Admission
General Requirements
Berry College seeks to admit those students who could be academically
successful at the institution while meeting their personal
educational goals. Each applicant’s record should reflect promise of
growth, seriousness of purpose and a sense of responsibility.
The college reserves the right to admit only those applicants whose
general records indicate potential for success in a college environment.
The college also reserves the right to examine further any applicant by
the use of psychological, achievement or aptitude tests and personal
interview.
Berry College admits students of any race, creed, color, sex, age,
national or ethnic origin, or qualified handicap to all the rights,
privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available
to its students. Berry does not discriminate on the basis of race,
creed, color, sex, age, national or ethnic origin, or handicap in
administration of its educational policies, admissions policies,
scholarship and loan programs, athletic and other college-administered
programs. Under the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, Berry College permits the student
access to educational information maintained on her or him by the
institution.
Admission to the college does not guarantee entry into or successful completion of any particular course of study.
Berry College reserves the right to change admission requirements.
Undergraduate Application Procedures
The prospective student should accomplish these tasks in a timely fashion:
- Complete and return application.
- Ask the high-school counselor to send a transcript to the college’s
office of admissions. A student transferring from another college must
submit official transcripts from each college or university previously
attended.
- Include Berry among the colleges to receive the SAT I or ACT scores
(or TOEFL scores if the applicant is a graduate of a high school in a
non-English-speaking country).
- Notify the admissions office immediately of any change in status or address.
If granted admission, the applicant will be given instructions on
payment of the enrollment deposit, the room-reservation deposit (if
applicable), completion of a self-reported health history and required
immunizations. Applicants for the fall semester are encouraged to submit
applications by February 1 in order to receive full consideration for
scholarships and financial aid.
Applications for admission should be filed no later than 30 days the
beginning of the semester for which admission is sought. Further, all
transcripts and scores must be in the admissions office at least 10 days
prior
to the beginning of the semester for which admission is sought.
Candidates for Readmission
Former Berry College students must submit an application for readmission
by the stated deadline. In addition to the application for readmission,
the student who has been enrolled elsewhere since attending Berry
College must submit an official transcript from the other college or
university.
Test Requirements
The student should submit satisfactory scores on the Scholastic
Assessment Test (SAT I) of the College Entrance Examination Board
(CEEB)or the American College Testing Program (ACT). Students who choose
to take the ACT are encouraged to submit scores from the optional essay
portion of the exam. In addition, other minimum scores on standardized
tests may be necessary. An international student from a
non-English-speaking country should take the Test of English as a
Foreign Language (TOEFL).
Further information about the SAT I or TOEFL is available from the
student’s high-school principal or counselor or from the College
Entrance Examination Board, P. O. Box 592, Princeton, New Jersey
08540. Information on the ACT is available from the American College
Testing Program,
P. O. Box 414, Iowa City, Iowa 52240.
Supplying information, administering and grading the tests and
reporting the scores to the college are functions and services of the
CEEB or the ACT.
Freshmen
Admission to the freshman class is based upon probable success
determined from high-school grades and college-entrance test scores
combined to derive a predicted grade-point average for the first year.
The prospective student is a high-school graduate with at least 20
units of high-school work. Adequate academic preparation for college
should include these minimum requirements:
English .................................................................. 4 units
Mathematics
(Algebra I and II and either
Geometry or Trigonometry
and
the fourth unit higher than Algebra II) ............4 units
Social studies .........................................................3 units
Natural sciences .................................................... 3 units
Foreign language................................................... 2 units
High School Equivalency Certificate
An applicant who presents a valid High School Equivalency Certificate
and General Education Development test scores in lieu of a high-school
diploma may be considered for admission. Such applicants must also
before submit the results of either the American College Test (ACT) or
the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT I).
Early Admission
Early admission is granted only to those academically talented students
whose high-school averages through grade 11 and SAT I or ACT scores are
notably above average. The maturity of the applicant also will be
considered. The student must have a recommendation for early admission
from a teacher, a high-school counselor and the principal.
Summer Honors and Joint-Enrollment Programs
A rising high-school senior may study during the regular academic year
or the summer session at Berry College and receive credit for
successfully completed work if he or she
- is in the upper 10 percent of the high-school class or has a B+ average in college-preparatory classes;
- is recommended by the senior counselor, high-school principal and a high-school teacher;
- submits SAT (or PSAT) critical reading and math scores totaling 1100
(or 110) or better, or an ACT composite score of at least 23;
- agrees to abide by the regular policies of the college;
- takes no more than six semester hours per term.
Auditor
A student who desires to enroll for a course without receiving academic
credit may enroll as an auditor. The student must seek the approval of
the instructor prior to registering.
Auditors will not be permitted to change to credit status after the add/drop period begins.
A student under suspension may not enroll in any course as an auditor without having been reinstated
Nondegree
Applicants who desire to take courses for credit, but who do not
intend to pursue a degree, may be admitted. Without the special
permission of the provost, no one will be permitted to enroll as a
nondegree student after earning 24 semester hours.
Credit earned as a nondegree student will be evaluated for degree
applicability when the student meets the regular admission criteria.
Nondegree students must meet course prerequisites or obtain the consent of the instructor to enroll in a course.
Successful completion of course work as a nondegree student does not ensure admission to degree-seeking status.
Readmission
Former students who have enrolled elsewhere since attending Berry must
- have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale in all course work attempted at the other institution;
- be in good standing, academically and socially, at the other institution; and
- if leave was due to psychological reasons, then the file should be
reviewed by the Counseling Center and the vice president for student
affairs.
Applications for readmission from students who withdrew or who were
withdrawn from Berry while on disciplinary or academic probation or
disciplinary or academic suspension must be approved by a majority vote
of the admissions subcommittee, composed of the vice president for
student affairs, the provost or associate provost, and the director of
the Counseling Center.
Transfer Students
To qualify for admission to Berry, a transfer student must
- be eligible to return to the college or university last attended;
- have earned a grade-point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale at the last college or university attended;
- have an overall cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale;
- submit a transfer recommendation form signed by the dean of students at the last college or university attended.
Transfer applicants must arrange to have sent to the dean of admissions
of Berry College an official transcript directly from each college or
university previously attended. A transfer student is considered for
admission after all required papers are received by the college
admissions office. Prior college work, about which Berry College is
uninformed at the time of the student’s application for admission, will
not be later accepted for transfer credit. Failure to report such work
also may be grounds for dismissal.
Transfer Credit
These policies apply to students transferring work from another institution
to Berry:
- In the computation of a student’s grade-point average (GPA) at
another school, all course work except developmental or other
remedial-type courses enters into the computation. Pluses and minuses
are calculated using the Berry grading system.
- Berry does not accept D grades in transfer.
- Once a student is enrolled at Berry, her or his Berry cumulative GPA
reflects Berry work only, except for determining Phi Kappa Phi
membership, class rank and graduation with honors when the combined GPA
is used.
- For students transferring to Berry, 3.33 semester hours will be
granted for a five-quarter-hour course; 2.66 semester hours, for a
four-quarter-hour course; 2.00 semester hours, for a three-quarter-hour
course; 1.33 semester hours, for a two-quarter-hour course; and 0.67
semester hours will be granted for a one-quarter-hour course.
- A maximum of 62 semester hours of credit including other credit by examination is transferable from accredited colleges and
- Developmental, orientation, student-assembly and cultural-events credits are not transferable
- Generally, credit is not given for course work unrelated to Berry’s
offerings (e.g., auto mechanics and other terminal vocational, technical
and occupational courses).
- Transfer credit will not be granted by Berry College for course
work from nonaccredited institutions or for prior experiential learning.
Students who wish to demonstrate proficiency in an area covered by
specific Berry courses may do so by applying for Credit by Examination
(CBE). See the section on Credit by Examination for further details.
- Only official transcripts sent directly from the colleges attended will be evaluated.
Transient
An applicant who has been attending another institution and desires to
enroll for a course(s) at Berry must
- have a collegiate grade-point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale at the last institution attended,
- be in good standing at the last institution attended, and
- obtain permission from the last institution attended to take a course(s) at Berry.
Admission as a transient student is granted for only one semester.
Successful completion of course work as a transient student does not
ensure admission as a degree-seeking student.
International Applicants
In addition to the requirements for a specific admissions category, an
applicant from a non-English-speaking country must submit TOEFL (Test of
English as a Foreign Language) scores, and international transcripts
must be evaluated by World Educational Services.
Admission to Graduate Study
For information on admission to graduate study for the Master of
Business Administration degree, Master of Education degree or Education Specialist degree, see the Graduate Catalog.
Veterans Administration — Information for Veterans
Berry College has been approved by the Georgia Department of Veterans
Affairs for study and veteran’s assistance. The veteran seeking
admission to the college should promptly notify the registrar so that
applications for educational benefits may be filed. All applications for
benefits are subject to the approval of the Department of Veterans
Affairs.