<p>is it harder for international students to get into awesome or iv league skools than american residents?</p>
<p>yes yes yes</p>
<p>why?? thts not fair</p>
<p>sry man, but thats the truth....american citizens pay taxes so their education is cheaper...why should they make it easy for internationals?</p>
<p>Vats, I know I sound pedantic, but puh-lease find a more suitable title for your thread other than "question".
Surely it is harder for us internationals to get into an awesome OR Ivy League school (interesting vision), if we are ON FINANCIAL AID. That's because of two reasons:
1. As boomer said, US citizens pay taxes, which means they are eligible for Federal Financial Aid (federal grants, subsidized STAFFORD loans etc.). Moreover, there are lots of private scholarships designed for American citizens. US Institutions of Higher Education do not have to invest nearly as much of their money into an American student on Financial Aid (that's where the Government or other sources chip in), whereas they have to provide the whole aid package for an international requesting it.
2. The competition for these aid packages is understandably much keener for international students than it is for Americans, as the pool of qualified students is larger than in case of Americans. Do not get me wrong, I am not implying to say that the Americans who enter these institutions are less qualified, but there are lots of equally high-achieving students in other countries (especially developing ones) who pin for a place in an American university. The demand is higher and the scholarships are scarcer.</p>
<p>Now, if you were talking about not applying for Financial Aid, then I think that internationals would actually have a slight advantage over equally qualified American students, because they would enhance the institution's diversity. Again, I perceive this to be a slight advantage, which I suppose varies from one place to another.</p>
<p>in MIT the acceptance rate is 14% for US applicants and 5% for internationals...</p>
<p>well im not looking for financial aid or scholarship. happy to merely get in.</p>
<p>Then I think (and again, this is my speculation) that you will have a slight advantage over americans in applying to colleges that are need-conscious in regard to internationals. What I'm sure about and is pretty obvious, actually, is that you are going to have an advantage compared to those asking for Financial Aid.</p>