Hey, my name is Anthony, 15 years old and i’m from Belgium.
So before i get into what my goals are, here is a little bit of background of my situation.
I’ve always been in trouble, i’ve had a very rough childhood and i have had alot of problems with childcare, mental isseus like autism & depression and school. My dad died when i was born, my mom had cancer and was addicted to pain killers for a very very long time. i have been in multiple “foster institutions” & have been in a sort of juvenile for something i didn’t do. (was an act of racism), i don’t exactly look white but not like a muslim either. Kind of like an italian. I do have a good reputation at childcare though. I can’t recall the last time i’ve actually finished a year in school but i know i can do it. I wanna pick myself up and make something of my life. I’m a really smart kid & i’m not really like any other kid around here. I can easily get a really high score for every class and i’m gonna pursue finishing my high school and going to university in the U.S.A.
I’m gonna enroll into Architecture, Arts, or something with photography or audio engineering. I absolutely love history, arts, physics, basically anything that has to do with subjects like this. I’m not quite sure yet what i wanna pursue in college or as a career. I know i’m not your typical above average student but i wanna pick myself up and make the best out of myself.
Do you guys think i could still get a good career and study in a good college in the U.S.A ?
My english is near perfect, i even sound like an American & people say i’m really smart when i truly want to be.
Hi Anthony,
Wow thank you for sharing your story. I think that you absolutely have a chance of being successful in life. You sound very intelligent and I have no doubts that you will have many opportunities to succeed in the US. As long as you have the conviction and work ethic, you’ll be able to do anything. You shouldn’t worry too much about your circumstances in college admissions. Colleges here take those things into consideration and maybe those events will help inspire some great college essays!
Best Wishes!!
Now that you’ve decided to commit to improving yourself, you will be successful. Whether or not you come to the US for you education.
As for being admitted to a US university, it’s about the money, the grades, test scores, and where you choose to focus your applications. The universities in the US will prioritize American students; this includes the highly regarded universities. International students are guests, so the spaces are limited.
The US has over 3000 colleges and universities; some are big, and some are small. Some are in remote locations and some are in large cities.
Thanks for the kind words man, I really regret not posting here earlier, i’m getting real motivation right here and it’s really cool that you all take the time to reply to me.
Of course you can be successful! So many times the most successful people are those who believe that they had rough starts in life. Are you Flemish or Walloon?
You are only 15 years old, and are clearly very articulate and write very well. If you are Flemish and fluent in English, then I am assuming that you are clearly at least bilingual and probably on your way to be trilingual or more. This is already impressive.
It is definitely not too late. I have seem smart motivated students pull themselves together at a somewhat older age after a rough start and still do very well in life. You do have time to become very successful in life.
Are you currently in high school? You need to start by working hard in high school and getting high grades from now on. If you were not a good student at some points in the past, then you might need to catch up in some areas. Math is particularly an area where what you will learn in the future depends upon what you have already learned, and therefore where catching up is necessary for some students.
After that when it is time to look at universities you should consider a range of schools. There are only a few universities in the US which meet full financial need for international students, and they are all very competitive. After that university in the US tends to be expensive, particularly for international students.
Do you have any idea of what your budget will be when it is time to look at universities?
Colleges and universities in the US are very expensive.
Many US residents cannot afford the costs of college for their children so, you need to be aware of the high costs.
Assume $50K to $70K USD per year. Depending on the school.
Can you be successful? Yes, absolutely yes. You can turn things around… You’re only 15!! You can go to university, receive an education, and become all that you want.
BUT… is it likely to begin at an American college? That’s a little less likely. Is there a reason why you’ve decided to come here instead of attending a much cheaper school in your own country?
I wanna go there because of the culture, the networking opportunities.
Basically i feel like i’m an americab born on the wrong side of the world.
It’s my biggest dream for me to be able to live in the U.S.A, maybe become a freelancer, open a bussines.
I’ve been thinking about what i wanna do.
The jobs i really like are:
Architect (Landscape or Interior)
Environment Artist for Game Designers (Treyarch, Infinity Ward, etc)
So something with Architecture and 3D.
I’ve also red about militairy service, apparently it’s benefitial for multiple reasons.
If you come to the US, assume it is ONLY for your education.
Plan on spending a large amount of money for your tuition and fees. Assume $40-70K per year.
Immigration rules are strict. You are expected to return to your country after you graduate.
US employers have to state to the government that there are no available US citizens for job openings, before considering a non citizen. In architecture and gaming, that’s not going to happen.
I agree with your message, but I’ll have to disagree with the content of what you said. In practice, employment-sponsored immigration would work like this:
After graduation, start working on OPT, which comes built into your student visa. This can be extended for up to 3 years.
Meanwhile, the employer applies for an H-1B visa. H-1Bs are temporary work visas that can be extended for up to 6 years.
After several years of work experience, the worker possesses a combination of specialized skills that aren't easily available in the labor market. (E.g. experience with software A and B and C. Lots of people know each of them, but only few know them all.) The employer can use this company-specific experience to petition for the worker's permanent resident status. This is the only step in the immigration process where the employer has to certify that no qualified American applicants were available for the position.
Maybe numbers are helpful. Here’s the number of labor condition applications that were certified for different occupations in FY2017. That’s the first step to apply for an H-1B visa:
1,218 architects (excluding landscape and naval)
261 landscape architects
132 naval architects
549 interior designers
2,073 graphics designers
559 multimedia artists and animators
about 120,000 software developers. that includes programmers in game development.
Although I doubt there are more than a few Belgians here, you should be careful about disclosing your information.
You are 15 years old, so you still have some time to prepare! Does your country care a lot about college names?
Before anything, you should focus on academic success in high school/self-teaching and getting into colleges. Getting jobs as an international student in US is not easy at all(depends on field though) and political climate has significant effects on it. We won’t know how things will change in next 8 years.
You said you like architect/art/history/physics/photography/audio engineering, but you have to narrow down to at most two so that you can focus better and leave others as hobbies. Invest your time in fields you are good at, prep for SAT/ACT so that you can hav better chances for merit scholarships.
The amount of OPT you can have depends on your major. For some majors, the OPT can be extended. For some it can’t. Also, the rules can be changed at any time, so right now, there is no way to predict what the situation will be by the time you finish. At the present, the maximum OPT extension possible is to 3 years.
You have to find the job before you graduate from college, and you need to start working there right away after you do graduate. Many employers do not hire people with OPT, so you need to study at a college or university that has good job placement for international students.
Your employer can apply for an H1B visa at any point in time, but usually they wait as long as possible. The visas are not guaranteed. There is a lottery that determines which of the positions that have been approved actually get a visa. There are many more applications than approved positions, and many more approved positions than actual visas. Lots of people get to that point and find that they won’t be able to have an H1B. This is why everyone is telling you that you need to make certain that you can get a job in your own country (or in another country where you definitely have work permission).
Frankly, at the present time, the fastest way to get permanent permission to work in the US is to marry a US citizen. I am not telling you to get married just for work permission. That is marriage and visa fraud and will get you in big trouble for sure. However, if you do come here to study, and you do find your dream person, the two of you might put serious thought to marrying sooner than rather than waiting.
Yes, in broad terms, but there’s a few details you should be aware of.
There's an annual cap on the number of H-1B visas that may be issued, and a lottery to decide which applications get processed. In the current cycle, there were 85,000 visas available for 190,000 H-1B petitions. Applicants with a Bachelor's degree had a 38% chance of getting drawn. Applicants with a Master's degree or above had a 51% chance.
Luckily, you get multiple shots at the annual H-1B lottery during your 3 years on OPT. Which brings me to the second point:
In order to get 3 full years of OPT, you need to major in an approved STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) subject. Everyone else only gets 1 year of OPT. Study the list of approved and non-approved programs carefully before you choose a major because similar programs can have different STEM determinations. For example:
STEM: Architectural and Building Sciences/Technology (CIP 04.0902)
not STEM: Interior Architecture (04.0501), Landscape Architecture (CIP 04.0601)
*STEM: Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics and Special Effects (CIP 10.0304)
not STEM: Photographic and Film/Video Technology (CIP 10.0201)
Wow. first of all, thanks for taking the time out of your day to write all of this, this definitely gave me some insight and made me much wiser. There is one thing i do wonder though, If i would get a bachelor degree here in Belgium, would i be able to get another one in the U.S?
Also, i’ve red about scholarships. Are they really as good as people say ? would i be able to receive one as an international student ?
And now i’m gonna have to go out-of topic with this one but, since i’m only 15 years old, what would you recommend i’d do to build a strong resumé for college applications ? I’m on my way to becoming multilingual so i think that’s always a good thing, right ? I’m really intrested in learning Spanish & Latin. So basically i’m trying to educate myself in as many fields of intrests so i’ll have a solid foundation in what i wanna do later on.
If anyone could recommend me some books on Architecture, Anatomy, Arts, that would really be helpful.
There usually is no reason to get a second bachelor degree, and there would be no financial aid available for you to do that. You could come to the US for a semester or a year of academic exchange, or you could come for a master degree after finishing your undergraduate studies.
Some colleges and universities do offer scholarships to international students. There are two basic kinds: merit (for your grades and ACT or SAT scores), and need (based on your family income). You need to find out how much your parents will pay for an education here. If you need a lot of aid, have excellent grades and test scores, and you don’t care where you study, you probably can find a place that will give you enough aid. But for that to work you do need almost perfect grades and test scores, and you really truly can’t care much about how well-known the college/university you end up attending is.
