You may be just as cute and cuddly as the panda above, but you won't
get a student visa to come to the U.S. unless you follow the steps
below.

     *  Contact the school in the U.S. and ask for application forms
        and other appropriate information.

     *  If the official legal language of your country is not English,
        make arrangements to sit for the T.O.E.F.L. as soon as you 
        can.

     *  Submit all the documents requested by the U.S. school as soon
        as you can.  This usually means a completed admissions 
        application, a letter of financial support, official copies of
        your academic credentials, and a T.O.E.F.L. score of 500 or
        higher (if required).  (After June of 1998 the T.O.E.F.L will 
        be administered and scored by computer.  The scale of scores 
        on the computer T.O.E.F.L. is different.  The minimum score on
        the new test is 173.)

     *  Once you have completed the steps above, the school official
        will be able to evaluate your application and to determine if
        you are eligible to join that college or university.  IT IS AT
        THIS POINT THAT THE I-20 AND THE LETTER OF ADMISSION ARE SENT
        TO YOU.

     *  When you have received the I-20 and the letter of admission,
        you can contact the U.S. Embassy or Consulate closest to you 
        to arrange for an interview with a U.S. visa clerk.  (It is 
        the visa clerk, not the school official, who decides whether 
        you are eligible to obtain a visa.)

Remember that what you are requesting is permission to enter the U.S. 
as a student and that you are promising the U.S. authorities that your
purpose in seeking the visa is to prepare for a professional career in
your home country.