847.635.1700, www.oakton.edu/admission
Room 1740, Des Plaines Campus
Room A100, Skokie Campus

Oakton College Admits

  • Graduates from an accredited high school.
  • Persons who hold a State of Illinois High School Diploma.1
  • Persons over 18 years of age who have neither graduated from high school nor earned a State of Illinois High School Diploma.
  • Concurrent high school students.

Admission Requirements

Oakton admits students as described above. In addition, Illinois Public Act 86-0954 requires applicants seeking admission to some programs to meet specific entrance requirements, comparable to those at state universities. Applicants who do not meet the requirements may be conditionally admitted. The Office of Admission will evaluate the validity of a student's high school completion if they have reason to believe that the high school diploma or equivalent is not valid or was not obtained from an entity that provides secondary school education.

Admission to Baccalaureate-Oriented Associate Degree Programs in Liberal Arts, Science, Engineering, or Fine Arts

The Illinois Board of Higher Education has established the following high school course distribution requirements for all students seeking to earn an A.A., A.S., A.S.E., or A.F.A. degree. The law requires completion of at least 15 high school academic units in the following areas:

  • Four years of English (written and oral communication, literature)
  • Three years of mathematics (Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, Trigonometry or Computer Programming)
  • Three years of science (laboratory sciences)
  • Three years of social sciences (history and government)
  • Two years of electives (foreign language, music, art, or vocational)
  • Two years of flexible electives (two additional courses from any of the above categories)

Students who do not meet the minimum specific requirements may meet the requirements through placement testing and/or completion of specific college-level courses. Completion of 24 semester hours of college-level course work is also acceptable.

Admission of Students Who Want to Obtain an F-1 Visa 

International students must meet all admission requirements and should apply online at www.oakton.edu/admission. Admission requirements include meeting Oakton's English Language Requirements for International Students at www.oakton.edu/admissions/apply-to-oakton/international-student. Oakton does not offer a full-time ESL major for F-1 students. Applicants must be in valid, non-expired immigration status and have a sponsor in the United States in order to meet admission requirements.

Once the applicant’s file is complete, the admissions coordinator will issue the USCIS Form I-20. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will then determine approval for F-1 status. Once accepted, international students must be enrolled full time for at least 12 credit hours in each of the fall and spring semesters; summer enrollment is optional. If a student begins studies in the summer term, 12 semester hours are considered to be full-time status. Students in F-1 status will pay out-of-state tuition rates, need proof of health/medical insurance, and are not eligible for federal or state financial assistance. Contact the Office of Admission for further information.

Admission of Students with Disabilities

The College is committed to equal access to educational opportunities for students with disabilities. A student with a disability who needs academic accommodations is encouraged to make an appointment with the Access and Disability Resource Center at www.oakton.edu/studentservices/disability_services/forms/appointment.php.

Limited Enrollment Curricula and/or Health Career Programs

The following curricula at Oakton have specific admission requirements and accept a limited number of students each year. It is strongly recommended that students view an information session and meet with a health career specialist before applying to a limited enrollment program. See Oakton’s website for information about admission requirements, application procedures, and deadlines to apply to these programs:

  • Cancer Registry Management Certificate
  • Cardiac Sonography
  • Health Information Technology
  • Medical Assistant Certificate
  • Medical Coding and Billing Certificate
  • Medical Laboratory Technology 
  • Nursing
  • Patient Care Technician Certificate
  • Pharmacy Technician
  • Phlebotomy Certificate
  • Physical Therapist Assistant
  • Radiography
  • Sterile Processing Technician Certificate
  • Surgical Technology

All Oakton College Health Career students in limited enrollment health career programs with a clinical component must have “clear” criminal background checks and drug screens in order to participate in any and all clinical components of any health career program courses. See the career programs pages for further details.

More information regarding admission can be found in this catalog under the specific program or online at www.oakton.edu/admission.

Limited Enrollment Appeal Process

Candidates who are denied admission to any of Oakton’s limited enrollment health career programs may appeal the denial of admission by submitting a written request to the Director of Admission and Equity Outreach within 10 days of the original decision letter.

Readmission to Limited Enrollment Programs

Students who are dropped from a Limited Enrollment program may be readmitted one time to that program. Students must reapply and interview with the program chair prior to readmission.

Honors at Oakton

Oakton offers honors courses for students with strong achievement records in high school and for students who have excelled at Oakton. For more information, see Special Areas of Study and Concentrations - Honors at Oakton.

How to Apply for Admission

Questions regarding the application process? Contact the Office of Admission at 847.635.1700 or admission@oakton.edu.

General Admission Procedures

  1. Complete and submit the Oakton general online application form at www.oakton.edu.
  2. Submit the nonrefundable application fee of $25.
  3. Submit official transcripts. Individuals with an associate degree or higher who do not intend to graduate from Oakton need not submit transcripts.
  • High School Transcript – Seventh semester transcripts are accepted for students applying before high school graduation.
  • State of Illinois High School Diploma/High School Equivalency Transcript – Test results must be sent directly from the testing agency to Oakton’s Enrollment Center.
  • College Transcript – Submit official transcripts from colleges at which college-level credit was awarded and complete the Evaluation of Credits form available at www.oakton.edu/admission/forms.

4. Submit ACT or SAT test scores. A test is not required for admission, but results are used for placement and advising.

Concurrent High School Students

For high school juniors and seniors only. Students must have achieved a minimum high school GPA of 2.0. A maximum of one course per semester is allowed.

  1. Apply as a concurrent enrollment student at www.oakton.edu/admission.
  2. Submit the nonrefundable application fee of $25.
  3. Submit official high school transcript.

Readmission

Students who wish to return to Oakton after an absence of more than three years must complete an application for admission. An application fee is not required.

1

As of January 1, 2023, the High School Equivalency Certificate became the State of Illinois High School Diploma. High School Equivalency credentials received prior to that date remain valid.