ACROSS BORDERS
“International” isn’t one status. Your citizenship, where you’ve lived, your school and curriculum, and the language you studied in each follow their own rules, and each university applies them in its own way. This guide takes them one at a time.
For 2027 entry
START WITH YOUR STATUS
You can count as a home student for one purpose and not for another. A U.S. citizen who grew up abroad, for example, can apply for U.S. federal aid but may still pay out-of-state tuition at a public university.
CITIZENSHIP
Your citizenship can decide which aid you can apply for, which visa you need, and, in some local systems, which admissions route is open to you.
RESIDENCE
Where you’ve lived, and for how long, can decide the tuition you pay, whatever your citizenship.
SCHOOL AND CURRICULUM
The qualification you finish with shapes where you can apply directly, whichever country your school is in.
LANGUAGE
Whether you need an English test can depend on your citizenship, your first language, or the language you were taught in.
Letrado’s adviceBefore you start, write down each citizenship you hold, where you’ve lived each year since age 11, every school you’ve attended, with dates, and the language you were taught in. Then give the same answers on every application.
Asking for aid: Columbia, for example, considers need when admitting international students. If you apply as one and don’t ask for aid when you apply, you can’t ask later, unless your citizenship status changes.
A British or Irish passport: It doesn’t settle your UK fee status on its own. UKCISA lists every home-fee category in England, including some temporary ones, linked to Brexit, for courses starting before 2028.
Every school: UCAS asks for the dates of every school you’ve attended since age 11, with your results and exams still to come. Keep that list handy for U.S. applications, too.
Records and translations: Ask each school you’ve left for an official record while you can still reach it. For records not in English, check each college’s rule. Harvard, for example, asks you not to translate them yourself, though you don’t need a professional, and wants a copy of the original with each translation.
Where you’ve lived: UCAS asks where you’ve lived for the last three years and why. In England, if you lived abroad only because you or a family member were working there temporarily, and you can show it, you’re treated as if you’d been ordinarily resident in the UK.
COMPARE THE SYSTEMS
You can apply in more than one system in the same year, and we help with all three. Each has its own application, deadlines, and idea of a strong applicant, so give each one its own plan.
UNITED STATES
Selective colleges look at your grades in the context of your school, alongside your essays, activities, teacher and counselor letters, and test scores where they ask for them. You apply to each college separately, often through the Common App.
Letrado’s adviceMake sure your school profile and counselor letter explain your curriculum. Then use your essays for what only you can say.
UNITED KINGDOM
You apply through UCAS to up to five courses, with one personal statement for all of them. Universities look closely at your subjects and predicted grades, and some courses add an admissions test or interview.
Letrado’s adviceChoose a subject you’d enjoy studying for three years, then check each course’s subject requirements before anything else.
LOCAL SYSTEMS
In Hong Kong, whether you can apply through JUPAS depends on the Hong Kong identity documents you hold and, for some, how long you’ve lived there. In South Korea, the international track at Yonsei’s Underwood International College (UIC) is open only if neither you nor either of your parents holds Korean citizenship, including as a dual citizen.
Letrado’s adviceIf you hold a country’s citizenship or residence documents, check its universities’ eligibility rules before you count on a local route.
EducationUSA, a U.S. Department of State network, has more than 430 advising centers for international students in more than 175 countries and territories.
PLAN YOUR YEAR
Here are U.S. and UK dates beside local dates from our guides for Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand. Add your own place’s dates to see where they clash.
UK Oct 15
18:00 UK time.
U.S. Nov 1
Other U.S. colleges set their own early dates.
Local systems Dec 21–23
U.S. Jan 1–2
Harvard’s is January 1, and Yale’s is January 2.
UK Jan 13
18:00 UK time.
Local systems Feb 10–12
Weeks before U.S. regular decisions arrive.
Local systems Mar 10–11
U.S. Late March
Harvard’s come by the end of March, and Yale’s in late March.
Local systems Mar 31
In principle, under MEXT’s guidelines, and not for school-recommendation or single-choice places.
U.S. May 1
The usual U.S. reply date, including at Harvard and Yale.
Local systems Usually from Jun 7
The 2027 dates aren’t announced yet. In 2026 the national exams began on June 7.
Exam results Early July
In 2026 they came out on July 6.
Exam results Jul 14
Provisional date.
Local systems Aug 4
Exam results Mid-August
In 2026 they came out on August 11. UK universities then confirm conditional offers.
U.S. dates vary by college, so check each college’s own page. Local systems can still change their 2027 dates.
TRY THIS WITH EACH UNIVERSITY ON YOUR LIST
Open each university’s own pages and note an answer for every row. Bring the gaps and questions to our conversation, or work through them with your counselor.
| What to check | What to note for each university |
|---|---|
| Your status here | Which citizenship, residence, and fee status will this university use for you? |
| Your qualification | Does it accept the certificate you’ll finish with, for direct entry? |
| Subjects and tests | Which subjects, grades, English tests, or admissions tests does the course need? |
| Dates | When is the deadline, when will you hear back, and when must you reply? |
| Full cost in the currency you’ll pay from | Tuition, housing, flights, insurance, and visas for the whole degree, and again with that currency 10% weaker. |
| Would you go? | If this were your only offer, would you be glad to go? |
PLAN THE COST
A U.S. bachelor’s degree usually takes four years, and many UK degrees take three. If your family earns in one currency and you’ll pay in another, plan for the full degree, not just the first year.
YOUR YEARLY BUDGET
Letrado’s adviceRun your budget twice: once at today’s exchange rate and once with your currency 10% weaker. Keep at least one option that still works.
UK Student visa: You can apply up to six months before your course starts. You pay the health surcharge for every year of your visa when you apply.
If you don’t need a UK visa: British and Irish citizens don’t need a Student visa. With settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you can study in the UK on that status.
English for the UK visa: For a degree, you need English at level B2, shown with an approved test or assessed by your university. Nationals of some countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, don’t need to prove it.
U.S. student (F-1) visa: You apply once your college has sent your I-20 form. If you’re a U.S. citizen, you don’t need one.
RELATED JOURNEYS
Real journeys from our records. Each card shows how it connects to applying across borders.
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