Fitchburg State College recognizes that some
applicants have special circumstances. We are committed to
working with a diverse group of students and will do our best
to accommodate unique situations. Please scroll through the
pages, or click on a link for more information about:
General Equivalency Diploma (GED) Recipients
Students with Disabilities
English as a Second Language (ESL) Students
Vocational / Technical High School Students
Home-Schooled Students
General Equivalency Diploma (GED) Recipients
Applicants for admissions who have completed the high school
diploma requirement by earning a General Equivalency Diploma
(GED) must submit official GED scores and a high school transcript
listing all courses taken and grades received while in high
school. In addition, GED recipients who plan to matriculate
at Fitchburg State College within three years of their high
school cohort’s graduation, must submit SAT or ACT scores,
unless they have 12 or more transferable college credits.
Students with Learning Disabilities
Declaring a disability at time of application and supplying
complete documentation is voluntary. Applicants with professionally
diagnosed and documented learning disabilities are exempt
from taking standardized college entrance aptitude tests for
admittance to any public institution in the Commonwealth (M.G.I.
Chapter 15A, Sec. 30). Such students, however, must complete
the 16 required college preparatory courses with the following
exception. An applicant may substitute two college preparatory
electives for the two required foreign language courses if
the applicant presents an Individual Education Plan (or the
equivalent under Chapter 766) and the results of a psycho-educational
evaluation completed within the past three years that provides
a diagnosis of a specific learning disability and an inability
to succeed in a foreign language. For more detailed information
about documentation requirements, please visit our website
at
http://www.fsc.edu/disability/docrequirements.cfm.
All documentation submitted by the applicant should be marked
“Confidential” and submitted with other admission
credentials to the Admissions Office.
If you are accepted to Fitchburg State College and need
specific accommodations, you are required to submit written
documentation from qualified professionals and/or evaluation
sources to verify eligibility under section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990).
Protection under this statute is based on documentation of
a disability that substantially limits a major life activity.
Fitchburg State adheres to established guidelines for documentation
of specific disabilities including: learning disabilities;
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD); mental illness; and
sensory, physical or other health impairments. Our Coordinator
of Disability Services is available to consult with diagnosticians
concerning these guidelines. If you would like further, detailed
information, please visit Disability
Services.
English as a Second Language Students
English as a second language applicants
must complete the 16 required college preparatory courses,
as outlined on the Freshman Applicants
page, with the following two exceptions:
- ESL students may substitute up to two college preparatory
electives in lieu of the foreign language courses and,
- ESL students may substitute up to two years of college
preparatory ESL English course for college preparatory English
courses, provided they achieve a rank of at least the 62nd
percentile on the TOEFL or ELPT test. This means a minimum
score of 550 on the paper-based TOEFL, 213 on the computer-based
TOEFL, or 968 on the ELPT.
Vocational / Technical High School Students
Vocational / Technical applicants must complete the 16 required
college preparatory courses, as outlined on the Freshman
Applicants page, with the following exceptions:
- Two vocational / technical courses may be used to fulfill
the two required electives.
- Vocational / technical high school applicants who do not
complete the two required college preparatory foreign language
courses must complete an additional elective college preparatory
course for a total of three such courses and
satisfy one of the following options:
- Complete at least one Carnegie unit* of foreign language;
- Complete a fourth Carnegie unit* of mathematics or science,
which does not have to be a lab course; or
Complete one Carnegie unit* of computer science.
*A Carnegie unit represents a full academic year of study
or its equivalent in a specific subject.
Home-Schooled Students
Home-Schooled students are subject to the same admissions
requirements as other students as outlined on the Freshman
Applicants pages. A weighted high school GPA must be calculated
and home-schooled students are also required to submit SAT
and/or ACT scores.
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