Foreign Applicants
Permanent Residents
Applicants must provide current valid documentation from the Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) before being admitted and placed under regular admissions policies.
F-1 Visas
Applicants seeking an F-1 student visa must provide satisfactory academic records and have a local sponsor. Other important factors are graduation from a secondary school that is equivalent to secondary schools in the United States. If English as a Foreign Language classes are not offered, applicants whose native language is other than English must submit TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores as evidence of ability to use English at a level of competence necessary for college work. (TOEFL test dates and further details may be viewed at www.ets.org.) A minimum score of 213 is required for the computer-based TOEFL exam, 550 for the paper-based exam, and 72 for the Internet-based exam. Exceptions to the college policy may be granted in rare instances. Foreign applicants should contact the Admissions Office at Sandhills Community College for additional information. New international students must report to the Transfer and Residency Counselor in Stone Hall Student Services within 24 hours upon arrival to campus. The admission deadline for international students is March 1.
Other Visas
Applicants must provide current valid documentation from the Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) before being admitted—as allowed—and placed under regular admissions policies.
Admission of Undocumented or Illegal Immigrants
According to North Carolina and federal legislation, community
colleges are responsible for ensuring that a student who is lawfully
present in the US will always have priority for a space in a class or
program of study over a student who is not lawfully present in the US, if
there are space limitations. As such, Sandhills Community College
follows these admission requirements for undocumented immigrants:
- Colleges should neither enroll undocumented students into a
class or program of study for which there are waiting lists, nor
should colleges register undocumented students for classes
until the conclusion of the last published registration period.
- Colleges shall admit an undocumented immigrant only if he or
she attended and graduated from a US public high school,
private high school, or home school that operates in compliance
with State or local law. Undocumented immigrants with a GED
Diploma are not considered to have "graduated from a US
public high school, private high school, or home school" and
therefore are not eligible to be admitted to a community
college. An undocumented immigrant with a diploma from an
Adult High School that is located in the US and operates or
operated in compliance with State or local law is eligible to be
admitted to a community college.
- Undocumented immigrants may not be admitted into a program
of study that requires a professional license for admission since
federal law prohibits states from granting professional licenses
to undocumented immigrants.
- Undocumented immigrants will be charged out of state tuition
whether or not they reside in North Carolina.
