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Applying to college as international student, I really hate what is called "the need of diversity " in some schools. When considering your application, the important factors are not high Toefl and SAT scores, or strong essays and recommendations. It is the country where you come from that counts. Colleges tend to accept student from as many countries as possible. from your country. Those colleges want to prove that they have a large numbers of international students, which will strengthen their fame in the country and the world. They are proud to show people in their country that they have international students from 30, 40, 50 or even more on theur campus. Provided that you meet the minimum requirements and you come from the least well-known countries, you will be accepted. In fact, Americam colleges don't need international students. It's just their foreign relations' policy. Considering native students appying every year almost makes them tired. Therefore, students from well-known countries like China or India are unlikely to be acceptedalthough they have top SAT and Toefl scores . Fortunately, there are also many school commit to recruit students based on theis true talents such as Harvard, Yale ( may be because they are already famous, so they don't need to seek fame by that way). My advice for you is that you must pay careful attention to the school you want to apply. If that school already has many students from your country, choose another school.
Good luck.

By Circuitlady (Circuitlady) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 12:23 am: Edit

I'm from New Zealand (I live there anyway) but I'm in fact, 1/2 Japanese and 1/2 Danish. Do you think that would help?

Thanks for your little warning, by the way.

By Xiggi (Xiggi) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 12:27 am: Edit

Would you be kind enough to add some facts to your allegations?

For instance, what is the percentage of students from China or India that are accepted by Stanford? That would be simple enough!

Without that kind of information, your post would be nothing more than a gratuitous diatribe.

Also, the admission process entails far more than superior results on TOEFL and SAT. Don't you think that the college admissions' officers are not keenly aware that a perfect SAT score is not the best tool to predict success at a top university? Don't you think that the college admissions' officers have learned that some countries are known to produce a disproportionally high number of perfect SAT scores.

There are tons of factors that play a FAR bigger role... Financial aid, VERIFIABLE EC activities, VERIFIABLE grades, and also the capacity to integrate.

All in all, there are students that are victims of the "need to diversify" but I am pretty sure that international students are simply not in that category.

However, I would be extremely happy to review your "facts" and endorse your viewpoint...

However