1. Applications from foreign students require additional processing by the University's International Admissions Office, so those applications need to be sent directly to that office.
2. TOEFL scores (or scores from an equivalent test such as the IELTS) are required for non-native English speakers. In addition, Indiana University has a university-wide special test for teaching assistants, and you cannot become an "associate instructor" until you pass it. Failing to pass that exam means you can only be a grader for courses, marking homework papers - and there is a significantly larger workload both for you and the Department in general.
3. Keep in mind that we are trying to evaluate your ability to complete a degree at IU, and submit any additional information that may help us do so. If you have written and published papers or abstracts you should give citations for them. Collaborative projects are a hallmark of modern applied computer science. Be sure to clearly delineate your contribution to any joint research projects. Such projects can help show your ability to collaborate with others, but we also need to know precisely what your role was in such a team.
4. We do not use GRE scores, grade point averages, or any other numeric scaling to cut off consideration of a student's application. We use all the information in the application, and ask for transcripts precisely because your career performance in individual courses gives more information than a single number like the grade average. We do realize that the application fee can be burdensome, but cannot give you early estimates of the outcome of your application just by looking at your vita, GPA, or GRE scores. This can only be done after the admissions committee has had a chance to review your materials.
5. A corollary of the last item: you may be accepted when a classmate with higher GRE and TOEFL scores is rejected. This is also a result of the department's attempt to assure a match between your career goals and the faculty and curriculum here at IU, so that it will be possible for you to find an advisor here.
6. An increasing number of international students send email directly to professors seeking special consideration. If this is a professor with whom you have already had contact at a conference or who has asked you to contact him or her, that is fine. However, you should avoid sending such email to professors in an attempt to get a preliminary evaluation of your admission case, and this includes professors on the Admissions Committee. In the peak season we receive hundreds of email messages daily from applicants, and simply reading those alone would preclude any research or teaching going on in the department. Do not be surprised if emailing your vita and a cover letter to a professor never gets a response; the correct way to proceed is to send in an application for admission.

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