English Proficiency

One of the most important factors affecting your success in school in the United States is the ability to communicate in English. While we have academic support that is available to all students, we do not operate an ESL program nor have specific ESL support services for students. We therefore require all students not from recognized English speaking countries adequately demonstrate English proficiency as part of the application process.  This must be done before you can be accepted. It is not possible to come here first and then demonstrate English proficiency.

IELTS, TOEFL, Pearson PTE, or Cambridge CAE Tests
Most students demonstrate English proficiency by presenting test results from one of these tests. The IELTS test is a great choice, and we seek students with an overall band score of 6.0 or higher. If you take the IELTS test, please request that the official test score be sent to us. If you let us know your Test Report Form (TRF) number, we can check your result online.

We also accept the TOEFL test and require a score of 73 or higher on the Internet based test, or a score of 533 or higher with an essay of 4.0 or better on the paper test. If you take the TOEFL test, please ask that your official results be sent to Concordia using our TOEFL school code of 6113.

We accept Cambridge English: Advanced CAE and seek students who achieve a score of 52 or higher, and we accept the Pearson PTE Academic test if you achieve a score of 52 or better.

Recognized English-Speaking Countries
The list of recognized English speaking countries we use is prepared by the University of Minnesota and includes only these countries:

 
Anguilla Dominica Northern Ireland
Antigua England Ponape
Australia Grand Turks Island Scotland
Bahamas Grenada Seychelles
Barbados Guyana Shetland Islands
Belize Ireland St. Kitts Nevis
Bermuda Jamaica St. Lucia
British Virgin Islands Liberia St. Vincent
Canada (except Quebec) Montserrat Trinidad/Tobago
Caicos Islands New Caledonia United Kingdom
Cayman Islands New Zealand Wales

Alternative Proficiency Demonstrations
While we prefer the above testing methods, alternative ways of demonstrating English proficiency may be possible depending on your situation. Contact Don Buegel if any of the items below apply to you:
  • From Norway (with grade 4 or higher in English), or from Sweden (with grade of MVG in English), or from Finland (with grade of 9 or 10 in English)
  • SAT I average score at 60th percentile or better for critical reading and writing sections
  • IB student taking English A-1 or A2, HL or SL, with a final score of 5 or higher
  • From Zimbabwe – We follow the recommendation of the educational adviser in Zimbabwe
  • Successfully complete Level 112 at an ELS Language Center
  • Successfully complete Level 6 at any A.C.E. Language Institute
  • Successfully complete Course 109 at YBM Si-sa Education
  • A pass or first-class pass at Expert or Mastery level of City and Guilds IESOL
  • Successfully passed grade Pre-1 of the Japanese STEP Eiken test in Practical English Proficiency

Information For:

current students
faculty and staff		 parents
alumni		 high school students
admitted students