Choosing The Right College Which U.S. Universities Should International Students Apply To? Written by Zaragoza Guerraon March 24th, 2018 Prior to joining College Coach, I spent part of my career as director of admissions for the Boston Conservatory, where I oversaw overall recruitment and auditions for students interested in music, theater, and dance. I spent most of my admissions career, however, as an admissions officer for two institutes of technology. As an associate director of admissions at MIT, I directed overall recruitment and yield activities as well as international, transfer, and special student admissions. I also served as an assistant director of admissions for Caltech, where I handled specialized student recruitment and reviewed domestic and international student files. Learn More About Zaragoza applying from abroad, choosing the right college, college lists, international students, The college application process can be a source of stress for any student, but is often particularly overwhelming to international students hoping to study in the United States. The U.S. is geographically and culturally diverse, and so are its colleges. With close to 5,000 U.S. colleges to choose from, how do you narrow your choices down to a manageable list of no more than ten schools to apply to? Do you stick to the top ten, as determined by U.S. News and World Report? No, says former MIT and Caltech admissions officer Zaragoza Guerra. Instead, determine your own top ten by following these five steps outlined in the WES Advisor blog. Read more on “Determining College Fit: Five Steps to Narrowing Down Your College List.” Related Resources Read | Posted on April 11th, 2025 The Basics of First-Year Study Abroad Programs Read | Posted on December 10th, 2024 Navigating Medical School Applications: The Three Types of Letters Applicants Send Read | Posted on November 12th, 2024 Unlocking College Admissions: The Power of the Common Data Set
