Visiting student programs in the USA

When a US university admits you as a visiting student, it places you in a temporary, non-degree category. You attend regular classes next to American students, receive grades and an official transcript, and go back to your home university when the term ends. The host university alone decides on admission, so your home university does not need an agreement with it. The name changes from one university to the next: visiting student, non-degree student and study abroad student all describe the same thing, and free mover is the European label. If the terminology confuses you, we explain what each of these terms means.

Watch the track you apply to. Many universities run two routes under the same name: an exchange track for students nominated by partner universities, who usually pay no tuition to the host, and a fee-paying track open to students from any university, who pay the host university’s tuition. If your home university has no agreement with the American one you want, the fee-paying track is yours, and it is the route free movers take.

Requirements change from one university to another, but the core is the same. You must be enrolled in a degree at a university outside the US for the whole period abroad, and many universities also want you to have completed your first year. You need an English certificate such as TOEFL or IELTS, with a minimum score set by each university, and your academic transcript, since some universities also set a minimum GPA. The university asks for proof of funds to issue your visa document, with a minimum amount that differs by university, and you must be at least 18 years old. On wearefreemovers you upload your transcript and language certificate once, and the requirements of each university are listed on its page, so you know what to prepare before you apply. The full checklist is in our guide to free mover prerequisites.

Tuition is set by each university and varies widely between American institutions, and housing, food, health insurance and travel come on top. Every university page on wearefreemovers shows the semester tuition together with an estimated total cost of the term, living expenses included, so you can compare universities on the real total and not on tuition alone. Applying through us adds nothing to that figure: there is no application fee and no markup on tuition. Universities pay us a fee when a student we referred enrolls, so wearefreemovers is free for you, and you can also earn cashback and referral bonuses.

Health insurance needs its own line in your budget. Nearly every US university requires international students to be insured, and many require you to enroll in their own plan. The university tells you which rule applies once it admits you, so wait for that before buying a policy, and make sure any plan meets both the university and the visa requirements. Our insurance finder helps you compare your options.

Most American universities run on semesters: fall from late August to December and spring from January to May. Some use quarters of about ten weeks, like University of California, Davis, so one term there is shorter than a European semester and you should check how many terms you need to cover the credits your home university expects. Credits work differently too. A full-time undergraduate load is usually 12 credit hours per semester, and many universities set that as the minimum for visiting students. Before you sign your learning agreement, use our credit converter to translate US credit hours into ECTS or your home system, and our grade converter to compare grading systems.

To study for credit in the US for a semester you need a student visa. The university that admits you issues the document you use to apply for it: Form I-20 for the F-1 visa or Form DS-2019 for the J-1 visa, depending on the university. After that you book an appointment at the US embassy or consulate in your country. Between admission, the visa document and the appointment, the whole process takes several months, so start the day your admission letter arrives. Our USA destination guide covers the general steps in order.

Applying to American universities on your own means a different website, form and portal for each one, often an application fee, and nobody checking your application before you submit it. On wearefreemovers you build your profile once with your academic background, GPA, language certificate and enrollment level, and you can apply to several universities in the same session without re-entering anything. You can browse the University Finder before creating an account, but you need a profile to apply. Enter accurate data: a GPA entered incorrectly can invalidate your application later.

Each university on wearefreemovers has its own short application form, and its programs, intakes and deadlines are on the same page, so there is no need to dig through admissions pages to find them. You can apply to one or more universities, because at this stage you are not committing to any destination. There is no application fee.

After you apply, our team reviews your profile against the requirements of each university: academic background, GPA, language certificate, enrollment level and fit with the destination. No application reaches a university until it passes this review, and if something is missing or wrong, we contact you to fix it before it costs you a place. You receive an eligibility notice for each university, usually within a few hours to a few business days.

Once you have your eligibility notices, you confirm one university and we nominate you to it. The university then issues your admission letter directly to you, typically within a few business days. From there you handle the learning agreement with your home university, the visa and your housing, and we stay available if anything is unclear. The full application process guide walks through every step.

For the fall semester, plan to apply in the first months of the year. For the spring semester, apply in the second half of the year before. The deadline for each program and intake is on the university’s page on wearefreemovers, and our guide on the best time to apply shows how to plan backwards from your start date, leaving room for the visa.

Every US university on wearefreemovers has its own page with its programs, tuition, estimated total cost, application deadlines and acceptance rate. Open the University Finder filtered on the United States of America to compare them, and narrow the list by subject, program type, semester tuition or acceptance rate. When you find the ones that fit, apply with the profile you already have.

Can I study in the USA for just one semester?

Yes. Many American universities accept international students for a single term as visiting or non-degree students, as long as you are enrolled at a university in your home country and meet the language and academic requirements.

Is a visiting student the same as an exchange student?

No. Exchange students are nominated by a partner university and usually pay no tuition to the host. Visiting students on the fee-paying track apply on their own from any university and pay the host university’s tuition. In Europe, this route is called free mover mobility.

How much does a semester as a visiting student cost?

Tuition depends on the university, and housing, food, health insurance and travel come on top. Every university page on wearefreemovers shows the semester tuition and an estimated total cost for the term, so you can compare before you apply.

Do visiting students need a visa for the USA?

Yes, a student visa. The university that admits you issues the document you need to apply for it, Form I-20 for the F-1 visa or Form DS-2019 for the J-1 visa. The official requirements are set by the US embassy or consulate in your country.

Is there an application fee?

Not when you apply through wearefreemovers. There is no application fee, and we add no markup to the university’s tuition.

Will my home university recognize the credits?

You earn credits and a transcript at the American university, and your home university decides on recognition, usually through a learning agreement signed before departure. Agree on it before you leave, and read our credit recognition guide to see how it works.