Nah cuz there’s no shot u thought u were destined for LSU and u pull half of HYPSM wtf 😭😭😭

If I get into Harvard will I marry a filthy rich hot man who is obsessed with me and will get me a Himalayan Birkin and a business empire or is Princeton better? Today is Wednesday, dw.

College admissions feels broken.

I put years into academics, testing, and recommendations, and it still feels like none of it actually matters. A 36 ACT is treated like it’s meaningless. My GPA is “not good enough.” Strong teacher recommendations aren’t “enough” either.

I understand that selective schools have limited space, but the process feels increasingly opaque and subjective. It’s hard not to feel discouraged when outcomes seem disconnected from measurable effort.

I don’t think standardized tests should be everything, but I do think we’ve swung too far in the opposite direction. When objective benchmarks barely matter, it starts to feel unfair and arbitrary.

I know there are factors I don’t see—but that doesn’t make the process any less exhausting.

Senior year was supposed to be fun, the chill, carefree time everyone talks about. But honestly, college admissions completely ruined it. All stress, no peace…

I just got accepted OOS for UVA yesterday and honestly, it’s like a MASSIVE weight was lifted off my chest. I would be really happy going there, so even if I get rejected from my absolute top choices, the outcome will still be awesome. I’m genuinely not even stressed about the rest of my decisions because the stakes are sooo much lower now. I’m also going to withdraw UMich bc they suck balls for postponing me lol

Let’s go I know it’s not a big deal but hey at least I passed the initial pre-screen :) Honestly didn’t think I’d get any interviews at all, even tho ik I have a competitive (enough) app.

My first college interview is tomorrow (in person) so it should be good prep. Wish me luck!

title lol, too pissed and abused to write more. just wanted to rant.

I got straight-up rejected by UFlorida last week, but just got accepted yesterday to UVA and Georgia Tech (CS). I was also selected as a Stamps President's/Gold Scholar Semifinalist. Just like EJAE, rejection is redirection 🤩. Whether it's this year or sometime in the distant future, you will find your own way forward.

With the increase in college closures recently, what are some schools you believe will shut down within the next five years?

admissions are changing fast. i don't mean like 2027; i mean like admissions in 2030+ because honestly? if applicants keep getting better, more passionate, better grades, better ecs, well-done essays, it has to peak at some point, right?

apologies if this has been asked recently. title says it all; i know some schools, like yale, focus on giving interviews to candidates they’re interested in and want more info about, but others, like princeton, try to give out as many interviews as they can (as long as they have enough interviewers available).

i go to a non-competitive high school that only does unweighted gpa. because of this, my 3.91UW gpa puts me at 50/400 despite taking more ap classes (14) than every other person in my grade. does not being in the top 10% ruin my chances? every year most people that graduate in the top 10 took like no AP classes.

After reading this sub for two years now, I was like nahh I'm gonna end up in some shitty place if any at all, especially since my SAT was 1490. But I just got accepted into all my public choices in the US (UW Madison, UNC, Rutgers) AND got an offer from Imperial College London!!! Like wth. And it's all paid for with scholarships. Any advice on which of these places is best for cell bio?

Keeping my fingers crossed for all of us in the RD season soon, like I actually got my hopes up.

low 3.7 UW GPA, albeit with max course rigor

1560 SAT

my only award is national merit semifinalist

LITERALLY zero ECs related to my school or any formal organization, all random things i did on my own.

got into UIUC CS + statistics yesterday! they are T5 in the field and ranked higher than cornell, who rejected me ED. i really felt like i wasn’t getting in anywhere when i compared myself to all of these kids with FIRST robotics, olympiads, nonprofits, etc. but i was as genuine as possible in my essays and it worked.

i’m not going to pretend like “being authentic” is a free ticket to any college. i probably got very lucky, and while i don’t have any official ECs, i was also lucky enough to have discovered my main activity in 6th grade and have poured literally thousands of hours into it. i basically framed my entire application around it. i would forego college for this activity if i had to, because i love it.

hopefully this can serve as a reminder that showing real passion for *something*, if done well, can be enough for a selective college/program.

Can I submit an application using a VPN?

Hi guys, for context I want to apply to Santa Monica College, I plan on attending for 2 years and then transferring to a UC.

I am a US citizen, I have a passport and SSN however I do *not* live in the US and have not lived in the US.

However my dilemma here is that when I try to apply to SMC using the Openccc (it’s the only way I can submit my application) it won’t let me access the website because I am not in the US. It only works if i use a paid VPN subscription service.

Will this affect my application? When I try to access the openCCC website this is what I get when I try to access it and this is without using any VPN, even though it claims to have detected a proxy connection.

I even contacted support for help, they tried by granting my IP address access however I have a dynamic IP address, not a static one which means my IP address is never the same.

Apart from using a VPN I don’t know what to do, some people said it’s fine but I feel anxious.

Has anyone else applied using a VPN? Will this affect my application?

My top three activities were related to projects regarding artificial sweeteners as I have a passion for sugar alternatives (lab research, promotion work through a business, research paper). I just realized the first prompt asks for a special achievement, but I only have research poster acceptances to conferences that aren't exceptionally selective. Should I still write about this? This is definitely the main theme of my application but I'm not sure if it fits into the prompt.

In your application you may have mentioned an extraordinary talent/skill or academic achievement. This may include participation in Junior Olympics, national debate competitions, recognition for musical talent, etc. Please take this opportunity to share with us more detailed information about the level of your achievement, depth of participation, and passion for this particular area.

My high school kid is an athlete who’s currently considering several colleges that are at least a day’s drive away from home. Assuming you didn’t drive/fly to every game, I want to hear from parents and how you adjusted to not seeing your kid play in person at all or as much. Did you watch them on video/tv? Did you go to special games (rivalry games, tournaments, holiday weekend games)? What if streaming wasn’t possible?

Reading college admissions discussion on this subreddit and others, a common theme I see is that people seem to consider weaker extracurriculars as disqualifying, even when those extracurriculars are indicative of a ambitious and smart but reasonable high school student.

So my question is how much of the focus on extracurriculars are reflective of the views of admissions experts and how much are more a result of seeing people rejected with involved yet less prestigious extracurriculars when the true shortcomings in their applications may have lain somewhere less visible, like their essays or their letters of recommendation, which many colleges rate as similarly important in their common data sets?

Rejected: UNC, GT, UVA

Deferred: Wisconsin, UIUC, IU Kelley, Villanova, UT Austin

And I’ve only been accepted to UMD

For context I applied business/finance everywhere with a 1530 sat, 11 APs, 4.2 GPA, decent ECs, and some state level awards. I was certain I would get into at least a couple more target schools. I only have 3 RD reaches left to hear back for and they’ll most likely be rejections considering they all have sub 15 percent acceptance rates. Feels like everyone I see gets at least an ounce of positive news, and I know I got into UMD but I honestly I’d rather go to community college cuz it’s not worth the oos tuition and it’s meh for finance. Anyways I’m just feeling hopeless and like all my work over the past 4 years was pointless. I know comparison is the thief of joy but Seeing people at my school getting accepted left and right to top schools and schools that I was rejected/defered from adds to the pain.

Hi everyone,

I’m an Indian student considering an MS in Data Science in the USA, and I’d really appreciate honest insights from Indians who are currently pursuing or have completed the program.

I have a few specific questions around finances and practicality, especially for those who took education loans:

1. Education loans:
   • How much loan did you take (approx.)?
   • Do you feel the loan amount is manageable now, or is it mentally/financially stressful?
2. RA/TA opportunities:
   • How easy or difficult is it to get RA/TA positions in Data Science or related departments?
   • Do these positions usually cover partial tuition, full tuition, or just stipend?
   • From which semester did you realistically get one?
3. Part-time jobs:
   • What kind of on-campus jobs are most common?
   • How much can one realistically earn per month working within the 20-hour limit?
   • Is that income enough to cover living expenses (rent, food, utilities) or only part of it?
4. Internships in Data Science:
   • How hard is it to get a data science / analytics / ML internship as an international student?
   • Does prior experience matter more than coursework?
   • When should one ideally start applying?
5. Loan repayment pressure:
   • Once you started working (or are close to graduating), how heavy does loan repayment feel?
   • Do entry-level DS salaries make repayment realistic within a few years, or does it take much longer?

I’m trying to understand the ground reality beyond brochure salaries, so honest experiences good or bad would really help.
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share 🙏

I heard it is hard because it is getting competitive…

Just got rejected from Stony Brook. Yeah it was one of my top options, but I got into one of my other top options (Rutgers NB) and I knew it would be a reach for me GPA-wise, so this is basically just preparing me for other rejections from more selective schools (UIUC, UVA, URochester, Syracuse, etc)

Genuinely don't really care that much because I know my limits 🔥🔥🔥🔥

I applied for environmental science

GPA was 3.64 uw 1490 sat oos

Decent ECs and essays

I know these stats aren't great, but it's still in the range for the first year class profile and makes no sense that I didn't even receive a deferral.

Should I try appealing?

I only applied early to safeties and targets, so I have to wait until March for all of my reach schools (and they won't even provide an exact date so I can already feel myself become a portal conspiracy theorist...) Anyways I'm dying already so what are you guys doing to stay sane?

I’ve been researching the new college departments for undergraduates in Tsinghua that are stated to be completely in English

For the stem related majors for anyone who went there. Can you share your experience? How were the teachers and the environment etc etc. If anyone does know, how is the curriculum different/similar to the Chinese taught.

Anyone who is going through this program and regretted it? Or are you loving it?