The Application Process

Before you can access the study abroad application, you’ll need to have an advising appointment.

• For students applying for a semester abroad, you’ll meet with a study abroad advisor to discuss program selection, requirements, academic advising, fees, and the application process. It is recommended that you schedule your first advising appointment at least a year in advance of your program, although we will hold advising appointments up through the application deadline.
• For students applying for a Global Experience or Maymester program, you’ll need to attend the program’s interest meeting for information regarding the program, the academic course, the fees, and the application process. Students who cannot attend the interest meeting during the scheduled times will need to meet with the program leader for the program(s) of interest to obtain the needed information and application materials.
• For students applying to a summer program not under the HPU Global Experience Program, you’ll need to meet with a study abroad advisor to discuss your program and how to receive academic credit for your program abroad.
• Application Deadlines

Generally speaking, there are four application deadlines for the four general program terms. Please confirm the application deadline for the program to which you are applying by reviewing the information in the Terms section on the specific program brochure in ViaTRM.

Application deadlines are scheduled as follows:

The materials required to apply to a study abroad program are found in the Study Abroad Portal, Via TRM on the program’s brochure. To find available programs, click on the Explore Programs link on your Study Abroad Portal profile page. Take advantage of the Portal’s powerful Program Match Tool or use the filter buttons to filter programs by program type (e.g., Global Experience, Maymester, exchange), term (e.g., Global Experience 2026, Maymester 2026, or Fall 2026), location, or more.

You’ll be able to apply for only one program during a given term, so before you start an application, review the available programs and narrow down your options to your preferred program. A study abroad advisor can help guide you in the selection process if you are having difficulties deciding between programs. Once you know the program to which you want to apply, access the application by navigating to the Term Information tab on the program’s brochure and clicking on the APPLY NOW button under the appropriate term. Note: if the Apply Now button does not appear at the bottom of a listed term, that means the program does not have an open application.

Regarding program alternates:

• For semester study abroad applications, you will be permitted to list one or more programs as an alternate without having to complete a second or third application. If you are not accepted or able to be nominated to your preferred program but are otherwise qualified to study abroad, your study abroad advisor can work with you to move your application to one of these alternate programs. Instructions for submitting an application with alternates are on the application.
• For Global Experience and Maymester program applications, you will not be able to select alternate programs. If you are not accepted to your study abroad program but are otherwise qualified to study abroad, your study abroad advisor will provide a list of faculty-led programs that are still accepting applications and can work with you to move your application to one of these alternate programs. Further instructions will be provided via email after reviewing program applications.

A completed application includes the following:

Personal and Academic Information 

You will be asked to provide your personal information, emergency contacts & their information, and relevant details about your academic background. Many details will sync directly with your HPU student record, so be sure to review closely all information and request updates where needed by contacting the Office of the University Registrar or the Office of Global Education.

Statements of Purpose

Personal statements are required for all study abroad applications and must be tailored to the specific program. Most applications will ask for statements similar to the following example statements, although some applications may require statements addressing different topics:

For Global Experience and Maymester Programs: For each personal statement below, compose an essay of approximately 300 words addressing in detail the given prompt. The content and quality of the essays (content, form, and grammar) are factors in evaluating your application.

1. Academic Insights: What specific aspects of your host culture(s) do you plan to investigate? How will this study abroad program enrich your HPU degree? How does the content of the program relate to your present and future academic and career goals?
2. Personal Growth & Perseverance: Talk about a time when something went wrong in your classes or life outside of classes. Describe how you responded to this situation. What did you learn about yourself from your response to that situation? Related, what personal challenges do you anticipate while abroad? How will you cope or adjust to these?
3. Unique Qualifications for Study Abroad Program: What are the factors that make you stand out as an exceptional applicant for this particular study abroad program? You may include related coursework completed prior to the program, study of the host country’s language, or other academic achievements, awards, and recognitions.

For Semester and Summer Study Abroad: For each personal statement, compose an essay of at least 500 words that addresses the given prompt. The quality of the essay (content, specificity, form, and grammar) is a factor in evaluating your application.

1. Academic Development: How will this experience enrich your degree program? What are some ways that you plan to use your experience to enhance the learning environment of your home campus when you return (e.g., providing international perspectives in classroom discussions)?
2. Career Development: How does the content of the program you are applying for relate to your present and future career goals?
3. Cultural Development: Name one aspect of the host culture that you plan to investigate. How do you plan to accomplish this? Name one cultural difference you anticipate and a strategy you will use to adapt.
4. Personal Development: What specific personal challenges do you anticipate while abroad? How will you cope or adjust to these?

Course Equivalency Approval Forms

*Required for semester and independent summer applications only*

The Academic Course Planning Packet is used to obtain equivalency approvals to know how specific courses taken abroad can be used at High Point University. Students are advised to seek equivalency approvals for their top-choice classes in which they’d like to enroll, as well as at least an equal amount of alternate courses. When completing these documents:

• The number of the course equivalency record does not matter–in other words, having a course in row 1 does not show it is more important than one in rows 8, 9, or 10. This is not your enrollment, but a repository of courses pre-approved to satisfy HPU requirements which you later can use as you register for courses.
  • If you need more rows to get more courses approved, print a second copy of the approval page.
  • Don’t cross off courses that are approved but that you may no longer want to take. You can opt to not choose those courses when you register for courses at your host university.
• You must submit course equivalency approvals for an alternate school if it is listed on your application. Use a new form for each school. Do not list courses for more than one school on one form.

Academic References

Academic references must be from HPU professors who have taught you in class. They will not be required to write a personal letter, although they may choose to do so. Instead, there will be an electronic request form into which they will compose their comments and submit them online. We recommend that you provide at least two weeks for references to be completed and submitted prior to the application deadline.

• HPU semester applications require two academic references.
• Global Experience and Maymester program applications require one academic reference, written by someone other than the course’s professor.
• Independent summer applications require one academic reference.

Judicial Clearance 

Students must be in good judicial standing in order to study abroad. As such, all applications for study abroad require a judicial background check. This will not be a physical form, instead, there will be an electronic request form which will be submitted to the Director of Global Education. Specific instructions and details are included in the application.

Financial Aid Clearance Form

*Required for semester applications only*

Required for all applicants currently receiving, or not receiving, any type of financial aid (e.g., grants, loans, scholarships, awards under the HPU Presidential Scholarship Program).

• Students who receive financial aid must have their form completed by a Financial Planning Counselor from the Office of Financial Planning.
• Students who do not receive financial aid can complete the form themselves.

Application Fee

All applications for study abroad require payment of a non-refundable application fee in the following amount:

• Semester study abroad: $500
• Global Experience & Maymester study abroad: $50
• Independent summer study abroad: $250

Note:

• This fee is not a deposit and will not be applied to the costs of tuition and fees, relevant room and/or board, or travel expenses.
• This fee will be refunded should your application not be accepted by HPU (for Global Experience or Maymester program applications) or not nominated by HPU to their host university (for semester or independent summer study abroad).

Supplemental Materials for Summer and Unaffiliated Programs

Additional materials also are required for students applying directly to non-HPU summer programs and unaffiliated semester study abroad. Please contact your study abroad advisor for more information, as policies and procedures may be different from HPU programs.

All qualified applications will be reviewed by the Office of Global Education using a rubric that will evaluate a student based on several classifications. In a situation where a program receives more applications than the host university or study program can accommodate, applications with the highest scores will be considered first.

Global Experience or “Maymester” Program Applications

For students applying for a Global Experience or “Maymester” program, the rubric is based on two main areas: academic preparedness and HPU citizenship.

In order for an application to be considered “Qualified” and for the applicant to be considered for participation in a faculty-led study abroad program, the applicant must earn a total minimum qualifying weight of 70/100 points in the combined Academic Preparedness and HPU Citizenship areas.

Academic Preparedness

At the core of studying abroad is a student’s academic development, and as such, applicants will be evaluated on their academic performance at HPU and their preparedness for this experiential learning opportunity. Students can earn a maximum of 74 points for this section.

Cumulative GPA: This is an important factor in an application’s total score. To be eligible for a Global Experience or Maymester study program, applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.0.

• Students with a 2.0 or higher cumulative GPA will have their GPA multiplied by 5 for a maximum weight of 20 points.
• First-year students without a cumulative GPA by the time of application will have their application evaluated temporarily using their midterm GPA in place of their cumulative GPA. Qualified applicants may be awarded conditional acceptance until their final grades have been submitted and reviewed, at which point a full acceptance may be granted.

Selection Criteria Note: A cumulative GPA below 2.0 can prevent a student from earning conditional or full acceptance to study abroad.

Personal Statements: Essays are blindly graded by an unbiased evaluator. The content and quality of the essay (content, specificity, form, and grammar) are factors in evaluating the application. There are three essays, each worth a maximum weight of 14 points for each. Overall form and grammar across the essays are worth a maximum weight of 12 points.

Course/Program Prerequisites: Some programs require participants to complete one or more prerequisites before they can participate on the program. Typically this is a prior course that provides foundational knowledge needed for the student to be successful in the program’s course. If a prerequisite is listed on the program’s brochure, the applicant will be expected to have completed it. No qualifying points are awarded for this section.

Selection Criteria Note: Not having completed required prerequisite coursework or proficiencies can prevent a student from earning acceptance to study abroad.

HPU Citizenship

High Point University is the Premiere Life Skills Institution and holds students to a high standard, one of values-based living. As study abroad students will reflect High Point University to their host communities abroad, students should show a demonstration of appropriate modeling of HPU’s values both in and out of the classroom. Students can earn a maximum of 26 points for this section.

Academic Reference: Students can receive up to 16 points for a strong academic reference. References are measured through a Likert-scale assessing aptitude and work ethic, with an option for additional comments related to students’ modeling of HPU values.

Modeling of HPU’s Values: Students who have shown adherence to HPU’s values may receive an extra 10 points, reflected by the history of their judicial record and decorum exhibited while enrolled at High Point University.

Selection Criteria Note: A disqualifying reference can prevent a student from earning acceptance to study abroad.

Accessibility

To make programs accessible to all qualified students, applications receiving a qualifying weight of 70 or higher will then be evaluated on class standing and previous study abroad experiences, with the intention to provide access to study abroad experiences to students further in their degree plan and/or who have not had a previous opportunity to study abroad. Students may earn up to an additional 15 points for this section.

• Class Standing: Students at the senior level are provided maximum points in this category, 10, followed by those at the junior, sophomore, and freshman levels earning 6, 4, and 2 points, respectively.
• Previous Study Abroad Experience: To afford the largest number of students the opportunity to study abroad, those with no collegiate study abroad participation will receive maximum points in this category, 5, to boost their application, while those with one or more previous study abroad experiences will receive no additional points.

Selection Criteria Note: Previous study abroad experiences do not disqualify a student from future study abroad programs; however, prior completion of the associated course may. Students are not eligible to apply to a Global Experience or Maymester program on which they already have participated, repeat a course while studying abroad, or choose to participate without enrolling in the associated course. 

Post-Acceptance Procedures

Acceptance for a faculty-led study abroad program will come from the Office of Global Education, at which point student participants will be required to:

• Commit their application, and
• Submit post-acceptance forms (e.g., Participant Agreement, Passport Information, Health Information & Emergency Treatment)

The Office of Global Education will enroll all admitted students in the requisite academic course.

Non-Acceptance Procedures

Students who submitted a qualifying application but were not selected for their faculty-led study abroad program will be given the opportunity to:

• have their application evaluated for an available alternate program, or
• withdraw their application and have their application fee refunded.

Students who submitted an application that failed to earn the minimum qualifying weight or was disqualified due to academic or citizenship concerns will have their application withdrawn and their application fee refunded.

All qualified applications will be reviewed by the Office of Global Education using a rubric that will evaluate a student based on several classifications. In a situation where a program receives more applications than the host university or study program can accommodate, applications with the highest scores will be considered first.

Semester Study Abroad Applications

For students applying to study for a semester abroad, the rubric is based on 4 areas, including:

1. Academic Preparedness. At the core of studying abroad is a student’s academic development, and as such, applicants will be evaluated on their academic performance at HPU and their preparedness for this experiential learning opportunity. Students can earn a maximum of 80 points for this section.
   1. Cumulative GPA: This is the largest factor in an application’s total score, with the cumulative GPA multiplied by 10.
   2. Personal Statements: Essays are blindly graded by an unbiased evaluator and each is given an overall score based on a 10-point scale. The quality of the essay (content, specificity, form, and grammar) is a factor in evaluating your application.
2. Accessibility. In an effort to make programs accessible to all interested students, applications will be evaluated on class standing and previous study abroad experiences, with the intention that students further in their degree plan and/or who have not had a previous opportunity to study abroad may have the opportunity to participate. Students can earn a maximum of 15 points for this section.
   1. Class Standing: Students at the senior level are provided maximum points in this category, 10, followed by those at the junior, sophomore, and freshmen levels earning 6, 4, and 2 points, respectively.
   2. Previous Study Abroad Experience: To afford the largest number of students the opportunity to study abroad, those with no collegiate study abroad participation will receive maximum points in this category, 5, to boost their application, while those with one or more previous study abroad experiences will receive no additional points.
3. HPU Citizenship. High Point University is the Premiere Life Skills Institution and holds students to a high standard, one of values-based living. As study abroad students will be a reflection of High Point University to their host communities abroad, students should show a demonstration of appropriate modeling of HPU’s values both in and out of the classroom. Students can earn a maximum of 35 points for this section.
   1. Academic Reference: Students can receive up to 15 points for a strong academic reference. References are measured through a Likert-scale assessing aptitude and work ethic, with an option for additional comments related to students’ modeling of HPU values.
   2. Modeling of HPU’s Values: Students who have shown adherence to HPU’s values will receive an extra 5 points, reflected by the history of their judicial record and decorum exhibited while enrolled at High Point University.

Qualified students not selected for their top choice program will be given the opportunity to have their application evaluated for their second and/or third choice program, or to withdraw their application and have their application fee refunded.

Students applying for semester programs are nominated by High Point University. The acceptance will come from the host university. While a nomination to a study abroad program is not an acceptance, it is a step in the right direction. Once nominated, students will complete paperwork specific to their host university, who will evaluate their application and provide an official acceptance letter should their application be approved. It’s likely that this process and timeline will vary greatly by school, so HPU students apply to different schools for the same term may have very different response rates.

Please note: it is possible an official acceptance letter may not be issued before the pre-departure orientation. 

All qualified applications will be reviewed by the Office of Global Education using a rubric that will evaluate a student based on several classifications. In a situation where a program receives more applications than the host university or study program can accommodate, applications with the highest scores will be considered first.

Summer Study Abroad Applications

For students applying for an independent (non-HPU-Faculty-Led) summer study abroad program, the rubric is based on 4 areas, including:

1. Academic Preparedness. At the core of studying abroad is a student’s academic development, and as such, applicants will be evaluated on their academic performance at HPU and their preparedness for this experiential learning opportunity. Students can earn a maximum of 80 points for this section.
   1. Cumulative GPA: This is the largest factor in an application’s total score, with the cumulative GPA multiplied by 10.
   2. Personal Statements: Essays are blindly graded by an unbiased evaluator and each is given an overall score based on a 10-point scale. The quality of the essay (content, specificity, form, and grammar) is a factor in evaluating your application.
2. Accessibility. In an effort to make programs accessible to all interested students, applications will be evaluated on class standing and previous study abroad experiences, with the intention that students further in their degree plan and/or who have not had a previous opportunity to study abroad may have the opportunity to participate. Students can earn a maximum of 15 points for this section.
   1. Class Standing: Students at the senior level are provided maximum points in this category, 10, followed by those at the junior, sophomore, and freshmen levels earning 6, 4, and 2 points, respectively.
   2. Previous Study Abroad Experience: To afford the largest number of students the opportunity to study abroad, those with no collegiate study abroad participation will receive maximum points in this category, 5, to boost their application, while those with one or more previous study abroad experiences will receive no additional points.
3. HPU Citizenship. High Point University is the Premiere Life Skills Institution and holds students to a high standard, one of values-based living. As study abroad students will be a reflection of High Point University to their host communities abroad, students should show a demonstration of appropriate modeling of HPU’s values both in and out of the classroom. Students can earn a maximum of 35 points for this section.
   1. Academic Reference: Students can receive up to 15 points for a strong academic reference. References are measured through a Likert-scale assessing aptitude and work ethic, with an option for additional comments related to students’ modeling of HPU values.
   2. Modeling of HPU’s Values: Students who have shown adherence to HPU’s values will receive an extra 5 points, reflected by the history of their judicial record and decorum exhibited while enrolled at High Point University.

Qualified students not selected for their top choice program will be given the opportunity to have their application evaluated for their second and/or third choice program, or to withdraw their application and have their application fee refunded.

Students applying for summer study abroad programs are approved by High Point University to apply directly to the host university or program provider for the study abroad program. The acceptance will come from the host university or provider.