Stephanie Gonzalez is the primary advisor for exchange students. She guides universities through the application process; prepares Immigration documents, budgets, class schedules, and pre-arrival materials. She also advises students on academic, Immigration, cultural, billing, social and housing matters. Please contact her with your questions: (309) 438-5112.
Jimmy Brazelton maintains the exchange agreements and calculates exchange balances. Should you have questions, please contact Jimmy at (309) 438-5276 or at jebraze@ilstu.edu.
Thank you for your interest in partnering with Illinois State University. This part of the International Studies website is designed to be a ready resource for international exchange school directors who advise students interested in coming to ISU on exchange. The following information covers what to send with students' applications, what exchange students need to know about Immigration, budgets, and living at our International House. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions.
When exchange students apply to Illinois State, there are a number of items they must submit. Please see the following links for what a complete application should contain:
Exchange students, like other international students in the United States, must be aware of Immigration laws that apply to their visa type (the J-1). You may read about these rules and about the process of how students apply for their visa below:
The U.S. Department of State requires all exchange visitors to have specific types of health insurance during their stay in the U.S. These terms are outlined in the following links:
The International Studies Office reserves spaces for exchange students to live on campus in our International House. I-House occupies several floors in Atkin-Colby residence halls and offers a variety of social and cultural programs and activities to enrich students' experiences at Illinois State. When possible, we try to place international students in rooms with American students. This helps to enhance students' opportunities to practice English and of course, give them the chance to become better acquainted with American culture. We also match students together from different countries. Read what the University's Housing Office also has to say about International House!
The following links present more information about university services and facilities:
After the end of each semester, the International Studies Office will mail exchange students’ academic transcripts (grades) to their home university's International Office. It is a university policy that we may not order a student's transcripts until he or she has paid everything owed to ISU. Therefore, students must have $0 balances by the end of each semester to have their grades mailed overseas in a timely manner.
The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services requires that students prove enough funding to pay for all expenses while studying in the United States. Students will be mailed a budget sheet (depending on their exchange agreement type) in their pre-arrival packet before they come to ISU. While actual costs have not yet been determined, the budget should provide a fairly reasonable estimation of the funds that students will need. Should you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Gonzalez.
After your students are admitted to ISU, we will send them an informational packet containing information very similar to that which is presented above. Their packet will also contain the Immigration document they need (DS2019 Certificate of Eligibility) to apply for their J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa.
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