Am I considered an international student?

Question

I am applying to colleges in the US right now and I have heard mixed answers so I was hoping you could clear this up!

I am a dual citizen (US and UK) applying from a boarding school in England. I have not been to school in the US since 5th grade. I have houses in both countries, so can put any of them as my permanent address.

So my question is am I an international student and do I want to apply as one if I am?

My family's income will not allow me to apply for need based financial aid so that is irrelevant.
However, does it improve your chances of acceptance?

Answer 1

Interesting question. I suspect that you'll actually be considered domestic, because it seems at most universities, you're only considered international if you'll need a student visa to study here, or are not either a citizen or a permanent resident. And you won't need a visa, and you are a citizen. For example, Boston University: "Boston University considers an international student to be someone who is neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. Permanent Resident. If an applicant is a U.S. citizen who has been living outside of the United States, he or she will apply as a domestic student." I strongly suspect that you are domestic, but again, do check with each university to be sure.

If you end up being able to choose, then I think that you'd want to try to apply as domestic. International students are expected to be fully self supporting - not even student loans will be given to you. Although, as you said, you may not be eligible for aid based on your income, you could well be eligible for aid based on your grades, which you may not get if you are an international student. And some universities in the US are so expensive that you may need to take out loans to pay for them, which would be made a bit more expensive if you're considered an international student. Lastly (on this subject), many universities will charge a higher tuition rate to an international student than they do to domestic, so there's that as well.

Finances aside, also know that, at many universities, their requirements for admission are more stringent for international students than they are for domestic. You'd need, for example, higher grades coming from the UK than a simliar applicant would, if they were coming from the US. But again, you'll need to check with the individual university to see if this is true.

So it may actually benefit you to apply as domestic, if you can, but use your funky international background in your application. Unis may be interested in you because you'll add diversity to their class.

And again, I strongly suspect that you are considered domestic, but do check with the individual universities to be sure.

Answer 2

As far as I know (and you should check with the schools you're applying to, just to be sure), the determining factor is whether or not you'll need a visa to enter the U.S. Since you're a U.S. citizen, you won't--so you're not an international student.

There really isn't much advantage to applying as an international student, and there are some disadvantages. Besides federal financial aid, there are some scholarships (including some merit-based ones) that aren't open to international students. Some public universities have limits on the number of international students they'll accept, or have higher admission requirements for them. At schools where they're looking to diversify their student body with people of varied and interesting backgrounds, they're going to actually read the details of your application--so they'll know about your international background even though you're not officially an international student. So, I can't see any advantage to applying as an international student.

Answer 3

UPDATE: if you're only concerned with getting in, then you still have to worry about how they consider you because each school may have different "quotas" or a preference to admit local students first etc. You really need to know what the individual school's want/use as their admission decisions.

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You have to speak directly to schools you wish to apply to because there are two different "reasons" that it matters whether you're considered international or not.

Firstly, the admissions department would likely consider you international because the bulk of your education (and especially your recent education) was not in the US. The admissions department only cares about evaluating your academic qualifications, and an international student is one who has non-US qualifications.

Secondly, the tuition fee structure is different for US vs. international students. Even out of state students pay a different rate. Usually, this is determined by having a home address, citizenship etc. So, in terms of what you'd have to PAY, probably you can get away with the cheaper, US rate.

This is why you'll have to speak to the universities/colleges themselves -- you may apply as a US citizen, but they might have to evaluate you as an international student. When you do contact them, emphasize that you ARE a US citizen with a US permanent address, because if you get the choice, you'd rather NOT be considered (from a payment standpoint) an international student! :)

Answer 4

Applying as an international student will not qualify you to receive any federal financial aid. If you are a US citizen you will qualify for a lot more scholarships etc. than an international student would.

So if you get a choice, make sure you understand the implications! We had lots of students who were US citizens but had hardly lived in the US at all because their parents worked for the State Department etc. but they still qualified for financial aid at least.

Answer 5

As an international student, you are severely limited in the number of scholarships and work-study programs that will be available to you. I am not even sure you'll be able to apply as an international student if you are in fact a US-passport holder.

Answer 6

what ever you do, do not apply as an international student because the college will charge you double or triple for the program !trust me been there done that, now if you have a social security number you are all set to go my friend , you can get a loan or a scolership if you want! good luck

Answer 7

No! because you are an American citizen,
which makes you elegible for all the benefits of America
which is Schools, Government, housing, all you need to
do is sign up, with a U.S. address and passport,even if you're
doing it from England.

Answer 8

Your not an international student because you have lived in both places and you are a citizen in both.

Answer 9

You're not going to get a straight answer from any of us.

Just email or call the admissions office of whatever schools you're looking to apply to.

Answer 10

No, you're not... YOU ARE A US (and UK) CITIZEN... so you're not..