transfer program — This program is usually found in a two-year college or in a four-year college that offers associate degrees. It allows a student to continue his or her studies in a four-year college by maintaining designated criteria set down at acceptance to the two-year program. It is not necessary to earn an associate degree to transfer.

Transfer student — A student who transfers from one college or university to another. Credits applied toward the transfer will be evaluated by the receiving school to determine the number it will accept. Each school sets different policies for transfers, so anyone considering this option should seek guidance.

Waiver to view recommendations — The form many high schools ask their students to sign by which they agree not to review their teachers’ recommendation letters before they are sent to the colleges or universities to which they are applying.