How difficult is the application process from overseas/Asia? Forum

[StateSchoolSplitter]

I'm wondering if delays in receiving mail could hurt my chances because of not being able to act timely on offers. I'm a TESL instructor in Seoul-si, South Korea and I'm planning on applying to schools on Eastern U.S. seaboard and the mid-west. I've never actually dealt with mail from the States (ahhh, the internet) so I'm not sure about delays. Does anyone else have experience applying from abroad while being a U.S. citizen? Thanks!

[Eugenie Danglars]

Hi! This is exactly what I did- I'm in the Peace Corps in China. I didn't really have any troubles because very little of the process is on paper. The only thing that I had difficulty with was receiving some admitted student binders (which was no problem). If a school mails notifications of admission instead of providing it online, I emailed to explain the situation, and they were all happy to provide a pdf of my admit/reject letter.

If you have any more specific questions, please feel free to PM, but in short, you shouldn't have any real problems as long as you have reliable internet. Good luck!

[doublefocus4]

To the best of my knowledge, schools will send you email notifications to accompany any offers by physical mail. I was in Shanghai, China during most of my application cycle and I don't think the distance was ever that big of an issue.

[Army2Law]

I applied from Iraq and the only major headache was getting my LORs posted to LSAC in a timely manner by recommenders. I doubt there would be more than an extra day or two of lag time for you to get the mailed offers, and usually you get called by the admissions offices when you're admitted. The offers generally aren't on short timelines, so I don't think you should be worried. Just my thoughts.

[StateSchoolSplitter]

Thanks everyone for the prompt replies! I will be sure to let the schools know I would prefer to be notified online first if at all possible.

Do schools view TEFL in Asia the same as any other entry-level position (or service position, like AmeriCorps) or is it more of a resume gap? I'm taking the year off to separate myself from my GPA and so I could get the senior year padding.

[StateSchoolSplitter]

Any thoughts regarding my last question?

[Eugenie Danglars]

I'd imagine that a job is a job. Teaching is teaching. I've heard that selective service groups like Peace Corps is helpful. I didn't notice too much of an impact on my cycle, honestly.