To be considered for admission, students under the age of 24 must meet the minimum course requirements, as established by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina system. Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to Appalachian. Applicants who are at least 24 years of age may be exempted from the minimum course requirements.

• a high school diploma or its equivalent;
• four English courses;
• four mathematics courses, including Algebra I, Algebra II, geometry, a higher level mathematics course for which Algebra II is a prerequisite; or any one of the following courses: AP Calculus, AP Statistics, Pre-Calculus (formerly Advanced Math), Discrete Mathematics, IB Mathematics Level II, Integrated Mathematics IV and Advanced Functions and Modeling
• three science courses, including at least one in a life or biological science (biology); at least one course in a physical science (physical science, chemistry, physics) and at least one laboratory course; and
• two courses in social studies including one in US History.
• two units of a second language