Incoming Exchange Students

Have your home university submit the exchange student

to the Study Abroad Coordinator in International Programs

or send an email with your name, home country, and home institution to initiate the process.

Apply to SHSU through the ApplyTexas portal. Be sure to choose either "International Freshman" if you are an undergraduate student or "International Graduate" if you are a graduate student as the application type. Select the major that most align with your major at your home university.

DO NOT PAY THE APPLICATION FEE!

At the end of the application, you will be asked for a payment option. Choose to "pay with a check or money order." You will NOT be charged the application fee, but you must choose this option or we will not be able to view your application. It is very important that you enter a correct email address in the application because you will receive further instructions at that address once you have been accepted. You will receive an email from our office that your application as been received with a reminder to pay the application fee. This email is automatically sent to all new international students. As an exchange student your application fee is waived.

Do not pay the application fee!

ApplyTexas

APPLICATION DEADLINES: November 1 for Spring Semester and May 1 for Fall Semester.

Once you have submitted your ApplyTexas application, you will get an email from the Global Engagement Center (GEC). We will let you know the next steps in submitting supporting documentation (Step Three)

3. Submit Supporting Documentation

Proof of English Proficiency: TOEFL (550 paper-based or 79 IBT) or IELTS (6.5). SHSU is currently accepting Duolingo scores of at least 105 during the COVID-19 crisis. At this time, no other English proficiency tests are accepted. Please make sure you have released the scores to Sam Houston State University so we can view them digitally. SHSU’s institutional code is 6643.
Transcripts from your Home University: Must be translated into English, and should show titles of courses taken and grades earned.
Proof of Financial Support: This is the amount you must show in a bank account in order for SHSU to issue the I-20 (the document you'll need to get your visa). For the Academic Year, you'll need to show US$13,050 and for one semester it will be US$6,525. Please send us a copy of your bank statement showing the required amount.
Color Copy of your Passport: Be sure that your passport will not expire for at least 6 months AFTER your scheduled departure date. If it will, you will need to renew your passport before applying for your visa.

Once we have received all your documentation, and as long as your English proficiency meets our standards, you will be academically accepted to SHSU as an Exchange Student.

5. Set up SHSU Computer Account & Access MySam Portal

Once you are accepted to SHSU, you will be emailed instructions on what your user name is and how to set up your computer account. This email should be sent within 24 hours of your acceptance. You must follow this procedure in order to be able to register for classes and apply for on-campus housing. This email will be sent to the email address you supplied in the ApplyTexas application.

6. Apply for Visa

As soon as you receive the acceptance packet from SHSU, read ALL the contents carefully and arrange to visit your nearest U.S. Consulate for your visa interview.

7. Get Meningitis Vaccination & Submit Proof to Health Center

All incoming SHSU students are required to show proof for a Bacterial Meningitis vaccination (for students under age 22). For more information, click

HERE

. You must turn in proof of your vaccination to the SHSU Health Center BEFORE you can register for courses.

8. Register for SHSU courses through the MySam Portal

Once you have set up your computer account (Step 5) you will have access to the

MySam Portal

. The link to MySam can be found at the top of the SHSU homepage. You will use this portal to access all your information relevant to SHSU, and to register for courses. It is VERY important to start the registration process as soon as you are accepted because many classes fill up fast. To learn how to register,

Visit Here

. You WILL receive registration errors. Please send screen shots of these errors to

Study Abroad

. Each error will have to be addressed individually, and can sometimes take several days to resolve. This is due to the fact that our system does not recognize credits you have taken at your home university, and will often say that you do not have the proper pre-requisites for a course. We will review your transcript for each request and determine if you are actually eligible to take the course.

We identify courses in two ways- either by a 4-letter and 4-number combination (ex: ENGL 2000) or by the CRN- a 5-digit number unique to the section of the course (ex: 23562). Please use either of these descriptors when asking questions about a course.

To determine the difficulty of a course, look at the 4-number code (ex: ENGL 2300) the 2000 level indicates it is a second year course. 1000 level courses are typically for first year students, up to 4000 level courses for fourth year students. 5000, 6000, and 7000 courses are for graduate and doctoral students.

To maintain visa status, you must register for a minimum of 4, 3-hour courses, equaling a total (usually) of 12 credits. You may take one online course (3 credit hours), but the other courses must be on-campus courses. This is an average course load for students in the U.S., and what we recommend for all exchange students.

*Please note - you must be enrolled in a full-time schedule (at least 12 credit hours) by December 1st for spring semester or May 15th for fall semester. Students are not permitted to arrive on campus for their program without being enrolled in 12 credit hours. If you are not enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours by the deadlines given, you will not be permitted to attend Sam Houston State University. You may still be able to make adjustments to your schedule after arrival, but you cannot be signing up for courses for the first time past the dates above. No exceptions are possible.

*Please note - it is highly recommended that you enroll in courses that do not have prerequisite requirements. These requirements are rarely waived because we must be able to verify with appropriate documentation that you meet academic standards necessary to succeed in the course. This is not to be difficult or to cause problems, but to make sure that you are prepared to have a rewarding classroom experience. The Study Abroad Coordinator can request overrides from instructors in the case of a prerequisite block, but there is ABSOLUTELY NO GUARANTEE THAT AN OVERRIDE WILL BE GRANTED. You should identify and enroll in alternative coursework in case your override request is denied. Note that it is not the Study Abroad Coordinator that grants or denies these overrides, but the instructor for the course. You are also able to request these overrides from course instructors yourself and are encouraged to do so.

9. Find Housing

Exchange students have two options for housing: on-campus housing or off-campus apartments within walking distance. On campus housing is extremely limited and not guaranteed. There is currently a housing shortage for all SHSU students. It is important to apply for housing as soon as you are academically accepted.

Apply for on-campus housing HERE. If you choose to live on campus, a meal plan must also be purchased unless you live in Bearkat Village. Cost information can be found here.

If you would rather live off-campus, there are several apartment complexes within walking distance to SHSU or which have a shuttle service to the campus. There are also several that offer short-term leases, furnished apartments, and roommate matching services. You can access this list here.

10. Arrange for International Student Orientation & Airport Pickup

You must arrive in time for and attend the New International Student Orientation. Orientation is normaly heald a few days BEFORE class starts. You will be informed about the exact date by the Office of International Programs, we recommend not booking your flight before this date has been shared with you. You must register and pay the fee for orientation

here.

The Orientation page also includes the link to sign up for airport pick-up. You will need to complete the airport pick-up form at least 7 days before your departure to request this service.

IMPORTANT: There are two airports in the Houston area- we ONLY provide airport pickup from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (code IAH). If you mistakenly fly into the other airport (Hobby) you will be responsible for arranging your own transportation to Huntsville. This can be very expensive (around $100) and should be avoided.

11. Make Payments

New International Student Service Fee (undergraduates only). The $125 fee will be placed on your account.
SHSU International Student Health Insurance. For students staying a year, a $3,250 charge will be placed on your account. For students staying for the fall semester, a $1,238 charge will be placed on your account. For students staying for the spring semester, a $2,012 charge will be placed on your account (for spring & summer). SHSU International Student Health Insurance can only be waived if one of these criteria are met:
- Student is sponsored by the U.S. or a foreign embassy, recognized by the US and are compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or the sponsor will guarantee 100% payment of all health care expenses including medical evacuation and repatriation.
- Student is covered by a U.S. employer health insurance plan or by a parent/spouse’s U.S. employer health insurance plan that is compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

NOTE: The health insurance must be paid BEFORE the first class day or schedules will be dropped. You can setup a payment plan to pay in installments, if needed.

Incoming Exchange Students

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