F-1 Admission Requirements

If you are currently residing outside of the United States and are applying for a new, initial F-1 student visa, or if you are planning to change your current status to F-1 academic student status, complete the International Student Application. 

If you are currently attending a high school or a university or college in the United States, please complete the International Student Application—Transfer.

Fill out all application forms completely and attach all required documents. Official transcripts must be received by the application deadline. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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The one-time, non-refundable International Student Application Fee is $50. Choose one of the following ways to pay: 

Online

• Credit card: Pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express) or E-Check through HCC's Payment Gateway. Select "Pay Online for Health Sciences/Testing/Other Fees," then complete the form and check "International Student Application Fee."

Via International Wire Transfer

• Flywire

In person

• Pay in person at the campus bursar office via credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). If a student approaches the Bursar Office at any of the campuses to pay on his/her account using another person’s credit card, the cardholder must be present! 
• Pay cash at the campus bursar office. Please do not mail cash to the Center for International Education.
• Pay via money order or cashier's check.

• Submit an Affidavit of Support (included in the application) completed and signed by your sponsor. If you do not have a sponsor and are funding your own studies, you do not need to submit an Affidavit of Support.
• Submit a current financial document/bank letter. This document must be in English, on official institution letterhead and bear the sponsor’s name. It must show at least USD $25,274.00 for one year of study at HCC (two semesters).  If you have F-2 dependents (spouse/child), show additional funds of USD $5,000 for each dependent.

Federal visa laws require that F-1 international students must certify and declare that they have sufficient funds to cover the cost of tuition, books, room and board, personal expenses, and health insurance for at least one academic year. For the 2025-2026 academic year and beyond, a single student will need at least $25,274.00 (subject to change) per year to cover academic and living expenses. This statement must be on file before admission will be considered. Funds may come from various sources, including government scholarships, sponsoring agencies, the student's own personal funds, or funds provided by the student's relatives. The sponsor can be located in the United States or overseas.

Students with government sponsorships or grants/loans (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Sweden, Norway, etc.) who present preliminary financial statements for admission purposes must submit final, official financial guarantees by the program start date of the term they plan to enroll.

Acceptable proof of sufficient funds

• Official award letters from a sponsoring institution (for example, Financial Guarantees from an Embassy; scholarship letters)
• Bank statements on official bank letterhead
• Bank letters stamped and signed by a bank official
• All documentation must be in English and show at least the minimum required amount in U.S. dollars ($25,274.00). Letters stating a vague range such "funds in the five-figure range" are not acceptable.

Acceptable financial sources

• Personal checking or savings accounts
• Certificates of deposit
• Money market accounts
• Other easily liquidated assets​​ (statement must include clear evidence of funds' liquidity)
• Business bank statements
  • Must be accompanied by a letter on company or bank letterhead verifying the sponsor's signatory authority on the account

Unacceptable proof

• Bank statements without an account holder name
• Web printouts without a balance, bank logo, stamp or signature

Unacceptable financial sources

• Real estate
• Insurance policies
• Tax statements
• Long-term retirement accounts such as 401(k)s, IRAs, etc.
• Home equity lines of credit and credit cards
• Pay advices
• Salary guarantees
• Other statements of non-liquid assets

To be eligible for admission to an associate degree program at HCC, applicants must submit documentation that they have the equivalent of one of the following:

• high school equivalency certificate (GED)
• Associate or higher degree
• standard high school diploma

High School 

• If you graduated from a high school in the United States, please request that final, official transcripts be sent to HCC in a sealed envelope or electronically directly from your high school by the given application deadline. Transcripts must include your final grades and graduation date. Opened transcripts are considered to be unofficial and will not be accepted.
• If you graduated from a high school outside of the United States, your transcripts, graduation certificates and/or exam results must be evaluated by a NACES-approved agency to prove equivalency with a U.S. high school diploma (general or document-by-document evaluation and translation, if transcripts are not in English). Completed evaluations need to be submitted by the application deadline. For a list of countries which are exempt from the secondary school transcript evaluation requirement by NACES, see International Secondary School Requirements for Admission. All final, official transcripts must be sent directly from the issuing institution to HCC.
• If you graduated with an International Baccalaureate (IB), the final, official IB results must be submitted directly from International Baccalaureate to the Center for International Education at Hillsborough Community College.

 College/University

• If you have attended a university or college in the United States, request that final, official transcripts from all institutions attended be sent to HCC in a sealed envelope or electronically directly from the issuing institution by the application deadline or immediately following completion of your current term.  If official transcripts have not been received at least one month prior to the I-20 program start date, an evaluation of transfer credit for your first term at HCC can no longer be guaranteed, and you may be required to take the college placement test before enrolling in classes.
• If you have attended a university or college outside of the United States, you are required to submit a course-by-course evaluation and translation (if not in English) by the  application deadline. Acceptance of transfer credit is subject to review by the school and cannot be guaranteed.  

Students are responsible for all costs associated with obtaining translations and evaluations of their transcript(s).  

International (F-1 visa) students whose native language is not English and whose country of citizenship is not on the English proficiency waiver list must demonstrate English language competency to gain admission to the College.

HCC does not offer courses in English as a Second Language for F-1 international students and does not offer conditional acceptance to students who do not meet our English proficiency requirements.

You may demonstrate English language competency for admission purposes by meeting any one of the following conditions:

• TOEFL score of 61 (iBT) or higher (www.toefl.org; HCC Institution Code: 5304)
• IELTS academic overall band score of 5.5 or higher (www.ielts.org)
• iTEP academic score of 4.0 or higher (www.itepexam.com)
• STEP Eiken minimum score of Grade 2A or higher
• Pearson PTE academic minimum score of 46 or higher
• Cambridge English: C1 Advanced or higher, minimum score of 165 or higher
• LanguageCert International ESOL: C1 or C2 level proficiency or higher
• GTEC CBT score of 1051 or higher; new GTEC unified score of 1075 or higher
• Duolingo English Test score of 95 or higher
• Completion of Kaplan High-Intermediate Level
• SAT scores: SAT test score of 24 or higher in college-level reading or new Digital SAT score of 490 in college-level reading and writing
• ACT scores: college-level reading of 19 or higher, writing of 17 or higher
• Completion of Advanced Level 6 at Tampa Language Center
• Completion of Advanced Level 2 at OHLA Open Hearts Language Academy
• Completion of High-Intermediate Level 4 (Elite Certificate) at Oxford Elite Academy
• Completion of EAP 1851
• Completion of Advanced Levels in Academic English (Level 109) at an ELS English Language Center
• Completion of the highest level of a regionally accredited intensive English language program
• Completion of ENC 1101 from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university
• Graduation from a U.S. high school with a standard high school diploma after having attended that school for at least two years (not including ESOL classes) and attaining a grade of "C" or higher in English

All new students, unless exempt, are required to take the college placement test in English and Math upon arrival at HCC to determine course placement. Based on the results of the placement test, students may be placed in preparatory coursework--which may not count towards the degree--prior to enrolling in college-level coursework.  

Students may be exempted from the placement test only if they submit proof of successful completion of ENC 1101 or qualifying SAT/ACT scores. Request your official scores to be mailed directly to the Center for International Education from the College Board (SAT) or the ACT respectively. 

Please note: Diplomas, certificates and test scores must be dated within two years of the desired term start date. If they are older than two years, HCC may still require an applicant to take an English proficiency exam (i.e., TOEFL or IELTS) and submit test scores to be considered for admission. 

All F-1 students must submit a copy of the biographical page of your passport. Passports must be kept valid for six months into the future.

Additionally, F-1 students transferring from another U.S. institution must also submit the following documents:

• A copy of your F-1 visa
• A copy of your current Form I-20
• HCC Transfer Recommendation and Release Form, completed by your current International Student Advisor at the transfer-out school.

After admission and no later than by the I-20 program start date, all international F-1 students must submit proof of health insurance before enrolling in courses at HCC. Visit Insurance for Students to enroll in the College-endorsed health insurance plan.