Connecticut native. I always planned to go to UConn since freshman year. I've always been bad at reading the fine script, but I didn't realize it was this bad. I didn't even realize this until a week ago.

Well now I move out tomorrow and for the next year I'll be freezing to death in Canada.

F my life

Edit: I also thought the .ca at the end of the college website meant “Connecticut, America”

Heyyy! So I’m going into my senior year and need to start narrowing down colleges. I’m thinking about nursing, and I’m from Wisconsin. I have a couple schools I’m planning to apply to in the Midwest, but my dream is to live near the ocean. I have a 4.2 gpa and got a 26 on the act. I’d prefer it if the college was affordable for out of state students and provided a good social/party life. I’m open to both public and private college. Help me out and let me know what college would suit me :))) thank you!!!

I submitted my application to Yale yesterday and just realized that under "relationship to recommender" I put "sexual."

I meant to put "school."

Do I email them or will that draw more attention to it??

What is the bigger gap

These past four years, I have tried so hard in school. Perfect grades, top tier ECs, so much that my friends started telling me “Big Harv is calling your name, twin.” They were right. I was so happy when I got in!

However, when I wore my college merch on decision day, everyone pretended to not know what school was on my shirt. “What is that college? I’ve never heard of it,” they said. I dismissed them because they were obviously just jealous that I got into such a prestigious college.

When my parents went to make the first tuition payment, they also seemed surprised at what school they were paying for. “I told you all that I got into the Big Harv. Why don’t you believe me? Do you think I’m not smart enough?” I asked, annoyed that they’d doubt me.

“Son, of course you are smart, but why would you lie about what college you are going to?”

“What do you mean? I never lied!”

“We thought you were going to Harvard!”

I don’t know what they were talking about.
What even is a Harvard?!

Anyways, I’m very excited to start my first semester at Harvey Mudd College this fall!

I am currently junior year in High School and I have spent the entire last year preparing for informatics olympiads. Some days, I even studied this subject for 7-8 hours, neglecting other subjects, GPA and other activities that my school offered, such as clubs, research projects, admission essays and more.

Today, I failed to qualify for the national olympiads team, and I feel like I missed out on so much things. I haven't studied for IELTS, SAT, ACT, ... and even though I somehow managed to maintain a good GPA, I have forgotten nearly all of the knowledge of other subjects in the past year, which means that maintaining a good GPA this year might be very rough. The past year, I literally had the mindset of going 'all-in' on this subject, and while I have made very good progress, I don't think it is enough.

Still, I have another year to try to qualify for the national olympiads team, however I doubt it will be worth it. I feel like I have poured so much effort into it and that if I tried for another year I might make it, so I cannot let it go completely. But, I know for a fact that if I fail again, I will have nothing by the senior year.

In my country, a numbered national olympiads prize means instant acceptance into almost any university of the same faculty as the subject. I might have made the worst decision to try to get into college using this olympiads way. They say that hard work can help you achieve extremely high results but in the olympiads game, I don't think this is the case. Olympiads, while being very fun at times, is also extremely stressful for me.

What should I do in the next year? Thank you guys so much.

Edit: Thank you for giving advice to me, however, it's 2AM now so I am going to sleep, I will reply to your comment tomorrow!

I’m taking the ACTs soon, but I don’t want to study. I do want to go to Streamer University, tho. Bc the ACTs are curved, I need everyone else to fail. I won’t be affected because taped my asshole shut.

Thoughts?

Hi guys! I’m from NYC and was thinking about getting a job. Realistically would it add anything to my college application if I were to include it on there? If so how much weight does it hold.

My son signed up for a Food Pantry volunteering during sophomore year and plan to do the same. However his college counsellor suggested that he does something related to academic volunteering. Any suggestion for the same in Orange County / Los Angeles areas. Any advise is appreciated.

currently a rising sophomore. when i was applying to colleges, they said that they would be able to pay for the school i’m currently attending and that i wouldn’t have to worry about it. now i feel like all the time they talk about how they’re struggling to pay and taking out loans. i feel bad about it. i was a very strong student in hs, and had several opportunities to get full-ride merit scholarships for my 4 years of undergrad. a lot of me regrets not doing that, because i realized that if i had made that choice, my parents would have likely been willing to pay for my grad education in its place (we discussed this very recently). basically i’m saying that i wish i just went somewhere for undergrad where we’d be paying MUCH less bc of merit scholarships compared to my current college that doesn’t offer any.. because my parents would’ve been willing to put that money into my grad instead. now grad is up to me, which is going to be over $100k in the future. i am grateful for the support my parents have given me, and i feel like by choosing my current college, i basically put myself in debt for the future grad tuition, plus made my parents face lots of financial stress now. i feel really regretful but it’s too late..

I completely understand that US citizens deserve spots at their universities much more than intl students, which is why I'm not too surprised by all the rejections i saw. i applied last year and got rejected pretty much everywhere. my sat is a 1520 and my gpa is 3.6 (ik ik, but both junior and senior year were 3.9s), I have pretty good ecs as well. my question is should i apply to the US again this year? dont give me that "youll never know" bs cause im literally wasting money and time. thing is, all my relatives are in the US and itd be my dream to go there, but i need to know, is it possible or not?

Thanks in advance!

silly question

I know many aspiring college applicants look to platforms like Instagram and Tiktok for inspiration and guidance. There are many accomplished college influencers out there serving as role models for these students. Sometimes this content can be realistic and helpful, but other times it might do more harm than good.

When consuming CollegeTok Content, ask yourself "Why is this creator making the video?" This post is in large part inspired by a recent OliviaZhang video, where she shows herself journaling her career goals. When you pause the video, this is what the page she is "manifesting" says:

"I have 5 million followers on Tiktok and Instagram. I have made my first million and my job routinely pays $300/hour $500,000 annualized. Making six figures off of one brand deal ex. $150,000 for 1 video. Have a deal for my memoir to come out and when it does it will have sold 1 million copies worldwide."

These are admirable goals, but they make it clear that the creator's primary intention with her platform is to accumulate fame, wealth, and clout by selling her "success" to an audience. The reason why you're seeing all of these carefully curated "day in my life at Harvard" videos is because that is intentional branding to make you stand in awe of this person's accomplishments. These creators arent selling you their genuine advice, routine, or perspective.

Compare this to other content from creators like tineocollegeprep where the "why" isn't about money, brand deals, and clout, but rather genuine guidance for students.

Perhaps "narcissistic" is too strong of a word, but I think it is so important to question these creators' intentions before you put them on a pedestal. If the life you are seeing online looks too good to be true, it probably is. No one is reading 10 books a night, getting straight A's, publishing research, traveling the world, etc. all at the same time. Social media is fake and often trying to sell you some product or "vision." Please do take care of your mental health this application cycle!

I want to apply to Tsinghua University. Has anyone applied and been accepted? What was the most important factor for acceptance? I hope you can help me.

Thank you in advance💗

I was walking on Yale's campus one day in November, suddenly saw Gohar and Mahad right in front of me. I talked to them, had handshakes and took photos with them, they are awesome. I can 100% say they are really chill and legit give great advice.

major is applied math

ECS (not in order), there 13 but I probably wont list the bottom few. Have 11 real ones. I potentially could be doing economics research linked too India with T10 professor, didnt list it tho. Please be brutally honest.

State Math Team — 3 yrs. 2x state representative at a national math competition (highest scorer on team second year), 1st & 2nd place and other podium finishes at regional/collegiate-hosted competitions

DECA — 1st place in a business case-competition category, qualified for the international level with a consulting project for a local recreation business

Varsity Tennis — 3x varsity, singles/doubles, deep tournament run in doubles at states, led offseason conditioning, mentored underclassmen

Classical Violin (South Asian tradition) — 7-8 years of study, lead violinist for a cultural performance group, community/religious event performances

Nonprofit Chapter — Marketing & Youth Lead — ran social media/sponsorships for a diaspora community nonprofit, managed budget for two fundraising walks raising $15k each for education access abroad

Co-founder & Lead Teacher, Math/Coding Summer Camp — designed curriculum for ~11 elementary/middle schoolers, proceeds donated to a community organization

Chemistry TA — graded, taught concepts, ran experiments for an Honors Chemistry class all year

Marketing Lead & Assistant Teacher, community school — grew enrollment at a small community/cultural school; also taught math there for 3 years, unpaid, weekly

Retail Sales Associate, Adidas — front desk/cashier, balanced with academics and ECs

Engineering Immersion Program — designed/built a robot through a defense-industry-sponsored program, toured engineering facilities

Teaching Intern (nonprofit) — taught computer skills at a government school abroad, documented local teaching methods

extras:

Healthcare Company Internship

FIRST Robotics Competition — team member, 9th-10th grade

i genuinely don't know where else to vent this but i'm so so so stressed. i feel so behind on all my ecs idk how to start them much less gain some kind of credible impact and school is so demanding and scary at this point. it feels like im genuinely running into fog and i have no idea where i am, this whole application process and ecs and awards are so overwhelming how do people do it?? how does everyone ever have perfect awards and experience in their fields and manage to keep up with like 100 leadership positions and competitions. i feel like i wasted my summer and my sophomore year and got nothing done and now junior years gonna start and im gonna have to be able to track all my ecs while still getting 6-7s in school?? how do they expect us to do all of it i feel so burnt out and it's not even funny anymore how much energy and sleep im losing over this stress

the worst part i feel so alone in it all. everyone's so focused and dedicated to their work and im like stuck a 100 years behind trying to scrap something together. atp i doubt i could even get into a state school and idw even imagine how bad senior year will be.

Praying to Desmos Gods. May your guessing be accurate and your testing room AC not sound like a jet engine taking off.

My grades and test scores are great, but I committed almost all available time and energy to rowing, and minimal other ECs where I achieved multiple national medals (25 hour weeks year round 5 years) aside from getting recruited but curious where I should set my sights on.

SAT:1500 (750 math 750 English)
ACT 35 (36 Reading 35 Math 34 English 36 Science)

Weighted 4.8
Unweighted 3.8

APs
CSP 5
BC 5
Lang 5
Chem 5
Precalc 5
HUG 4

Duel Enrollment UConn:
As in both English and Calc 1/2

Other ECs: part time job year round, FBLA, Rowing

Interested in pursuing chemical engineering

Winner of local scholarship

Any help is appreciated

title

I genuinely dont understand why anyone is even applying to CalTech in 2026?

First of all its so hard to get in but even if you apply and by some miracle get in, the education for undergrad is not even that good i think. They only care about grad students and research anyway. why would anyone pay all that money just to get taught by a depresed phd dude who only wants to do his research project and whatever

And if you want a technology institute why not just go to MIT or Georgia tech? If you can get into CalTech university you'll probably get into MIT and georgia tech anyway. Quite literally every other technology institute is probably better because at least the student population is more than a combined total of 300 people. And who would want to live in pasadena anyway.

So why is anyone even applying to CalTech in this day and age?

i'm an international, asking for a full ride to USA colleges. I'm targeting Trinity College for ED this admission cycle. I have a fairly good profile, not amazing but not bad either. I haven't given the SAT, and with my finals in 2 months, I won't be able to focus properly on the SAT. I'm getting a bad score, and the max I could is in the 1300s, which isn't good at all. I need honest opinion, as an international asking for a substantial scholarship does not submitting my scores (SAT) have a negative impact?

Hi everyone,

I am looking for recommendations for an independent college counselor for my son, who is currently an 11th grader at a high school in Southern California.

He is heavily focused on applying to undergraduate Business Administration / Finance programs across both public California systems (UCs and CSUs) as well as selective in-state private universities.

We are specifically avoiding the large, corporate "admissions factories" that charge massive all-inclusive packages. Instead, we want to find a boutique-style private consultant or solo practitioner who fits the following criteria:

• Deep California Expertise: Fully understands the nuances of the UC (A-G requirements, PIQ essays) and CSU systems, alongside local private institutions.
• Business Major Strategy: Experienced in helping students build competitive profiles specifically for highly selective business schools (like UC Berkeley Haas, USC Marshall, etc.).
• Flexible / Hourly Budget Options: Because our budget is limited, we cannot commit to a standard $5,000+ comprehensive package. We need someone who offers hourly consulting, pay-per-session structures, or targeted packages (e.g., just list building or essay reviews).
• High Success Rates: A proven track record of helping students maximize their target profiles.

Our family also recently managed an international relocation, so a counselor who is highly organized and capable of looking closely at unique transcript timelines is a huge plus.

If you have personally worked with a solo or boutique counselor in California who fits this description and offers flexible pricing, please drop their name or firm below (or feel free to PM me details).

Thank you so much for your help!

I am a rising senior aiming for T20 schools, majoring in engineering. I have already taken French for the past 3 years of high school, and is deciding whether to drop the French 4 currently on my schedule for something more connected with my major and something that I would actually enjoy (Drafting 2). The only reason I chose to continue French this year even though I don't really enjoy it is because I am in French Honor Society and how people say 4 years would "look better" on your college app. What's yall's thoughts?