Accepted International Students

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Get ready for the Cobber life with this step-by-step list.

Checklist for Accepted International Students

1. Register for your Concordia Scholarship Interview

Concordia Scholarship Interviews for Fall 2023 admission will be offered March 28, 29 and 30, 2023. Admitted students who have already demonstrated the ability to pay at least $25,000 USD (or more) per year are eligible to participate in the interview and will receive a personal invitation with a link to the RSVP form via email. If you have questions about your eligibility or about preparing for the interview, please contact us at intl@cord.edu.

2. Make Your Deposit

Reserve your place at Concordia by submitting your deposit of $300 (refundable until May 1, 2023). In return, we’ll start to make preparations for your arrival at Concordia. To complete this process, you will need to use your Concordia username and password.

Deposit by credit card using a Visa or MasterCard issued from a major bank. If you do not have this type of credit card, please contact intl@cord.edu for alternate deposit instructions.

3. Attend the Virtual Pre-Arrival Sessions

Ensure a smooth and successful start to your time at Concordia by attending our three-part virtual pre-arrival meetings May 10, June 14, and July 12. Please make your best effort to attend as essential information related to your visa application, housing and roommate selection, course registration, and more will be shared. Deposited students will be invited to attend by email. Email Steve Schaefer with questions.

4. Obtain Your I-20 Form

Once you have been admitted and demonstrated adequate funds for your first year of study at Concordia and made your $300 enrollment deposit, we will issue the required I-20 form. A scanned, digital copy of your I-20 will be emailed to you. We will start that process in mid-April. Paper copies of the I-20 are no longer required. If you feel strongly about receiving an original signed paper copy, you are responsible for covering the Priority Shipping cost. Email the Admissions Office for details.

5. Pay Your SEVIS Fee

Student and Exchange Visitor Information System is commonly called SEVIS. You are required to pay for this service online.

Regulation requires all prospective F-1 students to pay the I-901 Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) Fee before the Department of State issues you a visa. To pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee, visit FMJfee.com to access the SEVIS Form I-901.

Who needs to pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee?

  • All prospective F-1 students from countries where a visa to travel to the United States is mandatory.
  • All prospective F-1 students from visa waiver countries (before seeking admission at a U.S. port of entry).
  • Any nonimmigrant in the United States applying for a change of nonimmigrant status to F-1 status (before applying for a change of nonimmigrant status).

How do I pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee?

  • Most prospective F-1 students also have the option to make a credit card payment on FMJfee.com. However, prospective international students with a country of citizenship or country of birth of Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, or Gambia must pay by money order, Western Union Quick Pay, or certified check drawn from a U.S. bank.
  • SEVP will accept third party payments, meaning someone else can pay your I-901 SEVIS Fee using the same method of payment. For students who cannot pay the fee by credit card, third party payers are also restricted from paying the fee by credit card.

Learn More

6. Apply for Housing

The Housing Application for incoming Fall 2023 students opens January 8, 2023. You will gain access to the application approximately 24 hours after you have paid your $300 enrollment deposit. You can access this application through MyHousing.

When the roommate matching process begins in June, 2023, you'll have the opportunity to browse the profiles of other students who have been assigned to your same residence hall and then match up with one of these students.

The housing office will post a video about the process that you'll be able to watch to better understand how to complete your housing agreement and the roommate matching process.

The video will have information about how to hide your profile and opt out of this process. If you do that, our office will match you with another unmatched student after June 19 (using the preferences you shared on your housing application).

7. Engaged Citizenship Seminar

First-Year international students only: Engaged Citizenship Seminars are unique first-year courses based on a wide range of topics. You can read the course descriptions here.  As soon as you make your Enrollment Deposit, you'll complete the form below to indicate your top choices and will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

Complete the First-Year Seminar Registration Form

8. Student Registration Inventory

Please watch this Course Registration Orientation Video prior to completing your Student Registration Inventory.

First-Year international students: Please complete the Student Registration Inventory once the link becomes available in March. You will need your Concordia student ID number, which begins with 900. You can find that on your financial aid offer and some of the other correspondence you've received from us. Your answers to the questions on the inventory will be used by the Registrar to complete your Fall 2023 course schedule. Your entire fall semester schedule will be sent to your Concordia email in June.

Complete the Student Registration Inventory form

Transfer and exchange international students: You do NOT need to complete the inventory. Schedule an appointment to register for courses after completing the phone registration questionnaire. Please contact Alicia Kauffman or Steve Schaefer to receive the questionnaire.

9. Sexual Assault Prevention Training

This video-based program will provide crucial information about Consent, Bystander Intervention, Sexual Harassment, Intimate Partner Violence, Stalking, and much more. This online training course will help you better understand how important these issues are and what you can do to help make our campus safer.

This program is required to be completed before a student is allowed to begin courses. It takes approximately 90 to 120 minutes to complete; however, you can start the program, save and exit, then continue from where you stopped.

Access the training here by using your Banner ID as your username; passwords are the first five numbers of your Banner ID. If you do not know your Banner ID, you will receive a weekly reminder email to take the training containing your Banner ID.

10. Find a Campus Job

International students enrolled on an F-1 student visa are permitted to work on campus beginning their first semester. Beginning in mid-August, deposited students who have completed their class schedule may create a Handshake profile and apply for positions on campus.

Handshake

11. Health Forms and Tuberculosis (TB) testing

The Mandatory Immunizations form is required to be completed by all students. The Immunization Exemptions form need only be completed if it applies to you.

Mandatory Immunizations
Immunization Exemptions

In compliance with the United States Centers for Disease Control, Concordia College is to screen all new international students for tuberculosis (TB) upon their arrival. This testing is coordinated through Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, North Dakota. Associated costs for this test are included in your health insurance estimate for the 2023-24 academic calendar. The corresponding course registration hold cannot be removed until you have completed the screening process.

12. Submit Final Transcripts and Diploma

This one is important! Failure to submit final high school academic records containing your graduation date will prevent you from registering for subsequent semesters. Click below for a complete list of required academic transcripts by country.

Students requesting transfer of credit for courses taken at universities outside of the United States must have their final transcripts evaluated by an approved credential evaluation agency found on the NACES website and sent to Concordia College. Students must request a course-by-course evaluation from the agency.

13. Arrival Details

First-Year and Transfer international students: Arrival dates for Fall 2023 will be August 12 and 13. International Student Orientation will begin Monday, August 14. This is REQUIRED for all new international students.

This year’s International Student Orientation Program (ISOP) is particularly special as you’ll spend part of the week at the renowned Concordia Language Villages in the North Woods of Minnesota. Settle into your Svenska stugor (Swedish cottages) and prepare for a unique introduction to studying in the U.S. and to Minnesota culture. Enjoy a rich program of activities — from service-learning to campfire stories — all designed to help you make the most of your time at Concordia and in the United States.

If your travel itinerary brings you to the Fargo-Moorhead community before the approved dates, it is your responsibility to make arrangements for transportation, lodging and meals prior to being able to move into your residence hall on the arrival dates listed above.

Fill out this online Arrival Information Form so we can plan for your arrival.