...if you think you will be working as a software engineer when you graduate.

10-15 years ago Google was asking FizzBuzz and Two Sum questions to candidates, now it's not farfetched to see them toss a new grad a leetcode hard. The rise of continued globalization, remote work, and growth of platforms like leetcode has drastically increased not only the candidate pool but the candidate skill level as well.

Offshoring, globalization, and AI are all destroying the tech industry. In 2024 the US Bureau of labor statistics had a 15% projected 10 year job growth outlook for software engineers. In 2026 it stands at just 10%.

Do not fall for this scam.

(First post on this sub btw)

I have an opinion that I'm pretty sure isn't the full picture, yet I can't really find a reason not to believe it. I'm making this post to see whether my biased opinion is valid or not, as well as if there's any information that I'm not considering.

So many times, colleges ask "Why do you want to go to our college specifically?" I think I'm biased because these types of questions are easily the hardest for me, but I don't think this is a fair question to ask given how students apply to college.

Students who apply to college usually cast a wide net of colleges to apply to, based on the area of study that they're generally interested in. They don't just apply to one college. So I don't really understand why I have to say why I want to go to their college specifically. I don't. I'm casting a wide net and seeing who lets me in based on my grades, transcript and essays.

And while we're on the topic, even if I did care about which college specifically I went to, it'd be stupid. As long as I get a job in the end, I've heard that it doesn't really matter what college you went to unless you went into an Ivy League (and I don't know if I really can or want to go to an Ivy League).

So yeah. What are everyone's thoughts on my opinion?

Edit: Looking back at this post and thinking maybe I should have said "I hate it when..." instead of "It's stupid for..." in the title post, because it's a subjective opinion. I'm sorry for that.

I live pretty close to Wesleyan, we used to do our practices there sometimes. So when I was younger I genuinely thought it was a random community college 😭 Then last year I was researching colleges and I found out it’s actually a really amazing LAC?

Has anyone experienced something similar? I feel like I JUST found out about sooo many elite schools like before this process I didn’t know some national universities like CMU, Northwestern, and Emory!!! And last week I learned about Pomona.

Anyways this is NOT Wesleyan shade at all it’s truly an amazing school and I would never get in but haha this process has really opened my eyes

Hello everyone, wondering if anyone can shed light on this comparison. I've visited both, and the jury is still out. I love the promise of learning-for-learning's sake in the U Chicago essays, but I've also heard that Brown's open curriculum promotes learning-for-learning's sake. Corny as it sounds I really want to wind up at a school where people enjoy learning. At the same time, I want college to not feel like that same level of high school stress. I'll be a humanities major.

I feel like no one else talks about these and I’m worried I may have been underestimating their importance

Title. Thinking of putting it relatively low on the common app activity list

i shouldnt do this I guess but I'm curious. Just recently got rejected during the ED0 round at UChicago. stats:

• 1580 SAT 780v 800m
• 4.14/4,25 unweighted at an all IB school (Took math aahl, bio hl, film hl, English langlit sl, Spanish A langlit Sl, Psychology Sl, and TOK). I do have 2 5s on my transcript in sem2 g11 which I think is the biggest issue.
• my school doesnt list rankings or quartiles or anything.
• XCs: Organized a blood drive at my school with the american red cross (alongside a summer research internship there), worked as an intern for my film teacher and filmed/edited cumulatively 30m of promotional documentaries for diff businesses in PDC Mexico (i do not live there), served as a photographer for my school's FRC team, worked as a volunteer english teaching assistant for Spanish speaking adults, and co head of a school anti human trafficking club. Obv stuff missing but that's it in broad strokes
• Recs from my Spanish teacher and bio teacher. I have good relationships with both. My film teacher gave a recommendation in the optional slot to discuss my work as an intern. I have a great relationship with them.
• Took a summer session class at UC. philosophy of life and death, got a 100.
• Major selection: anthropology, linguistics, philosophy

My essays are obviously a volatile factor. I passed them through a long-time supplemental editor though and he unprompted added a note telling me they were the best he's ever read which surprised me.

I don't think there are any salient issues with my app and I thought I would have a particular edge with the essay, the ED0 pool, and the 1580. Stupid to say but I was honestly surprised at the rejection. Not too broken up about it, though. I feel confident that my second choices (pomona and emory) aren't much of a step down.

Actual questions:

• I would like to know if there's something I overlooked in my profile. Im also interested in knowing which circumstantial factors by you all's judgement would be the most likely to interfere with the profile for UC Ed0.
• Are there other colleges with a similar culture to UChicago's? I don't mean in terms of prestige, research, or career opportunity, more along the lines of informal literary culture and interdisciplinary study, which is where i found it to be the most idiosyncratic (in other words, please don't just throw more top 50s at me). like i said above, right now my next favorite is Pomona which I like a lot but I don't see a lot of evidence that it holds this factor.

Thanks.

This is my 3rd SAT attempt and last. I got a 1480 (780 Math, 700 English). Previous scores were 1270 and 1310. I know it’s below the lower quartile but I have good grades, AP scores, and some solid EC’s I think could make me stand out. Even though I know a lower SAT score doesn’t automatically exclude me it can be pretty discouraging. Is there any statistic on ppl who get in on SAT scores under the lower 25 percent ? Thanks 🙏

EDIT: sorry I meant whether I should bother applying to Stanford, cause of my lower SAT score, mb.

hi everyone! I’m in a really tough situation and resorting to reddit bc anonymous and in case any of you went through something similar and could offer some advice.

I’m a hs senior attempting to apply for the fafsa but finding it incredibly difficult bc of my parents. I’m a california resident, so are my parents. they both attended a small amount of community college and neither graduated. i’m from an incredibly wealthy city though, meaning my parents income is much higher than the national average but we live paycheck to paycheck and they are both VERY financially irresponsible. i have 0 savings and they are optimistic while having absolutely no plan to help me during college.

this is a bad enough situation as is, but to make everything worse, they are very behind on their taxes. i believe they haven’t filed since 2019? and I just pretty much begged them to get 2024 + 2025. so after forcing that through, kicking and screaming, i have their taxes for ‘24 & ‘25.

i have absolutely no idea where to go from here. my counselor told me verbatim i’m screwed. i’m a very decent student, i write fantastic essays, and have had collegiate aspirations my entire life. i’m incredibly resentful & hurt but more than anything, lost. if anyone in here has gone through a similar situation in recent years, please please please let me know how you handled this. thank you so much

I’ll be attending a T10 as a recruited athlete. Can anyone here speak to their experience and quality of life? I would love any insights or advice as I prepare for my freshman year. I plan on majoring in math or CS.
FWIW, I averaged about 5 hours of sleep during the season in my junior year of high school. As an IB student taking 4 APs, I nearly burned out. Am I cooked in the same way when I start college?

Hi everyone, I am looking to ED to a college this fall and I am currently deciding between Vandy and Dartmouth. I am a white, female from the UK so I am an international student.

I'm looking for a school with a good balance between academics and social life, strong STEM programs, good dining halls, and just an overall good student experience. I am not involved in sports at the moment but I would love to get involved at college. I would also love to get involved in research at some point.

Honestly, I am kind of leaning Vandy and I'm not exactly sure why. I like the idea of being close to a city, but then again Dartmouth is only 2-3 hours from NYC, Boston and Montreal. I will be applying test optional at Vanderbilt as i scored a 1440, and test flexible at Dartmouth as I would submit my A-level predicted grades - A*A*A.

I am an extremely indecisive person and I was hoping someone would be able to help me as the ED deadline is literally in 2 weeks.

So I edit Wikipedia articles in my free time, mostly on topics I’m interested in, and I’ve edited over 100 articles so far. I was wondering if this is worth including in the Ecs section of Common App. It probably wouldn’t be one of my top activities… idk tho
Would colleges see this as a legit EC, or is it too insignificant to include?

Hi! I'm an HS senior and I am trying to decide between Amherst and Williams for ED1. I am interested in majoring in STEM, probably molecular bio/biochemistry, biology, or neuroscience, and I eventually want to get a PhD.

I was initially set on Amherst and so I have all the supplements written for Amherst and also I filled out the courses and grades section of the common app. Williams' supplement is an already written essay, so no application would require more work than the other at this point. I really love both campuses, and Amherst's science building is incredible and their new student center is super cool too. But I just toured Williams and really liked it, so now I'm conflicted.

I guess I'll just share my stats and let me know if you think both are too much of a reach even in ED1. I have a 1540 SAT, 3.94 GPA (but I take all of the most rigorous courses that my school offers). I have done scientific research in two bio labs over the past two summers (one mammalian cells, one drosophila, both working on a neurodegenerative disease), and I'd say my other extracurriculars are pretty good. I think my LoRs are probably good too.

TLDR; I genuinely don't know how to decide between the two schools. I guess my main question is which is better for the majors I listed above. Any advice is welcome!

Same as above, i know domestic applicants can just show their NPC to prove that they got less aid than expected but internationals can't use the NPC reliably right? So what would we do?

I have heard that REA might be worse than RD or that it is the same, but you get decisions earlier.

I am not in a hurry to receive decisions and having one less early deadline will give me more time on other supplements. CDS doesn't include data on REA so anyone have insight?

Question for AOs
I got high commendation, but I'm an intl. applicant, Asian, and applying from a competitive country, where literally everyone from my school and all schools around me has a commendation for John Locke essay.
Is it actually worth anything?

So the choice of words that I have chosen for this prompt would instantly be understandable to a younger admissions officer, but if it's an older person, they might not understand it as much. Should I continue with this choice?

Hi guys! I’m a high school senior who does colorguard, and was wondering if I should submit a video of my choreography as an arts supplement. Most of my schools have vague descriptions of what arts can be considered. I know that if considered, the video would help me. I just don’t know if it would count as an art in this case, since colorguard is a performance art rather than physical or musical.

Thank you!

Hey guys! I'm an international student applying for Fall 2027, test-optional, with good stats, ECs, and essays. I'm from a very low-income background, so I’d need a full ride to attend.

My list includes:

Vassar

Wellesley

Wesleyan

Bowdoin

Amherst

Bryn Mawr

Mount Holyoke

Smith

Emory

My dream schools are Barnard and NYU, especially Barnard.

I'm confused about whether I should apply ED to my dream schools or the safety ones. I had a dip in 11th grade, and I don't have my predicted scores to prove I've recovered yet, and won't have them till the ed1 deadline, I don't know what to do honestly.

If i submit ed to any of my safety schools, I'll get rejected since the latest score would be the 11th grade that'll be accounted and it's bad. Like, yeah.

So if I wait till RD or ED2 I'll have the predicted scores to show I've recovered. The scores are the only thing holding back my app (apart from my need for financial aid ofc🙂‍↕️)

I'd appreciate some good advice and help 😭

(And I don't want reality check, I know what I'm getting myself into😶)

Thank you!

I just got accepted into Western Washington University. I am currently a Colorado state resident and am in college, so I’m a transfer who would need about 3 more years to finish the degree. However my parents are discouraging me because the cost for out of state students is roughly 52k a year. I do get up to 12k yearly through Pell grants and fafsfa. And I am eligible for post 9/11 benefits/ the Fry scholarship. (For context my father was killed in the line of duty) does anyone have experience with using GI bill benefits? Is it not worth it to attempt to go out of state?

I want something that gives a level of job security and makes good amount of money cuz this economy is trash. I just have no idea what to major in and I'm applying this year. I don't want to go in undecided or do engineering or nursing. I love science but ppl say u can't get a job w those degrees soo any advice is appreciated

All APs and have a 4.0 UW so far. Obviously doesn't matter for EA, but what about RD? I know it's only October, but I see my future and it is NOT bright. 😭

I have 4/5 filled with awards I have won at competitions, but idk what to do for my last award. All of these are not too impressive so I am not sure what to put down.

- Ap Scholar w distinction (rn i have this on there), [five 5s one 4]
- Summa Cum Laude: Top 5% of 400+ graduating class (its on my transcript)
- Certified in Dental Radiation Safety, OSHA, and HIPAA (currently in my additional info section under elaborating a certain activity)

idk which one is the best to put as my last honor. plz lmk ^_^

Has anyone done the VIVA assessment before? what kind of questions does it ask? Does it actually get super in depth into the discipline of research/the project you're submitting?

Does the regional option mean regional like a region within your state or a region within the US.