Admitted International Students
What happens next?
Take the following steps to accept our offer of admission:
- Pay the nonrefundable $500 enrollment fee with an electronic check or major credit card. To do so, complete the Your Decision form.
- After submitting this form, a link will appear on your status page to bring you to Flywire, our processor for foreign currency payments. (Or QuikPAY, our processor for U.S. currency payments.) By the way, Flywire offers other forms of country-specific foreign payments like Alipay.
- The payment link will appear on your status page like this: Awaiting Non-Refundable Enrollment Fee processed by Flywire - Submit Payment for 500.00 USD
You must follow this link and pay the nonrefundable $500 enrollment fee in order to confirm your acceptance of our offer of admission. (Also, it may take up to 3-4 days for your account to register the payment, so don't worry!)
[NOTE: While there is no convenience fee for e-check payments, there is a 2.7 percent convenience fee for credit card payments.]
- If you decline your offer of admission, please notify us on the Your Decision form.
After accepting your admission offer, please look for an email from the International Programs Office (IPO) with subject line: “UMass Amherst Visa Sponsorship”-- it will be sent to the email address with which you applied, and include the information below as well as other important details. Please do not submit documents to request your I-20 until you receive the email.
Here are our estimated costs.
Applying for a student visa can take a lot of time and preparation. Be sure to start early! Upon receipt of the necessary documents and payment of your enrollment fee, we will send you the I-20 form. This is the form that U.S. schools issue to international students to indicate they have met all admission requirements to enter that school. You must take this form with you when you apply to the American Embassy or Consulate for a visa.
If you are already in the U.S. on a F-1 visa status, your UMass Amherst I-20 can only be issued after you submit the required documents and complete the SEVIS transfer release process with your previous F-1 visa sponsor. Additional documentation is required and will be provided in your “Visa Sponsorship” email.
All I-20 and visa related questions should be directed to IPO here.
Orientation for international students is coordinated by both New Student Orientation & Transitions (NSOT) and the International Programs Office (IPO).
- NSOT facilitates Next for the U, Guide to the U, Ready for the U, Welcome to the U, and connects you with your school or college for New Student Advising and Course Registration. The New Student Orientation & Transitions staff works with advisors who will contact you at your UMass email address starting in June to arrange your first online New Student Advising & Course Registration appointment using the Navigate system. Students must complete Guide to the U, register for Ready for the U, and take their placement assessments to be eligible to schedule an online advising and course registration appointment.
- IPO coordinates a second component called International Student Orientation. This orientation covers immigration requirements, document checks, information on how to study in the U.S. education system, and cultural/safety/health information sessions to help with your transition to the United States.
Starting on May 1, students who’ve paid their enrollment fee will be able to register for Ready for the U. (You will receive an email at your UMass Amherst email address that will direct you to the registration site). Once you’re registered for Ready for the U, your information is shared with the IPO and you do not need to complete a second registration for International Student Orientation. Be sure to follow instructions about mandatory placement exams that need to be taken prior to your advising and course registration appointment!
Don’t worry, you have time! The Housing Preference Application, which is what new incoming students use to acquire housing for the upcoming year, will open on SPIRE on June 3, 2024. You have from June 3 until July 1 to complete the application, and you will be able to edit your application as many times as you wish up until the deadline.
- First, review this webpage and these video tutorials to get a sense of what is required. Once you are matriculated, you will complete most steps for housing in SPIRE under the Housing tab.
- Second, consider a Residential Academic Program (RAP)! Between Saturday, May 18, 2024 (9 a.m. ET) and Wednesday, May 22 (5 p.m. ET) you will have an opportunity to submit your top RAP preferences. On Saturday, June 1, you will find out which RAP you were placed in. For more details on this process, visit the How to Join page. Keep in mind that RAPs are not compulsory and you may not be placed in one if your choices were popular.
- If you do not hold a space in a RAP, you will submit a preference application rank ordering the five Residential Areas with Residential First-Year Experience (RFYE) halls: Central, Northeast, Orchard Hill, Southwest, CHCRC
After June 1, and when you are ready to sign the Occupancy License and complete the Housing Profile:
- If applicable, confirm the RAP you are currently holding a space in
- Finalize your rank ordered preferences by submitting a Preference Application in SPIRE
Please note, most residence halls are closed during break periods. However, Break Housing Halls on campus remain open for their residents. (Break Housing hall are billed at an additional $400 per semester.) New students who will need housing during the above breaks should request to live in Break Housing on their Housing Preference Application. Need housing over the break period? Want to ensure that you have housing over the Break Periods? There are two ways to get it:
- Rank order Central or Southwest as your first preference and select “Break Housing” as the Living Option, or
- Hold a space in the Global Perspectives RAP or the Global Viewpoints RAP in Gorman and confirm on your Preference Application
Any housing questions? Please email living@umass.edu and staff in Residential Life will be waiting to help you!
SPIRE is our student information system, and every UMass Amherst student has a SPIRE account. If you haven't already, please check below for your SPIRE ID and NetID credentials.
Once you’ve committed to UMass and attended our New Student Orientation and Transition program, you’ll use SPIRE to register for classes, choose your housing assignment and meal plan, view and pay your university bill, and much more.
Information about university costs, financial aid (if applicable), and the university’s course catalog will be added to your SPIRE account.
The image below shows what students might see when they log into their Student Center via SPIRE.
Massachusetts law requires college students to be immunized against several diseases. Please see the UHS Immunizations page for more information about the immunization requirements for all students.
Students can receive credit through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program, College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), Dantes Subject Standardized Tests (DSST), and International A Level examinations.
Please see the "Credit by Examination" section of the Transferring Credit page from the UMass Registrar. Strong scores may allow for a course waiver or course credit. All scores MUST be sent to the Office of Admissions directly from the testing agency.
It is also helpful to have a copy of your test scores on hand when first meeting with an academic advisor. This will let academic advisors know what credits you have earned.
If you haven't already, arrange for UMass Amherst to receive a final official high school transcript with graduation date notation, which is required of all entering first-year students, before NSO. If you have completed final secondary school external exams, request that an official score report or transcript be sent as well.
Examples documents:
- CBSE Senior School Certificate (Class XII)
- CISCE Class XII
- A Level
- A Level (This document must to be sent from Edexcel to UMass Amherst directly.)
- IBDP (This document must to be sent from IBO to UMass Amherst directly.)
Transcripts should be emailed by a school official to the Admissions Office (email to: mail@admissions.umass.edu). If it needs to be mailed the address is:
UMass Amherst Undergraduate Admissions Office
Mather Building
37 Mather Drive
Amherst, MA 01003 USA
Admission is contingent upon maintaining your current level of academic performance. It is your responsibility to notify the admissions office of any significant decline in academic performance or additional disciplinary/criminal history that occurs after the submission of your application. UMass Amherst reserves the right to rescind admission based on this information.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability, or veteran status in any aspect of the admission or treatment of students or in employment.