Admissions Factors
New College seeks highly capable students eager to take responsibility for their own education. Cutoffs and quotas are not used in our admissions process. The Admissions Committee reviews each file as objectively as possible, discussing whether or not the student represents a good academic and philosophical match for the College. We also seek to determine each applicant's potential for success at New College and contributions he or she may make to the College community.
Here's What We Take into Consideration:
Course Work
For a student to be admitted to a Florida public college or university,
the State of Florida requires successful completion of the following
high school courses:
-
4 years of English
- 3 years of mathematics (algebra or higher)
-
3 years of science (including 2 years of lab science)
-
3 years of social science (studies)
-
2 years of the same foreign language
-
3 additional academic electives
Honors, Dual Enrollment, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate classes are given extra weight in grade point average (GPA) calculations. Most admitted students have at least some advanced classes on their transcript. The Admission Committee considers each student's high school context (whether or not advanced courses are available).
The following are guidelines for the type
of courses you should be taking:
First-time-in-college (Freshmen) applicants should take an average of at least
five solid academic courses per year in high school. Usually, these
courses fall under the categories of English, math, science, social
studies and foreign language. We recommend that students take
classes in the most challenging curriculum available at their schools.
Transfer applicants should be enrolled full-time taking at least 12 semester hours
per term. As with first year applicants, we recommend the most challenging
curriculum available.
Foreign Language
All applicants must meet the foreign language requirements,
although minor exceptions may be made. Transfer applicants who do not have a high school foreign language
background can meet this requirement through at least 8 college
semester credit hours of the one foreign language. If you have concerns
about these requirements or other admission factors, please contact
your admission counselor.
Grades
While we expect to see a challenging curriculum, we also expect to see good grades. Essentially, the Admissions Committee is looking for an established record of success in a rigorous academic program. For admission purposes, we will recalculate your GPA on the basis
of college preparatory academic courses. Most of these courses fall
into the core categories of English, mathematics, science, social
studies, and foreign language. We will assign extra weighting to certain
courses we use for this purpose (a full point for AP, IB, and AICE;
half a point for honors, gifted, dual enrollment, pre-IB, and
pre-AICE).
Writing
The New College application contains a substantial writing requirement, because writing is strongly emphasized in our curriculum. The Admissions Committee expects admitted students to be capable writers.
SAT & ACT Scores
We consider standardized test scores as another predictor of success at New College. Applicants are required to take either the SAT or the ACT, or may elect to take both. If you have taken both the SAT and the ACT or have taken a test more than once, we will take your best scores into consideration. SAT II scores are not required.
Letter of Recommendation & Extracurricular Activities
Your letter of recommendation and extracurricular activities will help us get to know you better. Your recommendation should come from an individual who feels comfortable giving you a strong academic recommendation. In activities, we look for depth of involvement and leadership.
Other Factors
The Admissions Committee may consider an applicant’s demonstrated interest in attending New College, as well as the allocation of limited guaranteed scholarship resources as criteria for admission to New College.
