International Students

We are so excited to support your application journey! 

Start your application now with:

The Common Application

Who is an “International Applicant”?

It's not about where you live. It’s about your citizenship or permanent residency. So, if you hold U.S. citizenship, permanent residency (green card), or if your asylee/refugee status is approved, you must apply as a domestic student. Alternatively, if you do not hold U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, or your asylee/refugee status is pending, you must apply as an international student. 

Not sure about your legal citizenship? Check your status with your parents or legal counsel. Either deliberate or unintended misrepresentation of your citizenship status may be cause for withdrawal of your application.

If your permanent residency status is still “pending,” apply as an international student. Then, once your permanent residency is approved, you should notify us immediately. A photocopy of this paperwork will be required.  

International First Year Applicants

FALL 2025 ADMISSION: Deadlines: Important Dates to Remember

Application Path:	Apply By:	Decision By:	Enroll By:
Early Decision	November 1	December 2	January 10
Early Action I	December 2	January 6	May 1
Early Action II	January 6	February 10	May 1
Regular Decision	March 3	April 7	May 1

Application Pathways

Early Decision

If Principia is your first choice, applying Early Decision indicates a commitment to attend if admitted. When admitted under Early Decision, you agree to withdraw applications to any other colleges, so it is expected you would not apply Early Decision to more than one institution.

Early Action

Early Action applications will receive an earlier response but can wait to hear from other colleges before making a final decision. Principia offers two rounds of early application consideration. 

Regular Decision

 Please give ample time to have all application materials submitted and received by March 3. If admitted, you'll need to reply to our offer by May 1 and begin preparing your documents prior to scheduling a Visa appointment. 

Required Application Materials

1. Common Application  

• Create a Common Application and add Principia College to your college list. We charge an application fee of $75. The fee cannot be waived and is non-refundable.  

2. Official Transcript  

• What do you mean by “transcript”?  
  • We are looking for a document (i.e., mark sheet, progress report, grade sheet, report card) that shows us what subjects you have studied each year of high school and the grades/marks you earned in each subject. 

• What are the options for submitting an official transcript?
  • This document will need to be sent to us by your high school guidance counselor (or other appropriate school administrator) by email.
     
  • Your counselor can send your transcript as an attachment to an email sent to international admissions intladmissions@principia.edu. The cover letter email should indicate it is being sent by the school, not you (the student), so we can accept the documents as official.  

Please Note: All academic records and examinations must be in English

3. Official External Exam Results

• Depending on the educational system of your country, the external exams that we require include: O-Level, A-Level, SSSCE, WAEC, NECO, HSEB, SLC, KCSE, IGCSE, SPM, IB, ICSE, HSC, AISSCE, CXC. This is not a comprehensive list. You will be notified on a case-by-case basis if there are additional external exam results that we require.   

4. English Language Proficiency Requirement – Official TOEFL and /or IELTS English test 

• Principia College does not offer ESL support options for international students. Therefore, all international students must demonstrate proficiency in English at an American university level for consideration.   

• The following test sources are accepted for admission consideration:
  • IELTS – minimum score: 6.5  
  • TOEFL – minimum score: 80 
    • Principia only accepts the TOEFL iBT  test
    • Principia institution code: 1630
    • Principia does not accept MyBest Scores

Please note: Official score reports are required for all English Proficiency tests

Financial Aid for International students

At Principia College, all aid available to international students is merit aid, awarded based on information provided in the application and through conversations with the admissions counselor.  

Optional Application Materials

SAT/ACT Scores  
Our holistic approach ensures that each student is seen as their unlimited self, not simply as a test score. Standardized test scores are not required for admission consideration, however they can be used to determine academic scholarships, often improving a student’s eligibility for a higher award level.  
Students wondering whether to submit a standardized test score or not, should consider the following:    

• If scores are an accurate representation of the student’s ability, feel free to submit them. If they are not, then don’t submit them.    

• If the student gets the score they hoped for, and especially if it qualifies the student for a higher level of academic scholarship, submitting the score may be helpful in the admission process.    

• A high SAT or ACT score can offset a low GPA. If a student does not submit a score, Principia has less information about academic performance. If a student has a low GPA but does well on the SAT or ACT, the test score can be an important indicator of the applicant’s potential to succeed in college-level classes.    

Applicants choosing to submit test scores should be aware that Principia requires a minimum score of 1010 on the SAT and a minimum composite score of 19 on the ACT. Principia will consider the applicant’s best superscored ACT composite scores and best superscored SAT math and evidence-based reading and writing (ERW) scores.

International Transfer Applicants

SPRING 2025 ADMISSION

*Spring Transfer is available to students most recently enrolled at a US post-secondary institution only   

Application Deadline: December 2 

FALL 2025 ADMISSION

Application Deadline: March 3

Required Application Materials

1. Common Application  

• Create a Common Application and add Principia College to your college list. We charge an application fee of $75. The fee cannot be waived and is non-refundable.  

2. Official Transcript  

• What do you mean by “transcript”?  
  • We are looking for a document (i.e., mark sheet, progress report, grade sheet, report card) that shows us what subjects you have studied each year of high school and college/university and the grades/marks you earned in each subject. 

• What are the options for submitting an official transcript?  
  • This document must be emailed to us by your high school guidance counselor/college counselor (or other appropriate school administrator).  
  • Your counselor can send your transcript as an attachment to an email sent to international admissions intladmissions@principia.edu. The cover letter email should indicate it is being sent by the school/college, not you (the student), so we can accept the documents as official.  

  3. Transcript evaluation by World Education Services (WES)  

• Official course-by-course foreign credential evaluation by our approved credential evaluation service provider – World Education Services (WES) – for transcripts issued by a college or university outside the United States.  

• There is an expense for evaluations completed by the World Education Services that will need to be paid by the student. The report from the evaluation service must be sent directly to the Admissions Office at Principia College.    

4. Official External Exam Results  

• Depending on the educational system of your country, the external exams that we require include: O-Level, A-Level, SSSCE, WAEC, NECO, HSEB, SLC, KCSE, IGCSE, SPM, IB, ICSE, HSC, AISSCE, CXC. This is not a comprehensive list. You will be notified on a case-by-case basis if there are additional external exam results that we require.   

5. English Language Proficiency Requirement – Official TOEFL and /or IELTS English test  

• Principia College does not offer ESL support options for international students. Therefore, all international students must demonstrate proficiency in English at an American university level for consideration.   

• The following test sources are accepted for admission consideration:
  • IELTS – minimum score: 6.5  
  • TOEFL – minimum score: 80 
    • Principia only accepts the TOEFL iBT  test
    • Principia institution code: 1630
    • Principia does not accept MyBest Scores

Please note: Official score reports are required for all English Proficiency tests

 Financial Aid for International Students 

At Principia College, all aid available to international students is merit aid, awarded based on information provided in the application and through conversations with the admissions counselor.  

Optional Application Materials

SAT/ACT Scores  
Our holistic approach ensures that each student is seen as their unlimited self, not simply as a test score. Standardized test scores are not required for admission consideration, however they can be used to determine academic scholarships, often improving a student’s eligibility for a higher award level.  
Students wondering whether to submit a standardized test score or not, should consider the following:    

• If scores are an accurate representation of the student’s ability, feel free to submit them. If they are not, then don’t submit them.    

• If the student gets the score they hoped for, and especially if it qualifies the student for a higher level of academic scholarship, submitting the score may be helpful in the admission process.    

• A high SAT or ACT score can offset a low GPA. If a student does not submit a score, Principia has less information about academic performance. If a student has a low GPA but does well on the SAT or ACT, the test score can be an important indicator of the applicant’s potential to succeed in college-level classes.    

 Applicants choosing to submit test scores should be aware that Principia requires a minimum score of 1010 on the SAT and a minimum composite score of 19 on the ACT. Principia will consider the applicant’s best superscored ACT composite scores and best superscored SAT math and evidence-based reading and writing (ERW) scores.