My D is applying as an international student with dual citizenship - Russia and Malta. We are native Russians residing in Russia, and Maltese citizenship has been received by us about a year ago. Nevertheless, D would likely use the Maltese passport for the student visa. Malta is underrepresented everywhere and in everything because it is a very small European country with less than a half a million population. Would this detail spark any additional interest in admissions committees? We are not really counting on getting any edge from this, but I am still curious.
The visa question is totally unrelated to the admissions question, except, perhaps, for the ease of getting a visa from one country versus another.
For the Common App at least, one lists one’s nationalities, so your daughter does not get to choose - she lists both. So your basic question of “Will it help?” Well, it depends upon the college. Maybe if all other things were equal, but all other things are never equal. A college will not accept a lesser candidate from one country versus a more qualified person from another country simply to stick another pin in the map. Additionally, it’s likely that the difference between Russian students and Maltese students on any campus is statistically insignificant - both countries are pretty well underrepresented. In fact, based on population size, one could argue that Russia is more underrepresented. Once you get past China, Korea, India, Canada, and a few others, the number of international students per country goes downhill fast. Good luck.
Thank you @skieurope ! This is pretty much in line with what I thought.