Admissions Criteria
Undergraduate Application Information
In accordance with the principles governing admission adopted by the university, six general categories are considered for admissions to Clarion University:
- Strength of curriculum
- High school class rank
- Grade-point average
- High school profile
- SAT or ACT test score
- Recommendations
Applicants must be graduates of an approved secondary school or hold a General Education Development (GED) high school equivalency diploma issued by the Pennsylvania ( or associated state) Department of Education. Home-schooled applicants must be a graduate of a Department of Education-approved home-school association program.
On average applicants will be in the top 2/5's of their class (top 40% class rank) and with approximately a 3.2 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale (87% average). The average SAT score of an incoming freshmen is between a 950-1000 on the combined critical reading and math scores. The average ACT score of an incoming freshmen is 21. Letters of recommendation and personal essays are optional but recommended, except for Nursing applicants. We also accept students who are above and below these averages and have specialized programs to accommodate your learning needs. To learn more about student success - click here
Want to Fly Even Higher?
Our Honors Program provides a challenging academic track for advanced student learning. To learn more about Clarion's Honors Program and its admissions criteria- click here
Most applicants will have completed 4 units of mathematics (typically algebra 1, algebra 2, and geometry), 3 units of science (typically sciences such a biology and chemistry), 4 units of English, and 4 units in the social sciences (typically world cultures, history, social studies, psychology, sociology, etc). There are no foreign language requirements for applicants, but 2 or more years of a foreign language is strongly encouraged.
