Application Review
Every student who applies to Saint Anselm College has a unique story to tell. In order to understand these stories as thoroughly as possible, we take an individualized approach to reviewing each application. When evaluating an application we will look at the following materials:
Saint Anselm College accepts the Common Application and the Saint Anselm Application.
Evaluation of the high school transcript is the most important part of the review process. At a minimum, students should complete a college preparatory curriculum while in high school.
The Office of Admission will recalculate your grade point average. This will allow us to review each application fairly. GPA recalculation will include grades in the following core subject areas:
- English (4 years required)
- Mathematics (3 years minimum, 4 years preferred)
- Social Science (3 years minimum, 4 years preferred)
- Science (3 years minimum, 4 years preferred)
- World Language (2 years required)
Nursing applicants are strongly encouraged (at minimum) to take chemistry, biology, and one additional lab science. Nursing applicants are also strongly encouraged to take four years of mathematics.
In addition to evaluating who you are as a student, we want to see who you are outside of the classroom. An evaluation of your involvement is an important part of the application review process. When we are looking at your list of involvements, we are looking to better understand who you are as a person and what kind of impact you will have on our campus. Your involvement is not limited to clubs, sports, and organizations within your school. Other areas of impact may include service and volunteer opportunities, faith information, part-time employment, and/or family responsibilities and commitments.
Saint Anselm College requires you to complete a personal statement. You may select any of the prompts provided on the application. When we evaluate your essay, we seek to learn more about you. This is your chance to share something with us that we may not be able to see in other parts of your application. When writing your essay, we encourage you to make sure that it is written to the best of your ability.
Letters of recommendation are an important part of our review process. It is important for us to better understand who you are as a student and as a person. Many types of recommendation letters will provide valuable information about your development as a student in high school. We require one letter of recommendation, written either by a school counselor or teacher (preferably from the last two years). Additional letters of recommendation from teachers, coaches, clergy members, and employers are also welcomed.
Saint Anselm College is test-optional for all applicants. Applicants may submit self-reported test scores for use during the admission process. Self-reported scores may be included directly in the application, a student can send a PDF copy of their student score report to the Office of Admission, or a student's school counselor may send a PDF copy of the student's score report. We will not accept self-reported scores in an email from the student unless the email includes the student's score report as indicated above.
SAT and ACT test dates prior to December 1 will release results in time for scores to be considered with Early Action or Early Decision applications. Test dates prior to February 1 will provide results in time for scores to be considered with Regular Decision applications.
If you have any questions about the application review process, please contact the Office of Admission at admission@anselm.edu or (603) 641-7500.