Essentially title.

I feel like planning it would be a pretty big (and unique) EC. Also, as everybody knows, coping with the death of immediate family is, like, the number 1 top dog head honcho essay topic (see: letter S). My parents would probably disown me, so I could claim broken household + necessary full aid. Basically, I'd have all my stats, ECs (plus tha big one), essays, etc. WHILE BEING HOMELESS?!

Shit is genuinely an unpatched method. Tell me I'm wrong.

Am I the only one who wishes they lived in Virginia, California, Michigan, Georgia, or NC just so I could have an AMAZING school with in state tuition?

For reference, I live in CT, and don’t get me wrong I know UConn is a great school! But while I don’t want to go far, I don’t want to stay that close either. UConn is like 30 mins away from me. I also worked really hard in highschool and while I know that going to UConn wouldn’t be a waste because it’s a good school, it would lowkey crush my ego since last year 100% of applicants to UConn got in from my school. But obviously that’s not a reason to count out that option.

I’m def still applying and will seriously consider gojng if I get in. Logically I know that the effort I put in is hardly wasted, but it sucks knowing that I can either pay a huge amount of money for a private or OOS school or just go to UConn and save.

Anyone experiencing similar feelings or have any advice about reducing guilt? This has been so stressful!

(Also I don’t qualify for any need-based aid)

Edit: Thanks for all the help guys! I will def be looking into SUNYs and schools that offer merit. Also I don’t think I’m too good for UConn or anything, I’ll prob end up there.

I don't have the US news compass subscription (which seems to be a total waste of money) but if anyone does, what are the WORST (I'm looking for B20s) unis according to US News? However, it must still be part of the US news college report, and it must be a traditional 4+ year school. Also, no degree mills.

Required factors:
- highest possible tuition and fees
- extremely acceptance rate / low selectivity
- unreasonably small or unreasonably large school
- dogsh*t high school GPA and test scores for enrolled students
- private school (so it costs more)
- extremely low diversity (like all white cis male people if possible)
- extremely low or no research output
- no athletics or athletics that never win any games
- in a state that's extremely cold, extremely hot, and/or has extremely low population density (basically, objectively terrible location)

Bonus points for:
- has terrible press or scandals
- tuition is known to increase
- terrible professors
- unreasonable to get to (requires multiple planes, trains, buses, rides, etc. to get to from major US metro areas)
- degree isn't trusted by employers
- unsafe area or terrible infrastructure area (like right next data centers)

I'm also open to js hearing about schools y'all hate ... :)

So basically I got a B in freshman PE. Ikr I'm so stupid.

I know I'm basically cooked because what kind of school would accept a student with a B in their classes.

Should I claim I had gangrene in my left foot in an additional information section to explain my bad grade in the class?

The only problem I can see with this plan is if the AOs decide to show up to my house and check if I still have all my toes, but this can easily be fixed by simply cutting them off.

Is this a good idea? Would I get away with it?

Any and all advice welcome!

I'm not just talking about 10-20 years from now, it's already happening. As high school graduating class of 2030, there's a pretty big brain drain that I foresee will happen over the course of 2-3 years. I just don't see current freshmen/sophomores, in my high school at least, meeting the standards that were set years before them (and it's not only ivy league applications, it's in general). Clubs that used to be brimming with talent such as Math and Robotics are now having much trouble passing on that knowledge, and face loss of engagement, in 2 years time, they will cease to exist. But who knows, maybe my perception is skewed. Opportunities will either become scarcer or less competitive, which is bad in the long run for college apps.

Sure, college admissions is mostly relative based on peer vs peer performance, but the above means that talent will be clustered at the most cutthroat schools (e.g. Stuyvesant, in my case of Fairfax TJ), and the rest will be left to...

Sure, there are some talents here and their, big fish in a small pond, but these are few and far apart, will struggle to find significance in leadership and recognition.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm just underestimating the potential of what the youth of today can become. I'm debating whether or not I should (re)apply to TJ or stick with my base school. It's a gamble either way. Current seniors/college freshmen, how did you view high school underclassmen compared to your generation at the time? Would like to know.

For reference, I have a 2.4 W GPA, my SAT is 990 (480 Eng, 510 Math).

I also took the ACT (18 composite), but I feel like I really bombed my Math section, so I feel it could be higher.

My academics are pretty great, but I feel like what's gonna make me stand out are my ECs.

I'm the president of 35 clubs, all of which were founded by me from the start, and all of which are held in the same room during lunch on Wednesdays (just for ease of access, yk). I have a combined 4 members among all of these clubs, and I feel like I've really made an impact, y'know?

I also used Base44 to create a few websites, and I'm really proud of my creative abilities and my coding skills.

Are my chances at an HYPSM closer to 80% or 90%? A lot of people are saying I'm being a bit modest with these estimates, but I really don't think it sits right with me to call myself an auto-admit.

I feel like to raise my chances that extra 10% I should start a nonprofit granting quant opportunities to babies in the Congo Basin. Is this a good idea?

If my parents got divorced i could get better aid AND it would give me something to write about in my personal statement. This is a perfect idea and I don't understand why more people don't do this?

They have these programs for the incarcerated. Everything paid for, I just get to study, no distractions, simple meals and I get to workout and focus on my looksmaxxxing.

How are there ppl with two non profits and isef grand award and isef special award and research internship (paid) and 100k instagram followers and founder and 4.0 and class pres

is there a strat that im missing or sum because what the helly

how do you have time in the day

i just got my letter of recommendation sent to colleges. It's overall a good letter, from a staff member of a biopharma company i interned at over the summer who was kind enough to send me a copy so I could see what she wrote.

It's a glowing recommendation and probably one of my best ones, but the first sentence says "I am honored to recommend [my name] for admission to MIT" ...

I dug around online and apparently on the common app website it says letters of recommendation cant be edited or unsubmitted after they're sent. super scared rn

I haven't submitted any applications yet but I'm worried some other colleges will see the school name and assume the recommender was lazy or that MIT is my top choice and reject me. MIT is nowhere near my dream school 😭 am i cooked chat

I'm totally in love with the valedictorian of my school. He's so dreamy and set on MIT. If I get in, will I impress him enough for him to have a college relationship with me?

Hi,

My son is now 12. Dartmouth has been his dream school since he was 18 months old. He has gone to the Go Green basketball camp since he was 8. He had a great rapport with the head coach Dave and was on the track to play for him in college at Darmouth. Dave was fired last spring and went back to his alma mater Colby. I don’t know what to do. I can’t have my son go to a lesser school like Colby. It has to be Ivy or nothing for him. He has been taking SAT practice exams every Sunday for six hours since he was 8 instead of being a normal kid and playing with his friends. I mean, it is his dream school and when he found out Dave had been fired when he got home from school this spring he tore off his little finance bro vest in the fire pit and refused to study for his Series 7 exam or do his DCF analysis homework which he had been doing for the last 4 years. The text morning he refused to drink the water with green food dye in it so that he can piss Green every time just like he pisses excellence. Really stressed out about this.

PSA: If you are in junior high or younger (I’ve seen it), just off this thread and go be a f’ing kid!

Starting on October 19th and ending on November 2nd, students can apply to up to five SUNY schools for free! SUNY can be a great affordable option, especially if you’re in-state. And if you make under $125k as an in-state family, get tuition covered with the Excelsior Scholarship!

COA info: https://www.suny.edu/smarttrack/tuition-and-fees/

Excelsior Scholarship: https://hesc.ny.gov/find-aid/nys-grants-scholarships/excelsior-scholarship-program

There are also private NYS schools waiving application fees. See the full list here: https://hesc.ny.gov/plan-college/college-application-initiative/site-coordinators/2026-nys-colleges-waiving

Also, if you’re low-income (here: https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/poverty-guidelines-2022-28.pdf) and live in-state, check out EOP at SUNY schools: https://www.suny.edu/attend/academics/eop/

Academic profile: https://www.suny.edu/media/suny/content-assets/documents/summary-sheets/Admission-Information-Summary-Sheets.pdf

When you qualify for EOP, your child can apply to seven SUNY schools for free.

And, check out HEOP (same income guidelines as EOP and have to live in-state) at various private schools: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JWjJ7x1Knjzt9Hc2kO9dh4OiYVPTb6lZ/view?usp=drivesdk

admissions officers please chime in too!

As I'm writing them, I realize that mine are so distinctly me and a little unserious and I'm not sure if thats a good thing. The hobbies I do are kind of strange and thus the things I wrote about are too. While being a very serious musician is a huge part of my application, for supplemental writing about community I wrote about wearing a mask of my favorite pop artist and posting anonymous videos online of me playing my instrument and how I was able to convince others to start playing music too. wow I hope that doesnt dox me. For community prompts I wrote about my passion of turning broken kitchen utensils into other objects such as lamps and that was how I was able to look at things from a different perspective.

I know it's good to be niche but I feel like im niching out so hard that it's kind of silly and unserious. Especially because I'm not the most academic person ever, my stats are kind of the weakest part (3.8 UW, 1500) and my application is hugely about my success in music, so is this a bad thing to do? Rather than choosing communities like this, should I do something a little more serious? I know some colleges like weird kids but not all of them.

As the title suggests, I have almost no significant extracurriculars aside from playing club soccer for about 4 years and being on varsity soccer my sophomore year and this year. 

I've recently started giving college more thought and wondering what I can do to make myself a competitive applicant, and goddam, some applicants have hundreds of impressive extracurriculars, like participating in national conventions or starting a nonprofit that generated thousands. I can’t help but wonder if I have any chances of making it into any of my preferred colleges.

For reference, my UW GPA is a 3.83, and I’ve taken about 8 AP/Honors classes (school didn't offer APs until 11th grade XD ). I haven't taken the PSAT yet, but I do plan on doing so this year. I'm also hoping to major in computer science.

Maybe I’m overreacting since I just started 11th grade, but it seems impossible to be able to catch up to those individuals who've been building their EC profiles for years. I'm especially interested in finding meaningful extracurriculars to pursue throughout my junior year, preferably some that align with my interest in computer science.

Any advice from people who've been in a similar position, especially current or former TAMU students, would be greatly appreciated! TAMU is currently my dream school :)

Im just really frustrated. I have a lower GPA, 3.1 UW and 3.7 W and I feel so bad about it.

It’s not like I slacked off in school that much. I’ve had so many things happen to me throughout high school and middle school. It all starts with my dad passing. We are broke. Can’t afford our house and it was during COVID. His funeral was literally on my birthday. I had to leave everything behind all my stuff, my house, my old friends, my school and my decent-ish life (actually no, he was an addict and my mom is neglectful) From there my mental health declined throughout middle school and all my teacher dropped me a level for high school by the time I was in 8th grade diagnosed with MDD and GAD (depression and anxiety) I was stuck with it for like literally the rest of my high school career up until my current senior year because my counselor wouldn’t let me DO ANYTHING (like take harder classes) and throughout high school my life just got worse. I had no friends— they were all fake and I went through an extremely toxic abusive relationship and break up from 7th to freshman year all alone. My sophomore year I had to take up so much responsibility all alone, my moms health got worse, my aunt had a stroke and she started living with us in my grandparents house, my grandpa died and I also had no one checking up on me. Keep in fucking mind I have a twin sister and she just turns a blind eye to everything. She’s completely clueless and I have to do all the chores and teach her everything over and over and if I fail to do so I’m a bad sister (neglectful mom again) My junior year I got diagnosed with hypothyroidism and adjusting to medication was a nightmare, my mom almost died twice and I was alone again because I decided to break off from my friend excluding me so I was alone.

That’s why my grades are so fucked up.

There are other details but I feel like they aren’t as important. That’s all the major stuff. So yeah, I do have extenuating circumstances but I just feel so frustrated. Little me has always looked forward to going to an insane college and actually get an education I care about. I do have other things, like my ECs and leadership everywhere and my new job and ofc the essays. But I don’t know how holistic colleges are.. I can hope but it looks like it’s just community college for me. I feel like my GPA screws me over. I can barely get merit aid and I can’t afford schools with it anyways EVEN financial aid.

On top of all of this my family and my counselors don’t believe in me. I want to go premed neuroscience especially after my whole life dealing with my mental health and they think I’ll just give up. I’m so frustrated, this is something, finally after thinking I wouldn’t be alive to apply to colleges, see a future where I’m in it. It hurts when they don’t believe in me and they already just see another failure.

There are people worse than me who have managed an amazing GPA. Idk what to do at this point. I’m going to hope for the best and just see where it takes me.

This might not be written well.. sorry! I’m just frustrated with how impossible my life seems right now. And no offense to community college! It’s a smart choice. It’s just not exactly what I was picturing for my future.

Especially everything I’ve gone through, it feels like I’m just wasting my time and all my perseverance was for nothing. Honestly I’m tired of waiting. I want something to pay off.

If you relate to this, good luck! I hope everyone here succeeds.

1. Williams College

2. Pomona College

3. Amherst College

4. Swarthmore College

5. Bowdoin College

6. Colby College

7. Grinnell College

8. Smith College

9. Wellesley College

10. Washington and Lee University

11. Davidson College

12. Wesleyan University

13. Carleton College

14. Colgate University

15. Vassar College

16. Hamilton College

17. Middlebury College

18. Macalester College

19. Haverford College

20. Bates College

21. University of Richmond

22. Claremont McKenna College

23. Barnard College

24. Harvey Mudd College

25. College of the Holy Cross

*Service academies not included due to their no-tuition status.

Not American, but found out about how college applications goes in America and I am pretty impressed. I don’t really plan to study in the US but because being nosy I found out that the college applications are crazy.

You have to do extracurriculars related to your major years before ( I believe, probably not that necessarily right?) whatsoever I am so impressed with the students who could figure what they wanna do so early.

I am currently a senior at high school and I can’t imagine myself doing anything..I am just studying with zero passion which is killing me.

How did y’all do it, how did you find your passion?

Would anyone be willing to review my activities and honors to see if they are well described and appropriately ranked relative to one another? ASAP would be ideal cus my first deadline is the 15th (basically today).

I am really struggling to fit everything in the 150 character limit for the activities list. I wanted to mention a specific guest speaker series that I organized for my club but really have like no space to put it.

My club advisor briefly mentions it in her letter of rec would that suffice? I don't really know how closely AO's look at those.

Honestly the activities list has been more difficult for me to write than any other part of my app I just feel like im leaving off so much important info and things that to me are vitally important

like what the freak I spent 50 hours on this thing just for it to be cut bc the goofy ahh character limit

Im submitting a music supplement to some schools and i have some solid recordings rn w/ a few very small mistakes

Are the music professors reviewing music supplementals going to be approaching them with conservatory level mindset? I would say my skills are rather advanced high school but nowhere near music school level. Im afraid my supplemental might hurt instead help my app.

i wanna apply to the big harv for rea but i think my chances are pretty low. should i get my friend who's already 18 attending harvard to adopt me? ill get parental legacy that way. how likely would it be for me to get in?

I’m literally crashing out bcuz I submitted my sat score today to UT Austin and on their MyStatus website it says it takes 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS to send the score. And if they don’t receive it by Oct 22 I will be put in the regular decision pool. I’m genuinely so so so scared bcuz I DONT HAVE 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS… I’m acc so worried like wtf do I do do I just accept my fate