<p>I was just wondering. Why would being an international student hinder my opportunity at top schools? I am, for example, from Peru. wouldn't then my competition be the rest of the applicants from south america? which happen to be very few and are, and of course, in general weaker than those from the states?</p>
<p>Thank you for your time.</p>
<p>This issue has been discussed quite a few times. I would say there are two main factors: more international applicants per spot and financial aid.</p>
<p>In general (South American countries might be an exception, I am not sure) there are way more international applicants per international spot than domestic applicants per domestic spot. A college will usually only want one or two international students per country, and if just 100 students (maybe 1 applicant from every 10th high school or so, which is really little) from your country apply that will result in a lot of competition. Since international students tend to concentrate on the top colleges ("Why would I want to pay to attend a second-rate university abroad if I can attend a top university in my own country for free (or at least for less)?"), those colleges receive a particular high number of international applications. In fact, lower-tier colleges often crave more international students.</p>
<p>The second major disadvantage for international students is financial aid. International students have higher expenses than domestic ones (e.g. travel, health insurance, housing over breaks...) and do not qualify for federal aid so all funding has to be provided by the colleges themselves. Those two issues combined make needy international students a lot more expensive for a college than needy American students. For most colleges (even the majority of Ivies) those higher costs are a concern and that's why they limit the number of international students that they will provide with financial aid, making the competition for admission + fin aid even more fierce. On the other hand it means that if your family can afford $50K a year your chances of gaining admittance increase significantly (maybe even dramatically).</p>
<p>On the other hand it means that if your family can afford $50K a year your chances of gaining admittance increase significantly (maybe even dramatically)</p>
<p>............</p>
<p>A la carga caudillos! A la carga dones!! Vamo' </p>
<p>if u dont ask for aid ur chance are almost the same as an Americans...but think about it wud the government of your country give money to international students to study in ur country?</p>
<p>
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but think about it wud the government of your country give money to international students to study in ur country?
[/quote]
Well, yes. German universities are free for German as well as foreign students and international students are eligible for a government-subsidized health plan.</p>
<p>its that the top tiers are not in the service of the world, but of the nation (U.S.). If they accept too many int'ls, the majority of int'ls wont stay in the US, instead they'd go to their homelands, which would be a loss of intellectual human resources for the US.</p>
<p>actually ... but if u look at the brighter side... u may notice that it is a major source of national revenue for America. Accepting students from all over the world to their universities.</p>
<p>It's not quite as simple as the top tiers being in the service of the world/nation. Top universities are businesses at at least some level. Most top US universities receive a great deal of money from the US government, not merely for financial aid, but also research grants from DARPA, NIS, NIH, etc. There is an implicit quid pro quo. The US government provides a vast amount of the operating budget for these schools, and in exchange, the schools educate predominantly US students. It could be possible for a school to educate the world's citizens, but the political/financial cost of that decision would be extreme.</p>
<p>Nor is it purely the US where these trade-offs occur. Professors at Oxford, Cambridge, etc. are ultimately employees of H.M. Government. As a result, the UK schools educate predominantly UK students.</p>
<p>I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that being an international student actually helps in terms of the UK universities, since they pay way more than the domestic students.</p>
<p>That is actually true to a point. UK universities, as a rule, are thrilled with international (non-EU) students, as they pay several times the tuition fees as UK students. And it is true that, because of that, it is easier for a qualified overseas applicant to get into a top UK university than a British applicant. But that does not contradict my original point at all.</p>
<p>The UK government is happy for its universities to recruit abroad. After all, these fees represent cash that the UK government need not provide to the universities, and as long as the universities keep a modest percentage of internationals, then everyone is happy. This is not appreciably different from the US universities. Harvard and MIT each run at roughly a 9% international undergraduate population, and the the US government is happy.</p>
<p>If however, Harvard University decided that it would have a 60% international class, that would certainly hurt its government funding. The same holds true for Cambridge.</p>
<p>After that, it is just a matter of working out how many international applicants there are for that limited percentage of the class. For example, the international admit rate for MIT is roughly 4%.</p>
<p>All said, the top tiers are in the service of the nation, not for internationals who go to their own country to improve their own nation.</p>
<p>well said kowloon...germany can afford to offer free education to international students but america cant...america already has a huge minority population (hispanics and african americans) who can't afford to go to college...so they obviously have to give preference to their own minority citizens</p>
<p>I would like to reiterate a point that b@r!um mentioned. It seems to me that many international students are only applying to top universities, when there are so many lower-tier universities in the U.S. craving them. Perhaps the international community could focus on less prestigious colleges. They can still study in the U.S. and get accepted and get great financial aid packages.</p>
<p>But spirit892, Top Universities are afterall top universities. Here in Nepal, students from prestigious high school strive to get into top colleges even though their SATs are low, plus they cannot afford more than 10K$ per year. I guess this amount too is too much.</p>
<p>Also, top schools often are wealthy schools and are therefore more generous with aid than lesser schools. MIT for example, guarantees to provide enough aid to meet the full financial need of all accepted international students for 4 years. It also has a 4% international admit rate.</p>
<p>Lesser schools may want internationals more (and have a much higher admit rate), but they also may be less able to grant enough aid.</p>
<p>Also, why would anyone want to go to a bad US school? You can always stay in your own country to do that! </p>
<p>That may sound cynical but what I mean is: international students aim high in the US because otherwise they can always stay home and go to school there. The goal is not to go to the US at all costs, the goal is to go to a top college (many of which happen to be in the US).</p>
<p>Can anyone recommend a lower tier college that offers financial aid to internationals? I’m not talking State College quality but reasonable institutions such as DePaul, Sacred heart and Baruch.</p>
<p>AFAIK, there are only 7 schools in the US which for the current academic year are both (a) need-blind for international admissions decisons, and (b) guarantee to meet an international student’s full financial need for all for years. Those being MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Williams and Amherst. Both Middlebury and Lawrence used to do this, but last year Middlebury changed its policy to “Middlebury follows a need-blind admissions policiy to the extent that financial resources allow”.</p>
<p>There are many other schools that offer financial aid to internationals, but many of them do not guarantee anything like full need.</p>