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Policy

GCAC-305 Admission Requirements for International Students

Procedure

As outlined in P2 - Determining Academic Eligibility for Admission of International Students – Academic Credentials, Graduate Enrollment Services admission coordinators review applications for eligibility criteria.

  1. If eligibility is in question due to low or missing official TOEFL/IELTS scores, Graduate Enrollment Services Admission coordinators notify the program by placing a notation in the Graduate Admission Decision System. A program offer of admission should not be made if a notation has been placed on the record.
  2. If plan wants to proceed with admission, they must then contact the applicant for official or new scores and/or petition the Graduate School for provisional admission.
    1. Official scores may be needed if the applicant has provided only self-reported scores.
    2. New scores may be needed if the applicant’s scores do not meet minimum eligibility standards. This will require the applicant retaking the exam.
    3. GCAC-305 allows for provisional admission for those applicants with scores between 15-18 on the speaking section of the TOEFL exam. Graduate programs wanting to offer provisional admission to applicants in this category must petition the Graduate School (see below for Petition procedure).
    4. Exceptions may be requested under certain circumstances; further information on English proficiency exceptions can be found for graduate programs on the Resource Page for Graduate Plans internal wiki page (see below for Petition procedure).
  3. If determined that the applicant does meet English proficiency requirements, Graduate Enrollment Services updates the Graduate Admission Decision System accordingly.
  4. If determined that the applicant does not meet English proficiency requirements, Graduate Enrollment Services updates the Graduate Admission Decision System and notifies the applicant of the ineligibility by U.S. postal mail.

Revision History

Approved by The Graduate School, Feb. 12, 2020

This page was generated on March 29, 2024 at 4:33 AM local time. This may not be the most recent version of this page. Check the Penn State Graduate School website for updates.