Hey guys, I have a question about universities selecting students outside of the USA (undergrad). My guidance counsellor says that universities have a pre-decided set number of students they’ll take from certain countries. For example, she says Stanford only takes one student from the whole of India and Princeton only takes two. This idea seems pretty far-fetched to me, do you think there’s any truth to it?
Yes and no. The numbers aren’t as low as your GC has said in your example. However, it’s clear that an unspoken quota exists. The percentage of international students has remained more or less constant in many of the top US unis – despite a faster growth of percentage of international applications relative to the non-internationals.
Thus, while it’s unknown whether there’s some “master list” with hard numbers like X from India, Y from South Korea or Z from Singapore – certainly they can veer year to year – the fact is for top colleges (especially those with generous financial aid) the international pool remains the most difficult one.
@T26E4
I am a US citizen currently residing in India, so do you think I would be at the mercy of the “unspoken quota”?
No. That US citizenship puts you out of the international quota. With US citizenship or perm residence status, you’re golden!
Well – that’s all relative, no? You’ll simply have poor odds like most others. (whereas the international have pitiful odds!) Good luck
@T26E4 thanks!
Similar question - I was planning to apply REA to Stanford, but my GC advised me against it. She said that they’d most likely defer me and decide after receiving more applications, solely because I don’t live in the US and they have a limit to the number of international students. Do you think this is still valid?
You’re not an international. You’re a US citizen living overseas. Why would a US citizen be considered in the international pool?
Great news! Guess my GC was wrong… Thanks!
If you decide on Stanford, you know you’re applying to the lowest admit rate college in the US (save for some conservatories). Applying RD or REA means likely rejection – be fully aware of that. Not a judgment on you – it’s simply THAT competitive. Also Stanford defers a small number. They reject a higher percentage of REA applicants than their peers.
That being said, if you’re OK with that, by all means, apply REA to Stanford. Good luck