How to apply to US university for international students

Kaplan Pathways helps with US university admission

We offer 4 routes to university study in the USA:

Undergraduate direct admission: enter year 1 or transfer into a bachelor’s degree
Graduate direct admission: enter a master’s degree
Pathway programs: qualify for a US degree, while earning transferable academic credits
English preparation: improve your English for degree admission

COVID-19 travel restrictions: students who are unable to join their program in person can begin their US studies remotely for Spring 2021 intakes.

These paths have different entry requirements. If you are unsure which are available to you, please contact our friendly advisors.

Apply now

Apply to Arizona State University

Apply to The University of Tulsa

US university Spring 2021 application deadlines

University	Program	Application deadline	Program start
Arizona State University	Undergraduate degrees	December 1*	January 6
	Graduate degrees**	November 9*	January 6
	ASU-USA Pathways	December 4	January 4
	Intensive English Program (Spring A 2021)	December 4	January 4
	Intensive English Program (Spring B 2021)	February 8	March 8
Pace University	Degrees and pathways programs	November 13	January 20
Simmons University	Undergraduate degrees	December 2	February 1
University of Tulsa	Undergraduate degrees	November 28	January 8

* Degrees in Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts that require an audition, interview or portfolio with the application have much earlier deadlines.
** Not all master's degrees have a January intake. For instance, W. P. Carey School of Business does not offer Spring semester start graduate programs.

How to apply to US universities

We’ve made the application process as simple as possible, with 4 steps to US university admission:

Fill in your application form, and upload supporting documents, including academic transcripts.
We will review your application and, when it is complete, we submit it to the University within 24 hours. You’ll be notified as soon as the University has made its admission decision.
Once you accept your offer of admission, you’ll be advised how to pay your deposit (if there is one), and show proof of finances to cover your study and living costs for one year.
When you receive an I-20 form, you are eligible to apply for your student visa. You can interview for your visa as early as 120 days before the start date listed on your I-20.

Our staff can give you guidance throughout the process. Contact us if you have any questions.

More application information

When to apply
There are several start dates throughout the year. Typically, Fall semester starts in August, Spring semester starts in January, and Summer semester starts in May.

Application deadlines

We advise you to apply as early as possible, usually at least 2 months in advance. This will allow enough time for your qualifications to be checked, visa to be processed, and to make pre-arrival arrangements. Choose your preferred university to check exact deadlines:
Costs of studying in the US
Studying in the US is an investment of money as well as effort, so you’ll need to make sure your finances are well-organized. See the tuition booklet for the price of pathway programs and degrees at our partner universities in the USA.

As well as your program tuition, you must also have funds to cover costs such as university fees, course books, housing and health insurance. This amount varies by university and degree:
- Cost of attendance at Arizona State University
- Cost of attendance at Pace University
- Cost of attendance at Simmons University for 2020-2021 academic year (including the 50% Simmons-Kaplan Women’s Leadership Scholarship) is $44,988
- Cost of attendance at the University of Tulsa
Scholarships

To help with the cost of studying in the USA, there are partial tuition scholarships available for academically outstanding students. You will be automatically assessed for a scholarship when you apply to a degree at our US partner universities. You can find more details on our scholarships page.
Admission decisions
When your application to study at a US university is complete, the university makes an admission decision. If successful, they will issue you an offer. There are 2 types of offer:
- Unconditional: there are no conditions you need to meet, but you may still need to send financial documents as part of the visa application process
- Conditional: if you need to improve your English proficiency, you will be conditionally admitted to a degree or pathway program. You must then submit a qualifying language score or join an English preparation program, before you start your academic program.
If your application is not successful, we can look at alternative or more suitable study options for you, based on your qualifications and circumstances.

Already accepted an offer?

If you have already accepted an offer to study in the USA, please visit our pre-arrival area so we can guide you through the steps you need to take before you leave home.