I took my English test some years ago. Do I need to take it again?
At the time of your application, if more than two years have passed since you took your English test, your score is officially expired and the testing organization will no longer verify your score or send it directly to our university. This applies to both TOEFL and IELTS. In this situation, you are required to re-take the test. However, see also the answer to the next question.
I am a foreign applicant, but by next summer I will have completed my Master's degree at a university in the US. Do I still need to take a test of English?
If you will have completed two or more years of study at a university in the US or in another English-speaking country at the time of your requested enrollment at Kent State University, then you are exempt from the requirement to take a test of English. If you will have completed a Master's Degree from a university in the US or in another English-speaking country, even if the duration of your Master's study is under two years, you are also exempt from the requirement to take a test of English.
I have tried to register for the next TOEFL exam. The earliest date I can get a seat might be too late for me to apply for Fall admission, since Kent State will not receive my score until several weeks after the test date. What can I do?
Our first round of offers for fall semester admission is normally finished by the beginning of April. We sometimes have a second round of offers that continues until sometime in May. If your TOEFL score (or any other item required for a complete file) arrives too late, you will still be considered, but your chance of Fall Semester admission is reduced. It might be advantageous for you to consider IELTS or Duolingo instead of TOEFL. Results from these test might be available to us at an earlier date.
Can you consider my application before I take the English exam, or before the score is sent to your university? If accepted, I will make sure that all needed items are submitted.
In order to be considered as a normal category of applicant and to be eligible for financial aid, you must have already demonstrated English Proficiency. International applications are initially received by our Office of Global Education. If an essential required item is missing (TOEFL / IELTS or any other requirement), the file for that applicant remains on hold in the Office of Global Education, and is never sent to the Physics Department for consideration by our Admissions Committee. Nearly every university in the US applies a rule similar to this.
If you have full financial support from your home country but have not yet demonstrated English Proficiency, it is sometimes the case that your home country will support you to study English at a US university for a semester or two before you transfer to a graduate program in your major subject. If this is your situation, please contact us for more details about your options.