International Application Guidelines

Our admissions staff have extensive experience reviewing applications from around the world. As part of our comprehensive review process, we evaluate your application with the context of your local opportunities and national education systems in mind. We read applications sorted by secondary school location, regardless of your nationality. So, if you moved during high school, your application will be assigned to the region where your current school is located.  

Our Review Process for International Applicants 

We conduct a thorough and comprehensive review of all applications, aiming to identify students who are well-prepared for the academic experience that Penn has to offer. Beyond academics, we would like to learn about your interests outside the classroom, including extracurricular activities, and community service—though we recognize access to these opportunities vary from country to country.   

Please note that the University of Pennsylvania Office of Admission neither endorses nor supports the use of agents and independent college admissions related business in the application process. Our office works directly with applicants, schools, government, Education USA, non-profit, and community-based organizations.  

We recommend working with Education USA, which provides many helpful resources for international students interested in pursuing higher education in the United States.    

Considering applying for financial aid? Learn more about applying for financial aid as an international student.  

Your Application to Penn

When you apply to Penn, you will need to submit your own application materials, as well as request materials from your teachers and school officials. All applicants—both international and domestic—complete the same application through the Common App or Coalition Application.   Learn more about the full list of application requirements for first-year applicants. 

Any documents that are not in English must be officially translated into English to be submitted.  

In addition to the guidance below, we provide detailed instructions for each component of your application. Learn more about preparing your application to Penn. 

A strong command of the English language is essential for successful study at Penn.  If you meet one or both criteria below, you have fulfilled Penn’s English language proficiency requirements and do not need to submit anything further to confirm your English ability: 

  • English is your first and native language. 
  • English has been your primary language of instruction for the duration of high school. 

If neither of these statements is true, you will need to submit the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Duolingo English test (DET) results to demonstrate your English proficiency. Where the TOEFL iBT is not available due to COVID-19, you can take the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition. Please note that Penn does not currently accept the IELTS Indicator exam or MyBest scores for the TOEFL. 

To learn about the TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo English Test and to register for the examinations, please visit the websites below. Penn's school code for the TOEFL is 2926. 

Be sure to designate Penn as a recipient university each time you register for an examination. If you have already taken a test but did not designate Penn as a score recipient, please do so afterwards. 

Score reports can be sent directly to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions through official testing agencies. Unfortunately, Penn does not currently accept self-reported scores for English proficiency examinations. 

Penn accepts most national and international secondary school curricula. Secondary school refers to the educational level before entering college or university—which we call high school.  

Our Admissions Committee has extensive training in reviewing academic records (transcripts) to determine your preparation for programs at Penn. We will require you to submit all of your letter or numerical grades from all four years of high school. This may mean that you need to request multiple transcripts if you attended different high schools. 

When determining your preparation for Penn, we review your academic records—or transcript—to see if you are consistently engaged across four years in core academic areas including:   

  • reading and writing in your national language or English 
  • social studies, history, or civics 
  • math 
  • science 
  • foreign language or English 

Learn more about high school preparation. 

Since our admission decisions are often made before the announcement of results for many national and international leaving examinations (such as the A Levels, French Baccalaureate, and International Baccalaureate), we anticipate that as an applicant, you are enrolled in programs that prepare for these examinations.  

If you are enrolled in a program that will not release external examination results prior to our application deadlines, please request that your school send us predictions of external examination results along with your grades. We require and review final examination results before you matriculate to Penn. 

If national examinations are required for admission to a pre-university program (such as the IGCSE or the SPM), please plan to submit certified copies of your results with your Penn application. We anticipate that your exam results will show high marks indicating a strong academic preparation.  

High performance on some nationally sponsored or administered secondary school exams may entitle you to advanced standing at Penn—meaning you may be able to receive credit or exemption from prerequisite coursework. 

These exams include:  

  • A-Levels 
  • French Baccalauréat 
  • German Abitur 
  • International Baccalaureate (higher-level subjects) 
  • Italian Maturità 
  • Federal Swiss Maturity Certificate 
  • Danish Studentereksamen 
  • Icelandic Stúdentspróf 
  • Finnish Matriculation Certificate 

Advanced standing can only be granted after you are admitted and the original certificate (or an official copy) from the exam agency is received and evaluated by Penn.