How To Apply

Admissions Office
Main Building, Room 200
Laurie Gilmore, Director

Phone (518) 438-3111 ext 217
E-mail: admissions@mariacollege.edu

We Look Forward to Your Application To Maria!

At Maria, we want to do everything we can to make your application process as clear and easy as possible.  The personal attention you receive during the admissions process is an excellent introduction to becoming part of Maria's warm and encouraging environment.  You have three ways to apply to Maria!

• Submit a paper application
• Submit an online application, or
• Attend an Application Acceptance Day for instant admission.

Whichever you choose, you can be sure we will give your application the attention it deserves.  We welcome you to the Maria community, where experienced and knowledgeable faculty members are ready to help you achieve your goals.

General Admissions Requirements

Though we do not have a specific date by which your application must be submitted, the Committee on Admissions recommends that application be made well in advance of the semester for which you seek admission.  There are also prerequisites for direct entry into specific programs, shown in the Prerequisites for Maria's Degree Programs section and the Prerequisites for Maria's Certificate Programs section.

1. Applicants should have average or above average high school academic performance.
2. Applicants must offer evidence of an anticipated or completed high school program or its equivalent.
3. Applicants accepted as full-time or part-time students in Nursing, Occupational Therapy Assistant, or Early Childhood Education must complete a physical examination form, which will be mailed to them upon acceptance. Students enrolled in these programs are required to have a physical examination each year.

Note: New York State Public Health Law 2165 requires students attending colleges and universities to demonstrate proof of immunity against measles, mumps and rubella. The law applies to persons born on or after January 1, 1957. The immunization form will be mailed to students upon their acceptance. Failure to submit required physical/immunization forms may result in forfeiture of space in a given program.

To apply, just follow the steps below for the type of application process you prefer - paper or online - or attend an Application Acceptance Day.

How to Apply to Maria - Paper Application

1. Submit a completed degree program application or certificate application and with a non-refundable $35 fee payable to "Maria College".   Mail to:  Admissions Office, Maria College, 700 New Scotland Avenue, Albany, New York, 12208.
2. Arrange for an official transcript of your record (high school, college) to be sent directly to the Admissions Office at the above address.
3. If not included on your high school transcript, submit official scores for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT-1), New SAT or American College Testing (ACT).
4. If you have an equivalency diploma, request that the Department of Education send an official certificate to the Admissions Office.
5. Students who have graduated or been granted an equivalency diploma and have not taken the SAT or ACT will be required to take Maria's admissions test. This requirement may be waived if previous college credit gives evidence of proficiency in reading, writing and mathematics; however, Maria College reserves the right to require the admissions test for any student who does not have SAT or ACT scores or who fails to provide adequate evidence of proficiency in the stated areas.
6. Applicants whose scores fall below 380 math or verbal on the original SAT, or 480 SAT-I verbal or SAT-I 490 (re-centered scale) on the New SAT, are required to take the Maria College placement test. Applicant scores may necessitate enrollment in remedial courses.
7. We request that the recommendation form provided by Maria (high school reference report or  for those students not directly out of high school, the returning student reference report) be completed by a guidance counselor, teacher or other professional and submitted to the Admissions Office.
8. An interview will be scheduled when all of the above have been received. You may contact the Admissions Office at (518) 438-3111, ext. 217, or by e-mail at admissions@mariacollege.edu.

How to Apply to Maria - Online Application

You have the option of applying to Maria online!  You can submit an online Application for Admission to a Degree Program; however there are additional documents listed below that must be submitted to our Admissions Office to fully complete the application process.  Please be aware that an Application for Admissions is not considered complete and will not be evaluated until all required documents have been received, either by mail or, in the case of the essay, forwarded electronically:

• A non-refundable $35.00 application fee,
• Official high school and college transcripts,
• One professional reference,
• Autobiographical essay e-mailed to admissions@mariacollege.edu.

After submission and receipt of your online application, you will receive a letter by mail specifying that the above requirements must also be received before your application is considered complete.

How to Apply - Application Acceptance Days

Maria's Admissions Office hosts numerous "Application Acceptance Days" throughout the academic year.  Click here for upcoming dates.  Stop by any time between 9 am - 6 pm, bring your transcript(s) - from high school (and any colleges you may have attended), and it is possible to be accepted that very day. The Admissions Office is found in the Main Building on the second floor in Room 206. For more information contact admissions@mariacollege.edu or call 438-3111 x217.

Prerequisites for Maria's Degree Programs

Each of Maria's academic programs has its own entrance requirements, or prerequisites, as shown below. Even if you do not have all of the prerequisites for the program you are interested in, you can still be admitted to Maria!  A student who needs to take any prerequisite courses for a specific program may attend a preparatory year taking these courses, and others as well. Then the student applies to the program for the second year at the College.  

Prerequisites for Accounting, Computer Information Systems, Liberal Arts, Management, Nursing, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Paralegal and Research Technologist include:

• 4 units of English,
• 2 units of college preparatory math,
• 2 units of science (students applying for Nursing or Occupational Therapy  Assistant – must have 3 units of science, including biology and chemistry),
• 3 units of social studies.

Minimum grade point average of 2.30 required for Nursing transfer applicants.  Preference for admission into the Nursing program will be given to full-time students.

Prerequisites for Early Childhood Education and General Studies include:

• 4 units of English
• 2 units of math
• 2 units of science, and
• 3 units of social studies

Prerequisites for Advanced Placement in Nursing

Qualified LPN applicants may enter the Associate Degree  Nursing (ADN) Program in one of three ways:

1. Successful completion of the Challenge Exam, qualifying student for admission into Nur 130 (Nursing III).  Nursing transfer applicants may enter the Challenge Review at the discretion of the Nursing chair.  Enrollment in the Challenge Review may be limited to students 20 per year.
2. Successful completion of the LPN-RN Transition Courses (Nur 198 - LPN-RN Transition Course and Nur 199 - LPN-RN Transition Skills Proficiency) and 23 required liberal arts credits. (A resume demonstrating current clinical experience is required to enter Nur 198, and consent of the Nursing chair is required for those who have previously been dismissed from Maria's ADN program.)  This qualifies student for admission into Nur 240 (Nursing IV).  Enrollment in Nur 198 and Nur 199 may be limited to 20 per year. 

3. Successful completion of the Maria College PNC Program, qualifying student for admissions into Nur 240. 

Advanced placement applicants must meet all admission requirements for the ADN Program, as well as program-specific requirements for each level applied for, i.e., Nur 130 (Nursing III) or Nur 240 (Nursing IV). Those earning credit through the Challenge Review or the LPN-RN Transition courses, Nur 198 and Nur 199, must begin the next nursing core course within six months of completion.  Advanced placement from the PNC to the Associate Degree senior year requires the following:  the applicant must submit a degree application by April 1 prior to the fall semester in which he/she plans to begin; meet all normal admission requirements for the Associate Degree; and pass his/her NCLEX (LPN) by December 1 of the year the applicant begins Nur 240.  Qualified applicants must begin the next nursing course within three years of completing the PNC Program.  Day or evening placement for Nur 130 or Nur 240 depends on space availability.

Procedures and Prerequisites for Certificate Programs

• Submit a completed Certificate Application Form with a non-refundable $35 fee payable to "Maria College".
• Offer evidence of an anticipated or completed high school program or its equivalent.
• Applicants for Certificate Programs need only the highest level transcript.  Those applying for the Paralegal Certificate, Practical Nurse Certificate, and Teaching Assistant Certificate are required to submit official high school and college transcripts.
• Applicants for the Practical Nurse Certificate and the Teaching Assistant Certificate must submit SAT or ACT scores or take the College's Admissions Test.  The Admissions Test requirement may be waived on the basis of previous college credit provided the credit demonstrates proficiency in Reading, Math, and Writing.

All other Certificate program application procedures are the same as those listed under degree application procedures.