Students from other countries who want to attend college in the U.S.A. need to learn about the various standardized tests than can help them demonstrate their knowledge to college admissions personnel. For the adult student who has not finished high school, the GED (Test of General Educational Department) is a logical first step. The GED involves five exams -writing skills, social studies, science, literature and the arts, and mathematics. The tests are available in English, French, and Spanish. Students can study for the GED by taking a review course or by studying a review book.
High school seniors wishing to apply to competitive colleges and universities take standardized tests commonly called ACTs and SATs. Each of these tests takes about three hours. The tests enable students to demonstrate general academic ability in mathematics, English, reading, and logic. Most colleges use these scores plus the students's high shool grades to evaluate applicants.
At the college level, students whose native language is not English will probably be required to take the TOEFL test (Test of English as a Foreign Language) when they apply for admission to a univerisity. Again, courses and textbooks are available to review for this test.
When students come to the U.S.A. after completing some college work in another country, they should bring a transcript of previous college work and get those credit evaluated by an authorized organization. The transcript will probably need to be translated into English before it can be evaluated. Students who cannot obtain papers to prove that they have already take certain college courses may want to take some of the CLEP (College Level Examination Program) tests. These tests cover courses commonly taken during the first two years of college, such as English, humanities, math, natural sciences, and history.
College graduates wishing to enter graduate programs also find that standardized tests are required. The Counseling Office of a student's requirements for acceptance to graduate programs.