<p>Out of curiosity, does anybody knows who the main competition for international students are? Is it mainly the others applying from the same country, or is it the entire international pool? Does it make a difference what country you are applying from e.g. an over-represented Asian country against a more densely populated country?
Thank you anybody who can clear this up!</p>
<p>No clear cut answer, but applying from a country where you are the only applicant would offer some advantage. The extent of the advantage is debatable.</p>
<p>I think it would be regarded by race & region. Like people from China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan would have a bigger disadvantage than people from East Europe or Africa because they are overrepresented…</p>
<p>I think that there is competition within one’s own country/region. Highly-selective schools have huge pools of Chinese and Indian students to choose from - so those students have a lower chance for admittance than a student who is applying from a country that has few applicants.</p>
<p>Schools want diversity amongst their int’ls as well.</p>
<p>^ Would around 32 applicants from a country be a few or a lot?</p>
<p>How small is the country?</p>
<p>I am from Nepal. Every year there are at least 200 students applying to elite schools of the US. The competition is really fierce. On top of everything, hardly 20 out of those 200 students are willing to pay everything. That means, the aid required by Nepalese students is really high. During the admissions, we usually compete with our counterparts from other nations who are willing to pay high. This matters a lot. As an international student, if you can’t pay good amount of money to US schools, you have high chances of getting rejected. The competition sometimes is between schools of Nepal itself. And sometimes even between friends studying in the same school. Every year, the rejection list is longer and longer. People who are crazy about studying in the US even wait for the next application session. There have been students who continuously applied to same school for 3 years after completing high school. I know it sounds like a crazy s***. But, it is true! Our inability to pay for our education makes the whole process really difficult and frustrating. :(</p>
<p>^^ New Zealand, approx four million people.
I just said 32 because I heard a year or two ago, 32 people applied to Princeton (so that would probably be more or less to other schools).</p>
<p>Of the 32 from New Zealand, how many got admitted? 2? 3? more? less?</p>
<p>Are you applying to any safety schools or do you need lots of financial aid?</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>^ I’m not sure, I think it was a few. At my school, a few students get into the Ivies each year. I will not be applying to safeties in the US and may need a bit of FA. I want to major in Ethnics, Politics and Economics or Political Science.</p>