<p>is experiences in different countries a good deciding factor in the admission to top colleges. i have lacked ECs and leadership to due moves to different coutnries, but could living in 4+ countries compensate for that.</p>
<p>for example, would college choose.</p>
<p>kid A. perfect academic. great ECs with 3 leadership positions. attended public school in United states. </p>
<p>kid B. perfect academic. great ECs with 1 or 2 leadership positions. but lacks the consistence as kid A and shows some inconsistent in ECs. EC not as great as kid A. and having lived in 4+ countries each more than 3 years. less APs than kid A due to schedule.</p>
<p>considering they have similar SAT, essay, character…</p>
<p>You need to show it in positive view. What did you learn from your travel? Are you multilingual? What was special about things that you did? What did it teach you? You have to think and present your whole applicatioin in the view that will be very benefitial for your story.
Many colleges want diversity- well, part of diversity could be a kid who lived in several countries and seen it all ;)</p>
<p>I believe colleges look very favorably on TCK applicants. My D was born in the US but has lived overseas since pre-K. She has had truly unique opportunities and experiences that her state-side peers have not. She was recently accepted ED to a very competitive university. From what I have seen on her school’s TCCI site most students are accepted to elite colleges. Admissions people seem to realize how difficult it is for TCKs to engage in community service based ECs (cultural and language difficulties) and frequent moves make it nearly impossible to pursue some leadership positions. With solid academic stats and a well presented application (especially essays) you have a very good shot at a lot of great schools.</p>
<p>Muratbay, its not just that youve lived in several countries that is important; its what youve done with and learned from the experience that counts and how you are able to articulate it on your application. I believe that colleges are looking for kids who have had interesting and unusual life experiences. By admitting Americans who have lived abroad colleges can fulfill a desire for cultural diversity without worrying the language, visa and financial concerns that they may have with international admits. Third culture kids can contribute to the campus community by bringing a global perspective that many American kids lack.</p>
<p>What you need to do is to figure out what you gained from the experience of living in these countries and get that point across loud and clear on your applications in your essays, in your interviews, in your resume, in your recommendations. (For my son, I felt that living in a third world Islamic country was an extracurricular in itself.) This is a trump card but YOU need to play it.</p>
<p>Holycow, Congratulations to you and your daughter! Details, please. . .:)</p>
<p>holycow what is TCK applicant?
Being overseas for such a long period, i have been unfamiliar with any of the college admission process which could have made me a far better applicant for the college.</p>
<p>I’m really worried after looking at the great achievers applying to top colleges and getting rejected. I have a great academic performance since it is unchangeable no matter where you live.
but my ECs has been inconsistent. my ECs in my 9/10 years have been mediocre. but now i found it easier to particpate in the ECs i enjoy in the states. so i’m participating in ECs which can be contrasted with my performance in previous years. Some people said colleges will think badly that suddenly you started bunch of ECs in my junior year.</p>
<p>i’m also worried about the particpation in sports. i have participate in varsity sports previously, but in my new school the different level and transportation disabled me from particpating in any sports. is sports that important. but i’m sitll participating in sports outside of school</p>
<p>i’ve always been the new kids in the school. so it has been hard for me to attain leadership positions since it is more based on your familiarity and popularity instead of accomplishment. isn’t leadership a very important factor in admission. but i lack them.</p>
<p>would college understand the circumstances i was in.
people might say that i was oversea so i could participate in saving the foreign kids and learning to speak 2 more languages. but i only speak the language enough to communicate basically.
would colleges expect more from students like us. or is the experience and the what i have learned from it more important.</p>
<p>TCK means third culture kid, one who is not particularly tied to the culture of their home country, nor to the country/culture where they are living - in my D’s case she is American by birth and cultural identity, but has lived in 3 different Asian countries since she was four years old. Similar to your situation, she moved during HS and was unable to consistently pursue some activities. I had several discussions with Admissions representatives at college fairs who said TCKs bring a whole set of unique skills to a freshman class. I can’t answer your question about sports and leadership except to say that they did not play a huge role in my D’s application. I think Momrath gave you excellent advice. </p>
<p>Momrath, I’d love get into all the details of my D’s college application and ED acceptance, but I am wary of public message boards. Thanks for all the advice you gave me over the past year or so.</p>
<p>I agree with the consensus. Write an essay about your experiences with other cultures. Who cares if moving cost you an election as Vice-President of the junior class or continuity in sports? But, if you had the cultural advantage of living in a number of countries and have nothing interesting to show for it, I’d black ball you in a heartbeat.</p>