OK, so I am asking this question for a friend.
He attends an online high school which is based in Europe, he lives and studies in the US with the exception of their summertime seminar classes which take place abroad. He has been informed that he will be viewed as an international applicant. Is this an error or is this accurate? He has been offered interviews in Europe, but he lives in the US.
Will he be held to the same application standards as US applicants? Will this impact his financial aid? We’ve both heard that getting in as an international student is near impossible at some schools, will he be read as an international student or will he be considered as a domestic one, for the purpose of their statistics and unofficial “quotas”.
I know they don’t have set quotas but let’s try to be realistic here, we all know that colleges want a diverse population from a variety of countries and generally have a soft limit on the admission of international students.
If it helps at all, his school is based out of Belgium, which is not massively over represented in admissions process. However, he has never been to Europe…
Yes, he is a US citizen and he has lived in the US for the entirety of his life
Wait, is he applying to schools in the US? Or in Europe? I’m confused because the title thread is “non-US school” yet you talk about colleges wanting diversity, and Belgium being under-represented. Most universities around the world don’t give a hoot about “diversity” – that’s a uniquely American value.
He will be a domestic student with some international school records for US universities. He will be an international student for non US universities.
I meant that he attends a non US school but is applying to colleges in the US
true on the diversity though, I am applying to German Universities and was pleasantly surprised by how simple the application was. I was told by my British friend that it is seen as unethical to even mention minority or legacy status when applying. Particularly legacy status is viewed as an attempt to “bribe” them or something. Very interesting
There are two steps:
1° Admissions: these take place regardless of citizenship, but within the parameters of the educational system (for instance, adcoms would know that A-LEvels only include 3 subjects, so wouldn’t ask for 5 core subjects; they’d know a British B is the equivalent of an American A- because the scale includes E goes to G…)
2° Financial Aid: citizens are treated differently from internationals, regardless of where they were educated, because some may be residents of a state, and all qualify for federal loans.