<p>I wonder how difficult it is for US high school students, who have studied abroad in an IB Diploma program outside the United States, to get accepted into US universities? In other words, would that make it harder? We have the opportunity to move to the Middle East for our kids' high school years, and I am wondering if that would seriously jeapardize their ability to get accepted into competitive schools in the US. </p>
<p>Also, what is the definition of an "International" student-- would a US citizen be considered an International applicant if he/she applied from a country abroad? Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>An international student is a person who does not hold a US passport. It's a student who has a foreign passport, who is not qualified for Federal Aid because he is not a US citizen(except if he is a qualified non-citizen). Your kids will be considerate as US student studying abroad. It is a student who come to the US with an F1 visa , if he is not permanent resident, citizen, etc...</p>
<p>Would your children be at an American School (following an American curriculum), or at an International School? Our experience with Singapore American School, although not on an IB curriculum, was that it was a big plus for students applying to selective schools in the US. I would guess that any international school experience would be a plus. You should contact the school about where the graduates end up.</p>
<p>My son graduated from an international high school with an IB dip and was accepted everywhere he applied. He is now part of the international student community organization at the school he attends but he is a US citizen and was treated as such in the application process.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies-- apparently this is an international school that follows the IB program/curriculum. Their graduates seem to get into top schools, but I wasn't sure how applying from abroad went, but since our kids are US citizens, I guess it would work out... I'm glad to hear the positive replies since it is a very interesting opportunity for us. Thanks!</p>
<p>IMHO, a US citizen studying at an int'l/american school overseas has a slgiht advantage because of diversity. Then again, it also depends on what the school offers and how the student has grasped his or her opportunities.</p>
<p>Different colleges look at it in different ways. Some schools put all Internationals in one admissions pool - including the US citizens. Some put US citizen internationals in the private school admissions pool. </p>
<p>A key issue is the recognition level of the international school - there are many that are very well known in college admissions and there are a lot of fly-by-night schools. </p>
<p>Another issue is the school specific relationship - for example, Shanghai American School has a good relationship with Purdue - many kids from here get into Purdue with lower than their average scores. But we also have schools where kids have applied with great scores but we can't seem to get anyone accepted. </p>
<p>It will definitely give your kids something interesting to write about in their essays!</p>
<p>Our daughter attends the International School of Bangkok and has studied abroad her whole life. Everyone we met at the universities we visited this past summer told us that being an American abroad is a definite plus with regard to diversity and making the application stand out. Lots of kids do community service, but how many can talk about cleaning beaches in Thailand after the tsunami?</p>
<p>The problem is that most third culture kids don't realize how "special" their nomadic way of life can seem on a collage application because they are surrounded by other third culture kids their whole lives. It wasn't until we started touring campuses this summer and my daughter saw how the counselors eyes lit up when she talked about growing up in El Salvador, Poland, Germany and Thailand that it finally sunk in. Her essays were all about the constant moves, and how it helped her to grow.</p>
<p>you will want to check out the matriculation rates at the school -- that will give you an idea of how well recieved the students are at top US schools. Also do some talking with the college counseling department -- find out how knowledgeable they are in regards to US citizens applying to US colleges. At the school my son attends, very few kids are US citizens but many of the kids do apply to US schools. The schools doesn't seem to realize that the US students are in a less competitive pool than the international students (esp. because most need aid). In the past, they have discouraged US kids from applying to HYP and yet those kids were accepted at HYP -- an international student probably wouldn't have been.</p>