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New International Students

Do you live outside of the U.S. and want to apply for an F-1 student visa?

Application Deadlines

- Fall Semester (starts in September): July 15

- Spring Semester (starts in January): November 30

The availability of visa appointments at US embassies and consulates varies by country. Therefore, please submit all required documents for your application and student visa as soon as you can. 

Application Requirements

  1. Complete the MassBay Community College Application, which may be done online using the MassBay Secure Online Application.
  2. Provide evidence that you graduated from high school in your country. Send a clear photo of your original high school diploma to  admissions@massbay.edu to request a review. If we are unable to interpret your documents, we will require that you have your educational documents evaluated by an educational evaluation agency such as the Center for Educational Documentation, World Education Services, Education Credential Evaluators, Spantran, or any NACES-member agency
  3. Provide documentation of your English language proficiency. Unless you have completed at least two years of full time study with English instruction in one of these countries you must provide documentation of English language proficiency: Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada (except Quebec), Dominica, Ghana, Grenada, Grand Cayman, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, New Zealand, Singapore, Trinidad / Tobago, Uganda, United Kingdom. English proficiency may be documented by any of these methods:
     
    • Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 68 or higher.
    • International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score of 6.0 or higher.
    • Applicants with a MassBay ID number may take MassBay's free Accuplacer English assessment. Placement into Advanced Academic English as a Second Language (ES150) is required.
    • English proficiency documentation is not required if you are a native English speaker and have attended an international high school that is regionally accredited in the United States.
    • SAT scores are not required.  However, if you have taken the SAT and have obtained a score of 450 or higher on the Critical Reading section of the SAT, these scores will satisfy our English proficiency requirement.  
    • If you have passed Freshman English at another US college or university with a grade of C- or higher, then no additional proof of language proficiency is required.

Visa Requirements

  1. I-20 Request Form.
  2. Certification of Financial Responsibility.
  3. A current bank statement showing that you have the equivalent of US$30,000 available to support your first nine months in the U.S.A. and an additional US$6,000 per dependent must be available.
    1. Bank statement must be on official bank letterhead.
    2. Your funding may be in any currency.
    3. You may submit statements from more than one bank account.

  4. Letter of financial support from your sponsor(s)

    The person, company, or agency on the bank statement must declare financial support for your studies at Massachusetts Bay Community College.

  5. Photocopy of your passport.

Note: Prior to enrollment at MassBay we will require a copy of your medical immunization records translated into English, but this is not required prior to admission to the College.