Visiting and Transient Students

image of students on campus

Steps to Get Started

If you are currently enrolled at another college or higher education institution and want to take courses at NOVA for a short period of time (i.e. students attending a university that want to take classes while they are home for the summer), please use the following checklist to start your application.

Visiting & Transient Students

Visiting F-1 Students

If you are an international student from another institution on F-1 status, based on the information you provided with your application, you may have an F-1 service indicator hold on your record. This needs to be removed before you can register for classes.

You will need to submit the below documents online through NOVA's International Student Services E-Form 125-061 by logging in with your NOVA student ID and password. Select Request Type "Visiting F-1 Student".

Click here for F-1 Student Request for Services form 125-061

  • Copy of your passport ID page
  • Copy of your current I-20
  • Letter from your International Student Advisor confirming you are maintaining F-1 status and will be enrolled in at least one course at your home institution for the semester you are planning to co-enroll at NOVA, if it is not during your F-1 vacation period.

You will receive an email when the indicators have been removed. You may contact oiss@nvcc.edu for additional guidance.

Fill out the Course Prerequisite Waiver Form 125-041.

  1. Upload and attach your unofficial documents. The submitted documentation needs to demonstrate that prerequisites have been met as outlined in the NOVA Course Content Summary for that course. Unofficial documents can include:
    • Unofficial college or university transcripts from any institution within the United States. Transcript must include your full name, university name and your entire course history on the document.
    • Unofficial international evaluation transcripts from World Education Services (WES) or International Education Research Foundation (IERF).
    • Unofficial test scores from ABLE, ACE, ACT AP, CAMBRIDGE, CLEP, DSST, DuoLingo, GED, IB, IELTS , SAT, SAT II ,TOEFL iBT.
    • Unofficial U.S. high school transcripts for upper-level math courses (MTH 162, MTH 245, MTH 261, MTH 263).
  2. Select the NOVA course you need a prerequisite waiver for using the drop-down menus.
  3. Use the comment section to list the prerequisite(s) you completed for that class.
  4. Submit the form. You will receive a response within three business days.
  5. Submit one form per course that you need a waiver for.

Visiting & Transient Students - Northern Virginia Community College
Transfer to Northern Virginia Community College and find out if you can receive credit for completed coursework.

Virtual Advisors are available for support and questions through email or Live Chat.

Enroll online with NOVAConnect. First-time students are encouraged to enroll in SDV 100 or another student development course during their first semester.

Pay online by credit card through NOVAConnect. When you enroll for classes, you must pay by the payment deadline. Unpaid classes may be dropped from your schedule.

Important Note About Financial Aid

Transient students who are pursuing degrees at other colleges and who are just taking classes at NOVA with the intention of transferring those courses back to their home institutions are not eligible for financial aid at NOVA. Such students may consult with the Financial Aid Office at the home institution to see if they are willing to do a consortium agreement with NOVA whereby the home institution awards the student aid based on enrollment at NOVA.

Print a copy of your enrollment schedule from NOVAConnect  or call 703.323.3000 to check your classes and payment status.

  • Verify that you are enrolled in the correct courses.
  • Print a copy of your enrollment schedule every time you make a change.

Print your schedule of classes and take it to your campus bookstore or buy your books online.

Activate your free email account.

  • To protect your privacy, instructors may only use a student's official NOVA email address.
  • You will receive updates on course changes and other pertinent information through your NOVA email account.

Important Notice: Students cannot activate their VCCS student email until they have enrolled for classes. All fees must be paid before students can access their email.