It is important to understand the application timeline, especially if your country has an academic schedule that is different from the U.S. system where the academic year starts in late August or early September and ends in May. The vast majority of students will apply for fall intake (to start their university studies in September). However, some do apply for spring intake, meaning that they will start in January.
There are three methods of applying to college – Early Decision (ED), Early Action (EA), and Regular Decision (RD).
Regular Decision applications are normally due in early January (often January 1). However, some may be due earlier, as in the case of colleges in the University of California system. Regular Decision applicants are usually notified of their admissions decision in late March or early April.
For both Early Decision and Early Action applications, you have an early deadline (usually November 1 or November 15) and also get your admissions decision back earlier. However, Early Decision is different from Early Action in that if you are accepted to a school under their Early Decision program, you are obligated to attend.
It is important to choose the colleges you will apply to strategically. Colleges are often categorized as either ‘safety schools’, ‘target schools’, or ‘reach schools’, depending on how your application compares to that of the average accepted student at that institution.
‘Safety schools’ are colleges where you are likely to be admitted, taking your grades in high school, standardized testing scores, extracurricular involvement, and other application components into account. ‘Reach schools,’ in contrast, are those that would be difficult, but possible, for you to get accepted to.
For international students who may have different grading systems and varying levels of extracurricular opportunities available to them, one of the easiest ways to roughly determine which schools would fall under which category for you is to compare your standardized testing scores with that of previously accepted students.
If your SAT or ACT score is better than the 75th percentile score for a particular institution (meaning that you did better on your standardized tests than 75% of students who were accepted), this is potentially a safety school for you. However, this also depends on how your extracurriculars, essays, and letters of recommendation compare. It should be kept in mind that outstanding test scores do not in any way guarantee your admission to a particular college, so you should have several of these ‘backup options.’
However, you should not only consider your likelihood of getting accepted — many other factors will help you determine where to apply. As you build your school list, consider various attributes including weather, accommodations, financial aid and tuition cost, and types of extracurriculars or academic strengths.
For international students, it can be useful to follow schools you might be interested in on social media. Colleges might post photos of students enjoying activities on campus, inform you about research opportunities, and generally give you a better idea of college life.
Virtual campus tours can be particularly helpful. These tours allow you to explore campus and learn what makes that institution unique (who knows, you might even use a fun fact from a tour in a supplementary essay!). Virtual information sessions provide a complementary opportunity to hear from admissions officers, and sometimes even current students, about campus life. Here you might be able to ask the more specific application-related questions you have, as well as gain a more detailed insight into what qualities the college is looking for in applicants.
Lastly, though applying to college as an international student might be a challenging endeavor, keep your reasons for doing so in mind. Whether you hope to pursue graduate school or employment in the U.S., do undergraduate research, or just take advantage of a flexible but rigorous academic system, attending college in the U.S. can be incredibly rewarding.
Once you complete the extensive and often stressful application process, you can look forward to the prospect of engaging with bright minds from around the world on a college campus in the United States.
Lara Van Rooyen, Harvard ‘23. If you want to get help with your college applications from Lara or other CollegeAdvisor.com Admissions Experts, click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.
