<p>Hi there! </p>
<p>Recently I have been given the option by my parents if I wanted to attend an international school in China for my senior year. The reason for this is that this junior year has been really hard on me, and I'm just really frustrated with the school I am at right now. What is your opinion for applying to colleges from an international school? Is it easier than applying to colleges from the U.S.? I want to attend engineering colleges such as Penn State, UT, Purdue, Georgia Tech, etc... I am currently ranked 15% at my school which is ranked nation wide (Still no excuse) and have scored a 2150 on my SAT (:/). I also have a prodigious amount of extra-circular activities. Advice?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>All else being equal, it is easier to apply from the US, and it is easier to apply from a HS that you have attended for all four years and where your teachers and guidance counselor know you well and can write good letters of recommendation for you.</p>
<p>That said, if your family has been offered the opportunity to take an international posting for one of your parent’s jobs, I say go. Get in touch with the school that you would be attending now so that you can find out about their college advising. You might need to line up a couple recommenders at your current HS before you leave, just so you don’t have to work so hard at getting recommendations at the new school. You also could plan now for a gap year after that senior year in China. That would mean that you wouldn’t have to work quite so hard at getting all the applications done on time from a HS that is new for you. You’d have a whole year to create the relationships that would lead to good LORs, and an extra year to work on a college list.</p>