Admission Requirements

Age: Applicants for admission must be at least 16 years old or dually enrolled high school students in the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grades who seek access to quality instruction designed to develop or improve occupational competencies are eligible for admissions. Applicants for Cosmetology and Health Occupation programs must be 17 years old.

Education: A high school diploma or GED (verified by an official transcript including graduation date) is required for applicants in all associate-degree, diploma and certificate programs. Students who do not hold the requisite high school diploma must obtain a GED. High school diplomas from unaccredited institutions, Certificates of Attendance, Special Education Diplomas, or other certificates, credentials or other documents where the student did not complete all required coursework or testing required for a high school diploma in that state are not recognized for admission purposes.  Applicants who received a diploma from a country outside the United States must have an approved evaluation service evaluate the transcript and send that evaluation directly to Columbus Technical College.

Home-schooled applicants must present an official transcript with a graduation date from an accredited home-school program as proof of high school completion.

Applicants of home schools located in Georgia who did not receive their diploma from a recognized accredited home-study program must adhere to the following alternative path for admissions:

  1. Submit a Certificate of Attendance form from the local superintendent’s office or a Declaration of Intent to utilize a Home Study Program from the Georgia Department of Education verifying that the parent or legal guardian complied with the requirements of home study programs as referenced in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690.
  2. Submit annual progress reports or a final transcript for the equivalent of the home-schooled student’s junior and senior years. The final progress report should include the graduation date.

Applicants of home schools located outside the state of Georgia who did not attend a recognized accredited program must adhere to the following alternative path for admission:

  1. Submit annual progress reports or a final transcript for the equivalent of the home-schooled student’s junior and senior years. The final progress report should include the graduation date.
  2. Submit ACT or SAT scores that meet the TCSG system minimum requirements.
Note: The College President may waiver the high school diploma/high school equivalency requirement for those secondary students or those pursuing a high school equivalency, who are otherwise eligible to enroll in a specific program of study. The exception must be approved by completion of a Presidential Waiver Form. The Presidential Waiver Form is available in the Office of Admissions.

Assessment: Applicants for all degree, diploma and certificate programs must submit official COMPASS or other nationally recognized college placement-test scores that are no more than five years old (sixty months) or provide official documentation of course grades of "C" or better in college-level English and mathematics taken at an regionally or nationally accredited postsecondary institution recognized by the United States Department of Education.

Applicants for Early Childhood are required to apply for a criminal record check, and present official documentation of a TB test.

Special testing accommodations for students with disabilities are available upon request. Individuals must contact the Office of Disability Services and provide documentation of the disability to request accommodation.