pros and cons of being an international applicant?

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>I see all these posts saying that if youre an international applicant, its disadvantageous. First of all, is that true? </p>

<p>Also i would like to know if there are any Pros as well as Cons of being an international applicant. (How it will affect my admission chances)</p>

2

<p>Colleges limit the number of foreign students from each country to maximize international diversity (i.e they’d rather have a 100 students from 30 different countries, rather than 100 students from 3 different countries), so it is advantageous to be from an under-represented country, like Burkina Faso or Lichtenstein. If you are applying from China, India or SKorea, you are competing against your countrymen in a very crowded field.</p>

<p>FYI: stats on international students
<a href=“​Open Doors | IIE - The Power of International Education”>http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>There are no pros.</p>

4

<p>Oh gosh</p>

5

<p>Pros I guess is that some public colleges take international full fee paying students to gain revenue, which can then be used for financial aid to domestic students </p>

6

<p>There are very, very few, if any, pros to being an international applicant. US colleges cater to US students (obviously), and in my opinion, there are only two reasons US institutions accept international applicants: 1. there are a lot of students and families out there willing and able to pay full fees. (see @blu5959’s post above) and 2. for diversity.</p>

7

<p>There is no pro for being an international student

  1. There is a cap in international students’ number in each school.
  2. Almost all of them are need aware, and only 6 are need blind(7 if you are applying in the US)
  3. Vast majority of private scholarships and merit scholarships are limited for permanent residents and citizens.
  4. You can’t work outside the campus.</p>
8

<p>Pros</p>

<ol>
<li>You get to learn the “American” way of freedom.</li>
<li>Most world leaders are American educated</li>
<li>You can learn some thing that is not easily being educated in your home country</li>
<li>Relatively low barrier of entry in higher education and most of them is better.</li>
<li>Environment for you to grow that is not available in your home country.</li>
<li>Better chance to get an advanced degree.</li>
</ol>

9

<p>^ While true, none of these will help the applicant’s admissions chances, which is the OP’s question.</p>

10

<p>Wait, can internationals get an internship?</p>

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<p><a href=“Internship while on a Student Visa - International Students - College Confidential Forums”>Internship while on a Student Visa - International Students - College Confidential Forums;

12

<p>Yes, internationals can get internships, those are called CPT if off campus (if it’s a sort of apprenticeship to a prof while on campus, it does not cut into your CPT time - you’re allowed up to 40 hours/week of that over the summer, and up to 20 hours/week during the yea; in order to get that, of course, you need to be very very good since the professors don’t care whether you’re American or not, they hire whoever’s the best).
Internships off campus: Currently, you can have 12 months total CPT + OPT if you’re in a field outside of STEM, and 27 months if you’re in a STEM field.
Note that co-ops don’t count for OP/CPT and that the current immigration reform will make it easier for STEM graduates to stay on OPT until they can qualify for permanent resident papers.</p>

<p>The ONLY admission “boost” as an international is if you’re full-pay.
Being from India, Korea, or China as an international, financial-aid seeking applicant is the worst possible scenario. But being from anywhere and not being full pay makes any safety a match, any match a reach, and any reach basically a 1 in 100 or less chance.</p>

13

<p>I want to add that international students can also get offers of sponsorship from American companies for H1B visas (albeit extremely difficult) to stay in the U.S. after graduation</p>

14

<p>You can get your home country sponsorship for your study in the USA.</p>

15

<p>“You can get your home country sponsorship for your study in the USA.”</p>

<p>Hmm, the thing is, in most of developing countries like mine, there are really VERY FEW AND LIMITED (which means, specifically targeted with requirements - pursue a major in Engineering, or to then work for 3 years in home institutions) International Undergrad scholarship from the country itself.</p>

<p>Frankly there are more chances of scholarship from the targeted univ itself.</p>