Frequently Asked Questions

In order for your application at MBI or MTS to be eligible for review, we will need to receive all of the documents listed below:

1. Online Application (Includes biographical info, essay questions, a pastoral and Christian character reference, and an application fee)..
   1. Undergraduate online application
   2. Graduate online application
2. $50 non-refundable application fee.
3. Evaluated transcripts from any schools you have listed on the online application (See below for further information).
4. English proficiency exam (we accept TOEFL, IELTS, or the Duolingo English test. See below for further information).
5. Financial Documents (Includes a Financial Verification Form and an Affidavit of Financial Support. See below for further instructions). (Not required for online applicants).

The deadlines for fully complete applications (including required documents) differ based on which school and semester you are applying for:

1. Moody Bible Institute - Chicago, IL
   1. Fall (early decision): December 1
   2. Fall (Regular Decision): March 1
   3. Spring: September 1
2. Moody Bible Institute & Moody Theological Seminary - Online
   1. Fall First 8-Week Session: July 24th
   2. Fall Second 8-Week Session: September 25th
   3. Spring First 8-Week Session: December 7th
   4. Spring Second 8-Week Session: February 19th
   5. Summer Session: April 22nd
3. Moody Bible Institute (Aviation) - Spokane, WA
   1. Fall: March 1st
   2. Spring: September 1
4. Moody Theological Seminary  - Chicago, IL
5. 1. Fall: March 1st
   2. Spring: September 1
6. Moody Theological Seminary - Plymouth, MI
   1. Fall: March 1st
   2. Spring: September 1st

The application fee can be paid in one of 3 ways:

1. You can pay online at the end of your application by inputting your credit card information.
2. You can call the Admissions office at +1 (312) 329-4400 or +1 (800) 967-4624 and pay over the phone with an Admissions representative.
   1. If you are paying on behalf of a current applicant, make sure to have their name and email they applied with before calling in.
3. You can complete a wire transfer.
   1. You will need to email your admissions counselor or Admissions@moody.edu to request information on how to complete a wire transfer.

Qualifications for a pastoral reference:

1. Must be in a leadership position at a church or Christian organization.
2. Must have known the applicant for at least a year.
3. Cannot be related to the applicant by blood or by marriage.

Examples of an acceptable pastoral reference:

1. Pastor
2. Elder
3. Deacon
4. Small group leader
5. Camp director
6. Sunday school teacher

Please Note: The pastoral reference will be waived for applicants of the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program.

Qualifications for a Christian character reference:

1. Must be a mature Christian.
2. Must have known the applicant for at least a year.
3. Cannot be related to the applicant by blood or by marriage.

Please Note: The Christian character reference will be waived for applicants of the MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program.

The matriculation fee comes only after an undergraduate student is accepted. The matriculation fee is a deposit of $350 that secures your spot at Moody and confirms that you will be attending. This will need to be paid before a student can gain access to their student portal or begin to enroll in classes.

The matriculation fee can be paid in one of 3 ways:

1. You can pay online by signing back into your online application and inputting your credit card information.
2. You can call the Admissions office at +1 (312) 329-4400 or +1 (800) 967-4624 and pay over the phone with an Admissions representative.
   1. If you are paying on behalf of a current applicant, make sure to have their name and email they applied with before calling in.
3. You can complete a wire transfer.
   1. You will need to email your admissions counselor or Admissions@moody.edu to request information on how to complete a wire transfer.

Please Note: The matriculation fee can be refunded for about a month after paying it.

The intent-to-enroll form comes only after an online or graduate applicant is accepted. This needs to be filled out to secure your spot at Moody and to confirm that you will be attending. The intent-to-enroll form can be found linked in your acceptance email or by signing back into your online application after being accepted. This will need to be completed before a student can gain access to their student portal or begin to enroll in classes.

Almost all international students will be required to provide an English test result in order to fully complete their application to Moody. A student is only able to have their English test requirement waived if (1) they have dual citizenship within the U.S., or are a citizen of Australia, the British West Indies, Canada, Great Britain, or New Zealand, or (2) they have studied within the U.S. for at least a year within the last two years.

Moody Accepts 3 major English proficiency exams:

1. IELTS
2. TOEFL
3. Duolingo English Test

Please Note: Students applying to the BA in Elementary Education cannot take the Duolingo English test. They will need to take either the IELTS or TOEFL test in order to  meet the application requirements

The minimum required scores for the English proficiency exams will depend on the program you applied for and the test you take:

1. Duolingo English Test (Not accepted for BA in Elementary Education applicants):
   1. Undergraduate: 105
   2. Graduate: 110
      1. MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: 115
2. TOEFL:
   1. Undergraduate: 79
      1. BA in Elementary Education: 84
   2. Graduate: 85
      1. MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: 95
3. IELTS:
   1. Undergraduate: 6.5
   2. Graduate: 6.5
      1. MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: 7.0

When you take an English proficiency exam, you will need to indicate that you want your test scores sent to Moody Bible Institute.

Generally, just indicating that you want the scores sent to Moody is enough for the testing agency to successfully send us your results. You may be asked for a ‘school code’ if you take the TOEFL exam. Moody’s school code is 1486.

Please be aware that the process of signing up for the exam, taking the exam, and having the scores sent to Moody can take multiple weeks, so be sure to start the process as soon as possible.

A transcript evaluation is a document that translates a transcript from outside of the U.S. to English, and it evaluates the international grading system to a U.S. grading system. This evaluation determines if you have received the equivalent of a U.S.  high school diploma or university-level degree.

An official transcript is required for anyone applying to college, but for students who have received education outside of the U.S., a transcript evaluation is required in order to make international transcripts official.

International applicants will need to go through a third-party evaluation service to have their transcripts evaluated. You are able to get an evaluation from a service as long as it is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). We highly recommend using SpanTran, ECE, or WES, but if you would like to use a different service, you can see the list of NACES evaluation service members at the link here.

Click here to get your transcripts evaluated by SpanTran.
Click here to get your transcript evaluated by WES.
Click here to get your transcript evaluated by ECE.

Undergraduate applicants will need to provide at least an evaluated high school transcript, as well as any university-level evaluated transcripts if you have received some college education. The evaluation you get must include a general analysis and a GPA.

Graduate applicants will need to provide evaluated transcripts for any and all university-level schooling attended. The evaluation you get must include a general analysis and a GPA.

If you have taken college courses that you are intending to transfer to Moody, your evaluation must include a course-by-course analysis and a GPA.

If you are from West Africa and have taken your country’s national examination through WAEC or NECO, you will need your PIN or scratch card to obtain the scores and have that sent to a Moody accepted evaluation service.

If you were homeschooled through a U.S.A. or ACSI based curriculum, you do not need to have your transcript evaluated, but we will need to receive your transcript either directly from your school or from a transcript retrieval service like Parchment. You can have your official transcript sent to the email Apply@moody.edu.

If you were not homeschooled through a U.S.A. or ACSI based curriculum and were homeschooled internationally, you will need to take the GED test. Once the GED is taken, you can have the testing agency send your official score to the email Apply@moody.edu. We cannot receive it directly from the student.

Please Note: After 2 online attempts at taking the GED test, there will be a 60-day waiting period before you may take the test again, so make sure to be prepared prior to taking the test.

International applicants must demonstrate sufficient funding to cover educational expenses while attending the Moody Bible Institute or Moody Theological Seminary. Once you have submitted your online application, you will receive two documents: 1). The Financial Verification Form and 2). The Affidavit of Financial Support. You will need to fill out these forms and submit them along with corresponding bank statements and/or annual salary/income statements. Full instructions are listed on the forms, but these can only be received if you submit your online application.

The amount of money that needs to be shown is dependent on the campus a student is applying to. The totals of these amounts will be listed below. Please Note: These amounts are subject to change from year to year.

1. Undergraduate Chicago: $23,259
2. Undergraduate Michigan: $35,419
3. Undergraduate Spokane (Aviation): $37,382 (Please Note: This total is subject to change depending on how many credits a student is taking their first semester)
4. Graduate Chicago: $27,093
5. Graduate Michigan: $27,093

No, the proof of funds (i.e. the amount of money you are required to show based on what campus you are applying for) only needs to be shown once before your first year at Moody. You will not be asked again to show this amount.

After receiving the financial documents (the Financial Verification Form, and the Affidavit of Financial Support) upon submitting the online application, you will complete these forms and email them internationaladmissions@moody.edu.

No, you will not be required to provide financial documents if you are applying to an online degree. If you submit an application for one of Moody’s online degrees, the financial document step will be waived from your required document checklist automatically.

Moody has a unique undergraduate tuition model - for students studying full-time at the undergraduate level and living in the Chicago campus housing, tuition is covered by generous donors! Because the tuition is covered, you are only responsible for paying for housing and food during your time at Moody. This will come to about $7,500 - $8,500 per semester or about $15,000 - $17,000 per year.

For students studying online or living off-campus, you will be responsible for paying tuition only. The current undergraduate tuition for the 2024-2025 school year is $399 a credit hour. This would make the total cost of a 120-credit hour bachelor’s degree about $47,880.

Please Note: These prices are subject to change from year to year so please refer to the Academic Catalog for the most up-to-date rates.

For students studying at our Spokane, Washington campus for one of the aviation programs, the tuition is $450 a credit hour for the 2024-2025 school year. This would make the tuition cost of a 196-credit hour aviation degree about $88,200.

Tuition for the aviation program does not include room and board, so we recommend that students estimate about $1000 per month for living expenses in addition to the tuition you would be paying.

Please Note: These prices are subject to change from year to year so please refer to the Academic Catalog for the most up-to-date rates.

For students studying at the graduate level, tuition is $519 a credit hour for the 2024-2025 school year. This would make the total cost of a 45-credit hour Master’s degree about $23,355.

Please Note: These prices are subject to change from year to year so please refer to the Academic Catalog for the most up-to-date rates.

Yes, there are scholarships for international students! As an international student, you are not eligible for U.S. government funding such as FAFSA, but you are eligible for institutional scholarships! You are only eligible for institutional scholarships once you receive an acceptance from Moody. You can read more information at the link here: Scholarship Page.

Additionally, Moody does its best to accept external scholarships that you receive from other organizations. You can apply to external scholarships at any time, but they may request additional requirements. You can view a list of some Moody suggested external scholarships at the link here: External Scholarships.

Please Note: Because of Moody’s already reduced cost and undergraduate tuition model, we cannot offer any financial packages or scholarships before a student is accepted.

Unfortunately, Moody does not offer “full-rides.” It is unlikely that you will be able to cover every dollar needed with scholarships from Moody. However, we do have scholarships available, and those can be combined with external scholarships that potentially could eliminate out-of-pocket costs. In most cases, students will have some kind of required expenses.

As a single undergraduate student, you will live in either an all-male or all-female dormitory on Moody’s campus in downtown Chicago. You will be living on a floor with dozens of other students.

If you are a married undergraduate student and you plan on bringing your spouse, Moody does have some on-campus married housing, but it is limited, so you may need to find your own housing accommodations off-campus.

If you are a graduate student studying on the Chicago campus, you will need to find your own housing accommodations as we do not have on-campus housing for graduate students.

More housing details can be found at the link here: Residence Life

The Michigan campus does not have on-campus housing, so housing accommodations will need to be found by the student.

International students at the Spokane campus will have the opportunity to rent from homes near campus with other Spokane students which are rented exclusively to Moody students. Each rented house holds about 8-10 students. While these homes are rented specifically to Moody students, it is the student's individual responsibility to sign a rental agreement with the landlord of one of these homes. Additionally, food and cleaning will need to be provided by the students. Housemates are also encouraged to participate in household meetings to build up community with one another.

Yes! Moody does have a number of student groups for you to take part in. There are many groups at Moody centered on different interests, but there are also groups specifically for international students or missionary kids on campus in which you can find community!

You can view more information about life on campus and groups at the link here: Student Life

Undergraduate students on the Chicago campus will be issued a Chicago public transportation CTA pass to use during their time at Moody. This pass is included within the required fees per year at Moody, and the pass can only be used when school is in session. A CTA pass can be used for the trains and buses in Chicago.

Graduate students on the Chicago campus will need to bring their own transportation or purchase personal Chicago public transportation CTA passes for the transit system.

Students on the Michigan campus will need to provide their own transportation.

Students on the Spokane campus will need to provide their own transportation.

If you are bringing your own vehicle, annual Moody parking passes can be purchased on campus. Please Note: Incoming freshmen are not granted parking passes. Please plan accordingly.

You can only begin to apply for a visa once you have been admitted and paid the matriculation fee (for on-campus undergraduate students), or filled out the intent-to-enroll form (for online and graduate students).

If you have not been accepted, you cannot take part in the visa process, you will need to complete the admissions process and be accepted first.

You will be applying for an F-1 Visa. This visa is also commonly known as the “student visa,” and is needed in order to study within the U.S.

The documents you will need for your visa application will be the Moody acceptance letter, Moody issued I-20, Bank statement, Affidavit of financial support (if applicable), an Oath of return provided by ISO (if applicable). You will need to have an acceptance letter from Moody to begin working with our International Student Office (ISO) who will provide assistance throughout the visa process. ISO will require a few things from you before they can issue you an I-20.

Please Note: Moody can only issue F-type visas and we cannot make accommodations if another visa type is needed.

Before the International Student Office (ISO) can issue you an I-20, you will need to provide them with the documents below

1. Personal information form
2. Photo ID page of your passport
3. Any former U.S. visas
4. Any former I-20’s
5. Financial documents (from the admissions process)

Please Note: If you have not received an acceptance from Moody, you cannot submit these documents for an I-20. You will need to complete the admissions process and be accepted first. ISO will reach out to you if you are accepted.

If you are applying for an undergraduate degree at the Chicago campus as a single person with no dependents, you will need to show about $17,000 in order to meet the proof of funds requirement.

If you are applying for an aviation degree at the Spokane campus as a single person with no dependents, you will need to show about $22,281 in order to meet the proof of funds requirement.

If you are applying for a graduate degree at either the Chicago or Michigan campus as a single person with no dependents, you will need to show about $22,641 in order to meet the proof of funds requirement.

Please note: These numbers are estimates which are subject to change

No. Because your education will be fully online, you will not go through the visa process after receiving an acceptance.

You can only apply to study on-campus if you are pursuing an undergraduate BA, or BS program OR a graduate MA, MDiv, or Dmin program. You cannot apply to our certificate, or associate programs on campus as they are too short in order for you to be eligible for a visa.

Please Note: If you apply for an on-campus certificate or associate program as an international applicant, you will be asked to study that program online, or you will need to choose another program that is eligible for on-campus study.

Please see this link to familiarize yourself with the internet requirements for online applications: Technical Requirements

Yes. One application is only good for two semesters (i.e. if you apply for Fall 2024, that application can only be used Fall 2024 or Spring 2025). If an application has been in use past two deadlines, the application will expire and you will need to submit a new application.

If you are applying to the BA in Elementary Education, in addition to the regular application requirements, you will be required to provide an official SAT or ACT score.

To submit your SAT or ACT score, you will need to contact the SAT/ACT testing agency and request that your scores be sent to the email Apply@Moody.edu

If you are applying to the MA in CMHC, please note that the pastoral and Christian character reference will be waived from your application checklist.

Additionally, once you have submitted all application checklist items, applicants of this program are required to complete a virtual group interview conducted by the program faculty (you will be contacted about signing up for an interview date after you submit all application documents). Once this interview is completed, you should hear of a decision soon after!

If you are applying to the DMin, in addition to the regular application requirements, you will be expected to do two additional things: 1). you will need to fill out one of your online application essays detailing your ministry experience and 2). you will need to submit a 3,000-word essay.

The 3,000-word essay will need to be written and should be on a topic relevant to the field of ministry. You must showcase your knowledge and expertise in the field of ministry. This essay can be a previously written academic paper but must be adapted to meet the necessary requirements if need be.

Please Note: Further instructions will be sent upon submission of the online application.