Can self-funded international students be denied admission based on absence of scholarship/fellowship?
Can self-funded international students be denied admission based on absence of scholarship/fellowship?


Of course they can (and often are). Admission to graduate school also includes an evaluation whether the candidate is likely to graduate, and having funding outside of a scholarship does not change that evaluation. An added problem is that being admitted to the graduate school is only one side of the coin - you also need an advisor willing to work with you. If your application is considered too weak for regular acceptance with a scholarship, it is somewhat likely that you will also have troubles finding an advisor - and admitted students without advisor are often a bit of an administrative headache that admission committees would like to avoid.