Universities Outside the US on the Common App (2026–27): St Andrews, HKU and 47 More

You can apply to the University of St Andrews, the University of Hong Kong and Georgetown's campus in Qatar from the same Common App account you're using for US colleges. On the Common App's 2026–27 requirements grid, 49 colleges and universities are outside the US, from Canada to Japan.

They don't all run on the US calendar, and the grid shows it. Most read applications as they arrive, a few close within the next few weeks, and their essay and test rules don't line up neatly with the US colleges on your list.

Where they are

Sixteen are in the UK. Seven are in Scotland: St Andrews, Aberdeen, Dundee, Stirling, Strathclyde, Edinburgh Napier and the University of the Highlands and Islands. Eight are in England: Arts University Bournemouth, Leeds Beckett, London Metropolitan, Roehampton, the University of East London, the University of Worcester, UWE Bristol and Richmond (the American International University in London). Aberystwyth is in Wales.

Spain has four: CUNEF Universidad, Esade, IE University and Saint Louis University's Madrid campus. Ireland (Dublin City University, University College Dublin and Limerick), Canada (Bishop's, Guelph and St. Thomas University in New Brunswick), Italy (John Cabot University, the American University of Rome and the American University of Florence) and Qatar have three each. China has three, Duke Kunshan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Global College and Westlake University, and the University of Hong Kong makes four.

France (the American University of Paris and the American College of the Mediterranean) and Lebanon (the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University) have two each. Austria (Salzburg College), Bulgaria (the American University in Bulgaria), the Czech Republic (the Anglo-American University in Prague), Egypt (the American University in Cairo), Germany (Bard College Berlin), Greece (the American College of Greece), Japan (Temple University's Japan campus) and Switzerland (Franklin University Switzerland) have one each. ESCP Business School, with campuses in several European countries, is the 49th. We didn't count Hult International Business School, whose row on the grid covers campuses in the US, the UK and Dubai.

Same name, different rules

Six of the 49 carry a US university's name: the Qatar campuses of Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown and Northwestern, Temple's Japan campus, Saint Louis University's Madrid campus and Duke Kunshan University in China. Each has its own row on the grid, and the rules aren't always the home campus's.

Georgetown is listed as always requiring test scores, but its Qatar campus is listed as test flexible and charges no application fee, against $80 at Georgetown. Northwestern's Qatar campus has Early Action on November 1, where Northwestern has Early Decision. Carnegie Mellon's Qatar campus doesn't require the Common App personal essay, which Carnegie Mellon does, and Temple's Japan campus requires it, which Temple doesn't. Duke Kunshan lists the same dates as Duke but charges no application fee, against $85 at Duke.

Deadlines: mostly rolling, a few very soon

Twenty-nine of the 49 list rolling admission. A handful of dates come fast. The American University of Beirut's Early Action date is October 31, and the Lebanese American University's only date on the grid is November 1. Carnegie Mellon's Qatar campus lists Early Decision on November 1. Georgetown's and Northwestern's Qatar campuses, Shanghai Jiao Tong's Global College and Westlake University list Early Action on November 1, and so does Bard College Berlin, for which it's the only date on the grid. Duke Kunshan's Early Decision date is November 2.

Later in November, the American University of Paris and John Cabot University list Early Action on November 15, and the University of Hong Kong lists November 25. Franklin University Switzerland's Early Action date is December 1. If you're comparing them with US Early Action deadlines, the grid's dates are the place to start, and each university's own page has the final word.

What they cost to apply to

Fourteen charge US applicants no application fee, among them Aberystwyth, Leeds Beckett, the University of Worcester, UWE Bristol, Georgetown's Qatar campus, Duke Kunshan and Bard College Berlin. At the other end, Esade and IE University charge $150, the American University of Florence $120 and the University of Hong Kong $100.

The Common App fee waiver is accepted at 21 of the 49, and four more accept it from US students only: London Metropolitan, Dublin City University, Bishop's and the Anglo-American University in Prague. Thirteen don't accept it, and the other 11 charge no fee. The application fee post covers what US colleges charge.

Essays, tests and letters

Twenty-five of the 49 require the Common App personal essay. The UK is split: eight of the 16 require it, and St Andrews isn't one of them, though it does require a teacher letter and a counselor recommendation. None of the three Irish universities requires the essay.

Seven are listed as always requiring test scores: the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese American University, Edinburgh Napier, Esade, IE University, Limerick and Shanghai Jiao Tong's Global College. Eleven never require scores, 20 are listed as test flexible, ten require them in some cases, and Dundee is listed as ignoring them. The grid's test policies are written for US citizens and permanent residents, so if you're applying from somewhere else, read the university's own page.

Twenty-three require at least one teacher letter, and 22 require a counselor recommendation.

Before you add one

The grid tells you what the Common App collects for each school, not how each one reads a US high school record. Read the school's own admissions page before you count on a deadline or a test rule, especially where the grid says "See website". For English tests, which apply if English isn't your first language, 32 of the 49 say just that.

For the US colleges on your list, put your whole list in and see, free, what each college published about its early round and where your score sits. The answer across your whole list is the paid document.

Deadlines, application fees, fee waivers, and essay, test and recommendation requirements are from the Common App's 2026–27 first-year deadlines, fees and requirements grid (updated September 25, 2026). The grid doesn't list countries; we placed each school by its name and web address.