Hi all! This is a very specific question and would appreciate any help.
I was born in India and later acquired American citizenship. India does not technically allow for dual-citizen and I am an “Overseas Citizen of India.” Would this qualify as being a dual-citizen?
This is a quote from the Indian Embassy “The Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously. Based on the recommendation of the High-Level Committee on Indian Diaspora, the Government of India decided to grant Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) commonly known as ‘dual citizenship’.”
Would indicating dual-citizenship impact college admissions in any way? I am aware that it would not “make or break” my application, but would it have any impact.
Not for US universities, where US citizenship is what matters.
You may want to check if universities in India how they treat OCIs (i.e. the same as Indian citizens, the same as international students, or differently from either).
From a US admissions perspective, holding US citizenship is very important, as it takes you out of the category of “international applicants,” who generally face higher hurdles. Having dual citizenship in India will be neither a plus or minus per se.
As others have said, schools in the US will only care that you are a US citizen. If you have any other citizenships they will not care.
I do not have any personal experience regarding schools in India in your situation. Hopefully someone who does can reply. I have had discussions with many friends whose children are in your situation. I have been told by my friends that having “Overseas Citizen of India” status will help their children significantly if they choose to attend university in India. In the same conversation I asked about the language of instruction at universities in India and was told that English is all you need at many (but not all) very good universities there.
You are a US citizen for for financial aid purposes. That’s a good thing.
You are physically resident in the US and so presumably an in-state resident somewhere. That’s a good thing for in-state admissions.
If you have completed your entire secondary school education in the US, that means you don’t have an odd-ball set of transcripts to deal with. That’s a very good thing.
If you have completed sufficient years of education in the US and elsewhere in schools where English is the language of instruction, you won’t need to take the TOEFL. That’s a very good thing too. So, read that part of the application information very carefully. Yes, there are surprises sometimes. Sometimes students who have only attended schools in the US have been asked to take English proficiency exams when the college/university found out that they used a different language at home or had been born outside the US and learned English after they got here.
Once admitted and enrolled, a college or university that likes to report that X% or the students are international or dual citizens will be very happy to include you in the count.