Admissions Requirements

The City Colleges of Chicago are open admission colleges. Everyone is welcome!

Admissions Requirements

The City Colleges of Chicago are open admission colleges. Everyone is welcome. All students are required to take the District assessment and placement tests unless a waiver is granted. Waivers may be granted to qualifying transfer students and students with recent and sufficiently high ACT/SAT test scores. Incoming students who have earned a grade of “C” or better in college level English or math courses from a regionally accredited institution (see www.chea.org) are exempt from being tested, provided official transcripts (printed or electronic) are submitted verifying successful completion of courses. (See Testing & Placement Guidelines for more information regarding testing.) Students who are admitted to college credit programs include:
  • Graduates of accredited high schools or foreign equivalents
  • GED® completers
  • Transfer students from other colleges or universities
  • Adult students 18 years of age or older who have not earned a high school diploma or a GED® (the placement exam will be used to determine course placement)
  • Students 16-18 years of age, recommended by their principal or accepted for participation in a special area of study, who score at college-level on the placement exam
  • Students who successfully completed high school through home-schooling

International Students

City Colleges of Chicago serves international students in the following non-immigrant visa classes who live or work in the City of Chicago:
  • A-1, A-2 – foreign government officials and dependents
  • B-1, B-2 – visitor for business or pleasure
  • E-1, E-2 – treaty traders/investors and dependents
  • F-1 – academic student
  • G-1, G-2 – representatives to international organizations and dependents
  • H-1B, H-1C, H-4 – temporary workers and dependents
  • J-1, J-2 – exchange visitors and dependents
  • K-1, K-2 – fiancé(e)s and spouses of US citizens and dependents
  • L-1, L-2 – intra-company transferees and dependents
  • O-1, O-2 – workers with extraordinary abilities and dependents
  • P-1, P-2 – artists, athletes and entertainers and dependents
  • Q-1, Q-2 – international cultural exchange visitors and dependents
  • R-1, R-2 – religious workers and dependents
  • S-1, S2 – witnesses/informants and dependents
  • T-1, T-2 – alien victims of human trafficking and dependents
  • U-1 U-2 – alien victims of certain crimes and dependents
  • V-1, V-2 – certain second preference beneficiaries and dependents

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