Admissions

Penn State Global is not involved in the academic portion of the admissions process. Students may be admitted as undergraduates, graduate students, or professional students. After an admission offer has been accepted, ISSA contacts the student to gather any required materials for issuance of a Certificate of eligibility for F-1 or J-1 visa (I-20/DS-2019). Requested materials may include biographical information, financial guarantee and copies of current immigration documents.

In rare situations, a DS-2019 may be issued to a non-degree students. In most cases, students on exchanges that are one or two semesters in duration are enrolled in non-degree status. Please see Non-Degree Study for more information.

Once the visa document is received by the student, the process of obtaining the visa from the U.S. Embassy or Consulate begins -- this process is usually a few days, but can take months depending on the country of origin. Penn State cannot interfere with this process.

In all cases, therefore, Penn State faculty and staff are urged to allow sufficient time to complete this process. A minimum of three months from submission of a complete application is recommended.