First-Year Students

At Whittier College, a First-Year Student is someone who is a high school senior or who has graduated from high school but has not enrolled in a 2-year or 4-year institution of higher education.

Students who meet the above criteria but hold a foreign passport or are currently studying out of the country, should apply as International Students.

If the above information doesn't describe you, please consider applying as a Transfer Student.

How to Apply

1. Submit an application via the Common Application in addition to the following items:
2. Letter of recommendation from a recent or current teacher
3. Secondary School Report from your college/guidance counselor
4. Official high school transcripts reflecting coursework through the junior year for Early Action applications, and through the fall semester of senior year for the Regular Decision applications.
5. Standardized Test scores: Whittier College is Test-Optional. If you choose to submit your standardized test scores, Whittier College will consider your highest section scores from across all test dates (also known as super scoring) from your SAT or ACT results. You should provide all test score results by submitting an official score report through the testing agency (SAT I Code #4952, ACT Code #0480), or by self-reporting all scores using the Test Score Form in their application portal.* Enrolling students that applied using self-reported test scores will need to verify their scores by submitting an official score report from the testing agency before starting classes. If you feel like your standardized test score results are not an accurate reflection of your academic potential we can consider your application without them if you apply as a Test-Optional applicant.** This preference must be indicated in your Common Application.

*Test scores self-reported in the Common Application will not be used for the admission review process.

**Students that apply as Test-Optional that have a Whittier Admission GPA under a 3.0 could be required to provide standardized test scores in order to be considered for admission. The Whittier Admission GPA is a 9-11 grade, weighted GPA that includes all academic classes.

You may submit any additional information you believe will help support your application for admission.

Clery Act

We value the safety of all members of the Whittier community. The Whittier College Annual Security and Fire Safety Report can be viewed online. This report provides crime statistics for the prior three years, policy statements regarding various safety and security measures, campus crime prevention program descriptions, and procedures to be followed in the investigation and adjudication of reportable crimes. A paper copy of the document is available at the Department of Campus Safety or by calling 562.907.4211