International Student with an American Citizenship

Student Lounge International Students
1

I will be sitting for 7 IGCSE’s next year at an international private school in Asia. After IGCSE’s I plan on completing my AS and A Levels from the same international school. After AS and A Levels I will most likely be sitting for the SAT and ACT. However, I was born in the United States and my entire family holds American citizenship and my parents have worked there for several years.

The questions which many people have not been able to answer is how will the college application process be for me when applying to America? When applying will I be considered in the international students quota? Will I receive financial aid based on the fact that my parents are employed taxpayers in America? Will I have to sit for the TOEFL and IELTS exams even though English is my first language? Will all colleges in USA accept IGCSE O/A/AS Level grades or should I get a GED? Also is it possible to sit for the PSAT if you don’t currently live in America? Also, most of my subjects are commerce based except for ICT and Environmental Studies and I don’t plan on taking Math in AS and A levels, will this affect my application or make it hard if I get accepted to an American university?

Any advice or answers would be highly appreciated as this is a very niche topic. Thank you.

2

Your situation is more common than you may think.

As you start compiling a list of US universities you may be interested in, I would encourage you to read through the admission sections for both domestic and international applicants. Bits and pieces of each section will apply to you. For example:

  • Since you attended high school abroad, you should submit the International Supplement to the Secondary School Report.
  • Since you are a US citizen, you are eligible for federal financial aid as well as most college-sponsored financial aid. (Some aid programs have residency restrictions and may only be open to residents of a particular state or a particular city.)
  • If your parents are living in the US and residents of a particular state, you *may* qualify for in-state tuition at public universities and state-administered financial aid (in addition to federal financial aid). You will have to check the rules of the state.
  • TOEFL requirements vary by university. A few universities want TOEFL scores from all applicants who did not attend high school in the US/Canada/UK/Australia. Some are satisfied with an English-language high school curriculum anywhere in the world. Many universities will waive the TOEFL requirement with other evidence of English proficiency (such as sufficiently high verbal SAT scores).

Don’t take the GED. All universities will accept A-levels for admission. Many universities will accept your grades directly. Some smaller colleges may ask you to obtain an external evaluation (e.g. by World Education Services) that would show the US equivalent of your foreign credentials. Three A-levels are typically considered equivalent to a High School Diploma plus 1-2 semesters of college credit.

Yes. Instructions here: https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10/taking-the-tests/international

You may want to take the SAT/ACT before you take your A-levels. Most students would take them in the spring of their junior year or the fall of their senior year. You need your results by December of your senior year in order to meet the application deadlines. Unless of course you’re planning to take a gap year.

3

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After AS and A Levels I will most likely be sitting for the SAT and ACT.

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I suggest you do your SAT/ACT in parallel. You will likely lose a year if you do it sequentially. Also, just choose one. There is no reason to do both. Look into the SAT IIs if you have never heard of them.


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When applying will I be considered in the international students quota?

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You will be considered american, not international. You will not be considered a state resident for the purposes of the state schools though.


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Will I receive financial aid based on the fact that my parents are employed taxpayers in America?

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Financial aid is a complex question as it comes in many forms, from federal loans to merit based scholarships given by individual schools. Some go only to US citizens or state residents, some open to even internationals. Some depend on merit. Some are need based.


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Will I have to sit for the TOEFL and IELTS exams even though English is my first language?

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Depends on the individual schools. It varies. For example Harvard doesnt require anyone to take the TOEFL. Other schools have different ways you can prove english competency; a min SAT verbal score or 4 years in an english medium school.


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Will all colleges in USA accept IGCSE O/A/AS Level grades

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Yes. I have not come across any that dont. If you do find one, I would definately be cautious about applying.


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Also is it possible to sit for the PSAT if you don’t currently live in America?

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Yes. Though I obviously cant speak for where you live.


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Also, most of my subjects are commerce based except for ICT and Environmental Studies and I don’t plan on taking Math in AS and A levels, will this affect my application or make it hard if I get accepted to an American university?

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This may be a problem as most US colleges require a min of 3 or 4 years of math, science and a foreign language.

4

@b@r!um

Thank you so much! But regarding the PSAT. On the college board website it says to find a school in the States to take the exam in. So is it not possible to take it in any other country? Going to take it in the States to take the exam wouldn’t be that big of a problem so is it a good idea to take it even though I would be missing out on school days? It what ways would it be beneficial since schools tend to only look at GPA and SAT/ACT grades?

5

@Monsterkitty

Thank you so much! But referring back to my subjects for IGCSE’s, I can obviously take math in A Levels if it’s needed for the application process. And would you say Environmental Studies be considered as a science subject? Because I can’t exactly pick up a science subject that easily. Also, my school offers English as a first language, English as a second Language, Bengali, and French. I’m only taking English as a first language.

I can’t really take Bengali. It’s the national language of the country I’m in and the students here are required to take it unless they have a foreign passport and they’ve been learning to read and write the language since they were young. My parents are fluent in it and it would be very hard to learn how to read and write and complete the syllabus as I don’t have much prior knowledge on the subject.

I have considered taking French but it was only introduced at my school last year and the department isn’t very strong. I can give French IGCSE privately but finding a French teacher would be very difficult here and to cope up with the syllabus. If it really is important I might be able to manage do you recommend doing so?

6

Firstly let me say this. The US system is amazingly flexible and accepting. There are few if any hard and fast rules. While they may state certain requirements, US admissions will look at everything in your individual context. That is the beauty and I would say strength of the US system. Unlike many other systems which literally reduce a student into a single number, the US will look at you as a person in whatever schooling system you are in.

My general answer to your question is if you cant take a second language, dont worry about it. Its out of your control. I believe if you explain your situation during the application process, which will give you an opportunity to, most schools will contextualize it. The same applies for your math and science.

I may have assumed something wrongly when I read your original post. I took your post to mean you had no math or science even at the igcse level. Thinking about it, that would be impossible. I think you will be fine with no math or science (or with environmental studies) at the A levels. I know that at the Alevels many do not take math and science subjects and focus entirely in humanities or social studies. Just dont expect to be admitted to MIT or Caltech for engineering.

Another general word of encouragement. The US application process is confusing and overwhelming for internationals. If you feel that way, dont feel bad. You are normal :-). It is confusing exactly because it is flexible and accepting. I have the greatest respect for the system.

What admissions officers want to see is that you did the best with what you have available to you. So, just do the best with whatever courses you have available to you.

Keep asking questions. There are many good people on this forum.

7

With regards to the PSAT. Go to the school search link on the page provided by @b@r!um. I did a search for India and found 200 schools listed. Dont worry about what it says that is must be a US school. Probably some sort of typo.

8

Where does it say that? Their school search tool found me an international school in Germany (where I’m from) that administers the PSAT.

Colleges won’t see your PSAT scores. Nowadays, there’s really only two reasons to take the PSAT: to try out for the National Merit Scholarship Program, and to get used to the format of the SAT in a version with less advanced content than the real deal. (Or you could just take an additional practice SAT.)

If you don’t expect to score high enough for the National Merit Program, I wouldn’t bother with the PSAT. It would be more advantageous for you to take the real SAT early, and re-take it if you are not happy with your score. Particularly if you plan to drop math after O-levels - the SAT math section will feel harder the longer you haven’t practiced math.

9

Don’t worry too much about the admission requirements for domestically-educated students. Applicants educated abroad are expected to follow a curriculum that would qualify them to attend a university in that country, not American high school graduation requirements.

To illustrate my point, here are the admission requirements for international applicants by country for a few selective American universities. Notice how none of them ask for any particular A-level subjects.

http://admissions.ucsd.edu/freshman/equivalents.html
https://admissions.umich.edu/apply/international-students/requirements-deadlines/requirements-country
https://undergraduate.admissions.gwu.edu/international-admission-credentials-country

That said, math is generally important to American universities, and I would highly recommend you take at least AS-level Math. If you don’t take enough math in high school, American universities will make you take more math courses after you enroll regardless of your major.

10

Definitely take math at IGCSE level (the pure maths one if possible, further maths if you’re able to). AS statistics would be helpful if your school allows you to have 4+ AS. Iwoud recommend preparing for and taking the sat alongside our IGCSE or closely after IGCSE. It’ll be lisedt to what you studied in math.
Can you take French for icgse? That would satisfy any requirement (with English first language). You cannot have zero foreign language.
You’d need English, foreign language, history+ another social science (geography, sociology, economics, citizenship…), Math, double or triple or integrated science, at IGCSE level plus a couple other subjects of your choice. That would cover all well-rounded requirements in your application to us colleges. You will not be required to have 4 units in each subject if our had them at IGCSE.
A note w if you’re thinking of applying to California universities, they require one unit in art (music, drama, art history…) so you might want an igcse subject in the easiest or funnest art subject offered at your school.
Since you’re aiming for commerce I’m assuming you’ll take media studies, business studies, economics for subjects outside the basics.
US Business schools will expect you to have math through precalculus or calculus so an AS in math will be helpful - but if you have IGCSE further maths (which should include an intro to math analysis) and AS statistics you’re ok, although AS maths would be helpful. This covers what in the US is honors precalculus, honors calculus, and post-ap statistics&probability without taking A level maths which is unnecessarily advanced for US business or economics majors.
Possible paths: You could have AS stats + 3 A levels (only one in ‘studies’ if possible) or A levels maths +2 A levels (1 traditional subject, 1 ‘studies’) or AS maths, A level stats, A level business studies, and one A level from a traditional subject of your choice.
All of these would work or your tentative major.

11

@MYOS1634
Thank you so much for such a detailed answer. My only problem is the range of subjects offered by my school. I’m currently taking English, Pure Maths, ICT, Environmental Studies, Commerce, Economics and Business Studies. The only subjects I can take are the sciences and French. Will this put me at a disadvantage in college addmsions or will it be taken into consideration?

I’m mostly thinking of applying to universities in New York City as I’m the most familiar with the area. Is there anything you can tell me about the CUNY or SUNY admission requirements.


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You will not be required to have 4 units in each subject if our had them at IGCSE.<

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Also, would you mind telling me what you mean by units?

Thank you very much.

12

It is perfectly OK for you to contact the admissions offices at CUNY and SUNY institutions that you are interested in, and ask about admissions requirements for students. They will be able to explain things to you.

The primary reason to take the PSAT is if you expect to score high enough to qualify for National Merit Scholarship Finalist status. The PSAT score required to qualify for NMSF varies from one state to another each year, and the score required for US citizens abroad has consistently been among the highest, if not the very highest. When you take practice PSAT and SAT tests, if you find that you aren’t landing almost perfect scores, you can safely skip the real PSAT.