U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing | Other State Department News... U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State
SEARCH U.S. Department of State
 
U.S. State Department
FOR:

International Students

U.S. Universities

Overseas Advisers

U.S. Students
PROGRAM INFORMATION

About Us

Contact Information
  

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
red dividing line
Education USA logoEDUCATIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
Home > Educational Information and Resources > International Friendly Website

How to have an Internationally Friendly Website
>> Download this document as a PDF.*

The Educational Information and Resources Branch within the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs provides professional development and educational resources for advisers at the nearly 500 EducationUSA centers around the world and strives to strengthen links between centers and U.S. higher education institutions. Following are suggestions from advisers on how U.S. institutions can make their websites more accessible to prospective students from abroad.

DO provide

DON'T

Link for international students on home page.

Require Social Security Numbers.
Most international students don't have them.

 

Regional accrediting association details. Accreditation is a key element in the selection process.

Tuition and cost information — List total amount that will appear on required documentation as well as individual program costs.

FAQs about your institution/foreign student admissions, and services.

Require GPAs. — Many countries do not offer GPAs

Deadlines - prominently displayed.

Checklist for required documents and tests.

Require zip codes or a U.S. address.

Contact information for all offices dealing with international students. Automated responses are often not received overseas.

Give 800 phone numbers. — They are not toll-free outside the U.S.

Names of months/specific dates for completion of required testing, application deadlines, notification, orientation and enrollment.

Use terms "fall" and "spring" — These are confusing to students from the southern hemisphere or areas with no seasons.

Minimum requirements for as many national education systems as possible.

Metric measurements (campus size in hectares, average local temperatures in Celsius, distances in kilometers, etc.).

Use "college" to refer to university-level programs.

Number of credit/hours needed to be enrolled full-time.

Require original copies of academic certificates. Many international students cannot obtain multiple originals of their academic certificates. Provide instructions for submitting certified true copies instead.

Course catalog with course descriptions.

Downloadable applications in a variety of formats.

Application fee waivers or allow students without credit cards to mail the application fee after completing on-line applications.

State which programs are open to international candidates and which are not.

PLEASE CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

Admissions process: Give some philosophical background. It's not based simply on grades and scores — why? General requirements don't help. Sites should specify clearly who qualifies and what profile potentially admissible students should have.

Mention score cut offs or averages. If scores are just one part of the application, specify what parts of the application are given more weight.

Be clear about what you do not want: no folders, no plastic sleeves, no copies of awards or extracurricular accomplishments, no SAT-II in your native language, etc.

Financial aid: the university could also include ways to reduce the costs of college, and give realistic views on how much the student can expect to earn from on-campus jobs (stating whether jobs are readily available to international students), how much they can save from being a resident assistant in the dorms, etc. A big attraction are web pages that state clearly what financial aid, scholarship and work opportunities are available to foreign students.

Deferred Enrollment: Give information about deferred enrollment, especially for students serving compulsory national service. State whether scholarships may be deferred. Specify whether students who know they plan to defer enrollment may apply Early Decision.

TOEFL requirements should be clarified. Address needs of bilingual students, non-native speakers of English with 700 SAT verbal scores, non-native speakers who have been in English-language instruction for the past four years. State if students may submit ELPT or IELTS test results instead of TOEFL.

Unfamiliar Terms: Explain terms what may be unfamiliar such as:

  • Room & Board
  • Middle Name (for most Middle Eastern students; this is the father's name and not the U.S. definition of middle name)
  • Ethnicity

Transfer Information: Provide information on eligibility for transfer admissions for international students.

16th year: Mention the 16th year requirement for 3 year bachelor's degree holders for overseas. Include:

  • what kind of credentials are acceptable and what are not, e.g., if you need a completed master's program as a prerequisite, state that those who complete only a first year of a master's program are ineligible.
  • whether postgraduate diplomas are acceptable or not.
  • whether degrees obtained through distance learning are acceptable or not.
  • countries where this 16th year rule applies.
  • Emphasize that this is for applicants to graduate programs.

Important Links for International Students

If there is no direct link to "International Students" on the home page, many international students look for the words "prospective students" on the first page. From there sites should link to:

EducationUSA Centers: Link to educationusa.state.gov and encourage students to contact the Department of State EducationUSA advising center in their country.

Examples of good international-friendly websites:

And finally, update your site regularly and present a welcoming appearance!

* Requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader

Back to the top

red dividing line

U.S. Department of State
USA.gov Logo U.S. Department of StateUpdates  |  Frequent Questions  |  Contact Us  |  Email This Page   |  Search
The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs manages this site. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.
FOIA  |  Privacy Notice  |  Copyright Information  |  Other U.S. Government Information