International Admissions

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Delaware County Community College considers an "international student" to be someone who comes to the College from their home country on an F-1 student visa. International students may also apply with another non-immigrant visa status (such as au pairs on a J visa) and request change of status to F-1 while remaining in the United States or by returning to their home country to obtain an F-1 visa (preferred).

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Required Application Documents

Please submit the following documents in order to be admitted to the College and to receive a Form I-20:

• Completed online application
• Completed, notarized Affidavit of Support (can be found within the online application)
• Copy of bank statement confirming that funds are available to cover the cost of the first academic year’s estimated tuition, fees and living expenses (can be found within the online application)
• Copy and certified translation in English of high school/secondary school diploma/certificate of graduation (do not send original high school transcripts or diplomas to the College)
• Copy of passport photo ID page
• If transferring from another U.S. school: International Student (F-1) Transfer Request Form
• If under the age of 18 at the time of enrollment: Medical Release Form 

The College reserves the right to request an official evaluation report for educational credentials or original copies of documents, if needed, for verification. Documents submitted become the property of the College and will not be returned to the applicant, so please make personal copies of the documents before submitting.

**If you are unable to retrieve and successfully upload these documents to the online application, they may be submitted by email to [email protected].

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Deadlines to Apply

Students should submit an application by July 15 for the fall semester; November 15 for the spring semester; and April 15 for the summer ESL semester. While it is preferred that you submit all of your application documents at the same time, you must begin the process to submit your documents before the deadline in order for your application to be considered for that semester. We do not recommend that you wait until the deadline to begin the process to apply; you should start the process to apply as soon as you have made your decision to attend the College.

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Express Mail Option for I-20s

Students can choose to have their I-20 prepared for pick-up by a U.S. contact or sent by express mail. Students should create an account through study.eshipglobal.com and pay a discounted rate for express mail service to any U.S. or international address (choose “Receive Documents from University” and select “Delaware County Community College” in Pennsylvania “Office of Admissions”)

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Deferral of Attendance

If the student is not able to attend the semester for which the initial I-20 was issued, please contact International Admissions. 

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Transferring Credit to the College

Students who have attended another United States college or university and received college-level credits may be able to transfer credits into Delaware County Community College. 

Students who have attended a college or university outside of the United States may be able to transfer their credits into Delaware County Community College. To do so, students should have their official, English-translated transcripts evaluated course-by-course by any member of NACES (National Association of Credential Evaluation Services) and emailed to [email protected] or sent to the following address:

Records Office
Delaware County Community College
901 South Media Line Road 
Media, PA 19063-1094 USA

Official transcripts and evaluations of transcripts cannot be sent by students. These documents must be sent directly from the school or evaluation agency that produced them.

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Test Scores for Admission (TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, and ACT)

TOEFL, IELTS, SAT, and ACT scores are not required for admission. During Orientation, students will be tested and placed in the appropriate levels of English and Math classes. To get more information about the placement test, visit accuplacer.collegeboard.org/students.

Although they are not required for admission, if you do have test scores, they may be used for placement purposes. Scores must be current within 5 years.

A TOEFL iBT score of 80+, TOEFL PBT score of 550+, or IELTS score of 6.5+ will qualify you to take the English placement test (and not the ESL placement test.)

An SAT Reading score of 500 or ACT Reading score of 18+ qualifies students to register for English Composition I (ENG 100).

An SAT Math score of 530+ or ACT Math score of 20+ qualifies students to register for Math classes at the appropriate level.

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Paying for Your Education

Please see our current international student cost estimate for more details on tuition, fees, and other expenses. Financial aid is not available for international students. However, the College costs less than most four-year universities and colleges, and during the fall and spring semesters some international students work on campus to earn spending money. In addition, Delaware County Community College's Education Foundation awards approximately $625,000 in scholarships annually. Each scholarship has its own criteria for eligibility established by the donors, and many scholarships are open to international students.

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Full-Time Enrollment Requirement

Among other regulations, F-1 international students must study full time during fall and spring semesters. Students must enroll in and remain enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits (with no more than 3 credits of online courses) in order to be considered full time. Students are not required to study full-time during the summer semester, however if Summer ESL is their first semester, then they must be enrolled full-time. Most international students enroll in 12-15 credits per semester, and most associate degrees require ~60-65 credits to complete.