Student Admission Classification

Beginning Freshmen

Freshmen applicants are or will be high school graduates that have earned less than 30 semester hours (45 quarter hours) of transferable college credit coursework (not including joint enrollment and advanced placement credits). Traditional freshmen have attended high school within the last five years. Non-traditional freshmen have been out of high school for more than five years.

A freshman applicant must submit the following items in order to be considered for admission:

Application for Admission
$30 Non-refundable Application Fee
Certificate of Immunization
Official High School Transcript
Verification of Lawful Presence

All degree seeking, traditional freshmen applicants must meet the minimum admission criteria of 2.2 High School Grade Point Average calculated on grades of 17 Required High School Curriculum Units

Learning Support

Learning Support is an admissions category for students in degree and certificate programs whose high school grade point average or standardized test scores are below the Dalton State College minimum requirements. Students with Required High School Curriculum (RHSC) deficiencies in English or Mathematics may also be placed in Learning Support.

Dual Enrollment Program

The Dual Enrollment program provides opportunities for high school students to enroll in postsecondary institutions to earn both high school and college credits simultaneously.

Students are eligible to participate in the Dual Enrollment Program if they are entering 11th or 12th grade, as determined by the system, and spent the prior school year in attendance at a public high school in Georgia. Dual Enrollment course hours do not count against any maximum hourly caps for HOPE scholarships or grants.

To be considered for Dual Enrollment, admission application and all supporting documents required for admission must be submitted by the respective deadline dates.

FALL SEMESTER - JULY 1

SPRING SEMESTER - DECEMBER 1

SUMMER SEMESTER - MAY 1

Dual Enrollment Program eligibility requirements

A dual enrollment applicant must meet ALL of the listed admission requirements:

Student must be in the 11th or 12th grade (Successful completion of the 10th grade is required) AND;
Provide a transcript showing the student is on track for completing all high school graduation requirements and USG’s Required High School Curriculum (RHSC) AND;
Student must have successfully completed two units of RHSC English AND have successfully completed high school Algebra II or equivalent AND;
3.7 grade point average as calculated from completed RHSC units OR 3.2 grade point average as calculate from completed RHSC units AND qualifying test scores as listed below:

SAT/PSAT Evidence-Based Reading & Writing: 480 with 3.2 high school GPA

SAT/PSAT Math: 440 with 3.2 high school GPA

ACT/PreACT English or Reading: 17 with 3.2 high school GPA

ACT/PreACT Math: 17 with 3.2 high school GPA

Accuplacer Reading: 237 with 3.2 high school GPA

Accuplacer WritePlacer: 4 with 3.2 high school GPA

Accuplacer Quantitative Reasoning, Algebra, & Statistics: 258 with 3.2 high school GPA

Satisfactory Academic Progress:
All students must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) in order to be eligible for Dual Enrollment. SAP will be determined upon acceptance and reviewed at the end of every term. SAP is defined as a minimum cumulative course completion rate of 67% and a minimum GPA of 2.0. Failure to meet SAP in any term will result in removal from the program for any future terms.

Applicants will be considered for admissions for the Dual Enrollment Program when the following documentation requirements are met:

Admission Application
Official high school transcript
Official SAT/ACT scores
Certificate of Immunization
Verification of Lawful Presence

GED Students

General Education Diploma (GED) Students who earn the GED may be considered for admission. A student who presents the GED is expected to be at least 18 years of age and for his/her high school class to have graduated. However, GED students younger than 18 or from a class not graduated, may be permitted to be admitted as a Presidential Exception on a case-by-case basis.

Home School Students

Dalton State College offers several paths to admission for home schooled students and students graduating from non-accredited high schools. At least one of the following paths must be met for acceptance.

Diploma from a regionally accredited home study program.
Diploma from a school accredited by the Center of the Accrediting Commission for Independent Study (Georgia only)
Diploma from a school accredited by Georgia Private School Accrediting Commission (GAPSAC) www.gapsac.org
Diploma from a school accredited by Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
Diploma from a school accredited by Georgia Accrediting Commission, Inc.
Diploma from a school accredited by Georgia Association of Christian Schools (GACS)
Diploma from a school accredited by South Association of Colleges and Schools
SAT I or ACT Composite scores at or above Dalton State College’s average of the previous year’s fall semester for first time freshmen. (All scores listed are based on OLD SAT scores. NEW SAT scores will be converted to OLD SAT scores for admission purposes.)
* Minimum SAT I and ACT Scores and Sub Scores
* SAT Composite of 950 or higher (minimum 19 Reading and 360 Math)
* ACT Composite of 19 or higher (minimum 14 English and 15 Math)
SAT II Subject Tests
Applicants who achieve designated scores on each of the following SAT II Subject Tests in a RHSC area will be considered to have demonstrated equivalent RHSC competence and do not need to submit additional documentation in that area.

SAT Subject Test
SAT II Subject Test	Passing Score
English Writing	520
English Literature	530
World History	540
American History & Social Studies	560
Math IC	500
Biology	520
Chemistry (Physics)	540 (590)

Presidential Exception
This is a category that allows institutions to make exceptions to the regular admission requirements.
GED Scores
Students seeking Bachelor’s or Transfer Associate Degrees may demonstrate satisfactory completion of Required High School Curriculum by submitting course descriptions of high school course work for review.

Transfer Students

Students who have previously been enrolled at any other postsecondary institution will be classified as a transfer student. Students with fewer than 30 transferable semester credit hours must meet the freshman admission requirements.

Students who have earned 30 or more transferable semester hours must have completed any learning support requirements and college preparatory curriculum deficiency requirements. (Transferable hours do not include institutional credits and RHSC deficiency makeup courses.)

Transfer students must be eligible to continue or return to their prior institution. Students on suspension, exclusion, or dismissal from their prior institution are not automatically eligible to enroll at DSC. Students must submit written statement of appeal to the DSC Admission Committee. Students must have satisfied the prescribed stipulations on the previous institution to be eligible for review.

Students who have earned a career associate degree may apply for admission to a transfer associate degree program or to the Bachelor of Applied Science degree program. These students will not be held to College Preparatory Curriculum or Required High School Curriculum (RHSC) requirements.

Transfer students applying for a bachelor degree program must complete a separate application for upper division coursework and submit it to the department to which they are applying.

To apply, students should submit the following items:

Admission Application
$30 Application Fee
Official transcripts from all previously attended colleges
Official High School Transcript (if fewer than 30 semester transfer credits)
Certificate of Immunization
Verification of Lawful Presence

Presidential Exception Policy

Dalton State is authorized to grant admission to a limited number of students that do not meet established standards but do demonstrate special potential for academic success in accordance with Board of Regents Policy 4.2.1.2 Exceptions to Freshman Admission Requirements for Special Groups of Students. Students considered under this category must demonstrate potential for academic success as described below. Students considered under this category must also meet learning support requirements as established by Board of Regents and Dalton State and outlined below. Recipients must demonstrate achievement of the Indicators for Academic Success outlined below to be offered a Presidential Exception.

Official high school and/or college transcripts from accredited institution including rigor of courses and grade point average
Completion of key transfer courses from accredited institution including, but not limited to, ENGL1101, ENGL1102, and MATH1111

Personal Written Statement of Purpose from student outlining academic goals and plan for college success

Transient Students

A transient student is a student who attends another college or university and seeks temporary admission to Dalton State College. The student intends to return to that college or university after attending a semester of classes at Dalton State College. Student must be in good standing at their home institution. A “Transcript Request Form” should be completed by the student at the time of enrollment to assure that a record of courses completed at Dalton State College is sent to the student’s home institution.

Transient students who later decide to transfer to Dalton State College must meet additional admissions requirements.

A transient applicant will be considered for admission when the following items have been received:

Admission Application
$30 Application Fee
Certificate of Immunization
Transient Permission Letter (of Good Standing)
Verification of Lawful Presence

Financial Aid for Transient Students

HOPE Scholarship is available for transient students if they are eligible for HOPE at their home institution. Students who enroll as a transient student at Dalton State College must inform their home school’s financial aid office so that a HOPE Eligibility Certificate for Transient Study can be sent to Dalton State College’s Financial Aid Office.
HOPE-eligible students who plan to be transient from Dalton State College must inform the Dalton State College Financial Aid Office, so that a HOPE Eligibility Certificate for Transient Study may be sent to the host school. Subsequent HOPE award cannot be made at DSC until an official transcript is received from the host institution.

Auditors

Students who submit evidence of graduation from a high school or have a GED certificate may register for undergraduate classes as auditors. No credit is granted for courses taken on an audit basis, and students are not permitted to receive credit at any future date for their participation in a course as an auditor. Students registered as auditors shall be required to pay the regular tuition and fees for enrollment. Students who are admitted as auditors are not eligible to receive financial aid. Students may be admitted to the college as auditors without taking any further testing.

Students must declare their intention to audit a class at the time of registration. Enrollment status in a course will not be changed from audit to credit or credit to audit after the last day of registration. While audit students are not obligated to attend class meetings or to complete assigned work, they are encouraged to participate as much as possible. As an auditor, the student earns no grade or credit for the course, however, the student is entitled to all of the consideration given to a credit student. A transcript documenting the student's audit status is available upon request.

Post baccalaureate students who are interested in staff development, may enroll in courses for non-credit.

All students must meet the prerequisites for the class or obtain permission of the instructor.

An Audit applicant will be considered for admission when the following items have been received:

Admission Application
$30 Application Fee
Certificate of Immunization
Official High School Transcript
Verification of Lawful Presence

Special Post Baccalaureate Students

For admission purposes, Special Students are students who have earned a baccalaureate degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution and are not seeking another degree or certificate. Special students may enroll as a post baccalaureate student in courses with no limitation on the number of undergraduate credit hours that can be earned. If persons classified as special students later declares a major at Dalton State College, they must meet the appropriate additional admissions requirements for transfer students.

A special student will be considered for admission when the following items have been received:

Admission Application
$30 Application Fee
Certificate of Immunization
Proof of Bachelors Degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution
Verification of Lawful Presence

Non-Degree Students

Students who have no prior college or limited college credit may enroll as non-degree students for a maximum of 12 semester credit hours, including institutional credit. Students may not enroll in any course that has a Learning Support (LS) prerequisite unless they have been screened for or have exempted the relevant LS course.

Students who have earned the baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited institution may enroll as non-degree students in courses with no limitation on the number of undergraduate credit hours that can be earned.

A Non-degree student will be considered for admission when the following have been received:

Admission Application
$30 Application Fee
Certificate of Immunization
Official High School Transcript
Verification of Lawful Presence

Students may not enroll in any course for which there is a Learning Support prerequisite unless they have been screened for and have exempted the relevant Learning Support course.

Non-Traditional Student

Non-Traditional Students are defined as individuals who have been out of high school at least five years and whose high school class graduated at least five years ago. Non-traditional students must hold a high school diploma from an accredited or approved high school as specified in the admissions section of this Catalog or have satisfactorily completed the GED.

Non-traditional students who have not attended high school or college within the previous five years and have earned fewer than 30 transferable semester hours of college credit must provide evidence of exemption from Learning Support requirements in Reading, English, and Mathematics. Learning Support requirements may be satisfied by presenting appropriate minimum SAT or ACT scores, appropriate minimum Accuplacer placement test scores from a USG institution, or appropriate minimum Accuplacer placement test scores from a COC-accredited TCSG college. Test scores must have been taken within the past five years. If evidence of exemption is not submitted at time of admission, student will automatically be placed in Learning Support classes.

Students who were previously enrolled at a USG institution and who now can be considered as non-traditional are not subject to previous RHSC requirements.

Former (Re-admitted) Students

Former readmitted students are students who have previously attended DSC but have not attended during the last three or more consecutive semesters.

Readmitted Students will be considered for admissions when the following requirements are met:

Readmit Application
$30 Readmit Fee
Meet current admission requirement (additional documents and testing may be required)
Verification of Lawful Presence

Persons 62 Years of Age or Older

To be eligible for the Senior Citizen Tuition Waiver, the applicant:

Must be a resident of Georgia and upon reaching the age of 62 or older, the student must petition for the Senior Citizen Tuition Waiver. A valid Georgia driver's license or birth certificate as well as a waiver application must be presented to the Office of Enrollment Services prior to the first day of classes for the term which the student seeks to petition for a Senior Citizen Tuition Waiver. If the petition is granted, reclassification will not be retroactive to prior semesters.
May enroll as a regular or auditing student in courses offered for resident credit on a "space available" basis, starting the first day of class, without payment of fees, except for supplies, laboratory or shop fees.
Shall meet all System and institutional admission requirements. In exceptional cases where circumstances indicate that high school graduation and minimum test scores are inappropriate, the applicant shall take the Accuplacer Examination or equivalent to determine whether or not participation in Learning Support will be required before enrolling in regular credit courses. Reasonable prerequisites may be required in certain courses.
Meet all System, institution and legislated degree requirements if seeking a degree.

A person 62 years of age or older will be considered for admission when the following have been received:

Admission Application
$30 Application Fee
Certificate of Immunization
Official High School Transcript
Learning Support Screening
Verification of Lawful Presence

International Students

An International student is an applicant seeking an I-20, DS-2019 for the purpose of obtaining a Student Visa. This school is authorized under Federal law to enroll non-immigrant students.

International applicants should complete the admissions process at least 60 days prior to the beginning of the term for which the application is made. Applicants must allow for overseas mailing, immigration issues, and evaluation of credentials. An applicant cannot be considered for admission until the DSC International Admission unit receives the following documents:

Application & Fee: Complete and submit an international application with the required $50 non-refundable application fee on-line at https://dynamicforms.ngwebsolutions.com/Submit/Start/b9774a48-929f-4cf6-aa53-7aaa10eec95b. ($50 non-refundable application fee will be paid via your Roadrunner Portal after being admitted.)
Certificate of Immunization: Submit a properly executed University System of Georgia Certificate of Immunization form. Certificate of Immunization
Proof of financial resources: This will show how the applicant intends to pay expenses while in attendance at Dalton State College. The applicant must submit a current bank statement certifying he/she has financial resources equivalent to a minimum of $25,000 in U.S. funds available for the first year of study at Dalton State College. (If applicant is being sponsored by family or friends, the sponsor should submit a current bank statement and complete the I-134 (Affidavit of Support) form. To obtain this form and instructions, please visit the website at www.uscis.gov under Immigration Forms.)
Proof of English Proficiency: All non-native speakers of English must prove English proficiency by providing one of the following six items: * Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) official score report with a minimum score of 523 on the paper based TOEFL or 193 on the computer based TOEFL, or 69 on the Internet-based TOEFL. Scores must be official and must be dated within two years of intended date of enrollment. * Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores with a minimum score of 480 evidence-based reading writing; or American College Testing Program (ACT) scores with a minimum of 19 English [DSC Academic Affairs Handbook: section 3.01-3.12] * Official IELTS score report with an average minimum score of 6. To request IELTS scores, applicants must contact the IELTS Testing Center where they took the exam. The IELTS website is http://www.ielts.org. * Four units of Required High School Curriculum or College Prep English from an accredited U. S. High school. * Proof of 30 semester (or 45 quarter) transferable hours with a 2.5 GPA including the equivalents of English 1101 and 1102 (or ENG 101/102) from an accredited U.S. college or university. * Proof of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. college or university.
A copy of the applicant’s Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT): The registration booklet for the SAT-I may be ordered from College Board ATP, AN6200, Princeton, NJ 08451-6200 USA. Be sure to specify that you need the “international edition.” NOTE: The SAT is required for all students except those transferring in 30 hours of degree-level core credits from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. All degree seeking applicants must meet the following minimum admission criteria: * An Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Section score of at least a 480 and An SAT Math section score of at least a 460 AND * Freshman Index of 1830 The Freshman Index is calculated as follows: * SAT : Freshman Index = (Academic High School GPA x 500) + SAT Verbal/Critical Reading + SAT Math * ACT: Freshman Index = (Academic High School GPA x 500) + (ACT Composite x 42) + 88
School Records: Have transcripts from high school and/or all colleges or universities attended sent directly to Dalton State and have all original, official transcripts evaluated and translated by an external reputable credentials evaluator. (See approved list of evaluators listed below.) Note: Evaluation /translation is not necessary for schools located in the U.S. High school transcripts must be evaluated "by the document" and college transcripts must be evaluated "course-by-course." The evaluation process can take 2-6 weeks and there will be a cost involved. Remember, the transcripts sent to a credentials evaluator are in addition to transcripts that must be sent to our office. Please note that it is the responsibility of the applicant to contact and communicate with the evaluator.
Academic Credential Evaluation Institute, Inc.
P.O. Box 6908
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Tel: 310-275-3530
Fax: 310-275-3528
Website: http://www.acei1.com

Education Credential Evaluators, Inc.
P.O. Box 514070
Milwaukee, WI 53203-3470
Tel: 414-289-3400
Fax: 414-289-3411
e-mail: eval@ece.org
Website: http://www.ece.org

International Education Consultants
P.O. Box 248233
Coral Gables, FL 33124
Tel: (305) 273-1616
Fax: (305) 305-1338
e-mail: info@jsilny.com
Website: http://www.jsilny.com

International Education Research Foundation Inc.
P.O. Box 3665
Culver City, CA 90231
Tel: 310-258-9451
Fax: 310-342-7086
e-mail: info@ierf.org
Website: http://www.ierf.org

World Education Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 5087
Bowling Green Station
New York, NY 10274-5087Tel: 212-966-6311 or 800-937-3895
Fax: 212-966-6395
e-mail: info@wes.org
Website: http://www.wes.org

Lisano International
P.O. Box 407
Auburn, AL 36831-0407
Tel: 334-745-0425
Fax: 334-745-0425
e-mail: LisanoINTL@aol.com
Website: http://www.Lisano-INTL.com
Students Transferring from Other U. S. Institutions: Upon your official acceptance, you will be issued an I-20 by the DSC International Student Enrollment Unit to complete your transfer.
All International Students MUST contact DSC International Student Enrollment Unit upon arrival in the United States. Students must be prepared to take the ACCUPLACER exam (if applicable), present visa indicating F-1 status and I-94, and provide a US address before being eligible to register.

To be classified as an “International Student,” applicants must be eligible for an F-1 Visa. Dalton State College will not issue an I-20 until all of the admissions requirements are met and all requirements for the I-20 are met.

Mandatory Undergraduate Student Insurance Program: International students holding “F” visas are required to purchase the USG Student Health Insurance Plan (USG-SHIP). Dependents of Covered Students are also eligible for coverage under this plan. Insurance premium will appear on the Covered Student’s tuition bill unless he or she shows proof of other insurance and waives coverage under this plan. The policy is Non-Renewable One-Year Term Insurance. It is the Covered Student’s responsibility to obtain coverage the following year in order to maintain continuity of coverage. For more information, visit http://www.studentinsurance.com
Dalton State College Housing: Official Acceptance is required to apply for on-campus housing. More information about on-campus housing and the application can be found at: http://www.daltonstate.edu/residential-life/index.html
ESL Programs: Attendance to Dalton State College requires English proficiency. ESL Programs are not available to International Students.
Eligible Programs of Study: International Students can enroll in 2-year Transfer Degrees programs or 4-year bachelor degrees only. Certificates and Mini-Certificates are not available to International Students. See the complete list of programs at http://www.daltonstate.edu/academics/majors-and-programs.html

For more information, please request an international student application packet from DSC International Student Enrollment Unit.