<p>The same things as in a regular candidate, plus good English skills. (Good English is, I think, pretty much a prerequisite for domestic candidates.) High test scores, good recommendations, well-written essays, a track record of the best extracurriculars possible. I use “extracurricular” in the sense of its component parts: things you do outside of class. Sure, some people come from places where there aren’t school clubs and teams of the American kind, but the successful candidates don’t just go home and do work because there are no official student organizations. They do interesting things anyway.</p>