College Admissions Consulting Applying to College as a Third Culture Kid Written by Jennifer Simonson January 16th, 2019 My interest in the college application process stems from my own experience navigating the college process mostly by myself, albeit with supportive but hands-off parents. I was fascinated by trying to understand how colleges know how many students to accept and why. My first job in admissions at Barnard College allowed me to supervise joint programs with the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Manhattan School of Music, while also running the tour guide programs and traveling throughout the American Midwest. In my subsequent role as Associate Director of Admissions at Connecticut College, I ran the Transfer and Return to College Program for non-traditional students. It was at Connecticut College where I got my first taste of international recruitment. Subsequently, I served as the Director of International Recruitment for ten years at Tufts University, where my focus was Asia. One of the highlights of that time was leading a three-week recruitment tour for 30 admissions officers across India. One of the aspects I loved about admissions, specifically international admissions, where there is a great deal of joint and team travel, is that you learn so much about other colleges and universities, and you realize that colleges are not competitors per se but rather institutions in search of the right student, just as students are searching for the right college. I moved from Tufts to take on the Director of Recruitment position at Northeastern University, an institution I admired from across the Charles River for a long while. And in the midst of all of this, I served as a college counselor at the Ramaz School in Manhattan for a few years, and that is why I am adamant about students fostering a positive relationship with their school counselor as they navigate this process. Learn More About Jennifer applying from abroad, college admissions advice, college applications, international students, What is a Third Culture Kid? Are you a dual citizen? Do you live in a country outside of your citizenship? Do you dream in multiple languages? Do some of your friends look at you funny when you call soccer “football” or talk about “maths” class? If you answered yes to more than one of the questions above, you might be a third culture kid. What is a third culture kid? It’s a state of mind. It’s a feeling like you are simultaneously a citizen of the world and without a country. It’s that feeling of belonging everywhere and nowhere, of fitting into more than one culture but also not quite fitting into any particular culture because you are truly unique. Being from a third culture is that feeling of sitting on a plane, simultaneously missing the place you are leaving while being excited about the place you’re moving to. Third Culture Kids and the College Admissions Process The college application process can be daunting for any student who has attended more than one high school, but particularly so for students who have attended schools in more than one country. The good news is, you are not alone, neither in the number of students who are in the same boat (or train or plane) as you, nor in the support you have for expressing your own distinctive identity. My advice for any student applying to college is to highlight the things that are truly yours. Being a third culture kid is not unusual, but your particular mix of cultures and homes, and your love of certain sports or foods or music from the places you’ve lived, are what make your experience distinctive. Think about what makes you, you and use it in the college admissions process to define your own culture. The lovely thing about applying to college is that your application will be read by admissions officers who understand what it means to be a third culture kid because they make up a significant percentage of applicant pools. You certainly can write about your identity where it is relevant in the college application but know that, a) You don’t have to, and b) There are others here to help you through this process. Your college counselor is there to help explain your trajectory so you don’t have to. The history of where you have lived and studied, or where your family comes from, is an integral part of your story and if you make sure they know all the details, your college counselor will help you convey that to the admissions folks who are reading your application. Your counselor, as well admissions officers, can also help you better understand just how you’re applying and being evaluated (e.g. international versus domestic) when it comes to admission and financial aid. There are many synonyms for unique: exceptional, distinctive, rare. Being a third-culture kid is none of these things in and of itself, but your own identity, like that of any student, certainly is. And that makes it something to highlight in your college applications. Related Resources Read | Posted on April 22nd, 2025 Demystifying Liberal Arts: What They Are and Aren't Read | Posted on March 11th, 2025 Does a Teen Need to File a Tax Return? 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