<p>I am curious on how interested the top 50 or so (Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges) are in accepting kids from London, particularly children on American expats living in London. I have two children (a sophomore and a freshman) at top London private high schools. Most of my friends with older kids have gotten them from London high schools (American as well as British schools) into Ivy League and other well-known East Coast schools, plus Stanford, U. Chicago. Lately, however, I have heard that there is a bit of a backlash from the top schools against London kids, particularly those kids who have US Passports. I have heard that Stanford finds British kids "not very interesting" (despite their great high school educations) and they would rather have their international students be from emerging market countries. In addition, Williams College treats all US citizens as domestic applicants, whether or not they have attended college in the US or abroad. Does anybody have any insight on this? Thanks, Jack</p>
<p>They want future leaders, unless you can pay full tuition; then they will accept 2200+ kids with typical sports & music & leadership activities from the upper middle class.</p>
<p>Your kids are US citizens, which means that they are domestic applicants period. This is defined by the fact that they can file the FAFSA and be considered for federally determined financial aid. This is a very good thing. Depending on the specific college or university, their academic records may need to be read by the international admissions staff but that really isn’t any big deal.</p>
<p>If you have been living abroad for a long time, your children may not have any state where they can be considered an in-state resident for public colleges and universities. However, if you own property in the US, you should check the rules in that particular state. Also, they do have the option of moving to the US, finding work, paying taxes, and thus establishing residency on their own. It is not easy for 17 or 18 year old people to do that, and many parents aren’t too excited about asking their kids to try it, so that option is not pursued by many families.</p>
<p>Some of the best advice for your situation is probably to be had by speaking with the counselors at the closest advising center of [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/) There is one in London [EducationUSA</a> - Center Profile - US-UK Fulbright Commission - Fulbright Advisory Service](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/Fulbright-UK]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/Fulbright-UK) If the counselors you meet with don’t have recent experience working with US citizens, they have colleagues in other offices who do.</p>
<p>The specific universities you mention here are highly selective, and are lottery schools for any applicant. I wouldn’t take the comments about the people in London too seriously. Yes it’s true that the admissions officers at the big-name institutions do tend to play “I’ve got a student from country X and you don’t!” games with each other, but it is most likely that your friend’s children aren’t being rejected because they are from London. They are being rejected because there are more good applicants every single year. </p>
<p>I’ve got a list of other parents like you and students who are like you children who have posted here at CC. When I have a moment, I’ll send it to you by PM. If you look for their threads, you will probably find more information and ideas that are useful to you.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>
<p>Happymomof1, thanks. Why are my kids considered American by the schools? They were born in the UK, have never lived in the USA, and have dual US/UK citizenship. Also, we are probably not eligible for any financial aid anyway. Should I just have the kids apply as UK citizens and not mention in their applications that they are US citizens?</p>
<p>If they are US citizens, they are US citizens. Not living in the US doesn’t matter. Their certificate of birth abroad or passport or whatever legal proof they have of the US citizenship is what matters. They can vote in US elections. Males are expected to register with the Selective Service. They can travel to the US without a visa. They can take a job legally in the US. Etc.</p>
<p>Bi-nationals who have grown up abroad are interesting to many universities because they don’t need student visas or any of the other paperwork that a “true international” student requires. Your kids can work on or off campus and the number of hours a week is not restricted. They qualify for scholarships/internships/summer research positions that can only be held by citizens. The advantages for them are huge. At the very least, even if they don’t qualify for need-based financial aid, filing the FAFSA automatically means that they can take out Stafford Loans each year which might make things a bit easier for your family budget.</p>
<p>Applying as international applicant is much harder to get in than as US applicant.</p>
<p>I am not sure your observations are correct JackUK. I had a British student last year and one this year. My student last year was admitted into Cal, Columbia, Michigan, Princeton and Stanford and my student this year has already been admitted into MIT and is waiting for replies from Columbia, Cornell, Princeton and Stanford, but I am anticipating at least another two acceptances.</p>
<p>Thank you for your comments. They are very helpful.</p>
<p>Wow, Alexandre, you must be a brilliant mentor! 
</p>
<p>OP, I have dual citizenships as well as I was born in Chicago, and I am considered a US citizen and would be able to avail the same benefits that any US raised students would get. I applied to 10 US schools, was accepted to all but two, but decided to attend Cambridge instead. But that was about 13-14 years ago already.</p>
<p>You havent said whether your kids will be applying from an international school (US curriculum//IB) or an English school. Theres a huge difference: are they applying from an ASL or a St. Pauls/Westminster or a London school which is not on the recruiters rounds and has sent very few students to the US? As dual-nationals, they will be considered Americans for immigration purposes (luckily) but whether theyre judged against other applicants from the UK depends on the college each has its own system. . Harvard Admisisons, eg, reviews all applicants from the UK in the same docket, no matter the nationality.</p>
<p>Samuck, Thanks. My kids (1 boy/1 girl) are at top London day schools (not St. Paul’s/Westminster, but slightly below) which send 2 or 3 kids each per year to US Universities, usually Ivy League.</p>
<p>Then your Careers Teacher/Uni Tutor/whatever they call it in your schools is the best person to advise. Do any of the US college admissions officers who swing through London in Fall/Spring stop by your school? The main thing is that your schools have a track record of students going to the US to the level of college youre interested in.Did those families seek outside college counselling? If it was all handled by your school, youre lucky. This means theyll know how a teacher recommendation differs from a UCAS reference and how to pull together a School Profile if you dont already have one.</p>
<p>Those two students attended British-paterned schools.</p>
<p>I live in England as well (near Leeds) and have three kids, two currently in private colleges in California and one more going next year. I am American, my wife is British, so our kids have dual-nationality. They enter the US on their American passports and come back to Heathrow/Manchester on their British passports - easy. They applied as Americans and we filled out the FAFSA/CSS Profile. I don’t think being from overseas helped them get in, but it’s hard to say (they were accepted to UC Berkeley, USC, UCSD, Santa Clara to name a few places).
@Happymom - you are quite right in saying that families like ours have been overseas so long we no longer can claim residency for tuition purposes in any state. Hence my kids ended up at private colleges (cheaper than paying out-of-state rates). They both receive finacial aid (merit and need-based). They never lived in the states until they went away to college.</p>
<p>Sarsfield - Thank you for a very informative post. My son is starting to look at colleges on the internet and seems to be leaning to going to California (probably as he is drawn by the vastly different weather to here!). He has asked me about Stanford, Pomona, Claremont and Pepperdine. Did you apply to any of these schools and what did you/your kids think of them? Thanks.</p>