Admission to the College is a personal and highly individualized process. If you need help, you may reach us by phone five days a week during normal business hours at 800-528-0025, email us or write to us:

Office of Admission
College of the Atlantic
105 Eden Street
Bar Harbor, ME 04609-1105

A personal approach characterizes our review of applications. In arriving at a decision, the admission committee looks for evidence of the following:

• academic preparation and achievement

• intellectual curiosity and an enthusiasm for learning

• desire to be part of a small college with a human ecology focus

• a tendency to seek out intellectual and personal challenges

COA accepts the Common Application. Our supplemental form provides us additional information about you. It is available on the Common Application website, by calling the Office of Admission or downloading it below.

Apply On-line

Online undergraduate application
Online graduate application
Review Application Deadlines/Notifications
Download a Common Application Supplement (.pdf format, 21k)

If you are looking for further inspiration — beyond the ideas listed on the Common Application — for possible personal statement topics, here are additional suggestions:

1. Maps serve as a guide to where one can go, while also providing a record of the landscape. Landmarks, geological history, and cultural details can all be found on a map. At COA, students use mapping technology to understand the relationships between individuals and their communities, and between communities and their land. Create a map of your life, using whatever media you prefer, charting the highlights that indicate your history, influences, and future. Landmarks can range from people to events to places.

2. Comment on the following: "It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin barefoot irreverence to their studies. They are not here to worship what is known, but to question it." (Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man, 1975) Is this true? Why or why not?

3. For many years, science has been the preferred approach to addressing environmental problems. Significant progress has been made in many areas, but there remain a myriad of environmental issues that need to be addressed and science is only one part of any overall solution. Comment on the role of the arts and humanities in the effort to create a better relationship between humans and their environment.

An application for admission is complete when the Office of Admission has received all of the following:

1. A completed application form and $50 fee

2. An application essay as well as answers to all short questions

3. At least two teacher recommendations (see application for details)

4. Official transcripts of all academic work

5. Secondary school report (First Year students only)

6. A personal interview, although not required, is strongly recommended for all candidates.

While standardized test scores (SAT or ACT) are optional, they are particularly helpful in assessing the academic ability of students from schools which do not give grades or have nontraditional programs. 59% of first year students for Fall 2010 submitted SAT scores. Our CEEB code is 3305.

Transfer or Visiting Students

College of the Atlantic welcomes applications from transfer students. About 20 percent of all new students annually are transfer or visiting students.

A student may transfer a maximum of 18 credits to COA (the equivalent of 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours). Although an evaluation of credit is not final until after enrollment, students may receive preliminary evaluations by contacting the Registrar's Office at 207-801-5681.

Students who wish to spend one or more terms at COA and transfer college credit to another institution should apply as Visiting Students.  

Visiting Students may be eligible to apply some of their financial aid to their time at COA.  Please check with your financial aid and registrar's offices about whether you can bring some forms of financial aid with you through a consortium agreement between the two schools.  A consortium agreement is a legal arrangement that may allow for the transfer of certain Title IV (federal) funds such as Pell grants, Stafford loans, etc.  The number of credits that can transfer back to your home institution and the costs associated with taking classes at COA help determine your eligibility for aid.  You may contact the COA Financial Aid Office at 207-801-5645 for more details, or you can start by inquiring at your home school.

International Students

COA welcomes applications from highly qualified international students. Application deadlines for international students are the same as those for freshmen and transfer students. Application requirements are identical, except that international students are also required to submit scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and a Declaration of Finances Form. Students who are graduates of any of the United World Colleges may qualify for full financial aid as recipients of the Davis Scholarship. Financial aid is not available for international students who are not enrolled at a United World College.

Adult Students

Older students of nontraditional college age wishing to take courses or pursue a degree are invited to inquire and become better acquainted with the College. Adult students are encouraged to contact the admission office early in the admission process to arrange a personal interview.

Advanced Placement and I.B.

College credit may be given for superior performance in the CEEB advanced placement examinations or the College Level Examination Program. Scores should be sent directly from the testing source. COA credit normally will be granted for scores of '4' or higher.

For International Baccalaureate (IB) work, two COA credits will normally be given for scores of '5' on higher level exams. These credits are officially recorded only following successful completion of the student's first year.

Deferred Admission

Students wishing to defer Fall admission may do so prior to June 1 by sending a written response to the Director of Admission and paying a $400 nonrefundable deposit ($200 of which will be applied to the student's first term tuition bill). Matriculation will be postponed for up to a full academic year, subject to successful completion of any academic work completed during that time, as well as continued confidence in the quality of the student's personal character.