If you’re a student outside the United States hoping to apply to colleges in the US, you might be confused where to start. To help you on your journey, we’ve outlined materials you’ll need, alongside the timeline through which you have to adhere to as you set yourself on this exciting but nervewracking journey.
It’s helpful to start thinking about colleges once you’re a high schooler. Usually, the second semester of 10th grade is when many students start thinking about a rough college list, as junior year is really the time to set things in motion for the ride you have ahead, as many students visit campuses and take standardized tests starting in the 11th grade. Let’s take a look at how and where you should begin.
Course Selection & Standardized Tests
Colleges in the United States consider students’ academic and extracurricular performances starting in the 9th grade. So, if you’re a 9th grader or rising freshman, it’s helpful to carefully try out different classes and extracurricular activities to ensure you settle on the ones that’ll support you on your road to an American college. Think about what major you want to apply to, and which classes you want to take.
Colleges like to see that you’ve challenged yourself so as you get older, continue taking more rigorous courses in your field of choice. It’s not only crucial that you take the most high level courses in your curriculum, but that you do well in them. Regardless of whether you’re a student who’s taking O-Level/A-Level courses, IB Diploma courses, or AP classes, choose the subjects that can best highlight your prowess in a chosen field.
Similarly, your extracurriculars should be tied to your academic interests if possible. For example, if you’re an aspiring engineer, you should take the highest courses offered in your school in math, physics, and chemistry, as well as find extracurriculars that reflect this interest and strength, whether it’s participating (and succeeding) in science olympiads or starting your own engineering-related project such as building a robot that can help resolve a community issue. US colleges like seeing leadership and initiative in their students.
Once you’re a junior, start planning for standardized tests. Often, colleges in the United States often require that international students take not just the SAT/ACT, but the TOEFL and the IELTS. You can look at each college’s testing policy and requirements and ensure that you register for the right tests at the appropriate time and meet the score requirements. Practice hard so you have to take these tests as few times as possible so you can focus on other parts of your application.
Campus Visits
Junior spring is when most students in US high schools visit campuses. If you aren’t able to travel, no fear—you can take virtual college tours. You don’t have to contact every single school’s admissions office and ask them how to arrange for one. There are several websites that allow you to tour and compare almost every college and university in the United States. These tour sites provide you with interactive maps, photos, videos, and testimonials so that you don’t miss out on any of the experience of a real life tour. Some of the most effective and popular places for virtual college tours can be found in our blog post. Take advantage of the tools on these sites to choose which campus environments stand out to you.
School List
Virtual tours will hopefully help you come up with your school list, which is often tiered. You may have heard of these three categories of schools: “reach” or “dream” schools, “target” schools, and “safety” schools. Consider what you want in a college. What do you want to major in? Do you want to live in-state or out-of-state? Do you want to attend a large research university or a smaller liberal arts college? What cultural or social opportunities are meaningful to you? What’s your ideal learning environment? Look for schools that offer what you want.
Once you’ve narrowed in on some schools you feel are a good match for you, choosing “target” schools is a good place to start. Targets are schools where you have a decent likelihood of being accepted based on a few key factors.
Check out the average GPA and standardized test scores of admitted students for the school you’re interested in–this information should be readily available online. If your GPA and test scores are within the middle 50% of admitted students, that school could be a great target for you. It’s a good idea to have four or so target schools on your list.
Once you’ve found some solid target school options, consider what we like to call “safer” (as opposed to “safety”) schools. These are schools where your grades and GPA make you an above average candidate for admission. Your safer schools should be those where a denial would be surprising.
After gathering your target and safer schools, think about schools that are in the “reach” category–and consider which might be a “smart reach.” A school is a reach if your GPA and test scores aren’t in the mid-50% or above for admitted students, or if the school has particularly low admit rates. Keep in mind that with more students submitting more applications, admit rates have dropped at many schools, and what might have a target school several years ago could now be a reach.
A smart reach is a school where your grades and test scores are still within the range of admitted students, and where you feel you’re a perfect match for the school in terms of vibe and values. Keep in mind that the most selective schools are a reach for everyone, not just you.
Your high school guidance counselor should also be able to help you with choosing your school list, as they have data of acceptances of previous students from your high school as well as information about where students from your grade are thinking about applying.
Letters of Recommendation
Another component to keep track of are the letters of recommendation. Start asking your teachers towards the end of your junior year. You need to check the requirements for each college’s application for the number of letters. Most likely, you’ll be asked to submit a counselor recommendation (aka “the School Report”) as well as letters from one or two teachers. If your school doesn’t have a college counselor, the School Report can be written by the principal, assistant principal, or another advisor.
Junior- and senior-year teachers make the best letter writers. While you might have great relationships with the teachers from your first two years of high school, you’ll have grown a lot as a student and as a person since then. Your 11th-grade teachers are ideal letter writers because they will have worked with you for a full year, and they’ll have a more up-to-date impression of the kind of student you are.
Recommendations should come from teachers of core academic subjects (English, history, math, science, or foreign language). Prioritize getting the best letters over covering a range of subjects. If you’ll get the best letters from your STEM teachers, don’t give up the better letter just to get one from English or history.
The Common App
The Common Application is an application system most students use to apply to college as the platform contains over a thousand schools in one place. Over the summer before senior year, you should make a Common Application account and start filling out the different sections. At first glance, it can seem overwhelming. There are many sections to fill out, and individual schools often request supplemental materials, too. It’s a good idea to start early. Check out our Common App guide so that you know what to expect, how to stay organized, and where to begin.
Essays
The summer before senior year is also a great time to start brainstorming your Common App essay. The overwhelming majority of schools, whether they accept the Common Application or not, will ask you to write a personal statement of around 650 words. This is your chance to tell the colleges what you want them to know about you. It can be hard to know where to begin. Even though the Common App does have prompts, there is also a “topic of your choice option.” Ultimately you can write about anything you wish—as long as it’s a story that is uniquely yours and conveys who you are as a person. As an international student, you probably have very interesting stories to tell! Make sure you choose an essay topic that highlights what makes you, you! Take a look at our blog for more information on the essay.
Many colleges will also ask you to write school-specific supplemental essays to better understand why you’re interested in a college, how you’ll take advantage of its resources and how you’ll contribute to the campus community. Take a look at our blog on common supplemental essay topics to understand the different prompt types.
Deadlines & Different Application Rounds
Once you’ve built your college list, it’s time to decide if you have an early decision school, and where you’ll apply regular decision. You can apply to colleges in the United States through different rounds. Many colleges offer options for early admission, and applying early can come with major benefits. Submitting an Early Decision (ED) or Early Action (EA) application can be an excellent strategic move for communicating to your top schools that you’re serious about attending. Completing an application early is also a great way to build confidence and momentum in your college admission journey. Early decision is a binding path, while early action is non-binding. You can also apply for early decision II, which is a later route, with deadlines around the same time as regular decision. There are pros and cons to each route, so consider your options carefully.
After You’ve Applied
Once you’ve submitted your applications—and make sure you’ve sent in every required component—you should focus on senior year while you wait for decisions. If you get accepted, wonderful, congratulations. You might also be deferred or waitlisted. In such cases, it’s highly recommended that you send the schools a letter of continued interest if you wish to stay on the waitlist and want to continue your candidacy.
Applying to US colleges and universities as an international student can be tough. Hopefully, this guide has given you clearer ideas of good starting points, and ways to navigate the path that lies ahead. Hopefully, you’ll find success on this journey.
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