Policies for Prospective Students

Centenary College offers admission to qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, age, disability, religion or national origin. The College seeks first-time and transfer students who possess a high-degree of intellectual curiosity, competitive academic backgrounds, refined talents and skills, along with a serious commitment to the pursuit of a liberal arts education. Even though academic achievement and potential receive the most weight in the evaluation process, a student's character, maturity, originality, aptitude, determination, leadership skills, special interests and talents are also important factors in evaluating candidates for admission and scholarship selection.

Requirements

Prior to making the transition to Centenary, students are expected to take college preparatory and advanced coursework in high school. Most candidates for admission have participated in accelerated academic programs, or have enrolled in additional academic units (when available). Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete a minimum number of units in certain academic subjects:

  • 4 units of English
  • 3 units of math (algebra I and II, geometry, or equivalents)
  • 3 units of social science
  • 3 units of natural science (at least two with lab, when available)
  • 2 units of foreign language (in the same language)

First-year may enter Centenary at the start of Fall Semester (August). Transfer students may enter at the beginning of either the Fall Semester (August) or the Spring Semester (January). Admission to Centenary is selective, with applicants being evaluated on strength of academic curriculum, trends in academic grades, standardized test score results (SAT I or ACT), letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, leadership experiences, and a personal essay. Priority consideration for admission space and scholarship funding will be given to those students who submit applications by posted deadline dates.

With the exception of early admission applicants, all candidates for admission as full-time students are expected to have graduated from an accredited high school or have received their General Education Diploma (GED) prior to enrollment at Centenary. Applicants without these credentials are required to provide a transcript or thorough listing of subjects covered, and a reading list of texts may be required. The Admissions Committee reserves the right to request that these applicants submit additional standardized test scores and participate in a campus interview. Home-educated students interested in receiving federal financial aid must submit results from the ACT.

The Admissions Committee will only review a 'complete' application, which consists of the following items:

  1. A completed application and non-refundable $30 fee;
  2. An official high school transcript;
  3. A copy of your SAT I and/or ACT test results sent directly to Centenary, or scores reported on the official high school transcript; Note to Louisiana high school graduates: Centenary will request your seventh semester and final high school transcript from the Board of Regents and the Louisiana Department of Education's Student Transcript System upon receipt of a signed admissions application.
  4. At least one letter of recommendation from a teacher or counselor;
  5. Response to an essay question or graded writing sample.

When all items are received, the student's file is considered "complete" and ready for review. It is the goal of the Admissions Office to provide students with an admissions decision within two weeks of the file being complete.

First Year Candidates with College Credits

The Admissions Committee encourages high school students to enroll in a challenging curriculum. High school students participating in dual-enrollment, joint-enrollment, or concurrent enrollment programs with a local college or university may be eligible to transfer earned credit to Centenary, using the following criteria:

  1. The course(s) must be similar in content to course(s) offered by Centenary;
  2. A class grade of "C" or better must be earned;
  3. Dual enrollment credit must be earned after the student completes the sophomore year of high school through an articulated agreement between the transcripting college and high school whereby the student has satisfied the state's minimum college admissions criteria, exluding "Open Admissions;"
  4. The college courses must be from an institution whose curriculum is consistent with the liberal arts tradition and must be equivalent to existing Centenary courses taught in academic disciplines offered at Centenary;
  5. A maximum of 24 hours of dual-enrollment, joint-enrollment, or concurrent enrollment credits can transfer. These 24 hours are included in the maximum of 40 hours of non-traditional credits entering freshmen can earn toward a Centenary degree prior to matriculation;
  6. Foreign language courses offered at Centenary cannot be transferred by dual enrollment. Centenary has placement exams to determine the awarding of credit for French, German, Latin, and Spanish. Credit for these courses, thus, will not reduce the 24 maximum limit for a student;
  7. An official transcript from the college must be submitted to Centenary, indicating all courses attempted and grades received.

Decisions on transferring credit for dual-enrollment, joint-enrollment, or concurrent enrollment programs rest solely with Centenary College and will be considered final upon matriculation.

Students may also receive Advanced Placement credit towards certain courses at Centenary.

First year students enrolling in the Fall semester, may elect to take summer courses at Centenary or another institution. Those enrolling at another college should complete and submit the Approval of Transfer Course Equivlancies form prior to enrolling in any classes.