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I was born in Korea, moved to America when I was about 8, and came back to Korea when I was about 17. Its been 3 months since I came back to Korea. Now, the main reason I want to get US citizenship is not to dodge the 2 year military service, but to get a better chance at getting into a top university. While I was in America, I never wanted to get US citizenship, but the higher chances of getting into a top university is very appealing. This is another question. About how higher would my chances of getting admitted into a top US college be if I became a citizen? Would I be put in a category with dual citizenship then with Korea and America? Or would it just ask if I have citizenship or not?
So in total, I've lived in the US for about 9 years, I'm pretty sure I can pass the civics test, but I'm really worried about the qualifications to apply. I looked online, but it said that I should consult a lawyer or something.
About the military thing, I actually want to go there, and I was wondering if there is no way to go if I had US citizenship without enlisting in the army.
I'm an ok student, I take AP's had a 4.0 weighted GPA in my high school in the US. Working on getting a higher score in SAT. What surprised me though is that I'm getting emails from colleges like Brown, UPenn, Colombia, but I really think that those are just mass emails. Anyways, any info on the questions above would be really helpful.
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Hyrule19182 Posts
Honestly, you probably have a better chance of getting into a better university as a Korean citizen :|
But that aside, getting citizenship is pretty hard. You really should consult a lawyer about your specific case rather than come to TL.
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Yeah, I would think that it's easier to get in as a foreigner student but I don't really know anything so don't listen to me.
The mails are most likely mass mails, have you tried answering them?
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I've got dual citizenship UK-US, and every time I've asked universities they've advised to apply as an american citizen. And from research I've done myself (with admission statistics) it is generaly 3-4 times easier to get in as a US citizen (assuming you're average in every way compared to the other students). So, if you do manage to get a citizenship, you can apply as an american (and generaly this is advisable, though specific circumstances may change your chances). Although the buisness of references, application and interviews are harder because you're not in the country, its still perfectly doable.
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It took me about about 6 years to get mine, just something for u to consider the process takes a long long time.
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Another thing to consider is a lot of US universities don't give very good financial aid (or any at all) to foreign students. If that is all a concern to you, it would seem that US citizenship is the way to go if it is at all possible.
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Citizenship is not a factor in getting in, but it does affect eligibility for financial aid from both the university as well as federal programs. Those emails are mass emails, they are just advertisements to attract more applications. If you weren't a citizen during your stay in the U.S., what is your status? visa? green card?
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Also with my 4.16 GPA I get email from harvard.And Caltech. But I have a snowball's chance in hell at getting admitted.
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Ignore those emails, yup.
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Yeah I remember getting emails from all those guys. Saying apply apply! However most people have to mark that "need financial aid" box and there goes your hopes of getting in!
If you have the money, it does not matter what your grades are, you can get in anywhere, even MIT or Harvard.
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Actually the Ivies have been accepting more and more people who need aid. Most aid doesn't come from the school anyways but from student loans.
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Are you a US resident? If yes, you don't need to apply for citizenship to get admitted. your chance will probably not increase. Actually, some schools have a quota of people that can be admitted (maximum % of students can be white, black, asian, hispanic, etc) - look it up.
There is no difference in admissions and government financial aid between US residents and US citizens.
One advantage to getting citizenship is if you get access to a few, very specialized scholarships that are only offered to US citizens (very rare).
Now, if you're not even a resident, it will be hard for you to get government financial aid. But you said you lived 9 years in the US so I'll assume you're a resident.
source: I'm a legal resident but not a citizen and I was admitted with the same rights as a US citizen to a university.
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If you already have a greencard, Citizenship won't really affect your likelyhood of admissions.
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I'm just going to echo what others have already said, it makes no difference if you're a green card holder or a citizen.
It is easier as a citizen/resident in that universities will ask for proof that you can afford it if you apply as a foreigner. They're more need-blind when it comes to citizens/residents.
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The difference between a green card and U.S. Citizenship is almost minimal for actual applications. What that stuff matters for is for certain financial aid or scholarships at the private institutions that you speak of. Many of these scholarships require that you are a U.S. Citizenship for eligibility.
In terms of the benefits of U.S. Citizenship, they are definitely greater than the benefits of South Korean citizenship. You can travel to just as many countries, if not more, without as much hassle. I was very lucky to have been naturalized as a U.S. Citizen before the age of 18 through my parents. I would not doubt that I would have made the same choice if I could have made it for myself.
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You get a lot more money as a US citizen. It's something to consider if you need financial aid.
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Yeah dude as long as you're residing in the U.S. your chances don't vary too much.
As for citizenship. If you come back to the U.S. before you've been gone for 6 months and you're willing to pay the price for the test + go through the stupid bureaucratic process. You should be just fine. Becoming a citizenship is not that hard as long as you can prove 5 years of continuous residency + not leaving the country for more than 6 months.
I would still do it just so I don't have to do military service 
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3861 Posts
On March 15 2011 06:36 lixlix wrote:
If you already have a greencard, Citizenship won't really affect your likelyhood of admissions.
Yeah, I had a Green Card at the time of college admissions and it's the same thing as having a citizenship. You're considered as an American, not a Korean.
Also, if you are a Korean citizen and you haven't denounced it before your 18th birthday, you'll still have to go to military (it happened to my brother) or not be able to legally work in Korea until you are 35 (or until you've done your time). Even with a US citizenship you may serve in the Korean army. The US is the only country that has that pact with Korea.
Having a citizenship, I think, is better - I got mine in 2003 and had been living in the states since 84. If you want to come back to Korea to work, you'll pay less taxes as a foreigner (gyopo) and can still get and F4 visa which is like a green card for Korea anyway.
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3861 Posts
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On March 15 2011 12:05 lilsusie wrote:Show nested quote +On March 15 2011 06:36 lixlix wrote:
If you already have a greencard, Citizenship won't really affect your likelyhood of admissions.
Yeah, I had a Green Card at the time of college admissions and it's the same thing as having a citizenship. You're considered as an American, not a Korean. Also, if you are a Korean citizen and you haven't denounced it before your 18th birthday, you'll still have to go to military (it happened to my brother) or not be able to legally work in Korea until you are 35 (or until you've done your time). Even with a US citizenship you may serve in the Korean army. The US is the only country that has that pact with Korea. Having a citizenship, I think, is better - I got mine in 2003 and had been living in the states since 84. If you want to come back to Korea to work, you'll pay less taxes as a foreigner (gyopo) and can still get and F4 visa which is like a green card for Korea anyway.
Quite informative. In terms of moving to kroea as a non korean citizen, how do things berak down?
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EPT
