Admissions
The Academy primarily accepts rising 11th and 12th grade students. All students must meet or exceed our minimum eligibility requirements to be considered for admission.
- 1150 composite minimum SAT* (580 verbal; 530 math) or
- 25 composite minimum ACT (25 English; 22 math)
- 3.5 GPA (as computed by Academy formula for academic courses only)
- On track for the College Preparatory Curriculum
- The Academy encourages students to consider both the SAT and ACT exams. The ease and/or difficulty of each exam varies based on each individual's test taking skills and learning styles. Scores can vary significantly across both exams; therefore, students are encouraged to take each exam to attain their optimum score.
Application Process
The application consists of multiple sections to be completed by the student, parent, high school counselor or principal, and two high school teachers. A $30 application fee is also required. All sections, along with official score reports, are to be submitted to the Advanced Academy Office at the same time.
Application Deadlines: We are no longer accepting applications for the Spring 2012 Semester. The final deadline to apply was October 17, 2011. Please note the following dates when applying for Fall 2012 (beginning in August 2012):
- Freshmen Foundation Scholarship Deadline: January 18, 2012
- Presidential Scholarship Deadline: February 22, 2012
- Final Application Deadline: June 1, 2012
- International Student Deadline: June 1, 2012
- Need-based Scholarship Deadline: June 1, 2012
All parts of the Advanced Academy application are due with scholarship applications on the dates listed above. Please see the following link for more information regarding the Freshman Foundation and Presidential Scholarships: http://www.westga.edu/admiss/index_1071.php
Applications must be received - not postmarked - by the deadlines indicated above.
Please note: Earlier is always better!
SAT and ACT
Students are encouraged to consider taking both the SAT and ACT exams. Although many students do achieve similar scores, it’s not unusual for a student to score better on one test than the other. There are structural differences in the tests including test length, subject matter, and whether guessing will hurt your score. For more information about the differences and similarities, you can reference the links below.
http://www.collegedegree.com/library/act-sat
http://collegeapps.about.com/od/standardizedtests/tp/sat-act.htm
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7495614
http://www.petersons.com/college-search/test-prep-act-sat.aspx
Students should only use the critical reading and math sections to calculate their composite SAT score. The Academy will consider the essay score as part of its admission decision in a holistic manner, as a component of the total picture of each applicant. Students who need an SAT score should schedule a national date or contact our admissions office regarding an institutional SAT (I-SAT).
The Institutional SAT (or the I-SAT) is given to the students who wish to apply to the Academy but have not registered for an SAT prior to April 20, 2012. Students are encouaged to take the National (regular) SAT. The differences between the National SAT and the I-SAT are that the I-SAT test scores can only be used for UWG and it can only be taken once. UWG will offer the I-SAT on Friday, May 18, 2012.
Please note that the last National SAT that will have scores available before the Advanced Academy application deadline is the May 5, 2012 administration.
Interviews
The final step in the application process is an interview with the applicant and his/her parent(s). Please note that only students who submit a completed application and who meet our minimum criteria will be contacted regarding an interview, which is required before any admissions decision is made.
Previously, we have interviewed each student individually at a date and time of the applicant's choosing. As the applicant pool grows, scheduling individual interviews becomes increasingly difficult. In order to best accommodate all applicants, we will be holding interview days for Fall 2012 applicants who significantly exceed our minimum entrance requirements. (Individual interviews will continue to be scheduled for all other applicants.) Up to six applicants will participate in each interview day, consisting of both group and individual sessions. At this time, we are holding only afternoon sessions, accommodating up to 96 qualified applicants. As the applicant pool continues to grow, we will consider holding both morning and afternoon sessions, which will accommodate up to 192 applicants. At this time, we are not planning to increase the Academy's maximum enrollment of 100 students (50 female and 50 male). Interview days are tentatively scheduled for:
- January 18, 2012
- February 20, 2012
- March 7, 2012
- March 14, 2012
- March 21, 2012
- March 28, 2012
- April 4, 2012
- April 11, 2012
- April 18, 2012
- April 25, 2012
- May 2, 2012
- May 9, 2012
- May 16, 2012
- May 23, 2012
- May 30, 2012
- June 6, 2012
All applicants will be notified individually of the date and time for their interviews. The Academy staff reserves the right to change or alter the schedule and/or process for interview days as necessary.
Admissions decisions will be announced no later than one week after the interview. Academy staff may call students back for a second, individual, interview if necessary, and the admissions decision will be delayed until no later than one week after the second interview.
International Students
The Academy regularly accepts international students, but they are not eligible to receive a high school diploma. While at the Academy, international students earn college credit that is reflected on University of West Georgia transcripts. If an international student chooses to pursue a degree at an institution other than UWG, he/she can apply to that institution as a Transfer Student.