The reentry application is available for students who left the university before finishing their graduate degree and wish to return to the same program within five years of their last enrolled semester. The reentry application is a shorter version of the new student application meant to streamline the application and review process. Like the application for new students, a reentry applicant must go through the same process of being recommended for admission by the program, then officially admitted and matriculated by the Graduate School, and finally term activated by the Office of the Registrar.

The reentry application is available for all open terms and for all programs. The cost for a reentry application is the same as a new student application: $75 (plus a $6 fee for international applicants).

For additional information about the reentry application, please review the sections below.

Eligibility

Reentry applicants must have been enrolled in classes in their program within 5 years of the requested entry term. Reentry applicants can only rejoin the same program plan and sub-plan they were previously enrolled in. 

If eApp is not allowing a student to use the reentry application even though the student qualifies, please reach out to admissionstaff@grad.wisc.edu. There are instances where a previous student’s enrollment record is not feeding into our application system correctly from SIS.

How to apply

To apply for reentry to the Graduate School, reentry applicants need to follow the steps below: 

1. Find the online application at https://apply.grad.wisc.edu/
2. Log into the application.
3. On the homepage, there are two ways to start a new application
   • If there is no application previously started or submitted in the system, under the section “Admission Application” there will be a link labeled Create New Application.
   • If an application has previously been submitted or started, click on the red button with a “+” (addition icon) to start a new application
4. In the pop up window that appears, select Reentry in the drop down menu as the application type, input your 10-digit Campus ID, and select Add. (see screenshot below): 
   

Parts of the Reentry Application

Personal Information (name, address, etc.)

Term Select

Supplemental Application (if there is one for the program)

Sign and Submit

Note: the reentry application does not collect letters of recommendation. Previous letters of recommendation can be found in Data Mart if desired. If updated letters of recommendation are required, the program will have to collect these materials separately from the application. 

Deadlines for Reentry

The reentry application is available for any open term. It is not dependent on whether the program has an open application for new students for that term. 

Applicants will need to follow the same deadlines as outlined in the Admissions Deadlines KB document. Applicants will need to fill out a reentry application at least 4 weeks before the fall semester and at least 2 weeks before summer and spring semesters. If a student wishes to rejoin a program after the application system has closed for that term, please contact our office at admissionstaff@grad.wisc.edu to discuss options. 

For international students, specific timelines vary greatly depending on the student’s current visa status and country of citizenship among other factors. Broadly, applicants will need to follow the same deadlines as outlined in the Admissions Deadlines KB document. We advise that the student also review the ISS resource Becoming a Global Badger, which provides additional timeline information for the processing of immigration documentation.

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