Back To Previous
 
   
 

College Catalog > Admission to the College

Admission to the Undergraduate Program Bachelor of Arts
As the admissions staff evaluates applicants to Lake Forest College, it is primarily concerned with knowing the individual candidate. The criteria used for selection include assessment of a student’s program of study, academic achievement, aptitude, intellectual curiosity, qualities of character and personality, and activities both in and out of school. Lake Forest College unequivocally selects its students without regard to social background, religious affiliation, race, national origin, gender, handicap, or financial position. This admission policy is manifest in the diverse nature of the student community—a diversity essential to the educational vitality of a liberal arts college. Candidates for undergraduate admission may obtain the required application forms by writing the Admissions Office, Lake Forest College, 555 North Sheridan Road, Lake Forest, Illinois 60045-2338 or calling 800-828-4751. The e-mail address is  admissions@lakeforest.edu. The College uses the Common Application in lieu of a College-specific application. Students should apply online or may obtain copies of the Common Application from their high schools.

Students making application for financial aid should refer to the section on Financial Assistance, which explains the application process and deadlines.

Secondary School Requirements
The depth and breadth of preparation is primary in the admission decision. Enrollment in honors courses, accelerated programs, and formal Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate work is highly encouraged. As a rule, it is recommended that the candidate present at least the following:

  • A minimum of four years of English;
  • Three or more years of mathematics, including trigonometry;
  • In-depth study in one or more foreign  languages;
  • Two to four years of work in both the social and natural sciences.

Examinations
In 2006 the College adopted a Test-Optional Admissions Policy, which gives students the choice to submit ACT or SAT scores.  Students may chose to submit scores if they feel they reinforce past performance. Students who do not submit standardized scores are required to conduct an interview with an admissions counselor.  For those candidates that submit test scores, Admissions reviews either the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-1) of the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) or the American College Testing Program (ACT) test battery. The writing component is not required. These tests are used by Lake Forest College for purposes of admission, guidance, and placement. It is the applicant’s responsibility to arrange with the CEEB or the ACT to have the test results forwarded to the College. These tests may be completed in the candidate’s junior or senior year of secondary school. The admissions staff may require a candidate to submit the results of one or more subject achievement tests of the CEEB where such scores are judged to be beneficial to a student’s candidacy.

Personal Interview
Although an interview is not required, the admissions staff welcomes and encourages visits to the campus by prospective candidates and their parents. A prearranged appointment is necessary.

Application Schedule

Early Action
Students applying under this program will receive an admission decision by January 20 if their application is submitted by December 1. This nonbinding program is intended to offer applicants an opportunity to hear from the College prior to the traditional March decision period. Candidates’ reply may be made prior to or on May 1.

Early Decision
Students who decide that Lake Forest College is their first choice may apply under the Early Decision Program. The advantages are: early notification of the admissions decision, priority of need-based financial aid, preferential placement for first-year housing, and preferential placement for work-study, if applicable. Students must apply for Early Decision before December 1. The admissions staff reviews Early Decision applications as soon as all of the required materials have been received, and candidates are notified of the decision by December 20. A nonrefundable matriculation deposit is due within two weeks of admission notification. It is understood that, if a candidate is notified that he or she has been admitted to Lake Forest College under the Early Decision Program, he or she will withdraw all other college applications. If the applicant is a candidate for financial aid, the commitment to attend Lake Forest is contingent on his or her acceptance of our financial aid offer.

Regular Application
We begin reviewing regular applications February 15 and notify candidates of admission and financial aid decisions by the latter part of March. Applications received after the March deadline may be considered, depending on an applicant’s qualifications and other factors. Lake Forest subscribes to the Candidates’ Reply Date Agreement, meaning that all regular candidates for admission will have until May 1 to notify Lake Forest of their decision to accept or decline the College’s offer of admission. Those who accept must send in a nonrefundable matriculation deposit by May 1.

Deferred Admission
Questions and specific requests for deferred admission should be sent to the Vice President for Admissions and Career Services.

International Admission
International students who apply for admission to Lake Forest College as degree-seeking students must complete the same application procedure as found under the appropriate paragraph elsewhere in this section (Admission to the Undergraduate Program or Admission by Transfer). In addition, all international students must submit evidence of a minimum score of 220 on the computer-based TOEFL exam, 550 on the paper-based, or 83 on the internet-based TOEFL-ibt.

Special Student Admission
Students may apply as special students but admission does not grant the student degree-seeking status. Special students may take courses on a part-time or full-time basis and their continued enrollment is conditional on attaining satisfactory progress. The Vice President for Admissions and Career Services will review their performance at the end of each semester. Students who demonstrate the ability to complete their coursework successfully may submit a change of status application to become fully matriculated students. Any eligible Lake Forest College credits earned as a special student are fully transferable. Students registered for one or two courses will be charged on a per-course basis. Students registered for three or more courses will be charged the full-time tuition rate and applicable fees. Traditional-age special students may request campus housing, but the Director of Transfer Admission and the Director of Residence Life must grant special permission. Adults who are 30 years of age or older should consult with the Vice President for Admissions and Career Services or the Community Education Office to determine how special  student status would apply to them. Special student applications are available through the Admissions Office and the Community Education Office.

Admission by Transfer
Transfer students are admitted at the beginning of each semester. Generally, transfer applicants should have achieved an overall college average of at least C+ or its equivalent and be eligible to return to their previous institutions. At least six months must have elapsed before admission consideration will be given to students who are not eligible to return to their former institutions.

Graduates of accredited community colleges and recipients of the Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree in an applicable field will be granted full junior standing (16 Lake Forest College course credits) if they have earned grades of C- or  better in all courses counting toward that degree. Some transfer courses earned for the A.A. degree may not meet the requirements for the student’s declared major field at Lake Forest College.

When a transfer student is admitted to the College, the maximum credit accepted in transfer is two years of college work, that is, 60 semester hours (16 Lake Forest College credits). Up to that limit, all appropriate academic work, as determined by the Registrar, taken and passed with a grade of C- or better at any former institution, will be accepted toward fulfillment of the B.A. degree at Lake Forest College.

University-level courses taken outside the United States must be evaluated for transfer credit by the College’s Academic Appeals Board. No courses with D grades will be accepted in transfer. Plus and minus grades earned at another institution, with the exception of A+, are recorded on the student’s Lake Forest College transcript. For further details concerning the College’s credit and residence requirement, see the  section titled Undergraduate Curriculum.

Students holding a completed B.A. may be considered for transfer admission. The maximum number of transfer credits granted is 16 Lake Forest College credits. The College’s General Education Curriculum and major requirements must be met; for additional information see the section titled Undergraduate Curriculum. Twelve of the last 16 credits must be Lake Forest College credits.

All transfer students are required to submit the following credentials:

  • Application for admission and application fee;
  • Secondary school transcript;
  • An official transcript from all prior institutions of all academic course work completed through the most recent term. A final transcript showing completion of courses in progress must be submitted by the end of the sixth week of classes in the term in which they matriculated.
  • A Letter of Recommendation is required from the academic dean or a professor at their most recent college for students with more than 30 semester hour (44 quarter hours). Applicants who have completed fewer than 30 semester hours must submit a Secondary School Teacher’s Recommendation;
  • Standardized Tests: The results of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-1) and/or the American College Testing Program (ACT) battery and any achievement tests of the College Entrance Examination Board must be submitted. (These may be included on the applicant’s secondary school report or high school transcript.)
  • International students are required to submit a TOEFL score. We require a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based exam or 220 on the computer-based exam.

Students, including transfer students, will fulfill distributional requirements as outlined under the General Education Curriculum in the section titled Undergraduate Curriculum.

Credit by Examination
Students may apply to pass a regular course by special examination without prior enrollment. Consent of the instructor and approval of the Dean of the Faculty are required. Where appropriate the instructor may set requirements in addition to the examination itself. For credit to be awarded, a grade of C- or better must be earned on the examination, but the student’s transcript will show only a CR (Credit).

Special examinations are not allowed for courses that are usually part of pre-college curricula (e.g., elementary languages or elementary mathematics) and are not normally allowed in courses previously audited or in which a student was enrolled. Under no circumstances does Lake Forest College take CLEP courses as transfer credit.

Advanced Placement
Students who have successfully completed Advanced Placement courses and the appropriate Advanced Placement examinations provided by the College Entrance Examination Board may apply for College credit for this work. Scores of 4 or 5 on the examinations entitle students to at least one course credit; scores of 1, 2, and, in most cases, 3 are not granted credit. Each department determines the specific amount of credit to be awarded. On occasion, individual departments may accept scores of 3 for credit in that department. A score of 3 or better on both the microeconomics and macroeconomics exams is required for one course credit in economics. Credit will not be granted for both Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate program examinations in the same department.

International Baccalaureate
Students who have successfully completed International Baccalaureate courses and taken the higher-level examinations provided by the International Baccalaureate Program may apply for college credit for this work. Grades of 4, 5, 6, or 7 on the higher-level examinations entitle students to at least one course credit; grades of 1, 2, and 3 are not granted credit. Each department will determine the specific amount of credit to be awarded. Credit will not be granted for both Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate program examinations in the same department.

Admission to the Graduate Program Master of Liberal Studies
The Graduate Program in Liberal Studies is primarily designed to serve the needs of mature students who are returning to college after an interval of several years. Candidates for admission must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.

Applicants should submit transcript records of all college work with their application for admission. An application fee of $15.00 is required. The application form requests a written essay stating briefly how applicants believe the graduate program in liberal studies will serve their needs.

Privacy Statement
Notice to Persons Planning to Attend Lake Forest College

The College is obligated by law to communicate the following notice. The intent of the notice is to inform newly enrolled students of the College’s intention to release certain information. Legislation identified below requires the College to give notice of its intent. The information noted is generally used in press releases, programs, directories, and other typical publications by the College. Any questions about this notice should be directed to the Dean of Students at 847-735-5200.

Notice of Intent to Publish Certain Personally Identifiable Information

Pursuant to requirements noted in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and Federal Regulations related thereto, notice is hereby given that Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, Illinois, proposes to publish at its discretion the following categories of information with respect to each person presently or previously attending said College: the student’s name, address, telephone listing, date and place of birth, major field of study, faculty advisor, classes, parents, participation in officially recognized activities and sports, weight and height of members of athletic teams, dates of attendance, degrees and awards received, and the most previous educational agency or institution attended by the student.

Any student affected by the above proposal who desires that such information as described above not be released without his/her prior consent is hereby requested to inform the Office of Student Affairs in writing by August 1.

In addition, the College will publish to parents or guardians of dependent students information relative to the student’s performance, progress toward graduation, any indebtedness, and involvement in matters which may lead to  dismissal. The right of Lake Forest College to publish such information to parents or guardians is provided in the Act and Regulations referenced heretofore.