Many of us NATO kids return to our countries with our parents. However, some of us who get to graduate here in the US decide to stay for college. The following section explains the basics of American College Applications.
College Application
The US College Application process looks very different from anything else in the world. First of all, you send your application directly to the School that interests you.
Universities and Colleges use a holistic admissions process, considering many aspects of your life, not just academics.
The application includes:
- Personal information
- High School GPA and transcript
- SAT/ACT scores (optional for many schools)
- AP test scores (optional)
- Extracurricular activities
- Personal Essays
- Letters of Recommendation
application rounds
Each University and College has its own application rounds with certain differences.
Early Application rounds usually have earlier deadlines and may increase your chances of acceptance compared to regular application deadlines. Each School’s website explains its application and requirements.
Application types
For most university applications, students use the Common or the Coalition application. Those allow you to apply to many Schools at once. Some schools, though, have their own application system. There is also the Questbridge Application. However, Questbridge is dedicated to low-income students; you must meet additional requirements to use it.
Pay for college
US higher education is very expensive. For public universities, there are two different prices. If you live within the state the college belongs to, you qualify for in-state tuition, which is significantly lower than out of state. It is also difficult for us to qualify for most scholarships as we are not US citizens.
As NATO ACT dependants, even though we qualify for out of state tuition, we get certain price reductions in three Virginia Universities.
- In Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, the price for us is reduced to an equivalent of in state tuition.
- In Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU) in Virginia Beach, we are eligible for a $9,500 per semester or $19,000 per academic year scholarship as well as a 10% discount for its on-line Master of Business Program.
- In Regent University in Virginia Beach, we are offered a 25% scholarship on tuition both in Undergraduate and Graduate programs.
These terms are subject to change. For more information contact the ACT directly.
As international students, we are also usually not eligible for financial aid in institutions that provide it. Certain Universities and Colleges do provide financial aid to international students. Still, they will consider the requested amount of money as part of the application. This means that if the school is not willing or doesn’t have the funds to provide the financial aid, it may not accept you. The official term for this is that the school follows a need-aware admissions process.
Very few Universities and Colleges offer a need-blind admissions process for international students. This means that financial need and aid will not impact your admissions chances. These are:
- Harvard University
- Yale University
- Princeton University
- Dartmouth College
- MIT
- Amherst College