First-year students are attending a college or university for the first time or have enrolled in a concurrent enrollment course while in high school. In other words, you're just beginning.
Our application takes on average 20 minutes to fill out, and there is NO application fee. It's easy-peasy! In addition, you do not need to send your high school transcript or SAT or ACT scores!
Here’s what you need to apply:
- High school diploma or equivalency
- Ecclesiastical Endorsement (meet with your bishop AND a member of your stake presidency)
- English Proficiency Exam may be required
o Graduation from a regionally accredited U.S. high school. Students must receive a “C” or better in non-ESL English courses. Upload a high school transcript when you submit the form.
o A “C-“ or better in a college-level English writing or composition course at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. This course is equivalent to Ensign College’s ENG 101 Introduction to College Writing course. We must receive official college transcripts to verify. (For on-campus students, the PathwayConnect English courses will not satisfy this requirement.)
o A score of 18 or higher on the ACT English section. Upload ACT scores or a high school transcript with ACT scores listed. ACT scores are only valid for 2 years after test.
We are unable to waive English Proficiency based on time as an English-Speaking missionary or time living in an English-Speaking country.
If you attended an international high school, you may need to have an evaluation of your high school. See more information about this in the “International Students” section.
Home school applicants, please visit here for more information.
IB applicants do not need to submit an evaluation if a diploma has been earned. However, if the program has not been completed, or does not have a US accreditation, then transcripts will need to be evaluated.
Transfer students are students who attended a college or university after completion of high school/secondary education.
Here’s what you need to apply:
- High school diploma or equivalency
- Ecclesiastical endorsement (meet with your bishop AND a member of your stake presidency)
*No application fee is required to apply!
If you need an I-20 in order to apply for an F-1 Student Visa to study legally in the US, then you're identified as an international student.
Here’s what you need to apply:
- Evaluation of equivalency of high school completion
- Ecclesiastical endorsement (meet with your bishop AND a member of your stake presidency)
- English Proficiency Exam may be required
*No application fee!
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Education Completed Outside U.S.Ensign College requires equivalency of high school completion/graduation or completion of at least 24 semester credits of college work.
Please do not send transcripts or other documentation directly to us unless they are from an accredited U.S. institution. We will discard any international transcripts that are not properly evaluated.
We accept evaluations from the following two agencies:
International Education Research Foundation (IERF)
This is our preferred agency.- Be sure to select Ensign College as the recipient as part of your online application.
- Ensign College and other CES schools require the “detail report”.
- Review this video for more instructions.
TEC (Formerly SpanTran)- Follow the instructions to apply for a course analysis of your non-U.S. high school/secondary or college transcripts.
We recommend that you arrange for your academic documents to be submitted to IERF or TEC 4-6 weeks before our admission application deadline in order to allow enough time for the company to submit the evaluation to us.
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English ProficiencyYou may be required to submit proof of English proficiency. This can be met by providing results from one of our accepted tests:
- TOEFL (iBT)
- IELTS (Academic)
- Pearson’s PTE
- Cambridge English – Advanced Placement Test (CAE) or Proficiency Test (CPE)
TOEFL, IELTS, and PTE scores are valid for two years. If the exam expires before the application deadline, a new score will be required. The Cambridge English exams do not expire.
Your admission decision will be based on your most recent test scores. We do not accept composite scores or Best Scores from any exam.
Scores from any of these tests should be sent directly from the testing company that issued the test. To do this, you will need to select Ensign College when you take the test or request an official score report to be sent to us later.
For the TOEFL iBT test, our institution code is 4414.
If you choose to use the IELTS test, applicants must contact the IELTS test center where the test was taken to request official test results. We do not accept unofficial copies of IELTS Test Report Forms from students. An institution code is NOT required. Ensign College is registered to receive IELTS scores using the IELTS Results Service E-Delivery, so please send scores to:
Ensign College
95 North 300 West
Salt Lake City, Utah
84101
Please be sure to register for your exam with your name exactly as it appears on your Ensign College application.Subject Area/Sub Scores Reading Listening Speaking Writing TOEFL (IBT) 17 16 16 17 IELTS 6.0 6.0 5.5 5.0 Pearson's PTE (Updated Starting Fall 2024) 52 52 52 52 Cambridge English - Advanced Placement Test (CAE) or Proficiency Test (CPE) 169 169 162 154
o Graduation from a regionally accredited U.S. high school. Students must receive a “C” or better in non-ESL English courses. Upload a high school transcript when you submit the form.
o A “C-“ or better in a college-level English writing or composition course at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university. This course is equivalent to Ensign College’s ENG 101 Introduction to College Writing course. We must receive official college transcripts to verify. (For on-campus students, the PathwayConnect English courses will not satisfy this requirement.)
o A score of 18 or higher on the ACT English section. Upload ACT scores or a high school transcript with ACT scores listed.
We are unable to waive English Proficiency based on time as an English-Speaking missionary or time living in an English-Speaking country.
o If you are in the process of completing the IB, then an evaluation would be required unless the school also has U.S. accreditation.





Non-degree-seeking or "visiting" students are those who wish to enroll in classes but are not planning to complete a certificate or degree at Ensign College.
Here’s what you need to apply:
- High school diploma or equivalency
- Ecclesiastical Endorsement (meet with your bishop AND a member of your stake presidency)
*No application fee!
BYU FlexGE students will be able to enroll and matriculate into Ensign College, making them eligible to apply for financial aid. Because FlexGE students attend BYU classes for transferable credit but aren't matriculated into the university, this new collaboration will equip students with more resources to fund their education.
This opportunity offers several benefits to participating BYU FlexGE students, including:
- Eligibility to apply for federal financial aid and scholarships through Ensign College
- Access to courses that provide students with real-world skills and experience so they can gain better employment to fund further education
- The ability to continue on at Ensign College and earn a certificate, associate's degree, or bachelor's degree
- Credits earned from both BYU and Ensign College courses can be applied to complete a degree from Ensign College

To learn more about this exciting opportunity and begin academic planning to participate, visit: https://flexge.byu.edu/ensign-college.
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