Although I understand it might be rather early for me to think about these things, I’d be grateful for anyone who is willing to answer some of my questions.
I am a high school freshman from Slovenia (Europe). The high school I go to is ranked #1 in the country. It offers the IB program for any international students who are not native Slovenians, however, native Slovenians can join too, but it’s highly competitive, since they only choose around 20 people each year based on grades, ec’s, awards etc…
I am planning on doing the IB. I know quite a few people from my high school that have gotten into ivies, other high rank colleges in the US.
My question is, is it generally harder to get into the T20 for students from smaller countries than it is for students from bigger, well-known countries, or is it the other way around?
How much more difficult is it to get into an elite college as an international applicant than it is to get in as an American?
Many of the top colleges have either a hard or soft cap on internationals, usually in the range of 10-12% of the entering class. International acceptance rates per college are about half its overall acceptance rate.
AFAIK, no college publishes acceptance rate by country. I am of the opinion that the most challenging are the big 3 countries (China, India, Korea). Beyond that, all other thing being equal (including ability to pay), I don’t think it makes a difference if you are from Slovenia or Armenia.
Will your family be able to pay the full cost of attendance or will you need financial aid. Only 5 colleges in the U.S. are need blind to international students. At all if the other colleges, your ability to pay will be one of the biggest factors inehether or not to admit you.
You’ll be competing with other applicants from Slovenia so you’d have to do some research on how many apply and gotten in, if you can, at least from your high/secondary school over the next couple of years. Colleges love wealth and they love saying they have 80 or 90 countries represented, so if your family comes from serious wealth and you’re the best applicant from Slovenia, you’re in good shape. That being said, you still have to show you can do the work. Good luck.
T20 schools are reaches for everyone. Your chances aren’t that great, and it’s not because of where you come from. However, you’re coming from a good school in your country, and you’re full pay, so if you apply to match schools, you won’t have a problem getting in somewhere.
Admission rates to some top-ranked U.S. colleges can be greater for international students not in need of financial assistance than for applicants of domestic origin. Wesleyan, I believe, offers an example of this. Other colleges may be similar, though their statistics may not be publicly available.