<p>I'm from Sydney, Australia and I'll be applying to Princeton, Harvard, Yale and a couple of lower ivies. </p>
<p>I was wondering if applying internationally to ivy league colleges would be a disadvantage in any way...</p>
<p>I'm doing my SAT's this year and my EC's are pretty substantial however it's very difficult to take an AP class in Australia because it's rarely offered at any schools! Is it understandable during the admissions process if an international student hasn't taken an AP exam? Or would it still look bad on my application? </p>
<p>Yes admissions is generally harder at any school for internationals, unless you can afford to pay full cost. Colleges just need to know that you've used the resources at your school effectively, so if you school doesn't offer AP that's fine, as long as you've challenged yourself with the hardest courses at your school.</p>
<p>Hi, I took 2 APs (english and calc) last May in Sydney. I would've taken more but it was 300 AUD per subject - they rip you off like crazy..
But many intels don't take APs because it's rarely offered globally so don't worry if you choose not to take it :)</p>
<p>I really wouldn't worry about AP classes - if your school doesn't offer them you don't take them. But I would spend a lot of time preparing for the SAT. As an international student from a different curriculum the common equalizer will be that SAT score. A top score would more than make up for any curriculum differences.</p>
<p>Well grading system, difficulty of getting grades, whether or not grades are even used to measure performance might be different in another country.</p>