Applying for Admission

Pennsylvania State University

Applying for Admission

For information on specific Admissions Tests please see: Admission Tests: What they are and who needs to take them

Each U.S. college or university sets its own admission standards and decides which applicants meet those standards. You must apply separately to each college or university.

Terms you may need to know

Transcript: An official copy of a student’s educational record
Credit: Recognition by a school or college that a student has fulfilled a requirement leading to a degree
Undergraduate: A student at a college or university who has not yet received a bachelor’s degree
Graduate school: A school in a university offering study leading to degrees beyond the bachelor’s degree
GPA: Grade Point Average: A numerical measure of academic achievement based upon a computation figured from the number of credits and grade points earned per course

Even if you have selected one school where you are sure you want to study, you should still apply to other schools—it is possible that your “first choice” school may not accept you. At least one or two of your choices should be schools where you and your advisor are fairly certain you will be admitted. Remember that you are competing with students from all over the world, for a limited number of spaces.

Most U.S. schools encourage international students to contact them at least one year before they plan to enter that school.

Follow these steps as you apply to U.S. colleges and universities:

Write to several schools. After you have selected the schools you want to attend, contact them for more information and an application form. Go to the “Request Information” link on our website to complete an online request form. You may link directly to the admissions office by clicking the “Apply Now” button on the school’s page at StudyUSA.com.

For graduate (postgraduate) school admissions you must apply directly to the graduate school for which you are qualified, such as the Physics or History Department. Contact either the Admissions Office of the graduate school or the chairperson of the department. You should be in good academic standing if you expect to be admitted to a graduate program. If you contact schools through email or letter, please mention that you learned about the school from Study in the USA.

Send application forms. U.S. colleges and universities usually base their admissions decisions on a student’s academic record and applicable test scores, such as TOEFL or the SAT. If you are applying for graduate schools, additional exam scores, such as the GRE or GMAT, will be required.

The Admissions Office or graduate school department will send you information about their academic programs and an application form. (You might be able to obtain a specific school’s application form online or at your local educational advising center.) The fee for each application is between U.S. $35 and $75. This money pays for processing your application and is non-refundable, even if you don’t aren’t admitted to the school.

The Admissions office will look at your marks during the last four years of secondary school and on the national secondary school examinations in your country. If you are applying to graduate school, your marks from college or university will be looked at. Ask the school you are now attending, or the school you have attended most recently, to mail a certified copy of your academic record or “transcript” to the schools where you are applying. Prior to taking your admissions tests, you should arrange for official score reports to be sent to the colleges or universities that interest you.

Writing an Awesome Essay

Many students from other countries are not familiar with the American practice of writing a personal essay to submit with your university application. Here are some tips on how to write an awesome essay!

STEP 1: Think of a great topic Your essay topic should have personal meaning for you. It should reveal something about who you are, what your values or interests are, and how you are different from any other applicant. Write something about yourself that cannot be seen in your grades, the list of classes that you’ve taken, or in any other part of your application. Selecting the right topic is very important. To start thinking, some questions you can ask yourself are: What are you like?; What have you done?; Where do you want to go?

STEP 2: Write your essay Writing takes time. Don’t rush or expect to finish your essay in one afternoon. Pay special attention to the introduction. Draw in the reader so that he or she is interested in finding out what the rest of the essay has to say and will reveal. Use simple words to express your ideas; you don’t have to use big vocabulary words to show how much English you know—use the language to express yourself, not to prove how smart you are. Follow up statements with examples.

STEP 3: Take your time & ask for help Leave yourself enough time so that you can stop working on your essay for a few days—even a week—and then come back to it. This will allow you to see your essay with a fresh perspective. Also, show your essay to your friends and your family—they will be able to see things you’ve missed or neglected to mention.

Have fun, take your time, show yourself, and tell your story well!

Most applications will request the following information:

Personal information—Include your name, age, address, family background, birthplace, citizenship, and so on.

Activities—Make a list of club memberships, awards earned, team sports experience, or leadership roles you have held.

Education plan—Write a short essay explaining why you want to attend this school, what course of study you want to pursue, your career goals, and research plans.

Essay—Some schools require a personal essay on a topic of your choosing.

Letters of recommendation—The application form will include several blank pages on which to provide letters of recommendation. Ask several of your teachers to compose and mail these letters directly to the Admissions Office of each school you choose.

Be sure to send your application to each college or university well before the application deadline.

Register for admissions tests.

Students applying to U.S. colleges and universities must take examinations that measure aptitude and achievement. International students must also take a test that measures English proficiency. These tests are given at test centers around the world. They are “standardized,” so that students take the same test at every test center. Your scores give the Admissions Office a uniform international standard for measuring your ability in comparison with other students.

Take the admissions tests. Your test scores are sent directly to the colleges and universities to which you are applying. You will be asked to indicate the names of these schools when you register to take certain tests, such as the SAT, or, in the case of computer-based tests, you will designate them at the exam site. The testing agencies will mail your scores directly to these schools. There will be a fee for scores that you request at a later date.

Receive acceptance letters. After the application deadline, you will begin receiving letters from the schools to which you have applied. Some schools inform candidates of their acceptance soon after their documents have arrived in the Admission’s Office. This is called “rolling admissions.” Other schools, however, wait several months and inform all candidates at one time.

Pay your deposit. Most schools require students to pay a deposit by a certain deadline if they want to reserve a space in the entering class. For international students, this deposit can be as high as a semester’s or a full year’s tuition.

You should send your deposit immediately if you are applying for financial aid or if you plan to live in university housing. Because many schools do not have enough campus housing for all the students, you will have a better chance of getting a room on campus if you send your housing application and room deposit fee as quickly as possible.

The school that you select may also require a statement indicating how much money you will have available during the years you will be in school. If your government or company is sponsoring you, you will need to send details of your award.

Once your space has been officially reserved, your school will send you an I-20 form or an Exchange Visitor’s IAP-66 form. With either of these forms, you may apply for a visa to study in the U.S.A.

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