Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 16:01     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could be an advantage to apply to US colleges from a NL high school. It is considered geographic diversity.


Maybe it’s geographic diversity for some universities where European applicants are rare, but keep in mind that international applicants have lower admissions rates than domestic applicants-and a highly selective university may take just one applicant from a country, if any.


Except the applicant isn't an international applicant but a US one - and how many NL college applicants is a school getting. Chinese, Indian, ME, you get boatloads. But, a NL applicant. It would likely stand out for lots of reasons. It is also a good story to tell for the applicant.


You’re confusing the concepts of international student (which is defined based on citizenship and has financial aid implications) and American applicant from an internationally based high school.

Universities may differ in their practices, but applicants are typically judged in the pool where their high school is located, irrespective of citizenship. The reason for that is to have an admissions officer familiar with the school/school system and to compare students within that school system.

Agree that the competition from Netherlands is nothing compared to that from Asian countries, but still Netherlands is a small country, most universities aren’t going to need more than 1 student accepted (if any) to check the box on having a student from that country.


NP this isn't true. Americans overseas are not lumped in with international applications. Even if they're in the same high school. They will likely have the same reader, but not always


And your evidence for this being not true is what exactly? Into which applicant pool would the American overseas students be categorized? Do they get lumped into whatever state/regional pool the admissions officer randomly chooses even if they’ve never set foot in an American high school? No they do not.



Look at any college AOs page. Americans overseas is a category, often broken down by continent or country


That some AOs at some universities may disaggregate data that way for reporting does not mean that the applications are reviewed with all “Americans overseas” competing against each other.

But please do share any public link you’ve seen of such a page that shows that admissions officers are reviewing applications that way.


DP, it's definitely a category for NMF.

Sure, but that says nothing about how colleges consider kids in this category.


+1 Why would you think think that college admissions officers group students in the same way as those who review NMF awards? It's a much smaller sample of students obviously.


Because this isn't unusual. There are many US citizen high schoolers overseas who apply to US schools. They are not treated as international applicants for the most part.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 15:51     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could be an advantage to apply to US colleges from a NL high school. It is considered geographic diversity.


Maybe it’s geographic diversity for some universities where European applicants are rare, but keep in mind that international applicants have lower admissions rates than domestic applicants-and a highly selective university may take just one applicant from a country, if any.


At many admissions offices, there are separate applicant pools for "US citizen living abroad" and "Foreign national". Above discussion applies more to the latter group and often does not apply at all to the former (US citizen abroad) group.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 14:55     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could be an advantage to apply to US colleges from a NL high school. It is considered geographic diversity.


Maybe it’s geographic diversity for some universities where European applicants are rare, but keep in mind that international applicants have lower admissions rates than domestic applicants-and a highly selective university may take just one applicant from a country, if any.


Except the applicant isn't an international applicant but a US one - and how many NL college applicants is a school getting. Chinese, Indian, ME, you get boatloads. But, a NL applicant. It would likely stand out for lots of reasons. It is also a good story to tell for the applicant.


You’re confusing the concepts of international student (which is defined based on citizenship and has financial aid implications) and American applicant from an internationally based high school.

Universities may differ in their practices, but applicants are typically judged in the pool where their high school is located, irrespective of citizenship. The reason for that is to have an admissions officer familiar with the school/school system and to compare students within that school system.

Agree that the competition from Netherlands is nothing compared to that from Asian countries, but still Netherlands is a small country, most universities aren’t going to need more than 1 student accepted (if any) to check the box on having a student from that country.


NP this isn't true. Americans overseas are not lumped in with international applications. Even if they're in the same high school. They will likely have the same reader, but not always


And your evidence for this being not true is what exactly? Into which applicant pool would the American overseas students be categorized? Do they get lumped into whatever state/regional pool the admissions officer randomly chooses even if they’ve never set foot in an American high school? No they do not.



Look at any college AOs page. Americans overseas is a category, often broken down by continent or country


That some AOs at some universities may disaggregate data that way for reporting does not mean that the applications are reviewed with all “Americans overseas” competing against each other.

But please do share any public link you’ve seen of such a page that shows that admissions officers are reviewing applications that way.


DP, it's definitely a category for NMF.

Sure, but that says nothing about how colleges consider kids in this category.


+1 Why would you think think that college admissions officers group students in the same way as those who review NMF awards? It's a much smaller sample of students obviously.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 14:46     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could be an advantage to apply to US colleges from a NL high school. It is considered geographic diversity.


Maybe it’s geographic diversity for some universities where European applicants are rare, but keep in mind that international applicants have lower admissions rates than domestic applicants-and a highly selective university may take just one applicant from a country, if any.


Except the applicant isn't an international applicant but a US one - and how many NL college applicants is a school getting. Chinese, Indian, ME, you get boatloads. But, a NL applicant. It would likely stand out for lots of reasons. It is also a good story to tell for the applicant.


You’re confusing the concepts of international student (which is defined based on citizenship and has financial aid implications) and American applicant from an internationally based high school.

Universities may differ in their practices, but applicants are typically judged in the pool where their high school is located, irrespective of citizenship. The reason for that is to have an admissions officer familiar with the school/school system and to compare students within that school system.

Agree that the competition from Netherlands is nothing compared to that from Asian countries, but still Netherlands is a small country, most universities aren’t going to need more than 1 student accepted (if any) to check the box on having a student from that country.


NP this isn't true. Americans overseas are not lumped in with international applications. Even if they're in the same high school. They will likely have the same reader, but not always


And your evidence for this being not true is what exactly? Into which applicant pool would the American overseas students be categorized? Do they get lumped into whatever state/regional pool the admissions officer randomly chooses even if they’ve never set foot in an American high school? No they do not.



Look at any college AOs page. Americans overseas is a category, often broken down by continent or country


That some AOs at some universities may disaggregate data that way for reporting does not mean that the applications are reviewed with all “Americans overseas” competing against each other.

But please do share any public link you’ve seen of such a page that shows that admissions officers are reviewing applications that way.


DP, it's definitely a category for NMF.

Sure, but that says nothing about how colleges consider kids in this category.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 14:42     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could be an advantage to apply to US colleges from a NL high school. It is considered geographic diversity.


Maybe it’s geographic diversity for some universities where European applicants are rare, but keep in mind that international applicants have lower admissions rates than domestic applicants-and a highly selective university may take just one applicant from a country, if any.


Except the applicant isn't an international applicant but a US one - and how many NL college applicants is a school getting. Chinese, Indian, ME, you get boatloads. But, a NL applicant. It would likely stand out for lots of reasons. It is also a good story to tell for the applicant.


You’re confusing the concepts of international student (which is defined based on citizenship and has financial aid implications) and American applicant from an internationally based high school.

Universities may differ in their practices, but applicants are typically judged in the pool where their high school is located, irrespective of citizenship. The reason for that is to have an admissions officer familiar with the school/school system and to compare students within that school system.

Agree that the competition from Netherlands is nothing compared to that from Asian countries, but still Netherlands is a small country, most universities aren’t going to need more than 1 student accepted (if any) to check the box on having a student from that country.


NP this isn't true. Americans overseas are not lumped in with international applications. Even if they're in the same high school. They will likely have the same reader, but not always


And your evidence for this being not true is what exactly? Into which applicant pool would the American overseas students be categorized? Do they get lumped into whatever state/regional pool the admissions officer randomly chooses even if they’ve never set foot in an American high school? No they do not.



Look at any college AOs page. Americans overseas is a category, often broken down by continent or country


That some AOs at some universities may disaggregate data that way for reporting does not mean that the applications are reviewed with all “Americans overseas” competing against each other.

But please do share any public link you’ve seen of such a page that shows that admissions officers are reviewing applications that way.


DP, it's definitely a category for NMF.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 14:33     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Still waiting to hear from OP if this move is at all with USG/military or not? That is a big factor compared to going true expat in terms of the curriculum.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 14:20     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could be an advantage to apply to US colleges from a NL high school. It is considered geographic diversity.


Maybe it’s geographic diversity for some universities where European applicants are rare, but keep in mind that international applicants have lower admissions rates than domestic applicants-and a highly selective university may take just one applicant from a country, if any.


Except the applicant isn't an international applicant but a US one - and how many NL college applicants is a school getting. Chinese, Indian, ME, you get boatloads. But, a NL applicant. It would likely stand out for lots of reasons. It is also a good story to tell for the applicant.


You’re confusing the concepts of international student (which is defined based on citizenship and has financial aid implications) and American applicant from an internationally based high school.

Universities may differ in their practices, but applicants are typically judged in the pool where their high school is located, irrespective of citizenship. The reason for that is to have an admissions officer familiar with the school/school system and to compare students within that school system.

Agree that the competition from Netherlands is nothing compared to that from Asian countries, but still Netherlands is a small country, most universities aren’t going to need more than 1 student accepted (if any) to check the box on having a student from that country.


NP this isn't true. Americans overseas are not lumped in with international applications. Even if they're in the same high school. They will likely have the same reader, but not always


And your evidence for this being not true is what exactly? Into which applicant pool would the American overseas students be categorized? Do they get lumped into whatever state/regional pool the admissions officer randomly chooses even if they’ve never set foot in an American high school? No they do not.



Look at any college AOs page. Americans overseas is a category, often broken down by continent or country


That some AOs at some universities may disaggregate data that way for reporting does not mean that the applications are reviewed with all “Americans overseas” competing against each other.

But please do share any public link you’ve seen of such a page that shows that admissions officers are reviewing applications that way.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 14:15     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could be an advantage to apply to US colleges from a NL high school. It is considered geographic diversity.


Maybe it’s geographic diversity for some universities where European applicants are rare, but keep in mind that international applicants have lower admissions rates than domestic applicants-and a highly selective university may take just one applicant from a country, if any.


Except the applicant isn't an international applicant but a US one - and how many NL college applicants is a school getting. Chinese, Indian, ME, you get boatloads. But, a NL applicant. It would likely stand out for lots of reasons. It is also a good story to tell for the applicant.


You’re confusing the concepts of international student (which is defined based on citizenship and has financial aid implications) and American applicant from an internationally based high school.

Universities may differ in their practices, but applicants are typically judged in the pool where their high school is located, irrespective of citizenship. The reason for that is to have an admissions officer familiar with the school/school system and to compare students within that school system.

Agree that the competition from Netherlands is nothing compared to that from Asian countries, but still Netherlands is a small country, most universities aren’t going to need more than 1 student accepted (if any) to check the box on having a student from that country.


NP this isn't true. Americans overseas are not lumped in with international applications. Even if they're in the same high school. They will likely have the same reader, but not always


And your evidence for this being not true is what exactly? Into which applicant pool would the American overseas students be categorized? Do they get lumped into whatever state/regional pool the admissions officer randomly chooses even if they’ve never set foot in an American high school? No they do not.



Look at any college AOs page. Americans overseas is a category, often broken down by continent or country
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 13:40     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Is this with the military? We live in NL right now, so I can answer any questions you have if that's why you are going.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 12:07     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

You absolutely get moved to International AO. I already posted we left for senior year only. They had already started tours and process junior year and were told me contact the International AO going forward. They also attended the special International orientation. It was very clear. A separate matter is whether your home state will allow in-state tuition and this varies widely. Had a friend gone for many years that was fine, and we were gone less than a year and weren't.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 11:49     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

I posted above about having a child overseas during high school. In hindsight — I would specifically ask the college counselors how many students each year go to the local universities in country, and do they have regular contacts with the admissions folks. (An international school will definitely have this in country) And then ask for which USA colleges do they have similar relationships. If they are vague and say many, several, etc - they are bs’ing and you will be on your own or get a private college counselor to help. Also get a list of which USA colleges visit the school regularly. Those colleges are essentially recruiting from your school - that makes up part of your short list. Lastly, if you end up in a country that does not do grade inflation, or does the opposite, grade deflation - Be prepared to advocate for your child every term - gpa still matters even when coming from overseas!
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 10:24     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

I lived overseas for several years and interviewed applicants for my American alma mater while doing so. This is just the practice of a single university, and others might differ, but the applicants I was asked to interview were passed along by the alumni group of that country, who received the list categorized by the admissions office. One of those applicants was an American student with parents working overseas in that country.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 09:44     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

My kid did high school abroad. Her application was read by the international AO. How do we know? Because after acceptance sometime in the spring he reached out offering a welcome webinar for the admitted intl students and in it he indicated that he was AO that oversaw their process.
Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 09:27     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could be an advantage to apply to US colleges from a NL high school. It is considered geographic diversity.


Maybe it’s geographic diversity for some universities where European applicants are rare, but keep in mind that international applicants have lower admissions rates than domestic applicants-and a highly selective university may take just one applicant from a country, if any.


Except the applicant isn't an international applicant but a US one - and how many NL college applicants is a school getting. Chinese, Indian, ME, you get boatloads. But, a NL applicant. It would likely stand out for lots of reasons. It is also a good story to tell for the applicant.


You’re confusing the concepts of international student (which is defined based on citizenship and has financial aid implications) and American applicant from an internationally based high school.

Universities may differ in their practices, but applicants are typically judged in the pool where their high school is located, irrespective of citizenship. The reason for that is to have an admissions officer familiar with the school/school system and to compare students within that school system.

Agree that the competition from Netherlands is nothing compared to that from Asian countries, but still Netherlands is a small country, most universities aren’t going to need more than 1 student accepted (if any) to check the box on having a student from that country.


NP this isn't true. Americans overseas are not lumped in with international applications. Even if they're in the same high school. They will likely have the same reader, but not always


And your evidence for this being not true is what exactly? Into which applicant pool would the American overseas students be categorized? Do they get lumped into whatever state/regional pool the admissions officer randomly chooses even if they’ve never set foot in an American high school? No they do not.

Anonymous
Post 12/17/2025 09:22     Subject: Moving overseas for High School?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Could be an advantage to apply to US colleges from a NL high school. It is considered geographic diversity.


Maybe it’s geographic diversity for some universities where European applicants are rare, but keep in mind that international applicants have lower admissions rates than domestic applicants-and a highly selective university may take just one applicant from a country, if any.


Except the applicant isn't an international applicant but a US one - and how many NL college applicants is a school getting. Chinese, Indian, ME, you get boatloads. But, a NL applicant. It would likely stand out for lots of reasons. It is also a good story to tell for the applicant.


You’re confusing the concepts of international student (which is defined based on citizenship and has financial aid implications) and American applicant from an internationally based high school.

Universities may differ in their practices, but applicants are typically judged in the pool where their high school is located, irrespective of citizenship. The reason for that is to have an admissions officer familiar with the school/school system and to compare students within that school system.

Agree that the competition from Netherlands is nothing compared to that from Asian countries, but still Netherlands is a small country, most universities aren’t going to need more than 1 student accepted (if any) to check the box on having a student from that country.


NP this isn't true. Americans overseas are not lumped in with international applications. Even if they're in the same high school. They will likely have the same reader, but not always