I do not live in the US (living in India), but I have an American passport (not a dual citizen) applying to the top 20 colleges for an undergraduate degree in some STEM-related field. My ECs/ Grades/ Essays are in range for those universities. I do not go to a IB school, but rather to a school that follows a local curriculum.
For an international student, the admission rates into these T20 schools is much lower than for a domestic student. Assuming financial aid is not a factor, would I be considered as a domestic? Or an international student? In terms of likelihood of admission/ applicant pool.
You will be considered as a US student, but you will be considered in the context of your current school cohort. So, if you are at top of your cohort, your odds at the tippy-top universities are in the 5-10% range (depending on the specific school) instead of the 1-2% range. Iow- still a very long shot!
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Domestic applicant, especially for financial aid.
But applying to T30s (ie., all reaches due to selectivity rates, even assuming you’rea top applicant) should be your last step after finding 2 safeties you like and can afford, and 3-5 matches.
Keep in mind that an ORM applicant applying for CS = you need 2 state flagships with about 50% admission rate, solid but not nationally known for CS: UVermont, Penn State, UIndiana, tOSU, UMN…
Then add a few other flagshios, known for CS, that would be targets: UMaryland, for instance (not UIUC, acceptance rate to CS there was about 5%)…
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Thank you! Is this also true for all t20 schools? Or will I be treated as a domestic applicant only for a few schools?
You are treated as a domestic applicant living abroad for all schools, which means @collegemom3717 is exactly correct.
The only instance where it differs would be for publics, where you will still be a domestic applicants, but would pay OOS tuition, in most cases.