Massachusetts Board Higher Education Regulations

Massachusetts Board Higher Education Regulations

So, further zoned down your American studying dream and are looking to study in Massachusetts?

There are plenty of fine schools that you could choose from. In the very beginning it is absolutely imperative to bear in mind the Massachusetts’ Board regulations.

Eligibility

The first step is to find out, if you are eligible to qualify for a course in a Massachusetts college.

The first step is to find out, if you are eligible to qualify for a course in a Massachusetts college. Let’s look at some of the absolute prerequisites where it comes to the same.

You would have to have successfully completed required academic courses in specific subjects

You would be required to have a minimum average and a weighted grade point average (GPA) that you would have earned in a high school academic course.

Your SAT or SCT score submissions.

The Academic Course Requirements

Over the four years that they will be going to high school, all freshmen are expected to complete the requisite courses in each of the academic subjects.

In all, the applicants will be expected to have completed 17 courses.

The Minimum GPA Requirement

This is applicable for both the state universities as well as the UMass campuses.

You will see that the minimum average GPA for all you freshman applicants out there, that are weighted for accelerated (Honors and Advanced Placement) Courses, is 3.0.

This is applicable for both the state universities as well as the UMass campuses.

The process of calculating the weighted GPA is one that is conducted by the admissions office, and this does not reflect the policies and practices that are in place in high school.

Furthermore, bear in mind that the GPA is based on all of the academic courses that are completed, and also for the grades that are received for courses in which the student is currently enrolled.

For instance, the course in English Literature that the student is enrolled in, in the final year of high school.

The SAT/ACT Score Requirement For Applicants

The SAT or ACT scores of all freshmen applicants that are within three years of graduation from their high school and have a minimum GPA of 3.0 as discussed above, must be duly submitted. In the case of international freshmen students, they might just be exempt if it is not possible to take these tests on account of extreme hardship of some kind.

In the case of international freshman applicants (and even the American ones) that do not meet the minimum GPA requirement of 3.0 or higher, they must earn the appropriate SAT or ACT scores that are the prerequisites for obtaining admission.

Also note, that an applicant with a weighted minimum GPA of 2.0 or lower will not be eligible for admission in a state university.

Applicants Who Are English Language Learners

They might even substitute up to two years of English as a Second Language Course for English Courses.

An English language learner is typically defined as a student who does not speak the English language, or one who was identified as a limited English language proficient student at any particular time in their career. In their case, there are two basic requirements in order for them to be considered eligible for admissions.

They might substitute up to two academic electives that are based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, for the two foreign language courses that are required.

They might even substitute up to two years of English as a Second Language Course for English Courses.

Applicants With Learning Or Other Disabilities

In the case of applicants that have learning disabilities (you need to bear in mind here that the documentation would require the inclusion of diagnostic test results), they are exempt from taking any sort of standardized tests in the case of admission to any public institution of higher education in the Commonwealth.

However, these applicants would be required to complete all the required academic courses and even earn that minimum GPA of 3.0.

In case they cannot do that, they would have to produce some sort of evidence to highlight their potential that will bear testament to the fact that they, too, can achieve great academic success.

The Applicants That Are Enrolled In Career/Technical High School Programs

They could use two vocational and technical courses in order to fulfill the two required electives.

The applicants that are enrolled in such programs must complete the same preparatory courses that would be required by other high school graduates, and they would even be expected to get the same grade point averages, but with the following exceptions.

They could use two vocational and technical courses in order to fulfill the two required electives.

In the case of those applicants who do not complete the two required foreign language courses, they would be required to complete an additional academic elective course that is based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework, and in addition they would also have to satisfy one of the following options.

  • They would have to complete at least one full year of study of a foreign language or
  • They would have to complete a fourth full year of academic study of science or even technology/engineering, which need not be a laboratory course or
  • They would have to complete one full academic year of the study of computer science.

The Applicants That Are Home Schooled

The admissions process is pretty much the same in the case of those students that are home schooled. Of course, they have to meet both the academic course and GPA requirements.

In the case of those students that do not meet these requirements, they might be admitted under the special admissions’ category. This, however, would be at the discretion of the admissions office at the State University.

The Applicants That Are Graduates Of High Schools Outside The US

These applicants may submit the same number of high school academic level courses.

There are admissions officers that will use the appropriate means to find out if the transcript that is provide by a high school student outside of the US, is comparable to the transcript that is required. These applicants may submit the same number of high school academic level courses, or perhaps their equivalent for the required courses per subject area.

A weighted GPA for these students must be calculated in accordance, and as touched upon earlier in this section, they would also have to submit the SAT and ACT scores, except in extreme circumstances where the student is not able to take that SAT or ACT test.

The Special Admissions Applicants

As touched upon earlier, there are some students that might be admitted solely based on the demonstration of their potential to achieve great academic success.

Here, the appropriate indicators of success would include, steadily improving high school grades and a high-class rank, special talents and even strong recommendations.