I have been very confused about this particular aspect of college apps for international applicants. I am an immigrant in the US who has been living here for 8 years with an H4 visa. Therefore, I will be considered an international student living in the US. Because I attend school in the US as an international applicant, will I still be compared to other US applicants in my school/region or will I be considered in a pool with other out-of-country international applicants?
Your applications will be evaluated against those of other international students. However, you won’t need to take the TOEFL.
Agree. Adding your GPA and course rigor will be evaluated in context of your HS class and course offerings.
Okay, so when it comes to ECs and awards and volunteer work, the location and types of these will be similar to my peers since we attend the same school and have similar goals in terms of ECS/awards. Will I still be evaluated with international students in this regard, and secondly, does this mean that my chance of acceptance into a top tier school will be lower than that of my peers because I’m not considered domestic?
Your GPA, ECs, and course rigor will evaluated against what’s offered. So what you took and how well you did will be considered in the context of what you could have taken or done. The acceptance rate at elite colleges is lower for international students than it is for US students, so your chance of acceptance will be lower than the chances of your classmates.
@austinmshauri thanks for the info! I was wondering is it possible to find specific stats regarding the number of international students who applied to Ivies/specific acceptance rates.
Agree with austinmshauri above - your academics and ECs are compared to your school peers, but your admission status as domestic/international depends on your immigration status.
Note (this may be part of what’s confusing you) that despite how long you’ve been living here, you are not an “immigrant” if you are on an H4 visa. “Immigrants” have green cards. People that are here on visas are considered international for admission purposes.
@SJ2727 I have not yet received green card status and will not for another 5-7 years. I am currently on H4 visa. You mentioned that this doesn’t make an immigrant. Several schools have listed on their websites that domestic students are only those who are US Citizens, lawful permanent residents (with green card), refugees, and those granted asylum in the US.
So I am assuming because I don’t fit into this category, I am an international applicant (living in the US)
I understand what you are saying, thank you!