Admission, Citizenship, Ability to Pay

Being a dual national with US citizenship, what advantages do I have while applying to US universities for undergrad?

I was asked to answer this question on the website Quora.com

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There are a number of significant advantages to being a dual citizen when it comes to applying to US colleges and universities. At the front end, it will generally help increase the chances for admission

Most schools near the top of the rankings will not enroll more than 10-15 percent of the class who are identified as foreign nationals. To give just one example of what this means look at the acceptance rate of Chinese nationals to the Ivies. For Harvard, Princeton and Yale the typical total number of students offered a spot in between 8 and 15 total. Compare this with the overall number of US students offered a spot and you can see right off the bat that being US citizen is a huge plus (I would be remiss if I did not point out there are some countries a student might be from that would significantly increase her chances of admission-Syria, Somalia, and other countries that might send only a tiny number of students to the US for reasons that should be pretty clear. Schools want to bring in students who will add significant diversity so those who apply from countries in the midst of civil was or live in failed states will stand a better chance that they typical dual citizen from almost any other place).

At the back end, there are only about 25 schools in the US that say they are need blind for foreign nationals. There are many more schools that are need blind for US and dual cits. (I will say however that some of the schools that say they are need blind are not quite as transparent about this as they should be. In other words, need blind is not always completely need blind). So for a student who has need, it is better, in most cases, if the student is applying to a highly selective college or university, to be from the US or a dual citizen.

On the other hand, (and in the world of admission there is almost always an "On the other hand"), international students who can pay full fees and are decent students stand a much better chance of getting in to many schools that are not ranked near the top than US or Dual citizens who have need. The cost of attending US schools is so high that colleges and universities depend on full paying foreign nationals to keep them from laying people off or in some cases from closing all together. These schools are need aware for their applicant pool and the ability to pay has in many cases dramatically outweighed academic credentials in the decision to offer admission.

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According to Cappex.com

U.S. Colleges with Need-Blind Admission to International Students

By Mark Kantrowitz on January 4, 2017    

Only about 100 U.S. colleges offer need-blind admissions to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. About a quarter of these colleges provide need-blind admissions for international students.

U.S. colleges and universities that offer need-blind admissions for international students include:

Adrian College

Amherst College

Babson College

Baylor University

Chapman University

Cornell University

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Georgetown University

Harvard College

Holy Cross

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Pomona College

Princeton University

St. John’s College

Thomas Aquinas College

Tulane University

University of Illinois at Chicago

University of Miami

University of New Hampshire

University of North Carolina

University of Richmond

University of Southern California

University of Vermont

University of Washington

Ursuline College

Yale University

Yeshiva University

People often assume that the Ivy League colleges are need-blind for all students, but this is not correct. Brown University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College and the University of Pennsylvania offer need-blind admission to domestic applicants, but not to international students. Of the Ivy League institutions, only Cornell University, Harvard University, Princeton University and Yale University provide need-blind admission to both domestic and international students.