Our Counselors Answered:
What can students do to be competitive if they want to go to school outside the US?
Reecy ArestyCollege Admissions/Financial Aid Expert & AuthorPayless For College, Inc.
What can students do to be competitive if they want to go to school outside the US?
Be proficient in that country’s language, assuming it’s other than English, and far exceed whatever requirements are necessary.
Bill PrudenHead of Upper School, College CounselorRavenscroft School
What can students do to be competitive if they want to go to school outside the US?
The fundamental process is not really so different although schools outside the U.S. are not so caught up in the co-curricular aspects of one’s record nor do such things carry the same weight in the admissions process. Indeed, athletic scholarships are something which foreigners view with amazement, if not bewilderment. However they do care greatly about one’s academic interests and record. That part of your record, even more than in the U.S., is the central consideration in their decision making process. Another factor that will be given some consideration is your motivation for studying at a foreign school. What is it that you want out of the experience? Higher education is more academically centered abroad and so that is the focal point.
王文君 June ScortinoPresidentIVY Counselors Network
understanding your position first
each country has very different requriement and competiting for such position is not the same as the system we have it here. in order to be competitive, first you need to ask youself why and how, then what country to apply, finally what school to consider.
王文君 June ScortinoPresidentIVY Counselors Network
understanding your position first
each country has very different requriement and competiting for such position is not the same as the system we have it here. in order to be competitive, first you need to ask youself why and how, then what country to apply, finally what school to consider.
Corey FischerPresidentCollegeClarity
What can students do to be competitive if they want to go to school outside the US?
Strong grades and high testing are important to colleges outside the US. Take SAT Subject Tests, AP exams and/or IB exams, the SAT or ACT. The more high scores you can show the better.
Benjamin CaldarelliPartnerPrinceton College Consulting, LLC
What can students do to be competitive if they want to go to school outside the US?
First, students who want to go to school in a non-anglophone school must obviously be fluent in the language of instruction. Other than that, the same things that will make a student competitive at US colleges will also make them competitive at many international colleges. In addition to a rigorous curriculum, doing well on standardized tests is very important for the most competitive schools.
Americans interested in being competitive at schools like Oxford or Cambridge often take a gap year to study for A level exams.
Karen Ekman-BaurDirector of College CounselingLeysin American School
Being Competitive for Schools Outside the US
Although some universities outside the US might ask for a recommendation or an essay, most don’t. UCAS, the application platform for UK universities, for instance, asks for one recommendation and a Personal Statement. Schools in most other countries will be looking at test scores and grades, so if applying to a competitive university, it is important that those results be strong. If given a chance to write an essay or Personal Statement, it is important to focus on what sets you apart and distinguishes you from other applicants, causing the admissions officers to notice you. This advice applies to application essay writing, in general. In some cases, the very fact that you will be coming from outside the country to which you’re applying will make you a “person of interest”.
Rod BugarinFormer Admissions OfficerColumbia, Brown, and Wesleyan University
What can students do to be competitive if they want to go to school outside the US?
Here is my video response to the question.