How to Apply

Carthage is currently accepting applications for Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Fall 2025 undergraduate admission. Carthage operates on a rolling admission basis, and applications are reviewed as they become complete. Apply online through the online Carthage application or Common App today! The application takes ~10 minutes to complete, and no essay, interview or letters of recommendation are required.

Apply to Carthage for FREE! Use fee waiver code BRIGHTFUTURE

First-Year Students

Apply Anytime After June 1

You can apply for admission to Carthage anytime after you finish your junior year of high school. Carthage operates on a rolling admission basis, and applications are reviewed as they become complete.

Apply Early, Get Accepted Early

We don’t offer Early Decision (where you commit early to attend). Instead, we offer Early Review/Early Notification. If you apply early, we review your application early, notify you of your acceptance early, and send you scholarship information early. If you apply during the summer between junior and senior year, you will know by the end of August whether you have been accepted.

The Carthage application is always non-binding. This means applying and being admitted does not commit you to attend Carthage.

High school students should submit the following when applying for admission:

• A completed application
• An official high school transcript. We will accept an unofficial transcript for admission and scholarship consideration.
  
• SAT/ACT scores if you would like your scores considered. Carthage is test-optional, meaning we will review your application for admission and scholarships with or without ACT or SAT test scores. No test-optional form/steps are required. If you choose to submit your test scores, Carthage does superscore ACT/SAT results. This means we consider the highest section scores from multiple test dates.
• $35 non-refundable application fee. A waiver of the application fee is possible if the applicant demonstrates financial limitation and requests consideration for an exemption from the Office of Admissions.

Applications, transcripts, and other credentials become a part of the permanent file of Carthage and may not be returned or forwarded.

Log into the Applicant Portal to check the status of your application and more!

Congratulations! We are excited to welcome you into the Firebird family! Once a student has been admitted to Carthage, an advance deposit of $200 is requested to hold a place in the entering class. For students starting in the fall term, this deposit is completely refundable up to May 1 of the initial year of attendance. The deposit is non-refundable for the spring and summer semesters.

Advanced Placement Examinations, consisting of both objective and free-response sections, are administered to students who have completed college-level Advanced Placement courses in high school. A score of 1 through 5 is assigned by a group of evaluators based on the score for the objective section and review of the free-response questions. Carthage awards credit in recognition of scores 3 through 5, and the required score to receive college credit may vary from course to course. Entering students who wish credit for Advanced Placement must submit official results to the Office of Admissions.

Carthage also awards credit for International Baccalaureate.

Transfer Students

Transfer students usually enter Carthage in the fall or spring semesters, but applications also are considered for terms beginning in January and June. Carthage operates on a rolling admission basis, and applications are reviewed as they become complete.

The Carthage application is always non-binding. This means applying and being admitted does not commit you to attend Carthage.

Transfer students should submit the following when applying for admission:

• A completed application
• An official and final high school transcript (if less than 12 transferable college credits have been completed)
• Official transcripts from all college-level course work. We will accept unofficial transcript(s) for admission and scholarship consideration.
• $35 non-refundable application fee
• Certification of Good Standing Form completed by previous/last institution. Students considered for admission to Carthage should be in good standing with all previous or current colleges and have a minimum grade point average of 2.25 (on a 4.0 scale).
• International students must provide a TOEFL score and a transcript evaluation from an agency such as World Education Services, as well as a non-refundable application fee of $40.

Carthage gives full value to transcripts and records from institutions accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and similar regional associations when comparable courses or areas are taught at Carthage. Credits from a junior college cannot be transferred if earned after a student has accumulated half of the number of credits needed for a bachelor’s degree at Carthage (68 credits).

Students holding an Associate of Arts degree from an accredited junior college receive automatic junior standing when they transfer to Carthage.

Credits will be transferred for courses in which grades of “C” (or its equivalent at Carthage) or above are earned. Credits which are transferred will be entered on the student’s permanent record without reference to the grade earned. Grades are not transferred; only credit is recorded, however, grades are used in computing the minimum cumulative grade point average for teacher education.

International Students

First-year and transfer students usually enter Carthage in the fall semester, but applications also are considered for terms beginning in January, February, and June. Carthage operates on a rolling admission basis, and applications are reviewed as they become complete.

The Carthage application is always non-binding. This means applying and being admitted does not commit you to attend Carthage.

International students will need to submit the following when applying for admission:

• A completed application
• Non-refundable application fee of U.S. $35. The preferred method of payment is by credit card.
• Official transcripts, certificates, and diplomas from your secondary school program and any previous university that you have attended. Transcripts must be in English and forwarded directly to Carthage from the institution.
• Official TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic scores. For TOEFL, a minimum score of 78 is required for the iBT, and 213 on the computer version. The minimum score for IELTS is 6.0. The minimum score for PTE Academic is 50. Scores must be sent directly to Carthage from the testing agency. (Carthage offers Conditional Acceptance for students who meet our admission requirements but require additional English preparation prior to enrolling. The College has a formal agreement with ELS Language Center in Milwaukee and will work with other language providers as necessary.)
• SAT-I scores are optional but encouraged for international students. International students who submit SAT-I scores receive additional scholarship consideration. A list of SAT-I testing sites and dates can be found on the College Board website.
• Certification of Finances form. All monetary amounts listed on the certification of finances form must be certified by bank officials. If you have a financial sponsor, that person must submit the sponsor statement.

Graduate Students

Are you interested in earning your master’s degree? Apply for graduate study.

Readmission

Did you previously attend Carthage, leave, and are looking to return? Complete the readmission form.