WHAT DOES BERRY CONSIDER WHEN REVIEWING AN APPLICATION FOR ADMISSION?
Our holistic review process focuses on your admission application, your academic performance as indicated by your school transcripts, your extra-curricular engagement and a personal essay. These four factors will continue to matter most while helping us fulfill our historical mission to provide access to a world-class education for students from all backgrounds.
WHAT COURSES SHOULD I TAKE IN HIGH SCHOOL TO PREPARE FOR BERRY?
We recommend the following high school courses as the best preparation for students pursuing enrollment at Berry:
- 4 YEARS OF ENGLISH
Grammar, composition, literature, etc. - 4 YEARS OF NATURAL SCIENCES
Biology, chemistry, physical science, physics, environmental science, anatomy, etc. - 4 YEARS OF MATHEMATICS
To include Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry or Trigonometry and a fourth level of math that exceeds Algebra II, such as Algebra III, Advanced Algebra/Trig, PreCalculus, Calculus or Statistics - 3 YEARS OF SOCIAL STUDIES
History courses, economics, government, civics, geography, psychology, sociology, etc. - 2 YEARS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
We recommend two years of the same language, and we will accept languages such as Spanish, French, German, Latin, American Sign Language, etc.
HOW DOES BERRY EVALUATE MY HIGH SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT FOR ADMISSION?
The Grade Point Average(s) (GPA) on your official transcript may matter for things like class rankings/awards, state merit programs (like HOPE or Zell Miller for GA residents), etc. But when it comes to your Berry application, just pretend like that number doesn’t exist.
Why? Because students come to us from thousands of different schools, and every school calculates GPAs a little differently. To level the playing field for everyone, we recalculate everyone’s GPA using the same method.
Berry’s GPA Formula
We use a 4.0 scale and only include your core academic classes from grades 9–12: English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Language. We convert the unweighted grades from your official transcript to a quality point score. (We know many schools add weight to individual grades or quality points for rigor already, dizzying us with GPA's all over the place! We do our best to accommodate for this in our process.)
If you took Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) classes, we’ll add 1.0 point to each grade. For example:
- A B+ in AP Biology = 3.3 + 1.0 = 4.3
We don’t add extra points for Honors or Dual Enrollment courses, but we do consider them when evaluating the overall rigor of your classes and in making admissions decisions. Challenging yourself is important!
To get your final GPA, we total all your quality points and divide by the number of courses.
| Letter Grade | Numerical Grade (100-Point Scale) | Quality Point Score (4.0 Scale) | Quality Point Score for AP/IB Courses |
|---|---|---|---|
| A/A+ | 93-100 | 4.0 | 5.0 |
| A- | 90-92 | 3.7 | 4.7 |
| B+ | 87-89 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
| B | 83-86 | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| B- | 80-82 | 2.7 | 3.7 |
| C+ | 77-79 | 2.3 | 3.3 |
| C | 73-76 | 2.0 | 3.0 |
| C- | 70-72 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| D+ | 67-69 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| D | 63-66 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| D- | 60-62 | 0.7 | 1.7 |
| F | <60 | 0 | 0 |
HOW ARE STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES USED FOR ADMISSION AND SCHOLARSHIP CONSIDERATION?
Neither the SAT or the ACT is required for admission to Berry College, though you are welcome to submit scores with your application. Your submitted test scores (or a lack of test scores) will not negatively impact admission and will not be used in awarding institutional merit-based scholarships.
Georgia residents who wish to be considered for the Zell Miller Scholarship will need to submit qualifying test scores. More information is available at gafutures.org.
Berry SAT Code: 5059
Berry ACT Code: 0798
WHO SHOULD I ASK FOR A RECOMMENDATION?
Recommendation letters are optional for students to submit with their application file. Should you be interested in having individuals submit a recommendation on your behalf, you should either include their name and contact information in the appropriate section of your application to Berry, or simply request for the recommender to submit their letters as an attachment email to your Admission Counselor or admissions@berry.edu.
ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR HOMESCHOOLED STUDENTS?
The same criteria for high school applicants apply to homeschool applicants. In addition, homeschool students are required to submit two personal recommendation forms.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE HOMESCHOOL ADMISSION PROCESS
Can I enroll with a High School Equivalency Certificate (GED)?
An applicant who presents a valid High School Equivalency Certificate and General Education Development test scores in lieu of a high school diploma may be considered for admission.
ARE THERE ANY FEES ONCE I HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED?
Once you have been accepted to Berry College, you will need to pay the enrollment deposit of $250.00 in order to secure your place in the incoming class. Your enrollment deposit also covers your housing deposit if you’re planning to live on campus. After we receive your deposit, you will have access to enrollment forms once they go live for your start term. These forms will become available through your MyBerry portal.