<p>Since I'm a junior, I read a lot of threads on CC and then especially threads about the Ivies. By reading these, I saw many people saying that applying as an international isn't so good, some people even say that it's a disadvantage being an international applicant applying to the Ivies.</p>
<p>I was a little bit surprised by reading these comments, because ( as far as I know ) they're only advantages being international;</p>
<p>1) The applying process in the USA is totally different from the app proces in other countries. In the US, everyone should follow approximately the same process ( common app, essays ) and there is a lot of pressure for being accepted. A lot of people start preparing the process really early ( I've seen 8th graders worrying about not having enough EC's, volunteer work, ... ). Here in Belgium for example, every college/university must accept every applicant that would go to that specific college/uni. Grades, EC's, and stuff don't matter ( and this counts for a lot of other countries as well ). So people that even think to apply a college/uni in the USA are really strong, because I wouldn't wonder if many students haven't even heard about the Ivy League, Harvard, Yale, etc. There are not many students trying to get into these schools, so there is not as much concurention as for American students.</p>
<p>2) A lot of colleges/uni's want to have a class with a lot of diversity, and what is better for diversity than students from different countries? This with the fact that there are not many students that apply makes that the chances for international applicants are pretty high, or am I wrong?</p>
<p>For European students this is probably true-for east asian countries in which there are tens of thousands of cut-throat-competing applicants,much less so. Especially when you have to be top of your country rather than just your state or province to get into some schools I guess.
And unfortunately, I think now these East Asian and probably also Indian applicants make the majority of international applicants’ pool…</p>
<p>So, if I understand you well, there isn’t any disadvantage for me ( as belgian student ). Is there a difference between me applying for FA and American students?</p>
<p>Yes they want diversity. But there is a limit to the number of seats for non US. Thus ALL Internationals must compete against one another. WIth Harvard having one of the best Fin Aid options for internationals, it’s terrible competition. </p>
<p>Yes, your app will be compared to all the internationals’ apps. So a Nepalese academic star might offer more exootic diversity than a Caucasian European.</p>
<p>peterslouise, one admissions officer will be responsible for your region of Europe. In theory, that person will be the advocate in committee for all applicants from the region. In practice, that person, who has read every Belgian/French/Dutch/etc. application, will also speak to which candidates in that group are the strongest.</p>
<p>The relevant column is “College”, These numbers are total enrollments. This indicates there is currently a single undergraduate student from Belgium at Harvard. That says nothing about your chances, perhaps there has been a dearth of qualified applicants from Belgium and they would welcome your application next year!</p>
<p>I also saw the stats from other universities and Belgium always has a few students in each of them, but I never see any numbers of those who have applied? Are there universities how post these numbers online?</p>
<p>No, I don’t think there’s any particular advantage in being from Belgium. There might be an advantage in being from a country that has no historical representation at Harvard or where you’ve had some kind of extraordinary experience (like being caught in the war zone in Syria).</p>