<p>i heard that univeristies including Columbia
sets number for each country for intern'l students</p>
<p>for example they plan to have 5% chinese, 5% french and so on
so i'll be competing against my countrymen
is that true??
or do they just look applicants and accept the best applicant?</p>
<p>“for example they plan to have 5% chinese, 5% french and so on”</p>
<p>the percentage fluctuate from year to year, don’t worry.</p>
<p>“so i’ll be competing against my countrymen is that true??”</p>
<p>in a marginal sense - yes. If you come from a country where columbia has noone from, say: East Timor then they might take you in easier to have greater diversity. Singapore is very competitive and has high representation at most colleges, I don’t see coming from Singapore (for example) as being a significant disadvantage, if at all.</p>
<p>“or do they just look applicants and accept the best applicant?”</p>
<p>This is true with corrections. Affirmative action within the US makes a large correction to this.</p>