Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (Franklin Institute of Boston) Acceptance Rate, GPA, and Admission Requirements

After acceptance, FCT requires all incoming students to take the ALEKS PPL math assessment online (no fee, up to 4 attempts). This is not optional onboarding paperwork - your score determines which math course you enter, and that directly controls when you become co-op eligible in your program. Students placed in developmental math lose a full semester of program-specific coursework. Start ALEKS immediately: the platform lets you prep between attempts, and each retry requires a waiting period of logged prep hours (3 hours before 2nd attempt, 5 before 4th). Students who wait until orientation week start the semester already behind. If you have prior college math credit, confirm with admissions that you qualify for a waiver so you skip ALEKS entirely.

FCT has formal co-op agreements with Amazon Career Choice, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Mass General Brigham, Chipotle, McDonald's, and EdAssist - not generic "employer connections" but active partnerships where a co-op manager makes on-site visits and students earn academic credit plus pay. At a 500-student school, these spots are limited. Students who arrive at orientation not knowing these partnerships exist are often outcompeted for placements by students who contacted the co-op office before classes started. Find out by program which employer sites are currently active, ask which have had recent openings in your field, and introduce yourself to the career office before day one.

FCT's Credit for Prior Learning (CPL) program allows adults with relevant work experience, military training, or industry certifications to earn academic credit without retaking courses they already know. This is especially high-value for HVAC technicians, automotive workers, electricians, and allied health workers returning to school. CPL reduces your total credit load, which reduces tuition cost and accelerates graduation. The process requires documentation - work history, certifications, employer letters - so gather this before your first semester. CPL credits can satisfy both general education and program-specific requirements depending on the assessment. Students who skip this step pay for and sit through material they already know.

FCT assigns every student a Success Coach who is not an optional resource but the primary early-alert and advising mechanism. Success Coaches track academic performance, connect students to support services, and intervene before a student drops out. At a school where the graduation rate is around 46%, the gap between students who complete and those who don't tracks closely with Success Coach engagement. Schedule your first meeting in week one, not after midterms when a problem is already serious. Your Success Coach can also flag you for emergency financial support through the GRAD Last Mile Fund - a bridge grant designed to keep students enrolled through unexpected financial crises that occur close to graduation.