Anonymous wrote:Oh, please. The international applicants accepted by highly selective U.S. schools run absolute circles around DCUM’s precious Larlos and Larlas.

no, it really depends. many countries don't have a lot of the tiger parent population so it's easier to stand out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody seems to have mentioned financial aid as the real reason here. An upper middle class kid from India might be able to afford 20k. That means free tuition at most privates. You get nothing in the UK, and have to pay overseas tuition there. The US is way cheaper.

Most selective schools, while need aware for admissions, meet internationals’ full need if admitted. In other words, middle class internationals get free tuition, and donut hole American families pay full freight.

Some highly selective privates will give internationals financial aid, but most colleges beyond T30 do not give need-based aid to internationals.

This is completely untrue. A small number of top schools meet internationals full need.

Anonymous wrote:Oh how interesting! I’m floored by the rise of international applicants. This is a new consideration, more competition, and I’m not feeling happy that these students take *so many* spots at American universities.

New? It is not new. Remember how steeply the number of international students declined, first because of Trump and his immigration policies, and then Covid. And it is a huge plus for America!

In state resident too. Also the family wasn't able to pay for the college

Does Amherst have some majors that aren't competitive or they take special ed kids at larger rates? The person I know who got in 3 years ago was in special ed all their life and never even took and honors or AP class.

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Anonymous wrote:These are private schools. Why does "in state" vs. "out of state" matter?

Might give some indication to what schools favor what. Bowdoin clearly favors Maine applicants, Amherst isn't as fond of their MA applicants. Wellesley is evenly split. Doubt the applicant pools would be dramatically different in academic measures.

Bowdoin admissions talks publicly about their commitment to serving students from Maine. It's a state that historically has had some population declines and brain drain.

Anonymous wrote:Oh, please. The international applicants accepted by highly selective U.S. schools run absolute circles around DCUM’s precious Larlos and Larlas.

Not sure if you consider Northwestern as “top” as HYPSM but if you do, my current student there would love to disabuse you of the notion that his Chinese and Indian classmates run circles around his STEM classmates from New Jersey and Los Angeles.

Wellesley College has some FA for international students but there have been hard feelings because more of it goes to white students from Europe.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nobody seems to have mentioned financial aid as the real reason here. An upper middle class kid from India might be able to afford 20k. That means free tuition at most privates. You get nothing in the UK, and have to pay overseas tuition there. The US is way cheaper.

Most selective schools, while need aware for admissions, meet internationals’ full need if admitted. In other words, middle class internationals get free tuition, and donut hole American families pay full freight.

Can anyone confirm this? I find this outrageous if true.

No. I have never heard of foreign students getting more money than domestic Americans. Just the opposite is true: At all but a few wealthy colleges, overseas students do not qualify for any financial aid. Furthermore, some private colleges are trying to keep prices up and the market "hot" by actively recruiting full pay students from overseas. It's frankly unfair to a lot of good kids both here and in other those countries.

Contrary to popular belief, most internationals at selective colleges seek need-based aid. The majority of selective private schools (SLACs top 40, privates top 60) meet full need for internationals if admitted. Most are need aware for admission though. Yes, the typical middle class Western European (who makes a lower salary than their American counterpart but has all sorts of perks like health care and pension) will qualify for some financial aid — at least 1/2 tuition — at a private, while the donut hole American family gets zilch.

A cursory examination of any Reddit thread for any of these schools will reveal tons of internationals seeking a ton of money because they can “only” afford, say, 30 of 80k. For many of these countries, that puts their families in the top 1%.

Oh, please. The international applicants accepted by highly selective U.S. schools run absolute circles around DCUM’s precious Larlos and Larlas.

Anonymous wrote:What is so wrong with universities abroad? Everyone boasts how strong schooling is overseas compared to America, what the heck happened to their university systems?

Nothing, they can’t get into UK or EU schools, but those with money want their kids to have an advantage. So, US schools get the dumb ones with money in hand. So perhaps not the brain gain we would seek.

Anonymous wrote:What is so wrong with universities abroad? Everyone boasts how strong schooling is overseas compared to America, what the heck happened to their university systems?

international students have been caught up in the same “brand name” fever as students here.

Anonymous wrote:What is so wrong with universities abroad? Everyone boasts how strong schooling is overseas compared to America, what the heck happened to their university systems?

They want to intern and later work here, that’s all

Anonymous wrote:It is incredibly hard as an international student to get into a top US college. You think it is hard for a top American, they expect the top grades and scores and activities. I have worked with both US and international students and it is mind boggling how much stronger the international kid has to be. Which is how it should be as the priority should be Americans. But most colleges outside the very top need international money to keep afloat.

Based on anecdotes from international students, they see life in the USA as generally better than at home but some do see Europe or Canada as safer options these days.

honestly, i am not sure this is the case for every country. i think some of these smaller, poorer, more obscure countries, serve as a kind of a regional hook similar to being from montana etc. i am sure AOs don't want all international students to be from the same country, and differences in size alone are mind boggling.

Anonymous wrote:What is so wrong with universities abroad? Everyone boasts how strong schooling is overseas compared to America, what the heck happened to their university systems?

They are boring…no bigtime sports, no luxury dorms. Just a lot of studying—yuck!