International Status of Undergrad to Grad?

[Crucial BBQ]

Just for curiosity's sake, if an International student does all four years of undergrad at a U.S. institution, are they still considered an International applicant for grad school, assuming they wish to stay in the U.S. for grad school? 

 

It would seem logical to be treated as a special case applicant:  not a domestic applicant but also not a completely International applicant, either.  

 

Perhaps it is how I am phrasing it in my searches, but I cannot seem to find any info online outside of joint BA/BS/MS programs. 

[TakeruK]

Yes, there are still considered an international student. They still need to get the right immigration paperwork and if they leave the US (visits home, vacation, conferences etc.), they will have to go through the whole visa application thing again if their visa has expired.

 

But you are right, they are kind of a special case. This is because when people think about disadvantages international students face when applying to US grad schools, there are two related but distinct factors:

 

1. International students have to pay out of state tuition (at public schools) and are not eligible for a lot of US fellowships/scholarships, so ultimately, they cost a lot more to the department to fund. This is based on citizenship, not how long you've stayed in the US, so an International student with a US undergrad is treated the same way as an international student with an international undegrad in this regard.

 

2. International students might have unfamiliar degree names, attended unfamiliar schools/programs, and thus might have a different curriculum. For better or for worse, reputation of your research advisors and undergraduate program does affect graduate admissions somewhat and generally, it is harder to get into a US grad school if you are an international student at a school that is not well known in the US. So, an international student with a US undergrad would be comparable to a domestic student in this way.

[fuzzylogician]

You're still an international applicant for most relevant purposes, such as tuition, fees, visa, etc. The main ways it would matter that you did your degree in the US aren't ones where your official status matters. For example, you probably have a degree from a recognizable university and your recommenders might be better known to the schools you're applying to than people from another country. The one way it might help in an official way is that some schools might waive the TOEFL requirement for applicants who did a previous degree in the US. That's something you could just ask each school about. Other than that, I don't think there's a reason why you should be treated differently than other (international) applicants. 

[TakeruK]

Oh another difference (but not to the school) is taxes. The first five years on J-1 or F-1 status do not count towards the "presence test" for determining your tax filing status (i.e. resident alien or non-resident alien). But if you did your undergrad in the states, then at some point in your grad career, you will likely be filing taxes as a resident alien, which is usually more beneficial!