How hard is it for international applicants to get admitted???

[Anxiously Hopeful]

It seems as if I always have one or the other tension unwilling to leave my mind. Now that I am done with the applications and just hoping to get a reply from the universities soon, thousands of fear pass my mind every day. Today is like every other day and the thing that has been troubling me is if it is really tough for international students to get admitted. I know that reputable schools care about diversity and also follow a non-discriminatory policy but still. ?

 

[Ceci2019]

Hi! I am an international too and totally get your fear! I applied to 10 schools and have 4 favorites, but I'm totally stressed about this!

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Anxiously Hopeful said:

It seems as if I always have one or the other tension unwilling to leave my mind. Now that I am done with the applications and just hoping to get a reply from the universities soon, thousands of fear pass my mind every day. Today is like every other day and the thing that has been troubling me is if it is really tough for international students to get admitted. I know that reputable schools care about diversity and also follow a non-discriminatory policy but still. ?

 

I feel you. However, I like to think that all applications are looked at the same way regardless of the applicant's nationality. 

That said, it's true that we have the TOEFL, or equivalent, as an additional requirement. Also, depending on your country's education system, you may not be used to standardized testing and 30min essay writing, which may decrease our chances at acing the GRE (of course, I'm generalizing...) 

I wouldn't say you have less chances at being admitted for being an international student, just that you had to do an extra effort on your application (the same way an American applying to a program in France would have to be extra careful with the language, for example).

Good luck!

[Izakawa]

I think it is more difficult for international students to get admitted with full scholarship. Funding is provided by NIH and int.students are not eligible for it. That is why they have demonstrate the program that they worth the acceptance. Consequently,  only 1-2 int. students are accepted.  Money is more important than diversity

[stressedugrad]

In my experience (grad students/applicants I know, etc) international students often have an "easier" time getting in** (this difference is minimal, I'd assume) based on the extremely high percentage of international students at US graduate programs in comparison to US student, but then have a much harder time getting funding. That is just my personal experience of the situation, though

**assuming, as others have stated, that the TOEFL requirements are met, etc

Edited January 20, 2019 by berkeleyugrad