Placement Notes for students to the USA 2008-09
Applicants will be considered for placement according to the order in which institutions are listed in their application. When the number of requests for a particular site is higher than the number of spaces available, the decision about placement depends on:
- The student's academic and personal qualifications; and
- The student's specific academic reasons for choosing a site. If coordinators are aware of such reasons, they are welcome to indicate them in their comments. Carefully prepared study site requests indicate serious academic objectives and are given preference to more general requests.
Advise students to list a variety of sites, including some that are likely to have a high number of openings. Please refer to the list of Anticipated Exchange Openings in the USA. Note that applicants will be considered for placement according to the order in which institutions are listed on their Host Site Request List. If students include at least one institution with a "good" (or better) chance of placement among their top three preferred sites, they are more likely to be placed there than if the institution appears further down on their list of choices.
Consortia: Please note that chances of placement at a group of institutions included in a consortium indicate chances for the consortium as a whole, not for individual institutions. The final decision about placement at a specific institution is made by the consortium, guided by but not determined by ISEP’s recommendation.
Unless students have very strong reasons for limiting themselves to specific sites, they are better off if they authorize ISEP to place them at any academically appropriate site (question #2 on the Host Site Request List). If they do so and space is not available at the sites they list, they will be considered immediately for an alternative site. If they only decide later to authorize an alternative placement, the number of openings is likely to be more limited.
Be sure that photocopies of all forms and other materials are included with the original application. Failure to do so will delay the application process.
ISEP institutions in the U.S. require proof of English language proficiency in the form of a test score report (IELTS or TOEFL), a Language Proficiency Report (included in ISEP Application Forms) or an Institutional TOEFL. The minimum requirement for all accepted tests and details about language requirements is listed in the ISEP Membership Directory for each institution.
Check the language requirements for all US institutions >>
PLACEMENT AT THE GRADUATE LEVEL
Please remind students to review the US Higher Education information before deciding whether to apply for undergraduate or graduate placement. It is usually more difficult to find placement as a graduate student than as an undergraduate because many institutions do not accept graduate students and those that do have specific requirements.
Please note: Students entering the U.S. as either:
- undergraduates with the intent or interest of changing to graduate status, or
- graduate non-degree with the intent or interest of changing to
graduate degree seeking
will not be able to make this change within the country. Due to immigration regulations, a change of this sort is considered a change of category and an overall change of intent. Students who request this change will be required to leave the country and re-enter on a new visa document.
Graduate Degree Programs
A student who meets an institution’s criteria for admission may
be able to earn a graduate degree on an ISEP exchange. Admission to
a graduate degree program is separate from the ISEP placement and is
the student's responsibility. Moreover, ISEP cannot assure participants
of placement at any particular institution, even if they have been accepted
to a graduate degree program there. If they are admitted to a graduate
degree program and are placed by ISEP, ISEP may be able
to extend their exchange for a second academic year.
The number of institutions accepting ISEP exchange students into graduate degree programs is limited. Please remind students that they should only check "yes" in item #16 of the Participant Profile ("Do you plan to apply for admission to a graduate degree program at your host institution?") if they definitely intend to do so since this intention narrows their options.
Students interested in applying for graduate degree programs should:
- register early for the TOEFL/IELTS and any other test required for admission (GRE, GMAT, LSAT)
- submit applications to ISEP by February 15th or September 1st.
Graduate Study In Business
Less than one third of ISEP member institutions in the United States
give access to graduate business programs for ISEP exchange students.
Most require the GMAT, even for students who are not applying to degree
programs. Business courses at the advanced undergraduate level may meet
candidates' academic needs and interests. Students should not accept
undergraduate placements with the expectation that they may be able
to get into graduate courses after their arrival in the United States.
Because admission to MBA programs is especially competitive, ISEP asks
that each institution nominate no more than ONE candidate for a graduate
degree program in business per academic year.
Placements in law, pharmacy and veterinary science are extremely rare
(at most 1-2 in each field per year).
RESTRICTED SITES
Restricted sites are institutions for which the demand usually is much higher than the number of places available. In order to be considered for a restricted site, applicants must list it as their first choice.
The following universities are restricted and marked with an R in the ISEP Directory. Please refer to the Anticipated Exchange Openings List for current availability:
California State University, Bakersfield (California)
California State University, East Bay (California)
Chapman University (California)
Rowan University (New Jersey)
San Diego State (California)
San José State (California)
University of Denver (Colorado)
University of the Pacific (California)
Western Connecticut State University (Connecticut)