Each year, the public post-secondary institutions in British Columbia admit large numbers of new students to their various programs. Each institution has autonomy in making choices in the selection of its students and, as a result, a variety of methods and processes are used. A survey conducted by the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) in 2008/09 had revealed that secondary school counsellors believed that there were too many different admissions practices in use to be able to provide students with sound advice. In addition, the survey showed that even within postsecondary institutions, admission methods often were not well understood. This overview started from the premise that best practices in admissions could be described and presented for institutions to adopt, as appropriate, but evolved into a non-prescriptive form because of wide variability of circumstances among institutions and programs. The document begins by describing the context, and then examines the organization, process and policy with respect to admissions. The relative merits of various approaches to admissions are examined in broad terms, with a view to making general comparisons and noting adherence to key principles of fairness, transparency and efficiency. This overview is aimed at post-secondary personnel and others who are interested in the practices of admitting students to post-secondary institutions in British Columbia. Some parts may also apply to the other jurisdictions of Canada and to other countries. The document is aimed at addressing a number of admissions issues common across institutions. Abbreviations and Acronyms Used are appended. (Contains 2 footnotes.)