Step 1

Upon admission, you will receive an email from the Admissions staff that provides you with your SE Key and instructions for activating your SE Key so that you can access your my.semo.edu portal, which houses your SEMO email account.

Activate your SE Key FIRST so that you can immediately access your semo.edu email account, which is the account all staff and faculty use to communicate with you.

Note: It takes about 1 hour after you activate your SE Key to see your SEMO Email Link in your student portal.

Step 2

You may then retrieve your Acceptance Email in your semo.edu email account (the body of the email is your acceptance letter, you can save it as a PDF and print it out for your visa interview.) Attached to that email is your F1 I-20 or J1 DS-2019.

Step 3

Pay your SEVIS fee at the SEVIS Fee Portal (If you are transferring from a US Institution, you of course don’t need to do this step, or apply for a visa, but please make sure you are asking your DSO to transfer your SEVIS record to Southeast. Our SEVIS campus code is KAN214F10266000.)

Step 4

Apply for a visa appointment and HOPEFULLY receive the visa (if you don’t you can always defer your admission to a future term by following the deferral steps at the end of the “GREETINGS” email Dr. Brooke DeArman sent to you.)

Step 5

Complete your housing contract. If you are under 21 (and will be under 21 on August 26, 2024) you must live on campus. Please visit the SEMO Housing Portal to apply for on-campus housing. Do not wait - even if you don’t have a visa yet, go ahead and apply. You can always cancel your housing contract if you don’t receive a visa. But the longer you wait, the less likely you’ll get placed in the dormitory of your choice.

Step 6

Take the Writing and Math Placement Tests/Submit SAT scores: All undergraduate students, regardless of major, who are not transferring Math or English classes from another University, must either take the Math and Writing placement exams we offer or submit official SAT scores directly from CollegeBoard to Southeast.

Note: WRITING PLACEMENT IS NOT THE SAME AS ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. You must take the writing placement exam or submit official SAT scores.

Please do this as soon as possible. Do not wait to complete this task as it could result in significant delays in your enrollment process. If you choose not to take the exams or don’t pass them, you will be placed in remedial classes that don’t count for your degree, but you will have to take them to advance into the math class needed for your degree.

For Math Placement information, please visit: Math Placement Exam

We recommend that you begin with the highest level math test, Math 3B, if you pass it with an 80% or higher, you won't need to take any other math tests.  Keep working backward until you pass a math test with an 80%.  If you don't pass any of them, you will be placed into a remedial math course your first semester before advancing into the Math courses required for your degree.

For Writing Placement information, please visit: Writing Placement Test 

If you need to take the writing placement exam, please email writing@semo.edu the following "Hello, My name is (Insert Full Name and Student ID Number). I need to take the writing placement exam, can you please forward me those details? Thank you." 

NOTE: You'll see on the writing proficiency website it mentions HS GPA as a consideration for writing placement. THIS IS ONLY THE CASE FOR STUDENTS WHO ATTENDED A HIGH SCHOOL WHERE ENGLISH WAS THE PRIMARY LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION and your transcripts have to indicate that. All other students will need to either submit official SAT scores or take the writing exam, regardless of their HS GPA. This test is not for students in the Intensive English Program.

Step 7

Once you have taken the placement exams/submitted SAT scores, have paid your health insurance fee, and have received the visa, email bdearman@semo.edu. She will then email your details to your academic advisor, who will then enroll you in classes and email you your class schedule. At that point, you will be able to ask your advisor more questions.

Step 8

Complete the mandatory Arrival Form to tell us about your transportation and arrival plans: Arrival Form

Step 9

Complete the Online Pre-Arrival Orientation. It is required to complete this before your arrival. The link for the online orientation has been sent to you in Dr. Brooke's "Greetings" email.

Step 10

Arrive in time to attend the mandatory Face-to-Face orientation which officially begins on Wednesday, August 14 at 9 a.m. at the International Village and will end on Friday, August 16.

TB Testing (required for all students) and the meningitis vaccine (required for students living on campus) will be given at the International Village from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. August 12-14. More details about the orientation will be sent at a later date.

Step 11

Please try not to arrive late. Arriving late causes many problems for new students and we don’t want any of you to face issues upon arrival.

Note: The absolute latest a student can enroll in classes is Friday, August 23 before 4 p.m. The latest a student can arrive in the U.S. and be allowed to enter by U.S. Customs is August 26th.

If you will not be at orientation, or you will be missing any classes the first week of school, you need to email Dr. Brooke (bdearman@semo.edu) and all of your professors.

Note: Professors have the right to drop you from their classes if you are not in attendance during the first week to open up seats for students who are here on time. If you cannot arrive in the US before Aug. 26, you will need to defer your admission to the Spring 2025 semester.

Step 1

Upon admission, you will receive an email from the Admissions staff that provides you with your SE Key and instructions for activating your SE Key so that you can access your my.semo.edu portal, which houses your SEMO email account.

Activate your SE Key FIRST so that you can immediately access your semo.edu email account, which is the account all staff and faculty use to communicate with you.

Note: It takes about 1 hour after you activate your SE Key to see your SEMO Email Link in your student portal.

Step 2

Retrieve your Acceptance Email in your semo.edu email account (the body of the email is your acceptance letter, you can save it as a PDF and print it out for your visa interview.) Attached to that email is your F1 I-20 or J1 DS-2019.

Step 3

Pay your SEVIS fee at SEVIS Fee Portal (If you are transferring from a US Institution, you of course don’t need to do this step, or apply for a visa, but please make sure you are asking your DSO to transfer your SEVIS record to Southeast. Our SEVIS campus code is KAN214F10266000.)

Step 4

Apply for a visa appointment and HOPEFULLY receive the visa (if you don’t you can always defer your admission to a future term by following the deferral steps at the end of the “GREETINGS” email.)

Step 5

Complete your housing contract. If you are under 21 (and will be under 21 on August 26, 2024) you must live on campus. Please visit SEMO Housing Application to apply for on-campus housing. Do not wait - even if you don’t have a visa yet, go ahead and apply, you can always cancel your housing contract if you don’t receive a visa. But the longer you wait, the less likely you’ll get placed in the dormitory of your choice.

Most graduate students live off campus. Because of legal and liability issues, we cannot provide suggestions for off-campus housing, but more info can be found at International Housing Options. Once the online orientation is completed, there is a section for off-campus housing that provides more details as well.

Step 6

Enroll in classes: Once you have paid your health insurance fee and have received the visa, email your GRADUATE PROGRAM COORDINATOR. You can find your program coordinator’s details at the following link: Graduate Faculty 

Step 7

Complete the mandatory Arrival Form to tell us about your transportation and arrival plans: Arrival Form

Step 8

Complete the Online Pre-Arrival Orientation. It is required to complete this before your arrival. The link for the online orientation has been sent to you in Dr. Brooke's "Greetings" email.

Step 9

Arrive in time to attend the mandatory Face-to-face orientation which officially begins on Wednesday, August 14 at 9 a.m. at the International Village and will end on Friday, August 16 in the afternoon. TB Testing (required for all students) and the meningitis vaccine (required for students living on campus) will be given at the International Village from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. August 12-14. More details about the orientation will be sent at a later date.

Step 10

Please try not to arrive late. Arriving late causes many problems for new students and we don’t want any of you to face issues upon arrival. If you will not be at orientation or will be missing any classes during the first week of school, you need to email Dr. Brooke (bdearman@semo.edu) and all of your professors.

Note: The absolute latest a student can enroll in classes is Friday, August 23 before 4 p.m. The latest a student can arrive in the U.S. and be allowed to enter by U.S. Customs is August 26th. Professors have the right to drop you from their classes if you are not in attendance during the first week to open up seats for students who are here on time. If you cannot arrive in the US before Aug. 26, you will need to defer your admission to the Spring 2025 semester.

Step 1

When you are admitted, you will receive an email from SEMO with your SE Key and instructions for activating your SE Key. Then you can use the my.semo.edu portal. This is where your SEMO email account will be.

Note: You will not see your SEMO email link in your student portal until 1 hour after you activate your SE Key. Your email will look like this: sekey@semo.edu

Step 2

Your F-1 I-20 or J-1 DS-2019 and acceptance letter will be in your semo.edu email. The body of the email is your acceptance letter. Please print it out for your interview.

Step 3

Pay your SEVIS fee at the SEVIS Fee Portal. If you go to a different U.S. university, and you want to transfer, you do not need to pay SEVIS or apply for a visa again. But, please contact your DSO to transfer your SEVIS ID number to Southeast.

Note: Our SEVIS campus code is KAN214F10266000.

Step 4

Apply for a visa appointment and HOPEFULLY receive the visa. If you are rejected, you can defer to a future semester by following the deferral steps in the “GREETINGS” email Dr. Brooke DeArman sent to you.

Step 5

Complete your housing contract. If you are under 21 years old (and you will be under 21 until after August 26, 2024) you must live on campus. Please visit SEMO Housing Application to apply for a dorm room. Do not wait - if you are rejected at your visa interview, you can cancel your housing contract. But if you wait too long, you may not live in the dormitory you want.

Step 6

Complete the mandatory Arrival Form to tell us about your transportation and arrival plans: Arrival Form

Step 7

Complete the Online Pre-Arrival Orientation before you arrive. The link for the orientation is sent in the email with the name "Greetings." It is from bdarman@semo.edu.

Step 8

Go to the mandatory Face-to-Face orientation. It starts on Wednesday, August 14 at 9 a.m. at the International Village and will end Friday, August 16.

You will take your first English test on August 14 at 9 a.m. Then the next test will start after you are done. The IEP staff will determine your English level, and then you will be enrolled in classes by Mrs. Breanna Walling (the director of the Intensive English Program.)

TB Testing (required for all students) and the meningitis vaccine (required for students living on campus) will be given at the International Village from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. August 12-14. More details about orientation will be sent to you soon.

Step 9

Do not arrive late. Arriving late causes many problems for new students.

Note: The absolute latest a student can enroll in classes is Friday, August 23 before 4 p.m. The latest a student can arrive in the U.S. and be allowed to enter by U.S. Customs is August 26th.

If you will not be at orientation, or you will miss any classes the first week of school, you need to email Dr. Brooke (bdearman@semo.edu) and Mrs. Breanna (bwalling@semo.edu).