<p>Just wanted to get a grasp of just how much a strong international background might help in applying to Harvard. Im not just talking about having visited lots of countries, but having lived in like 4+ countries.</p>
<p>I am guessing that it depends on what you have done while living in those four countries. For example, are you fluent in the languages of all those four countries?</p>
<p>I hope this doesn't sound condescending, but I don't think that having lived in several countries or even being fluent in their languages is enough to constitute a "hook". It could work as an essay topic, but based on what I've seen on this board quite a few people seem to write about similar topics, so make sure you don't fall back on clich</p>
<p>Interesting...to be clear, we are talking about people who have lived in various countries and are currently staying in the US and applying as domestic, right?</p>
<p>I've lived in the US for over five years and attend an American high school. I'm forced to apply as an international student because of my visa type, but in every other way my background and accomplishments are identical to those of an American citizen who happens to have lived abroad for a large portion of her life.</p>
<p>I realize that the international admissions process is more competitive in general, but I would also guess that applying as an international from inside the US would be ever-so-slightly less competitive than coming from outside (but that's a pet theory; I don't have statistics to back that up). I still don't think that an "international background" on its own makes a significant difference unless it's helped you accomplish something noteworthy or you write a stunning essay on the subject.</p>
<p>haha.. It's annoying that I'm still considered an international applicant when I have been living in the U.S. for 12+ years. Too much extra work!</p>
<p>I like to think that they're more lenient with people who have lived here for a long time because we want to STAY WHERE WE ARE as opposed to GETTING IN, because this is our home and it would make no sense for us to go to school elsewhere. I like to think they're considerate like that. I've no idea if it's actually true, but thinking about it that way makes me (slightly) less anxious about the whole thing.</p>
<p>And do you guys have your green cards or citizenships yet?</p>
<p>No, I have a G-4.</p>
<p>Cameliasinensis, I guess you are right about the languages not being a hook unless you can read and discuss Maupassant in French, Goethe in German and Cervantes in Spanish. I am sure there are internationals out there who can do that and more, but do not be too hard on yourself. You are definitely not ordinary.</p>
<p>^It's funny that you say that, because we actually read and discussed Maupassant in my 10th grade French class (in 11th grade we read Proust ;)). I speak Swedish at home, take IB English and French at the A1 (most advanced) Higher Level, and am self-studying Spanish outside of school. I'm not saying that it's ordinary, only that judging from the number of multilingual people I've seen on this site it's a lot more common than I would've thought, and I don't want to delude myself into thinking it'll get me into Harvard if I decide to apply.</p>
<p>Maupassant and Proust in the original may not be that unusual, but if you add
Goethe and Mann in the original as well, and Cervantes and Garcia Marquez in the original also, plus a strong grasp of Shakespeare...I wonder if that is a hook...but you are right...lots of big fish in the ocean...</p>
<p>To the OP... I think even if you speak five languages fluently and have lived in five or six different countries and have credentials to back it all up, like prestigious language awards, it'll still be very very very tough to get into Harvard as an international applicant. For my country, they take about 3-4 ppl, so competition is always fierce for intels.</p>
<p>^There are such things as prestigious language awards? Please enlighten me. (I've never heard of any.)</p>
<p>Well I should probably mention that I don't live in the states but in Europe... You probably haven't heard about them, but then, I don't think many Europeans know what Intel or Westinghouse, or whatever they're called, are. Rest assured though that there are countries that appreciate not only science contests but also language contest.</p>
<p>Oh, that makes sense. I'm a European citizen but don't exactly keep track of what high school students there are doing considering that I left Europe when I was 11... :)</p>
<p>I didnt think that it would make that much of a difference, I just wanted to know what other people thought about international backgrounds and how they affect college applications.</p>
<p>btw, I live in the US currently as a permanent resident. I have also live in four other countries. Nothing really outstanding.</p>