• An affidavit of financial sponsorship (pdf). This document must be dated within one year of the applicant's anticipated entry into the university.
• Official copies of secondary and postsecondary school records from your home country. No admissions file will be complete until your final transcripts have been provided to the university. Transcripts must contain all courses and grades completed in secondary school. Certified English translations are also requested.
• Official transcripts of any college or university work completed in the United States.
• Language Proficiency for Undergraduate Admission

  Many universities have rigid TOEFL requirements for admission. However, Kansas State University wants to make the admission process as easy as possible for you.

  If you meet the academic requirements, Kansas State University can admit you with no proof of English proficiency (no TOEFL).

  Learn about the process and taking the English Proficiency Test.

You will receive your admission by mail or FedEx. This notice will include your I-20/DS-2019/DS-2019, along with information on how to apply for housing. Other mailings will be sent from your academic department, Housing and Dining Services and other student service units on the K-State campus. We encourage students to visit our pre-arrival website below.

Learn more about the pre-arrival process

Visa application
Due to the extensive amount of time often required to process a visa application, you should apply for your visa as early as possible. Each embassy or consular post has its own application procedures, so you should consult the office where you will be applying for specific details. All students must complete a visa application to schedule a visa interview.

Student visa information from the Department of State is available for those applying for an F-1 visa and J-1 visa. The Department of Homeland Security requires the submission of a SEVIS I-901 form and fee, which must be paid before the Embassy will issue your visa.

You will then need to take your I-20 (F-1) or DS-2019 (J-1) form, SEVIS I-901 payment receipt, passport, evidence of financial support and admissions acceptance letter with you when you apply for the visa. If the visa is approved, you will be given an F-1/J-1 visa stamp in the passport. The visa is a stamp in the passport indicating where the visa was issued, the date the visa will expire, the number of entries, the type of visa and the visa number. When you collect the passport with the visa, you will also be given a sealed envelope containing the original I-20/DS-2019.

If you are transferring from another institution in the U.S. and your visa is still valid, you do not need to obtain a new visa to attend K-State, provided that you have already attended the school named on your visa when you initially entered the U.S. and you are using the I-20 issued to you by K-State when you re-enter.

Port-of-entry
When you enter the U.S., you will need to present your passport, visa, and I-20 (for F-1 students) or DS-2019 (for J-1 students). You will be issued a small card that is called an I-94. The officer at the port of entry will probably staple this card into your passport. This card is very important, as it is your proof of legal entry; do not lose it. You may be asked to go to another line where you will have your documents examined and be asked some questions. You might also be finger printed and photographed. This is called secondary inspection and it is required for most students when they enter the U.S. for the first time. Therefore, please allow at least two to three hours for your connecting flight(s).

Report date
Entry to the U.S. is limited to 30 days before the report date listed on the I-20 and/or the DS-2019. You must report to the International Student and Scholar Services within 15 days of your report date. Students must check in with ISSS to have their SEVIS record registered.

Upon completing the mandatory check-in process, students will be allowed to enroll in K-State courses. If a student completes the mandatory check-in process but does not enroll, K-State is required to report non-enrollment to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Each type of immigration status has its own set of unique rules and regulations. It is your responsibility to know and understand your legal obligations for your own status. Most students are in either F-1 or J-1 status. Although many other status categories do allow individuals to be a student, there may be limits or regulations, and what applies to one type of status may not apply to others.

If you have any questions about your status and what you are legally allowed to do as a student, you should contact an advisor in the International Student and Scholar Services office. The consequences of violating status can be severe.

By providing an official transcript of prior academic experiences, the university will begin the process of evaluating your credits to determine comparability of subject matter and whether or not your credits can fit into your degree requirements at K-State.

We recommend that you submit an evaluation report from a credential service to receive transfer credit from an international college or university. Applications can be processed faster when you provide a credential evaluation. The service must be one that is a member of National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.

Most U.S. credits are generally transferable and recognized as comparable to K-State studies, but some of your previous experiences might not meet your degree specifications, especially if you have changed your program of study. The Office of Admissions can tell you the total number of credits that will transfer. However, your academic dean's office will work with you to determine how your credits fit into your degree plan at K-State and how your credits will be applied. The same is true of work completed abroad, although it is less likely to be automatically transferable. Your academic dean's office frequently requires syllabi, course descriptions and test results to determine your level of competency in a specific field.

You are encouraged to bring information about your home country institution, courses, program of study, etc. with you to facilitate the credit transfer process. Credit for previous academic work completed outside the U.S. is evaluated on an individual basis in cooperation with the student, academic dean's office and the Office of Admissions. The credentials evaluator in the Office of Admissions will be your representative in completing the credit transfer process.

Students officially enroll in classes two to four days prior to the start of the semester. This is part of your mandatory orientation program.

All new students whose primary native language is not English are scheduled to take a proficiency assessment of written and spoken English before they can enroll. The test ensures that you have adequate proficiency in the English-speaking classroom environment at K-State. This test is part of the enrollment schedule, and you are registered to take the test based on information provided on your application to the university. Results of the test are available within eight hours. If your results indicate necessary English support courses, the English Language Program staff will assist you in proper enrollment procedures. Any evidence of English proficiency must be submitted to the Office of Admissions prior to the first day of the English Proficiency Test at the beginning of the semester. Evidence submitted after that time will not be considered.

Many housing options are available for international students. The Office of Housing and Dining Services will mail you instructions on applying for housing on campus. Residence halls have available space year round, including holidays and vacation periods. The costs for residence halls include up to three meals per day. The on-campus Jardine Apartments include one- or two-bedroom units with or without furniture.

If you prefer to live off campus, there are many apartments in the community. Costs are moderate to expensive depending on your individual choices. New students are not required to live on campus, but it is strongly encouraged.

There are about 50,000 residents in Manhattan, home of the main campus. Manhattan has beautiful parks, along with a mall, downtown and zoo. Manhattan is easily accessible through local airports.

Salina, home to K-State Salina, is a regional trade center with about 45,000 residents.

Calendar
The academic year is based on two semesters, each 16 weeks long. The fall semester is from late August to mid-December. The spring semester is from mid-January to mid-May. There are also many course options available during the summer semester.

Degrees
K-State offers many degree options. Most bachelor degrees at K-State can be completed in four or five years. Students can earn a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. K-State offers a limited number of associate degree programs on the Salina campus, each of which takes about two years of to complete. The length of time needed to complete a degree may also vary depending on whether or not you need to take courses in the English Language Program.

Academic credits
Credits determine university standing and are used for transferring records from other institutions. One semester hour equals 50 minutes in class each week for one semester. Two or three hours in laboratory are considered the equivalent of one hour in class. A class period may be devoted to lecture, group discussion or examination.

The quality of student performance is recorded on the student's permanent record in the Registrar's Office at the end of the semester. The university grading system is as follows:

A = excellent work
B = good work
C = acceptable work
D = poor work
F = failure
I = incomplete
P = pass under the A-pass-F grading option
CR = credit for courses passed in which no letter grade is given
NC = no credit?
NR = no grade reported?
W = withdrawn

Classes
Most course work is conducted in lecture format. All lectures are delivered in English. Students must take careful notes and can expect to be examined over lecture material as well as textbook and assigned reference books. Class attendance is strongly recommended, and some professors require regular attendance. The student must be prepared from day to day to enter into classroom discussion or to complete unannounced tests.

Examinations
Most examinations are written. The frequency of examinations varies from class to class and from professor to professor. Objective tests require the student to determine whether a number of given statements are true or false or to select the correct answers from among several choices. Essay tests demand more comprehensive answers. Final examinations, given at the end of each semester in each course, may include a combination of both types.