Advance College Project - Student Approval Criteria

Advance College Project What is ACP? Benefits of ACP Participating High Schools Admission Standards ACP Courses Tuition and Payment Registration Process Financial Aid Benefits Teacher Acceptance Standards Site Visits Program Evaluation Contact ACP How to become an ACP Student How to become an ACP Teacher How to become an ACP participating High School Tuition Schedule for ACP Courses Student Approval Criteria Transfer of ACP Credit Exemption from English W131 Request for an IU Transcript ACP Courses ACP Courses Student Guide Teacher Guide Counselor Guide Administrator Guide Site Visitor Guide What is ACP? Benefits of ACP Participating High Schools Admission Standards Tuition and Payment Registration Process Teacher Acceptance Standards Transfer Accepted Conditional Transfers ACP Course List Exemption from English W131 Final Examinations Grades and Grade Reports ACP End-of-Course Student Evaluation Attendance Policy IU Policy on Plagiarism Withdrawal from an ACP Class Advising Students in Course Selection Directory of ACP Campus Personnel Directory of ACP Certified Teachers ACP Campus Personnel (IU Bloomington) ACP Campus Personnel (IU East) ACP Campus Personnel (IU Kokomo) ACP Campus Personnel (IU Northwest) ACP Campus Personnel (IU Southeast)

Administrator Guide Councelor Guide Section 1: Program Information

What is ACP? Benefits of ACP Participating High Schools Admission Standards ACP Courses Tuition and Payment Registration Process Financial Aid Benefits Teacher Acceptance Standards Site Visits Program Evaluation Contact ACP

Section 2: ACP How-to Guides

How to become an ACP student How to become an ACP teacher How to become an ACP participating school

Section 3: Enrolling Students in ACP

Student Approval Criteria Advising Students in Course Selections Serving as an ACP Coordinator Completing Student Applications

Section 4: Implementing ACP Courses

ACP Course List Exemption from English W131 Final Examinations Grades and Grade Report ACP End-of-Course Student Evaluation Attendance Policy IU Policy on Plagiarism Withdrawl from an ACP Class Professional Development for ACP Teachers Ordering Textbooks for ACP Courses Use of ACP Resources Site Visit Procedures Submitting Grade Reports to IU

Section 5: Transfer of ACP Credit

Transfer of ACP Credit Request for an IU Transcript

Section 6: Directories

Directory of ACP Campus Personnel Directory of ACP Certified Teachers Directory of ACP Participating Schools

Presentation Resources Forms

Student Approval Criteria

Class Rank

The most important criteria is class rank. ACP will not accept a student who ranks in the lower half of his or her class unless extraordinary circumstances and strong support are offered by the instructor of the course. Note that 70% of Indiana University’s freshman class rank in the top 1/3 of their graduating class.

GPA

Students accepted for ACP maintain strong or ascending grade trends in their academic courses. Students with a GPA below 2.5 on a 4.0 scale usually have major difficulties in ACP courses. Students with a GPA at or just above 2.5 generally have difficulty achieving a grade higher than a C in ACP courses. When such students apply, a transcript of the student's high school coursework and grades will be requested. A GPA based only on academic courses is then figured, with particular attention paid to grades in the subject area of the course for which the student is applying. Courses on the transcript are examined in terms of difficulty. Finally, grade trends are analyzed (descending or ascending GPA).

Note that in the past, as an average across all courses taken, students who have achieved a grade of A in ACP courses have ranked in the top 10% of their graduating class. Students who have achieved a B have ranked in the top 16%. Students who earned a C grade have ranked in the top 21%.

Strong Academic Preparation

Students should be on track toward fulfilling the minimum required preparation for admission to a four-year college or university. The list below represents a minimum academic preparation for admission to Indiana University. Most students admitted to Indiana University exceed these minimums.

Minimum Academic Preparation for a College or University:

At a minimum, most colleges and universities require:

8 semesters of college preparatory English
6 semesters of advanced mathematics
2 semesters of a laboratory science
4 semesters of social sciences (history, government, economics, psychology, sociology)
8 semesters in some combination of foreign language, additional mathematics, laboratory science, earth science, or advanced science, a social science, or a computer science

NOTE: 4 semesters of foreign language and courses that develop composition skills are strongly recommended but not required.

Standardized Test Scores

Students accepted into ACP courses generally have a combined SAT score at or above the state average (typically a composite score of 1000 or better and sub scores around 500 or better). If only PSAT scores are available, those must be comparable to the required SAT score. (For the 2000 PSAT test the average score for juniors was about a 48 in verbal; 49 in math. Adding a zero to the PSAT verbal and math scores and then combining for a composite score gives an estimate of what the comparable SAT score(s) might be.) The required ACT composite score is 21 or above.

These are minimum standards for admission to an ACP course. Fulfilling these minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance to take an ACP course. Further, acceptance to take an ACP course does not guarantee admission to Indiana University. Admission to IU is competitive and based on the applicant pool each year. To achieve regular admission to IU, students must apply to the Office of Admissions and comply with its requirements.

Students requesting C105/C125 should have an SAT math score of 570 or above to ensure success in the course. In the past, students who have achieved a B or higher in C105 averaged 580 on their SAT math score.

Students requesting W131 should have an SAT verbal score of 500 or above. In the past, students who earned a C in W131 averaged an SAT verbal score of 500.

Teachers and counselors need to remember that when a student subsequently matriculates to Indiana University with a GPA below 2.0 (C) in the ACP coursework, the University Division will send the student a letter shortly after the start of their first full semester at IU warning the student about their academic status. For that reason, teachers and counselors should advise any student not judged capable of completing an ACP course with at least a C not to take the ACP course for college credit. Similarly, teachers and counselors are advised to caution students to do their best in ACP courses to avoid entering the university with a GPA below the minimum required 2.0.

Additional requirements for student acceptance in an ACP course can be applied by particular high schools so long as those requirements do not conflict with the Project's basic requirements. Some high schools, for example, require that a student have grades at the B level or above in the high school subject area of the desired ACP course. Others require a minimum SAT score for particular courses. High school students in the IU South Bend area must maintain an average of B or better in the subject area of the desired ACP course. Exceptions are made at IU South Bend if the student is highly recommended by the ACP teacher. Consult the Project Director at IU South Bend for additional information. In addition to checking the requirements for acceptance into an ACP course, students need to be carefully advised by their high school counselor and their ACP teacher to select ACP courses that will benefit their intended college major.