International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) Application and Fee Breakdown

Utah State University partners with ISEP, a non-profit organization, to break down financial and academic barriers and make study abroad accessible and affordable for everyone. With ISEP Exchange programs, you can go abroad anywhere in the ISEP network while paying Utah State University tuition, housing, and meals. This then enables a student from another ISEP member university to swap places with you.

ISEP Applications

Students applying for an ISEP program need to complete both an ISEP and an USU application. See how to find your ISEP program by watching this brief video. It is highly recommended to meet with your USU study abroad advisor before submitting your applications.

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ISEP Priority Placement Deadlines

For ISEP programs, students need to apply both through ISEP as well as through USU. Students may be accepted through USU before they are placed through ISEP, and it is possible to be placed at a different school through ISEP than what a student originally applied for in the USU application. The program name can easily be changed in the USU application to match where ISEP has placed a student. A student is not officially accepted into the program until they have been accepted by USU and their placement has been confirmed through ISEP. The ISEP placement takes precedence over the USU acceptance.

ISEP’s priority placement deadline for fall/academic year/summer exchange programs is February 15, while USU’s is about 2 weeks prior on February 1. ISEP’s priority placement deadline for spring/calendar year exchange programs is September 15, while USU’s is about 2 weeks prior on September 1.

USU has an earlier priority placement deadline for ISEP programs, because we need to review both a student’s ISEP and USU application before we can make the coordinator approval in a student’s ISEP application.

Both a student’s ISEP and USU application should be submitted by USU’s priority placement deadline.

Basic Lifecycle of an ISEP Application

Student submits an ISEP application to coordinator, ranking up to 10 programs on one application. Student does not yet pay the ISEP application fee.
Student submits an USU application, only for their top choice program as ranked on their ISEP application (USU would change the student’s program name in their USU application if ISEP placed them in a different program than their top choice). Student does pay the USU Study Abroad application fee.
USU Study Abroad reviews the USU and ISEP applications. If the applications are ready to be accepted, USU Study Abroad completes the coordinator approval in the ISEP portal and accepts the application in the USU Study Abroad portal.
The ISEP application goes back to the student for the student to pay the ISEP application fee. This step must be complete before the ISEP priority placement deadline for the ISEP application to have the best chance of placement.
Program placement times can vary and it may take around 4 weeks before a student hears about their ISEP placement. The $500 deposit due to USU Study Abroad that goes toward program fees is due 2 weeks after acceptance by USU, regardless of whether a student has been placed yet by ISEP.
ISEP places a student and notifies them. At this time, the student is requested to submit their course request list for the institution where they have been placed. After ISEP receives this, they will send the student’s application and course request list to the school where the student has been placed to seek confirmation of placement.
Once a placement has been confirmed, the student will be notified. At this time, ISEP sends a contract and the student would meet with their USU Study Abroad Advisor to go over the details in the contract and ask any questions (and questions can of course be asked at any time!).
Once the student has thoroughly read and understood the contract and would like to accept the contract, they accept it through the ISEP portal and pay the ISEP placement fee, along with completing the ISEP medical form.
Pre-departure information, your contacts (at USU, ISEP, and your host institution), ISEP insurance information, and health and safety information for while abroad will be available in the ISEP portal. Upon arrival to your host location, please also update your local contact information in the ISEP portal. There will also be additional information in the post-decision phase of the USU application to complete before a student’s program starts.

With ISEP programs, students will have support contacts at USU, ISEP, and their host institutions. While it can get confusing knowing who to contact for what, we are all here to help you through the process and will point you in the right direction. You can always feel free to start with USU Study Abroad if you are not sure who to ask about something.

Please check the ISEP fee breakdown sheet for an ISEP semester or summer exchange.

Additional fees to consider can be found on the Study Abroad Budget Worksheet.