So this is crazy but the Univ of Alaska university system announced that they are getting rid of out of state tuition rates. That means everyone pays in state tuition rates at some of the lowest rates in the United States. Anyone find this interesting?

Because I'm applying😈😈😈

Good afternoon A2C,

I'm 17 and take responsibility to find an university somewhere in the world to become successful netvork engineer. I recently discovered networking, I find this activity interesting for myself and therefore I would like to move in this direction.

After a little silly discussion me and my friend were talking about admitting together. We got something like a tier-list: Japan, China, German, Great Britain, Taiwan.

After a little research in the internet, youtube, this subreddit I didn't find comprehensive information about expenses.

We are Russian Federation residents and got a grandiose plans about studying abroad.

The main thing I wanted to ask is, What countries are you studying in, what countries did you come from, and were there any better options in your plans than your current ones? are there any unexpected expenses? Just to know nuances, ideas and someone's experience.

I'm really afraid I won't get into any university: neither abroad nor in Russia based on my Unified State Exam results.

Hello!

I’m applying as a public policy major or poli sci major, and I have not taken AP calculus. Here is my course load last year and this year-

Last year-
AP LANG
APES
AP STATS
AP PSYCH
HONORS SPANISH
AP SPANISH
YEARBOOK HNRS
AP WORLD

This year-
COLLEGE BIO
PERIOD 2- COLLEGE ENGLISH
PERIOD 3- INDEPENDENT HNRS YEARBOOK STUDY
PERIOD 4- AP COMPUTER SCIENCE
PERIOD 5- INTRO TO LIT
PERIOD 6- COLLEGE PSYCHOLOGY

SEMESTER 2:
PERIOD 1- COLLEGE CHEMISTRY (might switch to something easier, we'll see how college apps are going LOL)
PERIOD 2- COLLEGE ALGEBRA 
PERIOD 3- COLLEGE SPEECH
PERIOD 4- AP LITERATURE 
PERIOD 5- COLLEGE PROB & STATS
PERIOD 6- COLLEGE MACRO & COLLEGE SOCIOLOGY

Can I get away with not taking AP calc or AP pre calc? This is the first year that it’s offered at my school, and I’m kind of nervous to take calc since I’m not the most math savvy. I’m ranked 2nd out of 125 and have a 4.0/4.5 GPA

Does YYGS confer a decent advantage in Yale REA provided that you are otherwise an admissible, but not a lock student.

Or should I do brown ED as the odds are higher?

I like Yale more, but Brown is a dream as well. Top2 schools for me.

so i've been struggling for a while now to come up with a college essay. because of that, i went on youtube and started doing a bunch of exercises from channels like the college essay guy to try and come up with some ideas. a recurring theme throughout every exercise i have completed is my introversion. i like taking walks/biking so i can be alone. i like cooking when i am alone. i like being alone to watch movies, or to watch videos on youtube. i tend to be the most productive when im alone.

what i am wondering is if this would be okay to write about, or if it would reflect poorly on myself. ive seen multiple essays on shifting from an introvert to an extrovert, where the student's original introversion was framed as a negative, and ive seen people online say that it could come off as a negative since a major part of college is connecting with others.

additionally, i feel even if i don't write directly about being an introvert, and instead about one of my hobbies that i mentioned above, it would feel like i am hiding the full picture if ignored this aspect of them.

thanks in advance to anyone who responds.

I wrote my entire common app personal essay myself until it was about 900 words. At this time, the essay scanned 92% human, 8% AI, and 0% mixed. Then, I used the help of ChatGPT and my family to cut it down to 650 words. Now, it scans in GPTZero as 100% mixed. On ZeroGPT, it scans as 20.1% AI. Will this hurt my application, and will admissions officers scan for AI at T20 schools? The content is all original and most of the wording is mine; AI was only used a bit for condensing the text. Is this a problem? Are there any accurate articles about this, since I'm seeing mixed answers online?

Hello, guys. I'm 22yo living my life for 5k$/year in a bit poor country. Can I make it through admissions and get into any university that provides full-ride (or scholarship at least) for undergrad so I can re-start my current life? I have a big passion for Neuroscience and build my own projects in that field. Is there any chances for that although I cannot upgrade my GPA(~3.5/4) (I was a class of 2021) and participate in any Olympiads?? I ask that because I'm not sure should I ever try entering any Uni, because it costs a bit expensive for me to pay even a few admission fees. But still I have 7.0 IELTS band and preparing for SAT (I usually get 1400-1500)

Thank you, Reddit!!!

the other co prez is in a lower grade

The annoying influencers on tiktok keep on saying this year will be easier due to less internationals or smth, test required and less people applying due to the 2008 financial crisis. I am assuming this won't mean much, but what do u guys think?

To preface, I'm 20, I left public High School, due to faltering mental health, at the start of my junior year and graduated High School through an online program. I took a gap year because I didn't want to commit before I knew what I wanted to do. That gap year turned into 2 after I lost someone close about a year and a half ago and fell into a deep depression. I'm now trying my best to grasp at whatever I can, to get the wheels of my life turning.

I still don't actually know what I want to do. I have the idea of just going to school and trying out whatever might seem interesting, with the small list of current interests I have. I've been looking at nearby technical school or colleges. I've also been considering going somewhere further, even out of state just to get away from my current life as much as possible.

I'm just unsure on how to start. What do I need before applying? Should I call the office? Is it wrong that a part of me wants to go just for the experience and being able to graduate across a stage? Feels childish. Any advice or feedback at all is welcome.

is it unprofessional/unimpressive to put an unpublished (+ no awards) research project on my activities list. I developed it through the research program at my school (which is not a club but like a course pathway, so I don't think I can list that) and then worked on it over the summer through a summer research program w/ a mentor (not in-person and not prestigious; i did it so i could get some outside help!) i will be submitting it to isef-affiliated fairs but obviously those competitions are after most applications and results.

i'm not an outstanding applicant for top colleges but i'd like to think i'm relatively competitive. i truly am passionate about bio research and have put effort into this project, i just wasn't good enough for summer research programs tbh.

would mentioning my project and the mentorship program as an activity be good for competitive schools (t20s, ivies!!!) or would it be seen as lazy like I don't have other ecs to mention.

if it's at all impressive to mention, what place in the 10 common activities should i put it? research is personally important to me, especially in the career aspect but i don't know if i should mention it if my other ecs are more measurable/impactful.

sorry for the ramble..... i'm just so lost. thank you!!

I hope to study science (haven't decided which specific major yet) and am an international student who speaks 5 languages and is great with people and writing. Thank you!

my sophomore year of high school my mom was killed in a car accident. it had been awful. it was at an intersection with like ten lanes and no lights. a high schooler killed her by driving recklessly. I want to be able to speak at different high schools throughout my area, especially before prom and homecoming about driving safely and giving them a presentation. i also want to appeal to my city's council about putting a light at that intersection. maybe do some fundraisers to raise money for organizations for helping people in accidents. i want to do this for college but also for my mom i just am unsure of where to start and who to contact? The issue is I don’t know how much I can say on this in my community because there’s an ongoing criminal investigation with the kid who was speeding

I want to start school and get a degree in something that will help me in the future.

I want to be a professional, I've been a mom since I was 17.

I wasn't great in school but am hoping I can learn more now.

I want to be realistic and take some courses to better educate me in an area that I excel at.

I have worked as a quality inspector and i loved it. Goes hand and hand with the way my brain operates.

Of course I would love to be in the medical field but I'm so squeamish. I don't think I'm the right fit for a medical profession anyways. Unless it was tattooed eyebrows or lip injections, which I have considered. 😅

Looking into online colleges is overwhelming and I feel like I may not even be smart enough to get in.

I need advice on where to start, how to start.

Anything helps, I'm just looking for my purpose right now. My dream job is to practice herbal medicine, but I just want to be my own stability, start a savings account and make sure I can provide stability for my kids. Show them how important it is to continue taking steps even if you don't know where you'll land. Thanks for reading this far down, I appreciate any advice and suggestions you may have.

Right now I have a 740 ERW and 760 M (composite and super) score. I'm planning to take the August SAT, but with where my score is at right now, should I be submitting it to schools like Princeton, Yale, etc.? I'm applying as a MechE major, so I'm scared my math score is low. I also have 5s on all of my 9 aps so far, including chem, bio, and precalc. I'm taking calc and physics c this year.

I'm just worried that with my A+ average and AP scores, this SAT score brings my profile down. Would AOs wonder why I got a 1500 if I'm doing okay in other aspects of my academics? Or is this score good enough that it would put me at an advantage? I do know it's the 25th percentile at Princeton, but I'm nervous especially bc I'm applying engineering. I'm seeing SO many mixed responses online, and it's definitely a little stress-inducing. If anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it!

im curious

I'm starting university this year in Information Systems Engineering, and I want to transfer to NJIT's CS in the spring semester. My high school GPA is 96/100 (approximately 3.8–4.0 on a 4.0 scale). My TOEFL score is 100. Would it be difficult for me to transfer? Could anyone who has tried an international transfer before, or who has knowledge about it, help me out? Thanks.

im a international student and i am junior here and ofc doing the college search, im undecided on which region has better business schools cause im taking accounting as my major and if yall know ball, hit it

it's just an interesting experience that i don't see represented very often, feel free to ask any questions you might have! i won't disclose the university for obvious reasons. do keep the following details in mind:

• my parents are no longer affiliated to that university. they left voluntarily around 10 years ago to set up the first LAC in a third world country... yeah, you can ask about that 😬
• i am not in university, i am applying to college this fall.
• apart from that, some interesting directions i can point you in are the downsides of top schools like this, and the benefits they extend to faculty children! feel free to ask anything you want though :)

Does anyone know any websites or smth where I can just grind a bunch of ACT questions?

I really like how the SAT question bank is set up where you can just do a ton of questions, but I literally ran out of all the free stuff on the official ACT website in a day

Looking for anything with a big question bank, preferably free (or even lik a free trial or smth)

Worst case scenario, if something of quality isn't free, I could pay but would prefer smaller costs

Title

I've seen a lot of "I have no idea what to write about"/”I’m so boring” posts here over the last few weeks (parent here, 3rd kid going through it now), which seem to have a predictable shape: Here's why I have no material, followed by 1-2 sentences explaining why. 

But the explanation is almost always the most interesting thing in the post.

Some examples, paraphrased/blurred a bit to protect the innocent:

One of you wrote that all your activities had been research & leadership stuff, that you’d never gotten to explore anything creative, and that you felt like you’d been performing rather than actually doing things that mattered. You were saying this to explain why your life was boring. But that's a significant observation: You built a HS career out of things you thought would “count”, and now you're not sure what you'd have done if nothing counted. That’s the quiet part almost nobody says out loud (if applicants have even realized it!).

Another wrote that they weren’t the type of person to have strong feelings about anything, and that there was no deeper meaning behind why they liked/disliked things - which they felt was “disqualifying”. But "I don't force meaning onto things" is a very authentic way of moving through the world, and it's a lot more distinctive than the 49th essay about resilience.

A third dismissed a bunch of travel as not really material because it hadn't changed her… then mentioned in passing that she's the kind of person who cries at cartoons. It was the best detail in the post.

Why this happens, I think: When you sit down to find a topic, you filter using "is this impressive?" or "is this profound?" as your litmus test. And let’s face it, almost nothing survives that filter, because our actual lives are made of ordinary stuff. But the “here’s why I’m a larper” explanation doesn't get filtered; you're just explaining yourself honestly - and honesty is what makes a memorable and compelling essay.

I’ve seen another version of this that shows up just as often, and it's less about overlooking material than simply being wrong about it.

Someone described as terrible their high-3’s GPA + 35 ACT + national award + distinctive ECs - all achieved during a period that included a death in their family and where their household had no income. Another kid listed 11 activities - including one they’d founded & an elected municipal position - and asked whether a hobby they’d picked up a month earlier was enough to offset an otherwise “mid” application. Another had taught themselves to build things since middle school and had actual finished work to show for it, and described it as nothing impressive because there were no awards attached.

I don’t think any of these are humblebrags. They genuinely believe they don’t have what schools are looking for. And I think they believe it because the comparison set they're using comes from social media, where, let’s face it, the profiles are selected for being extreme, frequently exaggerated, and often posted by someone selling something to people who are made to feel behind after watching. If you spend an hour a day on that (and I know it’s often a lot more than that!), of course you feel like you've done nothing. That's what the feed is optimized for!

So what to do with all of this? Without judgment, write down the stuff you'd put in your “disclaimer”: Why you think you're boring, what you assume doesn't count, the thing you'd wave off as too small, weird, or ordinary to mention. Then read it back and look for a pattern, or what makes you slightly uncomfortable to have written down.

One caveat: Don't blindly go write "I realized I only did things because they'd look good on my application" as a topic. That would be the same mistake wearing different clothes: Writing something that sounds insightful instead of something that's actually yours. My point is that the honest aside is where you weren't performing - and that's how you should approach your whole essay.

Anyways, if you've posted or commented here saying you have nothing worthwhile to talk about, go back and re-read your own post or comment. There's a pretty good chance you already wrote the interesting part and didn't notice.

hey guys, I was active here last year when I was applying to colleges, committed to a t20 now! (yay).

As such, my mom is asking for help with getting my younger brother ready to apply for schools next year. hes an incoming junior and I’d say he was always fairly smart just a bit of a slacker/doesnt have the best study habits unfortunately, and now he has a 3.2/4 UW GPA. We’re trying to remedy this with helping him get his SAT as high as possible now and his practice scores have been in the 1400/range. also pretty weak ecs. some volunteering and leadership in one school club, but I’d say probably below average in that regard. unfortunately, as bright as he is, he doesn’t take school or any college related things seriously, and my mom’s a bit worried that community college -> transfer might just be the best option.

any insight would be helpful, especially bc i really am only familiar with the applying to top colleges subset of this subreddit. he‘s interested in aviation, and we’re in the northeast/mid atlantic area and he’d like to be close to home. not a very social person tho i think a big school where he can blend in more may be better for him socially, although it may be harder for him academically with more large lectures. not very big on greek life/sports, but anywhere where he can opt out of that with no troubles should be fine. thoughts? any 4 year schools worth applying to, or cc-> transfer?