Admission steps for international freshmen
International freshman applicants must be high school graduates (students who have the equivalent of a diploma in the United States).
There are two ways you can apply for admission to the University of South Carolina:
You should choose the application that you are most comfortable submitting. There is no advantage in the admission process to using one application over the other.
There is a $100 non-refundable application fee for international students.
English proficiency is required unless you are a citizen and completed secondary school from one of the countries on our exempt list.
If you are unable to obtain a minimum English proficiency score our English Programs for Internationals might be an option for some students.
|
Exam
|
Minimum
Score
|
|
TOEFL Internet Based
|
77
|
|
TOEFL Paper Based
|
550
|
|
IELTS
|
6.5
|
|
PTE
|
53
|
|
Duolingo
|
115
|
|
SAT
|
560
(Evidence Based Reading Writing Subscore) |
|
ACT
|
22
(English Subscore)
|
English proficiency exempt list:
- American Samoa
- Anguilla
- Antigua
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bermuda
- British Virgin Islands
- Canada (note: residents of Quebec students must take the TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE)
- Dominica
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Grenada
- Grand Cayman
- Guam
- Guyana
- Ireland
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Montserrat
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Sierra Leone
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Swaziland (Eswatini)
- Tanzania
- Trinidad/Tobago
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Uganda
- United Kingdom
- US Virgin Islands
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Official secondary transcripts must be from all secondary schools.
If your transcript is not in English, you must submit a certified transcript translated into English by a school official.
If you apply for admission before graduating from high school, you must submit an official (or attested copy) of all final transcript(s) after you graduate from high school.
A document is considered official if it comes from an original source and is not opened prior to arriving at the University. Stamped and sealed envelopes that we receive from your school, a credential evaluation company, or a test center are considered official. Official documents submitted via email by a verifiable school is also acceptable.
All official documents can be sent to:
The University of South Carolina Office of Undergraduate Admissions
902 Sumter Street/Lieber College
Columbia, SC 29208
Admission steps for international transfers
An international transfer is any non-U.S. citizen who has attempted any college work at a college or university after graduating from secondary or high school.
Complete the University of South Carolina application.
There is a $100 non-refundable application fee for international students.
English proficiency is required unless you are a citizen and completed secondary school from one of the countries on our exempt list.
|
English Proficiency Exams |
|
|
Exam |
Minimum Score |
|
TOEFL Internet Based |
77 |
|
TOEFL Paper Based |
550 |
|
IELTS |
6.5 |
|
PTE |
53 |
|
Duolingo |
115 |
|
SAT |
560 Evidence Based Reading Writing Subscore |
|
ACT |
22 English Subscore |
Visit our Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more about submitting your official documents.
If you have taken the University of South Carolina's equivalent of English 101 and 102 at a US Institution of higher education and received a letter grade of ‘B’ or higher in each course, you may be exempt from submitting additional forms of English proficiency. Please use our Transfer Equivalency Tables to discover if we have already researched your courses.
If you are unable to obtain a minimum English proficiency score our English Programs for Internationals might be option for some students.
English proficiency exempt list:
- American Samoa
- Anguilla
- Antigua
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bermuda
- British Virgin Islands
- Canada (note: residents of Quebec students must take the TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE)
- Dominica
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Grenada
- Grand Cayman
- Guam
- Guyana
- Ireland
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Montserrat
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Sierra Leone
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Swaziland (Eswatini)
- Tanzania
- Trinidad/Tobago
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Uganda
- United Kingdom
- US Virgin Islands
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Official post-secondary transcripts must be submitted from each institution attended.
If coursework is attempted outside the United States you will be asked to submit a course-by-course evaluation with GPA from a NACES approved company.
A document is considered official if it comes from an original source and is not opened prior to arriving at the University. Stamped and sealed envelopes that we receive from your school, a credential evaluation company, or a test center are considered official.
We do not consider documents sent directly from the student as official documents.All official documents can be sent to:
University of South Carolina Office of Undergraduate Admissions
902 Sumter Street/Lieber College
Columbia, SC 29208
Applicants with foreign university work must submit a course-by-course evaluation with GPA from a NACES approved company. An admissions decision will not be made until the evaluation and all transcripts are on file.
Credential evaluations are done by NACES approved companies and are not conducted by any member at University of South Carolina. In order to get a credential evaluation you will need to contact the NACES approved company directly.
U.S. citizens (freshman or transfer applicants) who have attempted any courses outside the United States must submit a course-by-course credentials evaluation.