Admission Requirements
To qualify for admission, freshman applicants must possess a diploma from an accredited secondary school or expect to receive one before enrolling at Rhode Island College. The applicant’s secondary school program must include at least eighteen units of college preparatory academic subjects, with the following requirements:
- 4 units of college preparatory English.
- 3 units of mathematics, including algebra I, algebra II, and geometry. Students planning to enter education, nursing, management, mathematics, or the sciences are encouraged to complete four years of mathematics.
- 2 units of history or social science. Students should study U.S. history and government and the social sciences, which might include anthropology, economics, geography, political science, and sociology.
- 2 units of laboratory sciences. Students planning to enter a technical, scientific, or health-related field are strongly encouraged to complete courses in biology, chemistry, and physics.
- 2 units of the same foreign language. College-bound students are encouraged to complete three years of a foreign language.
- 5 units of diversified college preparatory courses. Appropriate courses may include additional units from the arts, mathematics, language, social sciences, science, or other college preparatory electives offered by the high school.
Exceptions to some unit requirements may be allowed. Requests should be made in writing to the director of admissions.
An individual assessment will be made of each student participating in ESL study while attending secondary school. Such students are encouraged to submit documentation of their current level of proficiency in English. Also, their secondary schools are encouraged to provide such additional information as transcript annotations designating the college preparatory level for appropriate ESL sections, course descriptions, and other indices of English proficiency sufficient to succeed in college.
Rhode Island College supports the efforts of secondary school officials and governing bodies to have their schools achieve regional accreditation status to provide reliable assurance of the quality of the educational preparation of applicants for admission.
Application Procedures
Rhode Island College is a member of the The Common Application Group. To be considered for admission, freshman applicants must submit the following materials to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions by March 15 for fall semester enrollment or by November 15 for spring semester enrollment:
- A completed Common Application accompanied by a fifty-dollar nonrefundable application fee. Students may apply online at www.commonapp.org.
- Official high school transcript(s) and recommendations. The applicant must arrange to have these materials forwarded to the admissions office. Applicants may be required to submit senior midyear grades for review.
- Scores on the Scholastic Assessment Test ( SAT) of the College Entrance Examination Board or the ACT (including ACT with Writing Test). The applicant is fully responsible for arranging to take the test. Complete information is available from high school guidance offices or from the College Board, P.O. Box 592, Princeton, NJ 08540. Arrangements should be made at least five weeks prior to the desired examination date.
Students who reside in the United States but have secondary school (or equivalent) credentials from another country are not required to take the SAT. However, such students, if they have lived in the United States for less than five years, must have a minimum score of 79 on the Web-based version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), 213 on the computer-based version, or 550 on the paper-based version. The international English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam is accepted in lieu of the TOEFL. The minimum required score is 6.5.
Scores on the SAT Subject Tests (formerly Achievement Tests) may be submitted for additional consideration. These scores are not a requirement. (See Proficiency and Advanced Placement.)
Interviews are encouraged and may be required of some applicants. Applications are considered on a rolling basis and are acted upon as soon as all materials are received.
Admissions staff are available to answer any questions a prospective student may have about admission or about the college, and inquiries are welcomed. Campus tours are scheduled regularly; appointments may be made online or through the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.