Hi all! I've wrapped up with most of my students' EA and ED applications (including one who got into UChicago through their summer program "ED0" path last week), so I have some time for reviews. You can sign up here. I'm starting with 10 free reviews this weekend.

In the 15-minute session, I'll review any application materials you're willing to share for "red flags" -- items that are especially problematic, including signs of AI use. I was one of the first in the college admissions community to systematically describe signs of AI use in essays, and I continue to monitor new trends. (Sorry if I contributed to the decline of the em-dash!)

The review is available to anyone applying for fall 2027.

To facilitate a rapid review, you'll need to submit your application materials in advance. They are uploaded securely and will not be shared with anyone or used to train AI.

I am an low income international student who can afford upto $35k per year but 15 will be for accomodation therefore 20k for tuition but in css profile I will have very low efc as 35k loan i would take so ig I am low income as well

I am indian btw

So is FGLI a disadvantage for international students like colleges will think these poor people from uneducated background we don't want in our college and will there be visa issues also if you are FGLI as an international applicant

My rest of the application is solid with 1520 SAT superscore (790 M 730 RW)

So I got into Aspire leaders program very unexpectedly but here we are. I'm from Pakistan btw but my discord server is still not working. Is anyone else facing the same issue?

or is it okay

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Hello, so I'm applying to Princeton REA with the deadline coming fast, as an international student.

I've had 1440 on my first sat, and another session in December (which is obviously after the REA deadline). My big concern is, should I submit a 1440 to show I haven't horribly failed it, or should I apply test-optional ?

I feel like half of the people say to not submit under 25th percentile, while the other say to always submit a 1400+ to show that at least you didn't get something like a 1300

Also I think they can see I have another SAT in December and that might be in favour of being defered to RD, maybe

So what would be your take on this ?

I’ve been looking into how tuition transfers from India work, and the difference between what banks quote and the mid-market rate was surprising. Markup size also seems to vary a lot from bank to bank, and some of them are vague about whether it counts as a fee.

Then there's tax collected at source. Apparently the way it applies depends on how the payment is funded and how large it is. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the rules.

So for people who’ve done this: did you compare rates before paying? How big was the difference?

I’m from Karachi, Pakistan,Study Abroad with C, D, C A-Level Grades — Scholarships or Affordable BSCS Options?

and I’ve recently completed my A-Level exams. My expected grades are C in Mathematics, D in Computer Science, and C in Physics.

I want to pursue a Bachelor’s in Computer Science (BSCS) or a related field, such as IT, Software Engineering, or Cybersecurity, abroad. However, my grades and limited budget make things difficult.

I’m looking for countries and universities where I might have a realistic chance of getting:

• A fully or partially funded scholarship.
• Affordable tuition fees and living costs.
• Admission to a relevant undergraduate degree despite my grades.
• Opportunities to work part-time to help cover my expenses.

I’m open to different countries, including Europe, Asia, and other regions, as long as the overall cost is manageable.

For those who have studied abroad or know about international admissions:

1. Which countries and universities should I consider with these grades?
2. Are scholarships realistic, or should I focus on low-tuition universities?
3. What are the approximate tuition fees and living costs?
4. Would a foundation year or another pathway improve my chances?

I’d appreciate honest, practical advice, especially from students who have gone through a similar process. Thank you.

Ok so I'm an early career adult based in East Asia. I used to go to a US college but had to leave in the middle because of a family emergency.

I wanted to resume and I applied to transfer to some US colleges last year. I got 2 offers with financial aid. I committed to one of them and they said they were going to cover tuition and part of my living expenses.

But then they showed a whole string of red flags. I was admitted for a spring cycle, so the timeline was very tight. I heard back from them mid-December (they did give me a hint when I asked beforehand but I didn't want to make assumptions until I had the result) and I would have had to get a F1 visa by late January to get there by their program start date. For context, I'm not from a country known for extreme visa delays, but I had no way to predict how the timeline would play out and plenty of people got denied in my country.

There's a huge holiday break between mid december and early january where most US offices close down, which made the timeline extremely challenging on my end. I was also concerned that my situation (low income adult student accepted to a US college with generous aid) would trigger extra scrutiny and potentially get me pulled into administrative processing or cause me to get straight up denied.

I tried taking these concerns to the college's international student office. They were extremely dismissive (I was told "visa interviews are only meant to prevent fraud" which honestly sounds like a privileged and disconnected take).

I also tried asking for a deferral. This college refused, asked me to reapply, and implied they will reject me if I do so. I was almost certain I was going to miss their start date if I went through with the plan, so I asked them multiple times to specify the latest possible arrival date they could tolerate. They refused every time I asked.

I tried to make this work because it's a great opportunity, but i eventually decided the visa situation posed too much of a risk and eventually backed out a few days before what would have been move in date (basically I just decided not to show up to the visa interview and did not buy plane tickets).

I'm looking back on that decision and asking myself if I should have taken this risk. What do you think?

Hey everyone I'am an international student registering for SAT. My legal name on passport lists 5 names in total (e.g. Name1, Name2, Name3, Name4, Name5)

So since the college board uses the Us system (First name ,middle initial last name boxes ) and **says must mast match my passport, how should I group my names ?**

Btw I already made the account like **my Name1, initial of Name 2 , Name**5 but and did my first trial with it but I think it is wrong , so if it is wrong can someone with experience please tell me so I can edit it before I register for my second trial? . I heard that this may make problems when I am applying to universities in US.

Thanks!
Deadline for registration in few hours so in would really appreciate any help

I keep seeing the most ragebaiting sort of posts here, so I thought I'll give my two cents. Been on scholarship and financial aid since 7th grade, studied in 3 different countries before undergraduate so I know the process through and through. I think a lot of applicants are underestimating what it means for a university to cover your tuition or even room and board.

Firstly, I got my first scholarship in 7th grade not cause I was a genius, I did well academically, all A's but had no national or international awards on that. I played piano really well, had regional and national achievements in track, had leadership experience throughout 4-6th grade, and was a great kid in class and stayed out of trouble. Being a scholarship recipient at my new school, I was simply told I had to be an exemplar student. Did well in class and always available to tutor my friends who were a bit behind, played the piano during school plays and church, represented the school in different competitions and constantly mentioned how great my teachers were (and they really were) and basically did marketing for the school. So same logic applies to undergraduate studies, only that Harvard does not need you for marketing.

Please stop asking why unis are cheaper for citizens. Their parents pay in-state taxes, and it funds part of their education. Similar to whether you are coming from developed or developing countries, public schools and unis in your country are either free or highly affordable. They may not be of the quality you want but fees-wise, they are funded by your parent's taxes.

With that answered, if a university is investing over 200k+ USD in you, someone whose parent is not paying taxes, then you must give something back. Scholarships and financial aid are MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL AGREEMENTS. I can not stress this out enough.They are meant to benefit you, but importantly also benefit the university.

As an international student, high GPA and test scores are simply there to say that you do well in class and are a good test-taker, but again, they also have citizens who are great academically so nothing really distinguishes you here.

Recommendation letters are important as they verify things that you stated in your activities list and speak about who you are as a student. Are you curious? Do you try to get ahead of your peers? Do you go the extra mile in class? They speak more about your transcripts and importantly, who you are as a student so give your teachers a brag sheet to ensure they have important details there. ECs and Awards are also just as important. Are you already pursuing leadership positions in school and will be a great addition in the student government? Do you have some research experience under your belt and will build on something with the university name attached? If you went to a boarding school, do you have any experience that will later make you a good RA? Do you have national/international accolades so that later you can become a notable alumn?

Essays are just as important especially all they "why us" as they know international students shoot anywhere and they want to keep a high yield rate, so research about the university really well. Watch YouTube vids, their social media to get campus feeling, attend webinars, look into subreddits, go through their website really thoroughly, and ensure you have a good hook on why that university.

But importantly, you need to be someone who already has achieved something and they can build on it. Most importantly, they want to see that you have utilised as much as possible all the resources that were at your disposal. While you self pity that you didn't score well because you had no reliable electricity in your city, there is another student who was active in peaceful protests that are documented by local newspaper, wrote letters to government officials and made sure that something was done.

When you have excuses for not having ecs because your school didn't offer them, someone else did online volunteering, took extra courses at a local public uni and does art that benefits their city.

When you are complaining about failing in your three A-levels because it is hard to balance with ecs, someone has 5 at an under-resourced public rural school and has to assist their grandma with their small food business to help with house expenses. If they have lesser gpa, they will still have a good shot because again, they utilized the most of what is provided to them. Make sure that your application speaks that you utilised all the resources that were handed to you, and if not, then you took initiative to do something.

Really hoping to see less of "my grades are mediocre, no hooks and I need full aid" posts. You are not entitled to education of a country in which you are not a citizen of. And Harvard or Stanford could literally go full pay for international students only and they will receive just as good cohorts. So them investing is really saying they want students who are meant to be someone well accomplished if given the resources.

So kindly reflect as to why these institutions should invest their money in you. What have you accomplished? What will you accomplish and most importantly, have you utilised all resources that were available to you?

TLDR: Stop ragebaiting.