Transfer Freshmen

Transfer Freshmen are those students who have graduated from high school, have attended university and have earned between 3 and 23 transferable university credit hours (typically less than one year of full-time academic study).

Admission Requirements | Application Process | After You Apply | Upon AdmissionAdditional Notes

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Overseas applicants must submit at the time of application official academic transcripts and course descriptions from any post-secondary institutions attended. If, on the basis of all course work attempted, an applicant is found to be admissible, advanced standing will be considered. Transfer credit is awarded on a course-by-course basis following a review of the appropriate course syllabus by the academic dean. Frequently, a final evaluation of transfer credit may not be completed until after the student's arrival on campus. We only recognize diplomas, certificates and degrees that were completed at a school recognized by the home country ministry of education.

Students currently studying in the U.S. must arrange to have official transcripts sent from each college or university attended. For admission to the University, the overall grade point average of all previous undergraduate work must be at least 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale) and the applicant must be showing satisfactory progress toward the completion of his or her degree program. The University reserves the right to deny admission to any student who is not eligible to return to his or her previous institution. Should a qualified student be attending a U.S. institution when the application is processed, conditional admission will be granted until the student's final transcript has been presented maintaining a minimum 2.5 grade point average.

Official transcript from every college or university attended after high school.

  • Transcripts must include the original native language transcript and an English language translation.
  • Copies and English language translations must be stamped or embossed by the issuing institution confirming it is a literal translation.

If admitted you will be asked to submit:

Course syllabi/descriptions of courses studied for possible transfer credit evaluation. Course descriptions will be sent to appropriate faculty for review of credit transfer recommendations. A Transfer of Credit Report is issued for all incoming transfer students. This report will be used by your academic advisor for degree credit and placement into UA courses.

You may self-evaluate course work taken at another institution per our Transfer Course Equivalency Guides. We have course listings for many U.S. and foreign institutions. Courses not on this list will be reviewed for possible credit per evaluation of course syllabi/descriptions.

Submit the Supplemental and Financial Information form and a bank statement or letter showing sufficient support for the first year of study in order to be issued an I-20. You will still be evaluated for admission without submitting the bank statement. However, the I-20 will not be sent until the bank statement requirement has been met.

 

APPLICATION PROCESS

The online application can be found here.

Once you submit the application, you will receive an email with instructions on how to access your UA Connect applicant center. This is where you will upload most of the required documents to complete your application. Please note, it will take 2-5 days to receive this email and up to two weeks during our peak processing times.

The non-refundable application fee for international students is USD $65 for every new application, even if you have applied before. Methods of payment:

  • Credit card at the time of submission of online application

If you apply for admission using the online application, you may pay this fee with a credit card in our secure payment environment.

  • Credit card later

If you do not pay the fee online at the time you apply but wish to pay with credit card later, please use the link in the email you were initially sent to go back to pay the fee. If you no longer have the original email with the link, you may contact us at iao@uark.edu to request that we resend the link to you. Please do not email or send us your credit card information. In order to protect your personal information, we are not permitted to process any transactions with credit card information that is sent to us via email or hard copy. All such information is immediately destroyed and cannot be accessed by us.

  • Check or money order

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.

TOEFL scores must be sent from ETS using our institution code: 6866. IELTS scores can be sent to institution code 232 or you can email your TRF number to intlapp@uark.edu. PTE-A scores can be sent to the University of Arkansas.  The minimum required score for the TOEFL is 79 iBT, IELTS is 6.5, and PTE-A is 58.

Upload unofficial copies academic records/transcripts/mark sheets into your UA Connect applicant center. For evaluation purposes, you may submit an unofficial copy of each transcript needed. Instructions for uploading your transcript(s) will be sent to you when your application is processed. Review of your application will begin once all documents needed for evaluation have been submitted.

If admitted, you must submit official transcripts and certificates. To be official, the documents must be stamped or embossed by the issuing institution and be sent directly from the institution OR you may submit the official documents in an enveloped sealed by the institution and not opened by you. For documents not issued in English, a translation must accompany the submitted transcripts and certificates. Translations must be stamped or embossed by the issuing institutions to verify that it is a literal translation.

You may login to UAConnect at uaconnect.uark.edu.

Submit official (Code 6866) or ACT (Code 0144) test scores, which are used for academic advisement and placement into courses. These must be sent directly from the testing agency. An SAT or ACT MUST be submitted to be considered for scholarships. If SAT or ACT scores are not submitted, you will be required to take the Accuplacer test when you arrive on campus.

AFTER YOU APPLY

  • Submit all required documents and test scores.
  • Please allow 2-3 weeks to complete your application review.
  • You may track your application progress through your UAConnect Applicant Center. See Check Your Status for instructions on how to view your application status.
  • We will notify you by email of the admission decision.
  • If an I-20 has been requested, you will see any items needed for issuing your I-20 in your To-Do List in your UAConnect Applicant Center.

 

UPON ADMISSION

Congratulations on your acceptance to the University of Arkansas! We are thrilled you have chosen to join the Razorback family. Now that you have been admitted, there are a few steps you need to take prior to your arrival on campus. The list below will help guide you on what to do next.

If any further items are needed prior to your enrollment (such as final transcripts or official test scores), you should submit these items as soon as available so that you will be ready to enroll at the appropriate time.

  • Upload the Supplemental and Financial Information form and a bank statement or letter in your UAConnect Applicant Center, verifying the source and amount of your funding.
  • Upload financial verification in your UAConnect Applicant Center. See Funding Your Studies for the estimated costs of attendance. You must show the full amount for issuance of your 1-20 or DS-2019. Please add USD $5,780 to your total estimated cost of attendance for each dependent (spouse and children) who will accompany you.
  • Official, certified transcripts in a sealed and stamped envelope must be mailed to:
    International Admissions Office
    340 N. Campus Drive/ Gearhart Hall 213
    1 University of Arkansas
    Fayetteville, AR 72701
    USA

    You may login to UAConnect.

You can now accept your admissions offer by logging into your UAConnect Student Center.

If you are requesting an I-20 (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant F-1) or DS-2019 (Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor J-1), you will need to upload the Supplemental and Financial Information form, along with supporting documents, such as a bank statement (See "Funding Your Studies") into your UAconnect applicant center. Bank statements or letters of support should be combined into one PDF document to upload as Financial Verification. See here to determine the amount you need to show. [link to the "Estimated Costs of Attendance" page under "Funding Your Studies."] Once the financial documents are verified by our Admissions Office, you will receive an email asking you to confirm the address you wish the I-20 to be mailed to. If you wish to expedite your I-20 at your expense, you will have 5 days to respond. Be sure to check your UARK email often.

Please beware all persons applying for student visas must pay a one-time SEVIS processing fee of $350 USD (F-1) or $220 USD (J-1) This fee is called the I-901 fee. We encourage you to pay the fee as soon as you can to avoid delays in applying for your visa. This one-time fee is valid for any U.S. university you choose. You will need to bring a receipt for payment to you visa interview. It is very IMPORTANT to keep this receipt with you always, even after you have obtained you visa! You may need to present it again at the U.S. port of entry or at future visa interviews.

Now that you have been admitted, your next step is to start your pre-arrival checklist by logging into issLink. Please contact the International Students and Scholars office with any questions regarding issLink.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • When submitting your online application, you must list all institutions attended. Failure to do so is a violation of University of Arkansas policy and may lead to revocation of your admission.
  • Information about the application, supporting materials, and admission status can be discussed ONLY with the applicant and persons designated on the Supplemental and Financial Information Form.
  • Paper applications are available by special request.
  • All official documents submitted become the property of the University of Arkansas and will not be returned.