Freshman Admission Requirements

All incoming freshmen are required to obtain their diploma from an accredited high school, equivalency diploma, or from a United States Armed Forces Institute. Freshmen applicants are considered for admission based on their:

 

*Temporary Suspension of Standardized Testing Requirements for Undergraduate Admission. SAT and ACT test scores are not required nor considered in application review through the Spring 2023 admission cycle. CUNY will revise its testing policy to test optional effective fall 2023 through spring 2025. First-year applicants can choose whether to submit SAT or ACT exam scores as part of their application. The admission decision will be based primarily on a student’s academic preparation in high school, including overall grade-point-average, course grades and the academic rigor of their high school curriculum. Click here for more information.

 

FALL 2023 THROUGH SPRING 2025 ADMISSION – SAT/ACT TEST OPTIONAL POLICY

CUNY will revise its testing policy to test optional effective fall 2023 through spring 2025. First-year applicants can choose whether to submit SAT or ACT exam scores as part of their application. The admission decision will be based primarily on a student’s academic preparation in high school, including overall grade-point-average, course grades and the academic rigor of their high school curriculum.
Students should carefully consider whether they would like to send their test scores:

  • If a student has a particularly strong academic record and believes that their standardized exam scores do not reflect their full academic potential, they may elect not to send SAT or ACT exam scores to CUNY.
  • If a student feels that standardized test scores improve their overall academic record, we invite them to send test scores.
  • The absence of SAT or ACT exam scores cannot be used to deny a student admission.

We recommend that students discuss this test-optional decision with their school counselor.

 

Prospective freshmen may click here to review last year's Freshman Admission Profile to get an idea of the mean grade point average (GPA) used for John Jay College.  Students from non-English speaking countries must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) examination.

 

International freshmen should refer to www.jjay.cuny.edu/apply-international-student for additional information.