The College of the Marshall Islands says the reason most high school graduates fail to gain entry is because they do not start to learn English early enough and most teachers are not adequately qualified.
The college president, Wilson Hess, says almost all of the country's high school graduates do not qualify for credit-level college courses.
He says most students must take at least two to three semesters of english and math courses to gain college acceptance.
Mr Hess says the problem in the Marshalls is twice as high as in the United States.
"We see at the stage of students leaving high school, close to 90 percent of all candidates for the college of the Marshall Islands need some level of pre-credit work."
Mr Hess says larger schools and private school graduates tend to receive better results.
A course to help students gain entry to high school has started at the public high school in Majuro.
