<p>Hello.
I am an international student and I graduated last year.</p>
<p>While I made some applications to foreign colleges, I enrolled in a local university ( not international ) but I did not take any exam or credit. The credits and exams of my local university are not recognized in USA colleges, so I did not think I am a transfer student. However, I have an issue. Is it a problem if I apply as freshman to an USA college and I am already enrolled in a local college ( not international ) in my country that is not related to USA in anyway? Is there a record or something similar? Is it allowed? </p>
<p>My local university does not allow me to apply as transfer student because it is not concerned with American stuff.
So I do not think it should be a problem.</p>
<p>Thank you. </p>
<p>Are you enrolled in a university? Or a vocational/continuing education course? Is it an A-Level/BTEC “college”?
Please specify what you mean.
Because American colleges recognize most other countries’ university courses, what you say about credits not being recognized makes no sense, unless you’re not actually attending a recognized, accredited, university. SO if you took classes and took exams in university courses, you would be a transfer student.
Have you already applied or are you planning to apply? </p>
<p>Thanks for replying.
I already applied to the colleges and I am enrolled in the university but I still did not take any course or credit.
The primary language in this university is not English.
It is a local university and it is not connected to other international universities.</p>
<p>If you’re enrolled but not taking courses, what is the purpose of enrollment? I know that some international students register at university simply to keep their health benefits or because of government regulations, is that your case, or what’s the situation? Because you’ll need to explain that to colleges.</p>
<p>Yes this is my case.
I registered to this university simply to have a sort of fallback and don t lose an year if American colleges would not have accepted me.
I do not understand if this is considered a problem.</p>
<p>In the US registering at a university costs money (a lot of money) and there are no government benefits such as free health care, a student card that is nationally recognized, or access to specific rates or opportunities that go with it. So there’s no reason to register if your intention is not to take classes, get credits, and graduate from that university. Therefore when a student is registered, it is assumed it is for the purpose of taking classes and learning things; if the student took university-level classes, they aren’t equal high school students and can’t apply as if they were high school students, ie, freshman status. If you’re like a high school student, you apply as a freshman and will be evaluated along with high school students; if you’re like a university student, you apply as a transfer and will be evaluated along with university students. It wouldn’t be fair to evaluate a high school student alongside a university student. That’s the reasoning. </p>
<p>Yes, it is a problem because you are trying to evade or deceive the American colleges by saying you aren’t “really” enrolled in another university program. It doesn’t matter where it is on the planet. There is an area that you have to sign on the American college forms saying that you are being honest/truthful in your presentation of yourself and your documentation. If you knowingly omit information or try to deceive any university, you will eventually get caught and will be expelled.</p>
<p>auntbea, it may not be trying to deceive colleges - in many foreign countries, being enrolled in school is a prerequisite for many administrative purposes, lest you be considered a drifter. Registration doesn’t mean you attend, just that you’re registered somewhere and thus are “on registers”. A student I know couldn’t find a part-time job because he wasn’t “registered” somewhere, for instance (the employer had no expectation the student would actually attend class, but the idea was that being registered at a university means the employer doesn’t pay some taxes and has an administrative category on his payroll for the young employee.)You can’t get an internship unless you’re “registered” etc. In some countries you may have to register as an unemployed adult and may be forced to take training classes in random subjects because of it. For this reason, many young people resgiter at their local university (in many cases, tuition is nearly free), it’s a hassle-free system to be in administrative compliance with whatever’s required. The students (sometimes as many as one third of the freshmen) are simply registered but aren’t taking any classes, which they “repeat” for a couple years (ie;, re-register for without ever attending) until they’re established in their job or they decide to actually take classes. They’re effectively like high school graduates who have a part time job in the US.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info MYO, good to know. My concern is when students take coursework post high school and then realize that for freshman status and FA, they have to have a clean slate. It’s not fair to the high school students that are coming directly from the high schools competing for those spots at a university.</p>
<p>^I agree. University students shouldn’t be compared to high school students.</p>