Get Help Navigating 'Basic' Admission Standards

Fairmont State University, along with other West Virginia public four-year colleges and universities, is helping prospective students and their families navigate changes made by the Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC) in basic admission standards.

For West Virginia University and Marshall University, incoming students must have at least a 2.0 high school GPA and an ACT composite score of 19. (SAT I scores may be substituted for ACT composite scores and will be converted to ACT equivalents.)

For other public four-year institutions, including Fairmont State University, Bluefield State College, Concord University, Glenville State College, Shepherd University, West Liberty State College, West Virginia State University and West Virginia University Institute of Technology, incoming students must have at least a 2.0 high school GPA and an ACT composite score of 18 (or its 870 SAT I equivalent.)

An option for all institutions is to admit students with at least a 3.0 high school GPA, regardless of ACT composite score.

Despite the HEPC’s direction to raise basic admission standards, institutions are allowed some flexibility to work with individual students who don’t meet the standards.

“This can be confusing for students trying to navigate their options for pursuing a higher education,” says Steve Leadman, Director of Admissions at Fairmont State University. “Institutions can admit ‘conditionally’ some students who do not meet the basic admissions standards. At Fairmont State, we take pride in working with students as individuals and helping assess their individual circumstances. If at all possible, we want to help them gain admittance and get them on the road to meeting their personal goals.”

Fairmont State is holding its fall Campus Visitation Day this Saturday, Nov. 10. For more information, visit http://www.fairmontstate.edu/admit/campus-visitation-day or call (800) 641-5678. Individuals can also call and make appointments to speak with a counselor or tour campus on other dates.