International Students

From the first conversation, all the way through.

For a family in Seoul, Shanghai, Mumbai, Singapore, London, or Dubai, the journey to a top US university is a long one. It begins years before any application is written, and it does not end on the day an acceptance letter arrives. There is the move to a new country. The first year on campus, far from home. Major selection. Internships. The path to a US career, if that is what your child wants.

Altior is the partner who walks the entire path with you. We do not stop at the application. We are with the family from the first planning meeting in 9th or 10th grade through to the first job offer in college, and beyond. Our families know that whatever the question, we are one email or one phone call away.

"Getting into a top US university is hard. Building a meaningful life in the United States afterwards takes years of careful planning. We treat both as one continuous project."

What we do, end to end

• Early planning. We meet your child as early as 6th or 9th grade and lay out a long, patient roadmap for the years ahead. Course selection, reading, summer planning, language preparation, and the activities that will become a meaningful application.
• School research and visits. We help families understand the differences between top US universities, plan productive campus visits, and build a realistic and ambitious list of target schools.
• Standardized testing. SAT, ACT, TOEFL, IELTS, AP, and IB. We coordinate the testing calendar across two or three years so your child arrives at applications with the strongest possible scores.
• The application itself. Common App or Coalition or direct, plus financial aid where relevant. Personal statement through many drafts. Supplemental essays for every school. Recommender briefings. School list locked. Decisions submitted on time and at the highest standard.
• Arrival in the US. We help families prepare for the move, navigate housing and orientation, and stay close during the first months on campus when so much is new.
• The college years. Major selection with the long view in mind. Course choice. Summer internship strategy. Choosing the right professors and the right opportunities each semester. We are still your child's mentor team after they enroll.
• Career and life after graduation. Help with the path to a US career, including the practical questions every international family eventually faces. Major selection that keeps options open. Internships at companies that hire international students. Long-term planning for OPT, STEM-OPT, H1B, and the path to permanent residency. We do not give immigration legal advice, but we understand the landscape and we plan with eyes open.

How we work with you

• Quarterly planning meetings with your child. One careful, focused planning meeting each quarter by video, on a schedule that works across time zones, with brief checkins between.
• Regular check-ins between meetings. Short progress updates by message or call so nothing slips between sessions.
• Reachable by email and phone. Whenever a family has a question, large or small, we want to hear it. We respond promptly.
• Quarterly reviews with the family. Every three months we sit with parents and student together to look at the bigger picture and adjust the plan.
• Languages. English, Korean, Mandarin and Cantonese. Other family languages on request through our partners.

Who this is for

• Families living abroad whose child is in or approaching middle school or high school, with a long-term plan to apply to top US universities.
• Students at international high schools, IB programs, A-Levels, or Korean curricula who want US admissions guidance.
• Families who want a partner that thinks beyond the application and stays with them as their child grows.

An honest note

The path to a top US university for an international student is not the same as for a domestic student. The applicant pool is more competitive. Major selection has more weight in the years that follow. The questions about life in America after graduation are real ones, and the rules around them change. We will not promise an outcome no one can promise. What we will do is plan thoughtfully, hold the standard high, and walk the road with you for as long as your family needs us.