Apply this year or after Green Card?

Applying to College
1

I am currently an International student and a Senior studying in America, but will be receiving my Green Card during June/July of 2016. I am aiming for elite colleges, so do you recommend me to apply to all colleges this year, or taking a Gap Year?

I want to apply during my Gap Year, but I have been encouraged by family members to just take a shot this year, and see what happens, and if I do not get in anywhere, then take the Gap Year and reapply during the next admissions cycle.
So, I was thinking about maybe just applying to some of the colleges that are need-blind for international students (a couple of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Amherst).

Plus, my family members said that my chances may actually be higher as an international student because I come from a sort-of underrepresented country, which I am not sure of.

BUT, my concern with that strategy is that the colleges I apply to this year will have my info on file when I reapply next year.
I’ve been told by some CC users that if I get rejected nearly everywhere because of my status, but then reapply next year, the colleges will be more inclined to reject me because they already have my file from the previous year and will be able to see that they rejected me.

So, what do you suggest I do?

Apply to all colleges this year and see what happens and take a gap year if I do not get in anywhere or do not get enough financial aid, apply to only the need-blind colleges this year and take a gap year if I do not get accepted (since I know they have limits on how many international students they want in their class), or just not apply to any of these Top 20 elite colleges this year and take a Gap year instead, and rather apply for the next admissions cycle?

If I were to not apply anywhere this year, I already do have my Recommendation Letters filled out, so everything is in order.

2

Your chances are always lower as an international, regardless of how “rare” your nationality is. Most students in your situation take a gap year because you’ll probably get better FA as a domestic student, too. I’m having a fantastic time during my gap year and I would recommend it for sure.

3

@Qwerty568 Would you recommend that I take a shot as an International and if I get rejected, then reapply during my gap year, or take a gap year and apply during my Gap Year as a domestic student?

4

You can try if you really want to, but if you take this path you would need to create essentially an entire new list of schools if you take a gap year because schools keep rejections on file (like you stated). If you need substantial FA I might not even bother. Plus I think the process is honestly less stressful as a domestic student. It’s really up to you.

5

@Qwerty568 See that is what I thought, but parents really want me to apply to the same colleges this year as next year.

6

Anyone else have a thought or opinion on this?

7

It is not absolutely necessary to create a completely different application list if you take a gap year and reapply. However, you certainly will want to use some of the information gained in the first round of applications when determining which places are worth keeping on your list.

If you would prefer to start college next fall, and you have a solid idea of what would be a workable financial aid package (if you need one), then go ahead and apply now. You can wait to decide in April whether you want to attend any of the places where you are accepted.

8

@happymomof1 I do need financial aid, so I may only apply to the some of the colleges that are need-blind for International students (so HYP, MIT, Amherst).

Do you not think that since I apply this year and get rejected because of my status, and the college will have my info on file, that they will feel more inclined to reject me as a reapplicant?

9

If you spend enough time here at CC, you will read about students who apply to the same place multiple times and receive multiple rejections, students who are accepted as transfers after initially being rejected, and students who are accepted after a gap year after initially being rejected. There is no way to know what your own results would be like.

If you are truly interested in a particular institution, go ahead and apply. If you are rejected and still interested, well then apply again after a gap year or later on as a transfer. If you are a viable candidate, your re-application will be evaluated based on what the new application includes, and you will be accepted or rejected based on that application. You will not be automatically rejected just because you were rejected in a previous year.

10

@happymomof1 Ok my parents have really been pushing me to apply this year but I didn’t want to, but so if it won’t have an impact on my chances if I take a gap year and then reapply during the gap year, then I guess I’ll go ahead and try this admissions cycle as well.

11

How are you so clear as to when your will receive your GC? That seems very specific for the somewhat arbitrary GC process. What happens if say, that shifts to Oct, or Dec?

12

@Alfonsia Well that may happen, but I am a dependent on my mom who is applying on a special category, so it is most likely given the previous records under this category that we will get it by that time.

13

This year, you can only realistically apply to schools which offer good need based aid to international students (mainly a subset of super-selective schools) and schools which offer large merit scholarships to international students (possibly Louisiana Tech, Howard if the first-come-first-served scholarships have not run out, and a few others).

Next year, as a permanent resident, you will be in a much better position for admission, financial aid, and scholarships at many more schools.

So you could try this year for the few schools with good financial aid or scholarships for international students. If none work out, take a gap year and reapply as a permanent resident to a new list of different schools.

That may not be the case, but being rejected the first time is an indicator that you are less likely to be what the school is looking for. At best, you may have been on the borderline, but did not meet the school’s institutional needs and wants; you were not what the school considered a clear admit, and you could have been what the school considered a clear reject. So a retry after a gap year would mean that you are hoping that you are in the borderline zone but happen to meet this year’s institutional needs and wants. The exception may be if you do something truly exceptional (e.g. state or national recognition) during the gap year to add to your application.

14

@ucbalumnus So you also suggest that I should give a shot for some of the colleges that offer great international student aid (perhaps even UAlabama), as well as the need-blind and full-need colleges here, which include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, and Amherst, correct?

Ok I’ve always thought that reapplying as a rejected student would lower my chances. I will reconsider with this new info.

15

http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

Some of these are open to international students. @paul2752 is in a situation somewhat like yours, and is now at one of the universities on that list. It might be worth your time to communicate directly with him, and find out a bit about his application experience.

16

Yes, this year, you can apply to a small list of schools with good financial aid or merit scholarships for international students. If you get nothing good from this list, you can apply next year as a permanent resident with a much larger list of schools to make your application list from.

Reapplying to the same schools that rejected you before is probably not a high value activity, since the school has already told you that you are borderline or worse from their viewpoint. I.e. if you get rejected from HYPA the first time, it may not be worth the effort to reapply to those schools the second time.