All applicants must present grades (marks) that reflect superior ability and serious effort.

Original or officially certified copies of all grade reports for all secondary and higher school studies — as well as original or officially certified copies of all academic diplomas, certificates and national or other major examination results — must be submitted in the native language along with an official English translation. Notarized copies will not be accepted.

Photographic copies or other duplications are only acceptable if the copies have been signed and sealed by the appropriate school or government official.

Your school records must include:

• Dates of attendance at each institution
• A complete list of courses taken and grades received at each institution, including the number of weeks and hours per week in lecture or laboratory for each course
• Degrees and diplomas earned from each school or university, indicating class or division of diploma (if appropriate)
• Names of examinations passed, grades received and minimum/maximum possible grades (if appropriate)

Official records should be sent directly from your institution to:

Virginia Commonwealth University – International Admissions
408 West Franklin Street
Box 843012
Richmond, Virginia 23284-3043
USA

Students transferring from within the U.S.

If you are transferring from a university-level institution within the U.S., you must apply online and submit your secondary school records, as well as university transcripts.

Admission will be based on your U.S. records only if you have completed more than one year of full-time study.

Transfer students from within the U.S. must be in good academic standing and eligible to return to the last college or university attended. You must fill out the first section of the Immigration Transfer-In Clearance Form and comply with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations.

Your U.S. school’s foreign student adviser should then complete the Immigration Transfer-In Clearance Form PDF and send it to the Office of Admissions.

To ensure maximum benefit from academic study at VCU, all non-native English-speaking applicants, regardless of immigration status, must provide evidence of English language proficiency before enrollment.

English waiver:

• Completion of a degree (bachelor's or higher) from a university or college within the U.S., Canada, UK or Australia.

• Completion of six semester hours of college-level English composition with a grade of C or better (excluding ESL classes) from a U.S. university or college.

• Residing in the U.S. for 10 years or more (domestic applicants).

• Successful completion of VCU's English Language Program.

Examinations and test scores: VCU's testing code is 5570

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): The best TOEFL score is accepted and all scores making up the MBT score should be submitted. Scores are valid for two years.

• 70 IBT for undergraduates (80 IBT for engineering)
• 7.5 TOEFL Essentials (8.5 for engineering)

International English Language Testing System (IELTS): Scores are valid for two years.

• 6.0 for undergraduates (6.5 for engineering)

Pearson Test of English: Scores are valid for two years.

• 53 for undergraduates

SAT: Score of at least 22 on the Reading test.

ACT: Score of at least 16 on the English section of the test.

Duolingo Test Score: Scores valid for two years

• Score minimum of 105 (120 for Engineering major)

Students are advised to consult the website of the VCU school or department in which they plan to study for any additional academic requirements. For example, SAT or GRE scores are required for all pre-nursing and nursing applicants. SAT or ACT scores are required for all mechanical engineering applicants.

School of the Arts applicants are also required to submit additional application materials. For more information, please visit the School of the Arts website.

International students on F-1 visas studying in the United States may not take any more than 25% of their total semester course load in any online, distance or hybrid class. For example, if an F-1 student is enrolled in 12 hours, no more than three hours may be taken in an online, distance or hybrid course.

If your school is accredited in the United States or your school is an IB school, you do not need your transcript to be evaluated. Please check your school status with the school counselor or principal to determine accreditation. Questions may be addressed to Wayan Mastriyana at wmastriyana@vcu.edu.

Prospective students who have studied outside of the U.S. must provide an official course-by-course external credential evaluation as a required part of the admission process. This report should be sealed and unopened, and sent directly to the Office of Admissions.

All official transcripts and relevant credentials (e.g., diplomas and marksheets) will be required if admitted. All external credential evaluations should be no older than two years as of the official date received by the Office of Admissions.

Once credentials and/or credential evaluations are sent to VCU, they will not be returned to the prospective student or sent to a third party.

VCU recognizes professional evaluators who are members of the following organizations. Please use the links below to select an evaluator to evaluate your transcript. Please ensure that you request a course-by-course type of evaluation:

• National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES): naces.org/members.html
• Association of International Credential Evaluators, Inc. (AICE): aice-eval.org/members

The applicant must provide proof of adequate funds to live and study full time at VCU by submitting an I-20 DS Request Form 2022-23 accompanied by an original bank verification letter.

The U.S. government requires this certification before VCU can issue the appropriate U.S. government forms necessary for obtaining a visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate. The immigration officials at the U.S. port of entry also may request it.

You are required to certify that funds are available for the first year of study at VCU. In addition, you are expected to provide evidence that all money necessary for your travel, educational expenses and personal needs will be provided for the entire period of enrollment at VCU.

Because of the rising cost of living in the U.S. and variations in individual spending habits, the university cannot predict individual expenses exactly. Approximate annual expenses are listed below.

• 2021-2022 Estimated Expenses for Financial Support and Bank Statement

The amount that must be certified on your financial statement is shown for a nine-month program of study as a single student. For each dependent that may be coming to VCU with you, we require an additional $5,000 per dependent on the bank statement. Information on dependents must be clearly indicated on the completed financial statement.

For complete and official information about university costs, please contact VCU Student Financial Services.