Virginia Commonwealth University

VCU is a large public research university in Richmond with around 30,000 students, over 1,100 of them international, and roughly 60 undergraduate programmes. Its School of the Arts ranks second in the United States among fine arts programmes in the 2026 U.S. News rankings, which makes VCU a genuinely distinctive option for a Kazakh applicant in art, design or the performing arts rather than merely another large public university. Its acceptance rate runs around 92%. Two official points shape an application. International first-year students who apply by 1 NOVEMBER are considered for first-year scholarships and, VCU states, 'can also qualify for out-of-state scholarships'. And VCU warns explicitly that submitting more than one application for a semester means only the first is processed — a Kazakh applicant should choose one degree programme and apply once.