International or American?

JoonYup · December 2010

I have an American passport but I go to a school in a different country

When schools see my application, am i considered American or International?

also, this school is very competitive( like 4000 applicants for 144 spots), and its graded by rank, (1-20 get A 21-50 get B etc...)
will this hurt my chances? Because due to this fact my gpa is not as high as students from other schools

xnamelessx · December 2010

I'm in the same situation, I'm an American living in Germany. When it comes to academics you are considered international, but for stuff like financial aid you're an American (as long as you have an American SSN), so don't worry about the schools who say they don't offer financial aid to internationals.

Your counselor will have to explain the grading system in the school profile and it will be taken into consideration.

cvwgigra · January 2011

My understanding from discussing this with college admissions offices is that if you're American, despite the fact that you grew up abroad and were schooled in a different language, you're considered in the stack of admissions applications from other Americans. You are not considered as an "international". Nevertheless your application itself will make you stick out a bit as it obviously represents a totally different background. I know this is disappointing to many as it kind of erases that "advantage". On the other hand so few international students are accepted, the percentage of "national" is still higher.

happymomof1 · January 2011

You are a Domestic applicant because you are eligible for federally determined (FAFSA) financial aid. This is a very good thing.

Depending on where you last lived in the US and/or where your family owns property, you may qualify for in-state tuition and fees at a public college or university. If so, that also is a very good thing.

Since you are attending a local secondary school, it is most likely that your file will be read by the international admissions officer who is responsible for the country where you are currently living. That is because that person is the one who has the most expertise in interpreting academic records from the schools in that country. You may be asked to have your records professionally evaluated by a service such as World Education Services - International Education Intelligence

You should get in touch with the counselors at the EducationUSA advising center that is closest to where you live. EducationUSA - Find an Advising Center If no one in that office has worked with a US citizen recently, they have colleagues in other offices who have. They can be a good resource for you during your application process.

Several students like you have posted here at CC in the past few months. If you run a search for their threads, you may find information that is useful to you.:
harmonium
lilspring
shaneobain
R3d3mpti0n
johnnyquid
MQ1993
shl
studyzone
farhan769
natalle
evzonas
potlee
MrOatmeal

Wishing you all the best!

beeish · January 2011

I was in the same boat - I've always had US Citizenship but lived abroad my entire life. I had a good friend who also - was the child of diplomats in a european country.
You (like people have said above) are considered international in terms of diversifying the population but for everything important (like money) are considered a "normal" student if that makes sense.
Say some private schools only give financial aid to American Students - you'll qualify but you still need to like provide information about your school system and stuff. Although if you are applying to big schools especially Ivies they know and will generally have admissions officers who specialize in school systems outside of the US - especially if its a big country such as China or England for example.
PM if you have any questions

xnamelessx · January 2011

lol. Big country. Like England xD

International or American?

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