International Students Thinking of Applying to US Colleges? Here’s What I Wish I Knew!
- The college process is a marathon, not a sprint.
- There is no perfect college.
- It’s important to know what you personally want in a school.
- Secondary school in the United States is very different than schools in Europe. Extracurriculars are emphasized more in the U.S., and the SATⓇ is a different type of test than what many European students are used to.
- Most importantly, identify your strengths and use them in your application.
- Get more tips about applying to college and financial aid on Socratic Summer Academy's blog!
Here’s What You Should Know About Applying to Colleges in the United States as an International Student:
I was 15 when I decided to go to college in America - after growing up in Paris, France.
I knew that in the end, it would be worth it - and it was. I got into the school I wanted, Williams College in Massachusetts, and set off to a new life in the U.S. when I was 17. But it was not easy, and many times, I wanted to give up and just do what was easy - to stay.
The college process really should be compared to a marathon rather than a sprint:
- You collect the little pieces of the application slowly but surely, and eventually have everything you need.
- It’s important to think of it as a package of things: yes the SATⓇ is important, but if you have good grades, an interesting personality that shows through your personal essays, and cool activities, that might be enough.
There is no perfect school.
- Choosing a school is something that you should put serious thought into, but not agonize over.
- Some things to think about are big vs small school, because the feel and experience will be completely different, and the location: do you need to be near a major city or are you fine being in the middle of nowhere? What majors is the school known for? Do these include what you want to study? Then, of course, comes the question of price and financial aid, which depends on your situation.
Know yourself and be specific: What do you PERSONALLY want?
- Personally, I really wanted to go to a liberal arts school, because I was attracted to the idea of not having to choose a major right away. I wanted a small school because having a campus feeling and community was important to me. And, also, I did not want a school with frats.
Zoé Chevalier, who grew up in Paris, writes about her experience as an international student in America
Extracurriculars!
- For international students, things are more complicated because the US education system does not resemble that of most other countries. Most international students do not have the time for the myriad of extracurricular activities that are a normal part of the American high school experience, and the SAT Ⓡ can be a huge burden.
The SAT Ⓡ
is really different from the tests you take in Europe.
- In France, most of our exams were essay-based, and I had not been trained on multiple choice questions. I spent the summer before my senior year of high school practicing. Everything was hard: the language, the technique, the mindset. It seemed like the test was out to trick me. The only thing that worked was practice, practice and practice some more. I also had to take it several times.
The US has a completely different educational mindset that they teach and expect.
- The mindset of the American education system is very geared towards “critical thinking” and opinion-based essays, something that I had never done before.
- In France, a good student is one who is able to recite the teachings of Plato and Socrates and put them in conversation with each other. No student is asked to make a personal argument. That was the biggest change that I had to make when doing schoolwork in the US. The amount of emphasis placed on having an opinion was something that took a lot of time and effort to get used to!
Most important: Try not to worry too much.
- What makes you special and different are your personality, your will to work hard, and your achievements. You have things that others don't have; the hardest part is to identify those strengths and use them in the application process.
About the author
Zoé Chevalier is a French reporter who recently graduated from the Columbia Journalism School. She writes about criminal justice, culture and education. She graduated from Williams College with a degree in political science and Spanish. Previously, she wrote for U.S. News and World Report, Religion News Service, and The Buffalo News.
