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Undergraduate Students

SEVIS PROCESSING FEE

Persons applying for a student visa must pay a SEVIS processing fee (I-901 fee) of USD $200 (F-1) or $180 (J-1).

Applying for J-1 or J-2 Visas?

Important Information for persons Applying for J-1 and J-2 Visas

The University of Arkansas welcomes your application as the first step to meeting you in person. We highly value our international students and we pledge to offer you fast, friendly, and efficient service in the application and admission process.

Please take a minute to look over the application instructions. It is important to fill out all areas completely so that we can properly evaluate your application materials. If you have any questions, please let us know.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

You may apply online or send a completed Application for Admission form to the International Admissions Office.

If you are a Visiting Student or an Exchange Student, please see the links below for application information.

To complete the application process and to ensure that your application is processed in a timely manner, you are encouraged to send all supporting application materials in one large envelope as a self-managed packet.

Your self-managed application packet should include the following (please make sure your full name is on each item):

  • The non-refundable application fee for international students is USD $50 for every new application, even if you have applied before. If you have been previously enrolled at the University of Arkansas, the application fee is USD $25. Methods of payment:

    • If you apply for admission using the online application, you may pay this fee with a credit card. We have a secure environment through QPay, our official payment system for online payments.
    • You may call us at (+1) 479-575-6246 and request to pay via credit card by phone. Please do not email or give out your credit card information in writing. In order to protect your personal information, we process the transaction immediately while you are on the phone, and we do not record your credit card information in any way.
    • You may send a check or money order, drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars (USD). Many international banks have a corresponding U.S. bank; contact your local bank for assistance.

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    Application fee
  • Letter of recommendation from a teacher, school counselor, principal, or headmaster
  • Brief essay of academic objectives
  • Summary of Educational Experience form
    It is important that we have a complete academic history for you. Withholding information about your educational history is considered a serious matter and may jeopardize your admission and enrollment.
  • Photocopy of the name page in your passport. It is critical that your name in our student information systems matches your passport exactly.

  • Freshman: A "freshman" is a student who has completed upper secondary school but has not yet attended university, or has attended university for less than one year. Freshmen must submit official upper secondary school transcripts showing work to date. If you have completed upper secondary school, you must submit the final official transcript and diploma or certificate of completion if graduation date is not listed on the record. To be official, the records must be in a sealed envelope from the school or examinations authority. If there has been any university level course work, an official transcript or mark sheet must be submitted in a sealed envelope for the university. Official translations must accompany all documents not in English.

    Transfer: A transfer student is one who has completed at least 2-3 semesters of university and who will have at least 24 transferable credit hours. Transfer students must submit official transcripts or mark sheets from each university attended in a sealed envelope from the issuing university. Official translations must accompany all documents not in English. You may be asked to send course descriptions or syllabi for courses that have not yet been articulated for transfer credit.

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    Official academic records

In addition, we require official test scores sent directly from the testing agency:

  • The University of Arkansas requires the SAT or ACT for academic advisement and placement into courses. We encourage you to take the SAT or ACT as soon as possible. If you have taken the SAT or ACT, please have the official score report sent to the University of Arkansas as soon as possible. Our institution code for the SAT is 6866 and 0144 for the ACT. If we do not have SAT or ACT scores on file, you will be required to take the COMPASS test prior to registration. This computer-based exam will be administered by UA Testing Services, and it will take approximately two hours. There is a cost of USD $30 for this examination. The results of the test will not affect your admission status to the University. The test scores are needed for academic advisement and course placement purposes only.

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    SAT or ACT (for freshmen only)
  • A measure of English proficiency (we accept any one of the following:)
    • TOEFL (our institution code is 6866)
    • IELTS (our institution code is US 233)
    • PTE-A (for non-native English speakers)
    • Completion of our intensive English program

The following items are needed for I-20 issuance. They do not have to be sent at the same time with your application materials:

Visiting students (enrolled at degree program elsewhere; will visit UA for one or two semesters): You will need to submit official transcripts or mark sheets from each university attended in a sealed envelope from the issuing university. Official translations must accompany all documents not in English. Official TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE-A score as proof of English proficiency. You will apply through our Visiting Students program at iss.uark.edu/2034.php.

Exchange students (enrolled at degree program at a university having a reciprocal exchange program with UA): Your university will submit your exchange recommendation forms and statement of English proficiency. Please see studyabroad.uark.edu/International_Exchange_Students for more information.

Within two to three weeks of submitting your online application, the Office of Graduate and International Admissions will send you an email to advise you of the status of your application.

Please feel free to contact us at iao@uark.edu if you have questions or need assistance. We look forward to receiving your application!

SEND ALL APPLICATION MATERIALS TO:

International Admissions Office
346 N. Arkansas Avenue / STON 50
1 University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701

SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarships are highly competitive and consideration is available only for students planning to enter in Fall terms. Scholarship consideration is not available for those students planning to enter in a Spring term.

The deadline to apply for scholarships is February 1, but applying early is critical in order to have maximum consideration.  Scholarships are awarded only to students who have been admitted before the scholarship deadline.  It is important to submit your application for admission to the University, all supporting documents and official test scores (especially SAT) far in advance of the scholarship deadline (even October or November of 2006 would not be too early for Fall 2007 consideration) so that the admission decision can be made in a timely manner.  You must apply separately for scholarships by going to the Office of Scholarships website at http://scholarships.uark.edu/.

Scholarship applications are not held until February 1 to be reviewed all at the same time; rather, scholarships are awarded at periodic intervals to qualifying candidates upon review and approval by the Scholarship Committee.  Therefore, not all qualifying students who apply by February 1 may be awarded a scholarship if funding runs out.  If you are an outstanding student with high test scores and excellent grades, we encourage you to apply early for admission and scholarships.

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