At Bow Valley College, we recognize that students coming to college may not all follow the traditional high school path. We recognize those from different backgrounds including those with College Board SAT exam, Advanced Placement courses, the International Baccalaureate diploma, and home-based schooling. You don’t need a traditional high school diploma to be ready for college-level studies.
These options meet the same requirements as the academic needs for our certificate and diploma programs in the Centre for Entertainment Arts, School of Technology, School of Community Studies, and Chiu School of Business. Programs in the School of Health & Wellness, post-diploma and post-baccalaureate certificates, brokered, and contract programs are not included. In addition to the academic requirements, you will need to meet English proficiency and non-academic requirements listed for the program.
If you're thinking of transferring to another college or university after your program, it's important to check their admission requirements. They might be different from what we have here.
We use our admission and placement test to check if your current knowledge matches what we need from the high school courses listed for academic admission.
Look at the admission requirements on your desired program page to see if it accepts the Bow Valley College Admission & Placement test and what high school courses it will be testing for. To qualify, you will need test results which match the high school course listed for the program.
Please note: We do not accept other college or university admission tests.
Courses you take at Bow Valley College or another post-secondary institution may count in place of the high school courses you need for admission. This includes dual credit programs like International Baccalaureate or Advanced placement. You can take courses in our Open Studies program or University Transfer. New equivalencies will be reviewed by the program chair, dean's office, or admissions manager.
The list of accepted courses can change, check our transfer page for more information.
If you finish 15 credits of college or university courses with a minimum 'C' grade in each (including 3 credits in literature, humanities, arts, or social sciences), you are academically eligible for admission into Bow Valley College.
If you are not in good standing at your previous school, you might need to wait 12 months after the notice on your transcript before you can apply to Bow Valley College.
We use Bow Valley College's grading and credit scales to check equivalence. Please visit our transfers page for more information.
If you scored 1050 or higher on the College Board SAT, you can get into Bow Valley College without submitting your high school requirements.
When you send SAT results to Bow Valley College, use our Designated Institute (DI) code: 7941.
You are responsible for arranging and taking the SAT test yourself. Send the official result to us. You can learn more about the test at satsuite.collegeboard.org. Bow Valley College does not offer the SAT exam.
If you have other college admissions qualifications like the ACT (American College Testing) or GCE 'A Level' (General Certificate of Education Advanced Level), we'll consider those on a case-by-case basis to see if they match our program requirements.
Bow Valley College's English for Academic Purposes' Academic English 2 is accepted in place of English 30 for most programs.
Please visit the English Language Proficiency Requirements page to find out the required scores and specific requirements for your program.
Bow Valley College welcomes home-based students - those who finished high school at home in Canada or the U.S. If you're a home-based student, you can meet the 'academic' requirement for admission in a few ways:
If you're planning to transfer to another college or university after your program at Bow Valley College, make sure to review their admission requirements—they may be different from ours. You can also explore our University Transfer agreements to see if there’s a pathway in place.
Bow Valley College believes in including all adult students. A 'mature' student is someone who is 20 years or older at the time of admission and a Canadian resident. They may not have completed the high school courses needed for admission. A mature student can meet the 'academic' requirements for admission in a few ways:
**Many applicants over 20 years of age might call themselves 'mature' students, but they have finished high school. If that is the case they should apply normally using their high school transcripts for faster processing and to avoid restrictions on classes.
Anyone who previously went to college or university might tell us on their application and send us their official transcripts.
If you're planning to transfer to another college or university after your program at Bow Valley College, make sure to review their admission requirements—they may be different from ours. You can also explore our University Transfer agreements to see if there’s a pathway in place.
If you are not able to provide transcripts and do not meet the admission requirements through the options listed above, mature or home-schooled students may apply through an alternative entry pathway by submitting a letter of intent as partial fulfilment of academic admission requirements. The letter of intent must be no more than 600 words, written and authorized by the applicant, and should briefly address the following:
*Letters of intent must be personally written by the applicant and reflect their own voice and experiences; submissions generated by AI are not accepted.
Make sure to submit your letter after you’ve applied—by email, mail, or in person. It should be typewritten in English and include your name, student number, and program. We’ll evaluate it based on your readiness for college-level work. Mature students must send the Letter of Intent with a resume.
Courses you take at Bow Valley College may count in place of the high school courses you need for admission. You can take many of these courses through Open Studies to qualify for admission. With a satisfactory grade, these courses may also qualify for transfer credit.
Bow Valley College
345 - 6 Avenue SE,
Calgary, AB T2G 4V1
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Friday
6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Saturday
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Closed Sunday
+1 403-410-1400
1-866-428-2669 (toll free)
