<p>It seems like the number of internation applicants they'll get compared to top universities is pretty low. Do they also seek out geographical diversity?</p>
<p>No, it’s actually harder to get into LACs as an international.</p>
<p>^Strange.</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Using Amherst as an example:</p>
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<p>Amherst is proably the only LAC that’s need blind for internationals, which would probably convince more internationals to apply there. Do you have similar stats for say Williams, Pomona, Middlebury?</p>
<p>I’m sure those 3 break down their stats to that level of detail. Whether they release them, I don’t know. You can certainly ask them. The point is that while being an international applicant may not disadvantage you, it is certainly not a hook. I doubt that any LAC is going to say that they do not value diversity.</p>
<p>If the number of applicants seem low, also remember that these colleges also have a smaller freshman class compared to a highly selective university.</p>
<p>My guess is that if you need aid, it is definitely not a hook to be international… If you are full pay, it may help a bit.</p>
<p>Being international is not a hook. It is not even particularly interesting at the top LACs because they do get a lot of international applicants.</p>
<p>That said, If you are truly interested in a given LAC, apply. They may like you.</p>
<p>If you need aid, it makes your odds much much lower. If you’re an American citizen who’s lived abroad, however, that’s an advantage (not to the ppoint of hook, but still an advantage. It’s especially important for someone who plans to major in anything international or double major in languages.)</p>
<p>Thanks people.</p>
<p>I’m full pay (have a scholarship from my country) but it just seemed intuitive that less international applicants = less competition = better chance. I’m fairly certain I’ll be the only person from the Caribbean applying to a couple of these schools so I had hoped that would augment my chances somewhat. But I suppose it’s just “less of a disadvantage” …</p>
<p>Don’t schools have a quota on amount of international students that they admit?</p>
<p>And to your question, no. Status as an international student will go against you during the admission process, whether you are full pay or not; although full pay int applicant has better chance than those who need financial aid.</p>
<p>I’d say the determining factor is not geographic diversity but rather racial/ethnic/religious diversity. Many small LACs have difficulty recruiting and matriculating non-White students, especially schools in rural locations or in the Midwest. These schools use non-White internationals to increase their diversity percentages.</p>
<p>So among the schools that the OP mentioned, (assuming the OP is non-White), s/he may get a boost at Amherst, Williams, Middlebury. Also Carleton, Kenyon, Bowdoin, Hamilton, Grinnell. Less so at Pomona.</p>
<p>The other boost that some internationals can claim – I wouldn’t go so far as to call it hook – is for cultural diversity. Again, this depends on the kind of diversity of perspective the applicant can offer to the campus community. Being from an Islamic country or a hotspot country that’s “in the news” can be a positive at some colleges that don’t get a lot of applicants from countries with cultures that are different from America’s. I don’t know that the Caribbean would qualify in this regard, but there may be special circumstances.</p>
<p>Yes schools have quotas. Actually, @momrath, it is harder to get into those schools as an international. Schools can only admit a certain amount of international students each year, regardless of their nationality. So it becomes cutthroat between international students. </p>
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Harder than what? Yes, of course, colleges admit fewer internationals than American citizens, but the point is that not all internationals are created equal. Colleges look for diversity qualities in internationals the same as they do in citizens.</p>
<p>@momrath, Harder than it is for US citizens. If you look at statistics, you’ll see that the acceptance rates of internationals at top LACs is consistently selective. Usually in single digits at schools where the overall acceptance rate is in the 30%s, 40%s.</p>
<p>International applicants compete with each other not with U.S. citizens, so comparing admissions percentages isn’t relevant. I understand that international admissions is competitive and that spaces are limited. </p>
<p>My point is that within the pool of international applicants itself, diversity – racial, ethnic, religious – is a factor, especially at LACs that have difficulty achieving diversity in their U.S. applicant pool. I wouldn’t exactly call it a hook, but it can be a positive force. </p>
<p>International admissions is very selective even if you do not need aid. Wesleyan has a comprehensive breakdown of specific cohorts of applicants available on its website to help understand the process (about 16% of full-pay internationals are admitted, vs the overall admission rate of 20%). This is especially useful because Wesleyan separates mostly southeast asian cohorts (freeman scholars) from the cohort of other internationals who need aid (<a href=“http://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/international_students/applying.html”>http://www.wesleyan.edu/admission/international_students/applying.html</a>). It is also possible to solicit these statistics from other institutions. Grinnell, for instance, will give you such data.</p>
<p>That said, it is important to account for what is causing such seemingly low acceptance rates for full pay internationals, and I’ll bet it’s full-pay Chinese applicants for the most part. A full-pay international from a country not so well-represented in the college will certainly have a much better chance. As for top LACs, you are going to have to have a solid transcript and test scores and other things before any other factors are considered.</p>
<p>I think it totally depends on your nationality. For an applicant from a competitive Asian country, I say his/her nationality is a huge disadvantage. On the other hand, for an applicant from a country that is underrepresented on campus, his/her nationality might pay over the odds.</p>
<p>Ok, my question was geared towards Internationals in general, but with added perspective, it’s obvious that applying from China, India, Singapore, or even Britan, Germany etc, will probably be a disadvantage.</p>
<p>What about the quality of the applicants, Africa and Latin America will not generate either the number or quality of either India or China, and will likely have much fewer full pay guys. I assume these distributions are taken into consideration,</p>
<p>Even if the acceptance rate is low, looking at the SAT score distributions for instance, applicants may not exactly be competitive.</p>