NOTE: This document was generated from the 1995-1997 UIUC Programs of Study. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but be advised that requirements may have changed since this book was published. Errors may have also been introduced in the conversion to a WWW document. Thus for items of importance, it might be wise to seek confirmation from either the paper version or a live human being.
To be eligible for consideration for admission, an applicant must meet certain requirements in terms of age, high school graduation, high school credits, college preparatory subject requirements, and competence in English.
Age. An applicant must be at least fifteen years of age by the time of desired enrollment.
High School Graduation. An applicant must be a graduate of a regionally accredited high school, a school in Illinois recognized by the state superintendent of education, or a school elsewhere with a rating equivalent to full recognition; graduates of other secondary schools and nongraduates of secondary schools may be admitted under the provisions for use of the General Educational Development Test.
General Educational Development Test (GED). The achievement of satisfactory scores on the General Educational Development Test is acceptable in lieu of graduation from an accredited high school. This test alone will not fulfill all of the college preparatory subject requirements.
A standard score of 35 on each of the five tests and an average standard score of 45 on all five tests are the minimum scores needed to provide the following high school credit: 9 semesters of English, 8 semesters of social studies, and 7 semesters of general science. This is a total of 24 semesters (12 units) of college preparatory subject matter and a total of 30 semesters (15 units) of high school credit. To be eligible to take these tests, applicants must be at least eighteen years of age or have been out of school for at least one year. Additional information is available upon request from the Office of Admissions and Records.
If to be used in lieu of high school graduation, General Educational Development Test scores should be sent by the testing center directly to the Office of Admissions and Records.
High School Credits. Applicants for admission to all curricula must present a total of at least 15 units of acceptable college preparatory schoolwork. Graduates of schools organized as three-year senior high schools, including grades ten, eleven, and twelve, must have at least 12 units in the senior high school. Credit earned prior to grade nine is acceptable if the transcript of credit, certified by the senior high school, shows the credit as high school credit from grade eight. A unit course of study in the secondary school is a course covering an academic year and including not less than the equivalent of 120 sixty-minute hours of classroom work. Two hours of work requiring little or no preparation outside the class are considered as the equivalent to one hour of prepared classroom work. Fractional units of the value less than one-half are not accepted. Not less than 1 unit of work is accepted in a foreign language, elementary algebra, plane geometry, physics, chemistry, or biology. The required 15 units must include the following:
1. Four units of English , including studies in language, composition, and literature requiring practice in expository writing in all such work. Course work should emphasize reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
2. Three or three and one-half units of mathematics, including algebra, geometry, and advanced geometry; see the following table for those curricula requiring three and one-half units, including trigonometry. Applied business mathematics, pre-algebra, and computer courses are not acceptable. Algebra completed in grade eight will count as one unit of high school algebra.
3. Two units of laboratory science . Laboratory courses in biology, chemistry, or physics are preferred. Laboratory courses in astronomy and geology are also acceptable. General science is not acceptable.
4. Two units of any one foreign language (or completion of the second level) is required.
5. Two units of social studies . History and government are preferred. Additional acceptable social studies include anthropology, economics, geography, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.
6. Two additional units of flexible courses drawn from any of the above five subject categories. Approved art, music, or vocational education courses may be counted in the flexible academic units category.
The subject pattern requirements are waived for transfer applicants who will have completed 30 or more semester hours of transferable college credit by the date of enrollment at the Urbana-Champaign campus.
A student who lacks a required high school subject may satisfy the requirement at either a community college or elsewhere prior to enrollment at the University. This information must be communicated on the application for admission. One semester in college is the equivalent of 2 semesters of high school course work.
Under extenuating circumstances, a specific subject requirement may be waived for otherwise well-qualified applicants. An applicant seeking a waiver of the subject pattern requirement should use the Background Statement section of the application to state the rationale for requesting such action.
Next in section: Preparatory Subject Requirements in Units (Years) of Course Work
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