I am a very good student from a British school in Madrid with a Spanish and American passport, and would need to apply with Financial Aid. I speak French, Spanish, and English fluently, and I know a little bit of Latin and Italian. I have also received a Dean’s scholarship at Brown university for this summer, I do an average of 20 hours weekly of sport, clubs and volunteering ( having into account that it’s in Spain, where it is very hard to do this), will have good recommendations (and maybe one from a Pritzker winner). I still have to do my SSAT, but do you think I am a good candidate?? And, does being an international applicant with financial aid need harm my application very much??
Thank you very much for you help, and congratulations to everyone who got accepted this year into their dream school!!
For these schools, yes. Top schools generally have either a hard or soft cap on the percentage of internationals will comprise a given class. This is also true for top US universities. For top universities, the admit rate for internationals is roughly half the overall rate. Top boarding school admission percentages is probably similar.
Having said that, you are a US citizen living abroad, so you would not be considered international for admissions, at least for Andover. I’d assume Exeter and Deerfield are similar.
Yup…(I am a citizen abroad… PM if you have any questions)…
As long as you state your nationalities you will not be considered an international applicant… For example, in Gateway, you are asked what passports you carry and if you require a student visa. Simply state you are a dual citizen and no matter what your current address is, you will be treated the same as a domestic applicant.
As for FA, it will affect your app as much as it would have affected if you were not living abroad… Assume you are living in the States and treat the app like a normal domestic applicant…
This is definitely true for all the ‘name’ schools, but I would definitely call to ask (or to inform) the school if there is not a place you can clearly state you nationality…
Thank you very much!! @Atria @skieurope
Also, do you know any other good boarding schools in the US apart from Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Choate, … which aren’t very famous?
Oh and sorry for spelling Deerfield without a ‘d’ (it’s just they didn’t let write more letters)!!
One BS said that my daughter would very likely to be accepted unless she is an international student. I assume it means that it would be harder to be accepted as an international student.
Plenty, and more.
I would first recommend looking through old CC threads (esp the not so “Hidden Gem” schools thread)…
Also you could use sites like the boardingschoolreview…
One school I wished I had applied to is NMH…
Also there are a lot of great schools not mentioned on CC, be sure to do research independent of CC as well 
@SculptorDad
Its true that the applicant pool for int. students is more competitive due to a smaller # of spots…
However, OP doesn’t have to worry about that… It might even give him an edge over other domestic applicants…
Thank you @Atria , I have already looked into boarding schools like Exeter, Andover, Deerfield, Choate, … but I didn’t know about NMH, thanks!!
Financial aid for international applicants is extremely limited, as boarding schools channel most of their resources to help domestic applicants, Given that you have a US passport (but be sure to state it as Atria suggests), you should not be in a disadvantageous position relative to other American applicants seeking financial aid. Conversely, your international experience in Spain and fluency in many languages may set you apart. Some boarding schools count American students living abroad in their international student statistics, so you could be filling multiple admission boxes. In short, your background could make you an attractive candidate. Best of luck with your applications Imartin!
@IMartin , you can start here: http://www.boardingschoolreview.com. You can also search the top 20 schools by criteria that are important to you: http://www.boardingschoolreview.com/top-twenty-schools-listing
There are many great BS. It depends on what you’re looking for! There are the usual suspects, most mentioned on these boards. Tell us more about what you want.
Thank you very much @happarent6 !! I will do as you say, and I hope they find me an attractive applicant, because I would really really love to go to these boarding schools!! Thanks!!
Thank you!!! @GoatMama
I am looking for a boarding school with very good academics, many opportunities, a high percentage of people who are motivated and nice, student diversity, and if possible in a beautiful location. I know it is too much asking, but that would be my ideal boarding school. Thanks @gardenstategal
@IMartin , answering your primary question, I have been accepted into Andover, Groton and Milton as an international student from Brazil with full FA. While being an international student was harmful for getting FA (I was most likely waitlisted at Hotchkiss and definitely at Cate because of that), it was positive in the sense that it brought diversity to my application. You could look for need-blind schools or schools that have a “youth from every quarter” policy, like Andover.
Hey! I totally agree with @Atria: apply to NMH! I was recently accepted, although I won’t be attending. It’s a really great place. Really supportive, fun, and challenging. In addition to apply to whichever more competitive schools that you choose, I would recommend NMH and Berkshire. They are both great schools with amazing students, and they’re slightly easier to get into than Choate, Andover, Exeter, Deerfield, etc.
Also: yes, being international could hurt your chances for FA. It really depends on the school and your application (obviously).
@Nico.campbell I am sure I was waitlisted at NMH because of financial aid…