International Student

International Student Application Requirements

First-year applicants

If you are an international student studying or residing outside of the U.S., you can only apply to MCLA as a full-time student in a degree program. 

APPLICATION Deadlines

Fall semester:  March 1
Spring semester:  November 15

• Common Application
• Personal Statement/Essay (250 - 500 words)
• Letter(s) of Recommendation
• Official secondary school transcript and/or college transcripts formally evaluated course by course. The following organizations provide a course by course evaluation:
  • SpanTran  (Dedicated MCLA evaluation order form)
  • Scholaro 
  • CED 
  • WES
  • ECE
• English Language Test Results. You can use any of the below programs:
  • DuoLingo English Test (minimum 100)
  • TOEFL (minimum 79 on iBT or 550 on paper)
  • IELTS (minimum 6.0) 
  • PTE (minimum 50)
  • LanguageCert (minimum 33 on B2 exam)
    
    

TRANSFER APPLICANTS

If you are an international student studying or residing outside of the U.S., you can only apply to MCLA as a full-time student in a degree program. You need to provide the following by July 1^st for the fall semester or by December 1^st for the spring semester:

• Common Application
• Official college transcripts. If college is not in the USA, the transcripts must be formally evaluated course by course. The following organizations provide a course by course evaluation:
  • CED (http://www.cedevaluations.com/)
  • WES (https://www.wes.org/)
  • ECE (https://www.ece.org/ECE).
• English Language Test Results. You can use any of the below programs:
  • DuoLingo English Test (minimum 100)
  • TOEFL (minimum 79 on iBT or 550 on paper)
  • IELTS (minimum 6.0) 
  • PTE (minimum 50) 
  • LanguageCert (minimum 33 on B2 exam)

Certification of Finances: As required by U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services, you must complete the Certification of Finances form to verify access to sufficient financial resources to attend the College. All international students (not permanent residents or citizens of the U.S.) are classified as "out-of-state" students for tuition purposes. Since the College is unable to provide financial aid to international students, you must demonstrate adequate resources to meet yearly estimated expenses. A certification of finances must be submitted before a Form I-20 can be issued.

Health Insurance: Massachusetts State Law requires that all full-time students participate in a health insurance plan.

Work: International students studying on an F-1 Visa in the U.S. are eligible to work in paid on-campus positions, but employment is not guaranteed. It is illegal for students on an F-1 Visa to be employed anywhere else. A student's potential earnings cannot substitute for, or be included in, financial documentation.

Financial Aid: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is unable, under any circumstances, to provide financial aid to international students. In addition, the enrollment fee cannot be waived.

I-20 Form: MCLA issues an I-20 form only after a student is accepted and has provided the required enrollment deposit.