Expert: Jay Cutts - 11/3/2006

Question
I am a parent/school administrator interested in the possible benefits of sending my child/students abroad to study for a period of time, specifically to China.  
Do you, as an admissions expert, view an applicant's experience in this respect as an advantage in gaining admission to a top university?  For example, as schools are becoming more and more competitive and more students with similar test scores and GPAs are applying to top schools, would you, as someone considering potential applicants, be more inclined to view such study abroad experience as an advantage in getting into a program of choice?  
Can you think of any specific things which would catch the interest of an admissions committee such as writing a thesis while in high school on a certain topic which could be explored by studying in another country or doing volunteer work there?
Thank you


Answer
Hi, Dan.

I primarily deal with graduate level admissions, so I can only conjecture on undergrad admissions.  While studying abroad is certainly a fantastic opportunity, I doubt that it would have much impact on undergrad admissions.

It seems to me that strong GPA and SAT/ACT is still critical.    After that, if the student still needs to be competitive, their Personal Statement would be next.  A PS is most impressive (at least on the graduate level) if the person has a well thought out sense of where they are going.  This is usually rare for high school seniors.

It may be helpful to give students more exposure to career decision issues, exploring different fields, visiting people or organizations that are doing things they may be interested in.

The applications that stand out the most are those of students who are above average in some way.  Not everybody can be above average.  I'd encourage students to explore their interests and passions, even if they may not be career related, to a greater extent, giving them opportunities to push themselves further with whatever it is that drives them.

I don't think that a thesis or project in another country has any particular weight unless it represents the student's passion, and then the fact that it was done in another country is irrelevant.  The same project could have been done at home and would be just as impressive, unless the passion is directly related to another language or culture.

People often take a shotgun approach to trying to impress the admissions committee. They throw in a dozen unrelated things that they hope will sound cool - I went to China, I won a spelling bee, I did a project on ecology, etc.  What the committee is looking for is a coherent picture of the whole student - pieces that fit together and show something special.

If you're looking for reasons to fund a trip to China, you could certainly support it with the fact that it would be a unique, valuable, life transforming and perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity.  But I don't think you can sell it as a way to get into college.

Hope that helps.

By the way, once your students get into college, I have a program for those who may be headed to graduate or professional school that does help them plan month by month for four years to make sure that they do what it takes to be competitive for grad school.  You can review it at http://www.advising-help.org

Jay Cutts
Cutts Graduate Reviews