September 15, 2026

Beyond the US: Global Scholarships and Second Chances with Joan Liu

What happens to international students who get shut out of college after April 1st? Why do low-income international applicants face admit rates of less than 1% at many schools? And how should students build a college list that spreads risk across countries, funding models, and visa realities? Learn the answers to these questions and much more in this episode!

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About the episode

In this episode, Joan Liu, founder of Second Chance, shares the origin story behind her nonprofit, which began as a crisis response when 60 Nepali students had their full-ride scholarships revoked after April 1st and has since grown into a program that helps high-achieving, low-income international students find full scholarship seats around the world after the US admissions cycle closes. Joan pulls back the curtain on a side of college admissions most students never see, including the reality that the effective admit rate for an international student who needs a full ride at a US institution is often less than one percent, and explains how Second Chance selects its cohort, what geo-swerving means, and why expanding the college search beyond the US is not a consolation prize but a genuine opportunity.

Joan then shares frank advice for high-achieving international students beginning their senior year search. She walks through how to build a diversified college list across different funding buckets, why applying only to need-blind or only to merit schools is a costly mistake, and why students need to secure three things to make college happen: a seat, a scholarship, and a visa. She closes with a broader message about seeking honest feedback and knowing your blind spots, reminding students that the process is not just about optimizing an application but about becoming the kind of person any campus would be lucky to have.

Mentioned in this episode

Host

Will Geiger

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut.Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.

Guest

Joan Liu

Joan Liu is a college counselor and educational access leader who has spent the past 25 years helping students from around the world access higher education. A graduate of Cornell and Columbia, she has worked in high schools in the US, UK, Turkey, and Singapore.

She is the founder and Executive Director of Second Chance at Higher Ed, a US-based nonprofit that helps high-achieving, low-income students from emerging economies secure full scholarships after the traditional admissions cycle. The organization has helped more than 250 students from over 40 countries—including those affected by conflict in South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine—access life-changing university opportunities.

Joan and her team’s contributions to the field have been recognized with the Peggy Templeton Award from the Council of International Schools and the Joyce E. Smith Award from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, one of the profession’s highest honors for those who “have improved the field of education and the way students are served”.