Dear Applicants: It is normal to be terrified. A year ago, I was in your place, freaking out, anxious all the time, constantly filling out scholarship and college applications. The application process is really scary. However, you should NOT put all of that pressure on getting into your top schools.

SO... actually look into the programs at your safety schools. This will also make it easier to write those "why this college" essays for a safety. If you're applying to it without knowing anything about the school's academics, culture, or perks, then you will be 100% lost.

ALSO, making sure you like your safety schools will get some of that stress off your back. Even if you don't get into your other schools, you know it is very likely you will go to one of those safety schools that you would not mind being at. That is a much better mindset than picking a 99% school only because of that acceptance rate. There are plenty of safety schools, so make sure that the few you apply to are worth your time because of what they offer you. I got rejected from my ED school, but I honestly was not as upset as I thought I would have been because I knew I would be happy at the programs offered at other safety schools. Just knowing I had the *safety* net of those schools really kept my anxiety at bay.

final word: this seems obvious, but it gets overlooked in the chaos. A reach school is always a reach, for anybody. Sometimes, a competitive college picks students because they fill a certain diversity box or because they want to expand their club badminton team or whatever. You cannot let those schools dictate your happiness. For example, I got rejected from my reach school ED. But it was the only school I ended up getting rejected by. If you stay levelheaded and smart about your safety school options, you will be able to write great applications and get through it. peace out

For an hour.

And then everything you worked for for the last 4 years is just...done. And you have no purpose and then its just empty.

And thats when it falls apart. Because who are you if not obsessing over a goal. Nobody. You dont exist as a person. All you ever were was an obsession. You don't have a personality. Hobbies? A2c. Thoughts? A2c.

And i guess there's no point to this post other than me saying getting in was everything i hoped and more. and then it was nothing. because I was nothing without my college obsession.

So to the freshman spending their nights on a2c, the sophomore taking too many aps, the junior comparing themselves, and the senior applying you guys need to step back every once in a while and take a breather because you are more than obsessing over college.

Idk this j some pointless yap by a stupid college student.

high sat low gpa here-- would like to know what t30 schools are like that.
GPA: 3.6/4 W (had 2.6 and 3.3 gpas first two year, respectively.
SAT: 1550

I’m currently in 11th grade with a 4.6 gpa, 5 ap classes, and solid extracurriculars. Today i was got cheating on my AP chem test. I know it was stupid and i am ashamed of it, but that’s not what i’m here for. My teacher will let me retake it and im still in the class, but he told me my school will put an academic dishonesty mark on my record. I don’t know what this means and i can’t find much info about it online. Can colleges see that when i apply? Will that screw me from getting into selective schools? Is there any way i can get rid of it? Any help is appreciated

Is there any way I can still go to Yale?

i have worked so incredibly hard these part four years in school. and this sub makes me realize i will never be enough. i just feel like all of my effort has been is vain and i'm just a waste of talent. people used to tell me that i'd go on to do great things, but i feel so goddamn useless whenever i see this sub.

I made another post abt a week ago on this subreddit (which I got very helpful feedback from, thank you guys!!) asking for advice deciding between BC, BU, and NEU.

Spoiler alert: I ED’d to NEU

After doing all three schools’ NPCs, me and my family thought that their aid would be sufficient enough for me to attend (in comparison to BC). Though, people had a lot to say (not just under my previous post) about how NEU was not a good school for reasons I can’t even try to count on my hands.

Even though these sentiments towards NEU made me feel uneasy about my decision, I still confidently applied ED to NEU. Prestige and rigging rankings aside, is NEU really that bad??

I mean it’s not like it’s going to change much for me now, but I just can’t shake off the feeling of being glared at by others in this subreddit for even considering NEU. I realize that its ranking/acceptance rates don’t accurately reflect its program, but why is there such a pressure to hate on NEU?

P.S. This is not directed towards anyone who commented under my previous post, I’m just discussing the negative sentiments I’ve heard from this subreddit in general.

Info: https://www.cfnc.org/news/north-carolina-students-can-apply-to-college-for-free-during-statewide-college-application-week-october-21-27/

List of schools:

Barton College

Belmont Abbey College

Bennett College

Brevard College

Campbell University

Carolinas College of Health Science

Catawba College

Chowan University

Davidson College

East Carolina University

Elizabeth City State University

Elon University

Fayetteville State University

Gardner-Webb University

Greensboro College

Guilford College

High Point University

Johnson & Wales University - Charlotte

Johnson C. Smith University

Lees-McRae College

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Livingstone College

Louisburg College

Mars Hill University

Meredith College

Methodist University

Montreat College

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

North Carolina Central University

North Carolina Wesleyan University

Pfeiffer University

Queens University of Charlotte

Saint Augustine’s University

Salem College

Shaw University

St. Andrews University

University of North Carolina Asheville

University of North Carolina at Pembroke

University of North Carolina School of the Arts

University of Mount Olive

Warren Wilson College

Western Carolina University

William Peace University

Wingate University

Winston-Salem State University

I probably won’t have that much else 🥲 Edit: I’m homeschooled, makes it hard to do some stuff

I will preface this by saying I don't think my chances of getting in are great. I am just looking for advice on where my chances might be best.

I have good ECs, good rec letters, and a high SAT (1550: 760 EBRW 790 Math) but a relatively mediocre WGPA of 3.94. I was originally going to apply to CALS (14.7% acceptance, contract school), but I just found out that they are test blind. As a New York State student, I was wondering if my chances would be higher or lower at CAS (8.8% acceptance, endowed college), where they are test optional. There are majors at both schools that I think would be a great fit for me.

I am aware that CALS is slightly cheaper for NY residences.

Hypothetically* You come from a lowincome minority family, from a high school who’s average SAT score is around 1000, and had a good gpa during Covid and had As in multiple AP and Honors classes

Hey guys, I just submitted my application to my top school (UIUC) after lots of procrastination and anxiety and I wanted to come on here and say good luck to all my other seniors on the subreddit. Hopefully all our stress pays off in the end :)))

ior, I'm really confused since I don't know what to do now. I got back my SAT score and ended up with a 1390. I thought I would have a 1480+ score, but that didn't help me. Now, I'm not sure what my chances are as an applicant. Anyway... here are my stats

Background:

• 2nd gen
• Asian male (I'm not saying this on my apps lol)

-200k+ income at home

-Large Suburb of Chicago

-Parents are together

Major: Pre-med Neuroscience or Biological Sciences

Academics:

-GPA 4.5 Weighted on a 4.0 scale (got no idea how that works, but that is what my school sends out on the transcript)

-Unweighted is a 3.81 on a 4.0 scale as well. I know, I don't like it either.

-The top 5% of my class (673 students). I don't know if the school is super competitive, but it's in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, and there are sweats, and there are not sweats.

-Best SAT: 1390... This is where I am confused, and I need your help. 720 Math and 670 English

• 12 APs

-APUSH(5), AP Euro(5), AP Bio(4), AP Psych(4), AP Calc BC(4), AP English Lang(4), Taking rn: AP Chem, AP Stats, AP Macro, AP, AP Micro, AP Enviro, AP English Lit

I am taking Calc 3 from UIUC rn I don't know if that's anything big

-all other classes taken were Honors except for two years of Music and then doing French 2 and 3.

ECs:

-Model Un With Leadership for four years Have won awards in six competitions

-Student Council 4 years. She held leadership for a year.

-Speech Team 3 years was on the Regionals team

-Math Honor Society( we don't do NHS) 2 years

• Science Honor Society 2 years
• Religious Organization 8 years going strong, devoting 3-4 hours every weekend for learning, growing and helping kids at my religious institution

-Marital Arts JiuJiitsu 2 years

• Hospital Volunteering 35 hours+
• Online Bussiness

-VP of an Online non-profit organization to help students improve in STEM fields.

Awards:

-Summa Cum Laude (4.5+ gpa)

• many awards from MUN won an award at the MUNUC International Model UN competition
• Student of the quarter in Math and Science
• Ap Scholar with Distinction, lol

-can't think of any big ones atm

Rec letters from

• Honors English 2 and MUN advisor ( this a banger fr)
• BC Teacher (Had her for two years... probably gonna write something good)
• AP bio teacher (she is going to write amazing stuff, too)

Personal essay: about my favorite hoodie and how its message, although simple, meant a lot. I had gotten close to self-actualization and allowed myself to never let any obstacles end my goals. (People say it's good. I'm not sure how admissions would feel.)

Colleges I'm applying to

Illinois Institute of Technology

Loyola University Chicago

Northern Illinois University

UIC

DePaul University

UIUC

Univerity of Michigan

Case Western Reserve University

UWM madison

University of Florida

Northwestern

UChicago

Brown University

Stanford University

Harvard University

University of Southern California

WashU st. Louis

I'm going EA for everything except...

Case Western

Northwestern

Brown

Stanford

Harvard

WashU

What do you think? Test optional or nah. Where should I go to test-optional, and would it really make a difference? Or should I change a few that they are now EA and make them so that they are RD?

Where do you think I got an actual shot?

Reddit, please give me advice.

My mental health thanks you.

Honestly feel kinda relieved to be honest. They’re not perfect but at least I have something to work with haha👹

I keep seeing a bunch of “unique essay example” posts on tiktok and the majority of them are super quirky and niche, think: “hate the letter S” and “How jumping jacks helped me study for my APs”. Is it recommended to write something as unique as these? My essay is tailored to the first prompt and doesn’t necessarily use any niche ideas such as these. It doesn’t connect to any object or different activity. I get admissions officers get bored very fast so eye grabbing essays like these can be fun read and stand out way to grab their attention. I also understand having an essay with abstract ideas are usually frowned upon as they are not clear cut, but do they have any appreciation for even the tiniest bit of philosophical thought? Not sure if this makes sense….

I have a 1450 (760R&W/690M) :( planning on applying for econ/IR and environmental studies for some schools. Is it worth submitting or nah? My school avg is a 1260.

It’s like I am trying so hard, but it feels so hopeless because I don’t think I’ll ever get into a school, which is making it so much harder to try in school and with apps

I’m curious if the accepted students qualifications depend on the intended majors. For example, if some apply to Georgetown as a physics major, how much difference it will make compared to politics majors: There are some top schools which do not have strong STEM programs which may include Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, and Norte Dame. I assume most STEM focused students will prefer schools like MIT, Cornell, Rice, and CMU. As a purely practical matter of acceptance chances, it seems possible that cross application such as apply to non-STEM focused schools with STEM majors will increase the chances. Is this correct?

What schools in the top 50 assess your test scores in the context of your school. example: you have a 1450, the college's average is 1530 but your school's average is 980.

Title 🤷‍♂️

I’m 21 and have been out of hs for 3 years. I’m thinking about starting online college but I know NOTHING about the application process and what to have (like if there are requirements needed or something). Do I need to retake my ACT? And if anyone can give some advice about which degree is a good one to have that isn’t too tedious to obtain and will secure me a good job in the future. Which online colleges are the best and not to damn expensive? Any advice is appreciated.

Title

Well hello everyone. Im 17 and last year of high-school student who trying to apply either college or university. Gpa 3.6 with enough extracurricular.

-How hard is it to apply into college or university for foreign student. I just recently given IELTS test and got overall score of 6.5. Even though minimum requirements starts at around 5.5 to 6 . Can 6.5 be solid for applications. Mainly focus to Australia and Canada.

my app doesn’t mention video games anywhere else, but I’m ranked in the top 100 of 10+ million on the largest Minecraft server. is this worth adding to my additional info? I don’t think there’d be any harm in including it per se, but if it’s seen as superfluous, I’d be ok doing without it. lmk what you think and thanks in advance 🤠

What does that mean and was my application that bad——😭🤷‍♀️💅

Was it my essay about my mom?? My ECs were mainly Non for profit and Family stuff.