<p>I see some colleges only ask for ethnicity if you're an American citizen, but not if you're International. </p>
<p>But I'm also applying to schools that don't say "only Americans need to answer this." In general, does that mean if I declare at those schools that I'm an Asian from Asia, an international, I won't be as disadvantaged as Asian-Americans? i'm just guessing that, because of my first observation ^^.</p>
<p>Trust me, you would not want to apply as an international student from India or China...</p>
<p>If you look at the ethnicity breakdown of the student body of a college, you will see a category called "nonresidential alien" - that's the category for international students. Since international students are grouped in one category rather than listed by their ethnicity, some colleges don't even bother to collect these information. </p>
<p>But generally, the competition among international students from large Asian countries is intense. China and India make 1/3 - 1/2 of the world's population, but as you can imagine most colleges don't want half of their international student population come from those two countries. They would much rather have just one or two students each from 100 different countries...</p>
<p>hmm, so when its international, it's more of a geographical issue than an ethnic issue?</p>
<p>First off, applying as an international is harder than applying as any American citizen of any ethnicity. It's both a geographic and ethnic issue in my opinion. AKA, they don't want a lot of Chinese or Indians nor do they want a lot of Asian internationals. Basically, your competition is the fiercest as an Asian international.</p>
<p>^ Actually, I think that's rather misleading.</p>
<p>First of all, the reason why the acceptance rate for internationals are lower than other groups at colleges that don't mind funding for them (Harvard, Yale, etc.) is not simply because they are not American. I wager it has a lot more to do with what kind of an education they have had.</p>
<p>For example, most international students have little access to standard US curriculum like AP or honors classes. Even though colleges are no doubt aware of the fact that many international students only have "regular" classes offered to them, it's safer, so to speak, to opt for an identical American who has taken AP classes.</p>
<p>Another thing is mastery of English. Essays, SATs, and even portions of the application can be heavily affected by lack of English understanding. Many international students are from countries whose official language is not English, and unless the students attend English-curriculum schools, they will be mainly emerged in the language of their state.</p>
<p>There's also the cultural barrier. Some cultures find certain topics or ways of expression most Americans find untactful to be not only acceptable but encouraged. Especially in essays, this kind of expression can lead to bad impressions.</p>
<p>I would contend that international students are being rejected at steeper rates than natives because they haven't proved themselves similarly able as US students using the same system. It's not because they are foreigners who, measured on the same scale as US students, are superior but are rejected because they are not US citizens.</p>
<p>The rule, however, is that most US colleges DO care about funding, so it DOES matter if you're not a US citizen even if you are equally distinguished in America.</p>
<p>And about OP's issue... I'd agree that it probably is easier for international Asians to get into colleges than Asians if both were from the US since theoretically Internationals increase diversity more than mere Asians. Ah, AA.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'd agree that it probably is easier for international Asians to get into colleges than Asians if both were from the US since theoretically Internationals increase diversity more than mere Asians. Ah, AA.
[/quote]
quite wrong indeed.</p>