Our Admissions Office will be happy to help with any questions you may have regarding Admission Requirements. The following is a brief overview but is not complete and there are often extenuating circumstances... so feel welcome to speak with an Admission Counselor or the Director, if your situation suggests it.

Age: ABI admits students who will be 17 or older by the start of programs.
Education: Usually the State Department of Education requires that students be either High School graduates or in possession of a GED (General Equivalency Diploma). This requirement was established in a good-faith attempt to insure that the prospective student would be able to benefit from the training.
Ability to benefit test (ATB)

It should be obvious that there may be many individuals, who for one reason or another did not complete formal education or might have difficulty in obtaining a General Equivalency Diploma (GED)... such as language problems.

The Department of Education recognizes the importance of occupational (or vocational) education and has no desire to make it unavailable to such persons, providing there is good reason to believe that the individual would benefit from such an educational opportunity. Therefore, there are provisions for an “Ability to Benefit Test” which the State and Federal Education Departments have both approved for the purpose of determining which candidates appear able to benefit.

American Barber Institute is proud to make such testing available to applicants.