Researching schools and applying from overseas- any tips?

[Anonymous]

It looks like we will be moving to Asia for my dd’s high school years. I am trying to think through how this impacts the college research/ application process. We will be returning to the states once a year.

So I am thinking we need to plan some college tours while we are home in addition to the usual family visits, medical stuff, and shopping. (I graduated from an international school in the Caribbean years ago, so I know a bit of the drill.) My parents took me on one 1 college trip in the spring of my senior year to the schools that accepted me and offered scholarship money. I got to pick from those. I am pretty grateful it was that simple.

My dd will have a more challenging profile- she is twice exceptional (gifted/ dyslexic) so I expect high school to be challenging. We have been really focused on the dyslexia remediation and expected to spend the next four years looking at smaller schools with learning support programs. So that plan isn’t going to work now.

How have others navigated this? Are there any resources you would suggest? Are there counselors who specialize in supporting international applicants? The school she will be attending sends students to many countries for college, so I don’t know how much expertise they will have in US schools.

Thanks for any advice you can share!

[Anonymous]

I'm going to try and tackle this, even though I don't have the overseas issue. But I'm a mom of a senior in HS so I might be helpful. We are currently in California.

When my DC was in elementary, we lived a short time in NoVA. So my kid fell hard for Georgetown. Meanwhile my DH graduated from Hopkins and his brother has this ongoing love affair with UVA.

So we were back in DC visiting between freshman and sophomore year, and I took her to the info sessions/tours for those three schools.

Turns out that from her school, her GPA is not high enough for GT, and UVA has a very low out-of-state acceptance rate and they are going to take an OOS athlete, legacy, or valedictorian before they take my kid. Hopkins doesn't consider legacy, so she's not a contender. I felt bad getting her all excited about those schools.

My point is that without a few years of GPA under your DC's belt, and an SAT/ACT score, it's hard to figure out which of the 4,000+ colleges will be right for your kid. My kid would have had higher GPA but she had a six-week-long illness her sophomore year that dragged down her GPA. Obviously I hadn't factored that in.

So I would wait a little and see how your kid is doing, so you can narrow it a little.

What is always a good first step is to drive or walk through different types of campuses, with no intent to consider applying (ie. no pressure), but just to look....like, "here's an example of a large public urban campus, here's a large private urban, here's a suburban, here's one out in the sticks...here's a large school, here's a small, here's a LAC (or SLAC)...here is one with a defined campus and here is one where the campus and city are blended" and you can see what your DC likes.

[Anonymous]

Find a good college counselor in the country you are moving to. Tons of int'l students come to study in the U.S. (I was one) and there are counselors who know the local schools and the admissions people in the U.S. The top kids in my school all got into Ivies, and I went to a top 40 school with a scholarship. The counselor who made this happen also ran an advisory co outside the school doing SAT prep and college counseling. I am sure the same set up exists in other places as it was (still is) a lucrative business.
My plan is to hook up with the same guy or one like him to discuss options for my DS.

[Anonymous]

PP gives great advice. I would start by focusing on helping your DD acclimate to her new school and country. Focus on adjustment socially to high school and helping her adapt to high school coursework. Once you have a feel for where her GPA may end up (mid-11th grade?) start looking at schools. She may need a small, nurturing school or she may want a huge school. If the remediation of her dyslexia is successful, she will likely have the skills and strategies in place to succeed at either place. Also, when the time comes, private college counselors all meet by zoom. It may be worth the investment to start this the summer before junior year. Good luck and enjoy your adventure!

[Anonymous]

American schools in Asia like Singapore American School or Beijing International School will have very capable counselors for both college counseling and learning issues. In fact, we have found them to be more capable and qualified than the FCPS staff in most aspects.

United World Colleges are also good, but more focused on Commonwealth universities. The learning support will be just as good.

There are college admissions consultants in Asia, but many of them are focused on placing international students in US universities. If you can't find someone in Asia, I would suggest establishing a relationship with a West Coast based consultant or someone in Hong Kong, Tokyo or Singapore (since these are the major markets for expat American high school kids) so you can work via videoconference.

[Anonymous]

I will assume that the int'l school in Asia has learning support in place for your child. That's really great b/c IME Asian int'l schools were lacking in this regard since everyone does afterschooling and private tutoring anyway on top of attending school. All the moms had a private counselor on retainer and didn't bother with the school's college counseling.
I would advise close scrutiny of the school's past five years' placement. Something's up if there's a noticeable decline in # of elite admissions. Our school had never experienced competition from franchise schools before and lost many families to the successful for-profit "branded" entities such as Dulwich International or Nord Anglia. Fewer students = fewer resources for services like learning support and robust college counseling
You might want to reach out to some former expats online (usually trailing spouses) who have made third-culture kids the focus of their admissions counseling businesses.
Also, try to determine a list of colleges/universities. Since COVID-19 started up, many institutions have developed sophisticated online sessions and tours. You can still get a feel for the place.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and advice. I will stay focused on the high school transition and start planning trips home to visit family in different locations that will allow for different types of school exposure. We have lived everywhere from a tiny island with 1 stoplight to Brooklyn. So I am really curious what type of environment will appeal to her.

[Anonymous]

Most non-US universities don't pay much attention to extracurriculars, but they are huge in the US. I'm guessing that means that kids in those countries don't pursue nearly as many, and there may not be nearly as many options available.

So you might want to keep this in mind as you are thinking about your kid's development in high school. Look for opportunities to participate/display leadership, even if it is not the most common thing among peers.

[Anonymous]

I went through the process of a applying to college abroad and it was in some ways better — all I had to do was focus on getting the applications submitted. There was minimal peer pressure in the process and I didn’t have to hear about the drama that ensued had I still been at my competitive high school in the U.S.

I relied on general exposure to types of colleges/urban v rural environments that happened over the years to inform my decision rather than visiting a majority of the schools I actually applied to.

[Anonymous]

Will she be at an international school with or an American school with an international student population?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will she be at an international school with or an American school with an international student population?

We are working to find an American school with an international student population. Her dyslexia is remediate so that she is reading well above grade level now, but we want to avoid the high stakes testing that happens in many other programs. Parts of IB would be a good fit, but the level of effort for that program makes us think we will want a traditional AP structure so she can take AP courses in areas of strength and regular course in other topics.