Applicants should have followed a challenging college preparatory curriculum. Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses are encouraged if available. Applicants are expected to meet the unit requirements listed below:
- A minimum of 18 units should be earned in high school. (A unit is one full year of a subject.) Only courses taken in grades 9-12 are counted. An applicant should plan to complete at least 14 units by the end of his/her junior year.
- Of the 18 units, 15 must be earned in the academic areas of English, mathematics, science, social studies, and foreign language. Applicants are expected to have completed at least two years of one foreign language.
- No units are granted for health and activity courses such as physical education, choir, band, driver education, or vocational courses. Only one unit of computer science may be counted toward the 18 units.
- Students who are in an accelerated program in high school and who can complete both the requirements for a diploma and Wheaton’s entrance requirements in three years may be considered for admission. They must demonstrate exceptional academic ability as evidenced in grades and standardized test scores as well as display sufficient maturity to perform at the college level.
- Courses that meet the unit requirements:
English (4 units recommended) — Examples: grammar, literature, composition, speech, debate, forensics, writing
Mathematics (3-4 units recommended) — Examples: algebra, geometry, algebra II, trigonometry, analytic geometry, pre-calculus, calculus, math analysis, functions
Science (3-4 units recommended) — Examples: biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, physical science, geology, astronomy, anatomy
Social Studies (3-4 units recommended) — Examples: world history, global studies, US history, western world/civilization, African, Asian or European history, geography, psychology, economics, political science, government, sociology, philosophy, state or local history
Foreign Language (2-3 units of the same language) — Examples: French, German, Spanish, Latin, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Italian
Other — Examples: accounting, art history/survey/appreciation, Bible/religion, child development, communications, computer science, consumer education, drama, ESL, family living, general math, journalism, marketing, music history/theory/appreciation, pre-algebra
For information regarding dual-enrollment credits and credit by testing, please read our FAQs.