Here is what we need for your application to be considered complete. In order to meet our admissions deadlines, all application materials must be either received in our office or postmarked by the specified date. We encourage you to submit your materials before the deadline so we can review them sooner. Remember, we can’t review your application and make a decision until all parts of the application have been received.
Once you’ve applied, you’ll receive information about how to check the status of your application — and you’ll be able to see if anything is missing. You will also receive a unique ID number that you should use whenever you communicate with our office.
Our online application includes a required short essay, 250 words maximum as well as an optional personal statement, 500 words maximum. This is your opportunity to tell the admissions committee anything you think they should know. Please note that our application form is the only application form the College of Charleston will accept. We do not accept the Common Application. If you can’t use our online application, please contact us to make arrangements to apply another way.
You will pay this fee when you submit the online application.
Your guidance counselor must complete a secondary school report for you. If you include your guidance counselor’s e-mail address in your online application, they will be able to complete this report online (we prefer this method).
Transcripts from each high school you attended. If you took courses at a college while you were in high school (known as dual-enrollment), be sure to request those transcripts as well. College courses do not normally appear on high school transcripts, so you will have to send those separately. If you are accepted, you are also required to submit your final high school transcripts at the end of your senior year, so we can see that you graduated, and that your grades were similar to what we saw when you applied.
You can submit your transcripts:
By FAX — 843.953.6322
Or by mail to:
College of Charleston
Office of Admissions
Attn: Transcripts
66 George Street
Charleston, S.C. 29424-0001
Either the SAT or the ACT is required and scores must be submitted directly from the testing agency. We do not require the SAT subject tests. We encourage you to complete these tests in your junior year so you have time to take them again in your senior year if necessary. Be sure to send us all your scores — if you take a test more than once, we’ll use your highest critical reading, math and writing section scores from the SAT or your highest ACT composite scores. Official scores should be sent directly from the testing service. The College of Charleston's code for the SAT is 5113 and for the ACT is 3846. It takes approximately four weeks for scores to reach the Office of Admissions, so keep that in mind when selecting your test date.
Applicants are required to submit one of the following short essays. There is a space for you to submit your essay on the online application (please do not send your essay to us separately from the online application). 250-500 words.
Essay Option #1 - Tell us about your hometown; explain how your hometown has shaped you.
Essay Option #2 - Choose one word to best describe you; share why you have chosen this word.
Honors College applicants must also submit a separate 500 - 800 word essay (choice of three topics below). You may submit this application within our regular online application form under the Honors College section.
Honors Option #1 - According to Malcolm Forbes, "Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one." How can a liberal arts and sciences education help you open your mind, and thus succeed and grow, both inside and outside of the classroom?
Honors Option #2 - As a prospective college graduate in the 21st century, you will live in a global society but have to deal with local problems. What are the responsibilities of an educated person to both think globally and act locally?
Honors Option #3 - "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."- Albert Einstein. Write about an aspect of the world that has engaged your curiosity and led you to ask questions.
Letters of recommendation are not required for the regular application. Honors College applicants are required to submit two letters of recommendation from teachers. If you want to submit letters of recommendation, please send no more than two. You may submit the names and e-mail addresses of your recommenders on the online application, and your recommenders will be able to use our online letter of recommendation form. Or you can e-mail your letters of recommendation to admapplicants@cofc.edu with the subject line “recommendation letter.” Be sure to include your full name, birth date, and College of Charleston ID number, if you know it.
Interviews. The College of Charleston does not offer interviews. If you would like, you can speak with a counselor during your campus visit. If you can't make it to campus, but a counselor is traveling to your area, you can request a “Sit-down." A "Sit-down" is a great way for you to get information about the College — and it has no bearing on our admissions decision.
Résumés, activity sheets, any other supplemental information. Please e-mail anything else you want us to consider. Be sure to include your full name, birth date, and College of Charleston ID number, if you know it.
Arts submissions and auditions. We do not require arts submissions or auditions for admission, and there is no separate application for the School of the Arts. However, there are some departmental scholarships available that require auditions or portfolio reviews. Please contact the School of the Arts for information on scholarship opportunities available for freshman.
You may apply for our Honors College within our regular online application. Honors College applicants are required to submit two letters of recommendation and a 500 word essay (see topics above). Honors College applicants are also encouraged to submit their high school resume with their online application (there is a space in the online application for you to upload your resume). If you have any questions please contact the Honors College directly (843.953.7154 or honors@cofc.edu).
Residency for tuition purposes is determined when you submit your application. If you indicate that you are a South Carolina resident on your application, but we cannot make that determination based on the information you submit, you will work with our Legal Residency Office. We'll let you know if this happens.
