2008-09 Catalog - Saint Mary's College of California

Enrollment and AdmissionThe English Proficiency requirement may be waived if the studentcompletes any of the following: completion of four consecutive years ofstudy at a high school in the United States; completion of a minimum60 transferable credit hours at a U.S. university or community college,excluding English as a Second Language course work; completion of highschool or equivalent in a country where the official language is English;SAT 1 Critical Reading exam result of 520; OR an ACT English examresult of 22.Students who meet admission requirements may be accepted as full-timeundergraduate students. Transfer students whose first language is notEnglish must meet the English composition requirement (see WrittenEnglish Requirement p. 43). Saint Mary’s does not offer English as aSecond Language courses.International students are expected to finance their educationalexpenses. Part-time employment on campus is available, but earning willnot be adequate for payment of educational costs. A small scholarship isoffered to qualified students: students must apply with a 3.3 grade pointaverage equivalency and a TOEFL result of 80-iBT or 213-CBT, or andIELTS result of 7.0 band to be considered.Saint Mary’s College of California is authorized under federal law toenroll non-immigrant students.Conditional Acceptanceof International StudentsStudents who have scores between 500(173) and 527 (197) may beenrolled in a program consisting of one or two undergraduate courses,chosen in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students with scoreslower than 500 (173) who have a strong academic background can alsoreceive conditional acceptance but will be enrolled full-time in an EnglishLanguage Program.International students are expected to finance their own educationalexpenses. Only scholarship funds received by the College and designatedfor international students will be so dedicated. Part-time employmenton-campus is also sometimes available. For further information, seeFinancial Aid, p. 18.Transfer StudentsA student entering Saint Mary’s College from another college or universitymust meet the standards set forth previously concerning admissionfrom secondary school. He or she must also present a college recordwith a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.3 in academic transferable courses.The transfer student who would not qualify for admission to Saint Mary’sCollege directly from secondary school will normally be required topresent a record of at least one year’s work at another college with aminimum cumulative GPA of 2.3 in a minimum of 23 academic semesterunits or 34.5 academic quarter units transferable to the University of Californiasystem from California community colleges or another accreditedcollege or university, and completed with letter marks rather than Pass,Satisfactory, or Credit. Transfer students are encouraged to complete anyhigh school course deficiencies prior to transfer.The Admissions Committee requires that students complete one yearof high school algebra and one year of high school geometry or theirequivalent with a grade of C or better before transfer.All transferable grades from other colleges are considered in determiningeligibility for admission. When courses are repeated, only the mostrecent grade will be computed into the grade point average in determiningthe minimum admission standard of 2.3. Saint Mary’s does not acceptas transferable for credit any courses in remedial subjects, vocationalfields such as welding, non-academic areas such as typing, and secondaryschool mathematics.If a student transfers from a school that does not compute grades belowa C into the overall grade point average, his or her application will beevaluated on the basis of the number of courses he or she completes inmaking normal progress toward graduation.Upon transfer, only courses with grades of C– and above are acceptablefor advanced standing toward graduation. The maximum number oflower-division course credits which are transferable from any college is19. This is approximately equivalent to 95 quarter units or 64 semesterunits. (Saint Mary’s “course” equivalence: 3.5 semester units or 5 quarterunits = 1.00 course credit.) Students must take the majority of theirmajor courses at Saint Mary’s College.Advanced PlacementThe College grants up to a full year of college credit through the CollegeLevel Examination Program administered by the College EntranceExamination Board. Credit is given only for the subject examinations,which correspond to particular college courses, not for the generalexaminations, and the subject examinations must be passed at themedian level or higher.In addition, college credit, advanced placement, and reduction ofprerequisites may be granted to entering freshmen who, in the judgmentof the appropriate department, have demonstrated advanced scholasticattainment. The principal criteria used are the Advanced Placementexaminations of the College Entrance Examination Board, school records,and personal interviews. The advantages of advanced placement areadmission to courses ordinarily not open to freshmen, and greaterfreedom to pursue independent study or research in the senior year.Each academic department determines minimum score requirementsand amount of college credit (also, see Credit by Examination underAcademic Regulations, p. 36).The College also grants advanced credit to students who have takenA-level or International Baccalaureate (higher level) courses.15