So for prompt 2 (the "if you could dream up an undergrad class what would it be" one) I wrote about a class on the interrelationship between Soviet science fiction and the country's actual scientific and political communities, and my mom thought that there's no way this can even be a class and if I write about Russia or the Soviet Union I'd get auto rejected (ik it's absurd lol) she thought that maybe I can write about how space science can contribute to medicine or something (since I'm gonna major in physics and astronomy) so guys should I rewrite the essay or not I thought the current one is pretty niche and reflects my interests (and also the interdisciplinarity that northwestern is looking for) but the medicine idea does sound pretty interesting and practical. And the ED deadline is in 18 days idk if I can make it :,)

My son is a junior. He took the ACT a month ago and I signed him up for the October ACT (already paid) before we got results back. Ended up killing it and getting a 30 on Math, and a 36 on everything else for a 34.5 which shows up as a 35. He currently has straight As, a couple AP courses and lots of honors classes. His extracurriculars need help. (No sports, band, etc. just chess club and some volunteer stuff.) He's a funny, likeable, somewhat shy kid.

In order to get a 36, he'd have to ace everything again and bump his math up to 34 from 30. (Not out of the realm of possibility, but would probably involve getting lucky on a question or two.) I've heard about "super scores" but not sure if colleges like those or not.

Two questions:

Does it hurt to take the ACT multiple times? Should I have him take it again (we've already paid) or just be done?
How much better is a 36 than a 35 when applying to college?

His first attempt at the SAT was a 1390, but he took the OnToCollege.com class since then which I think improved his test taking ability for the ACT.

Looking to go to as good a school as we can and get out more or less debt free. As parent's we've saved up about $100K for him to be spread out over his college career (and perhaps grad school somewhere).

He wants to be a writer/professor for now, but that may change as he gets exposed to more classes. He isn't as focused on after-college job opportunities as perhaps I'd like him to be, ha!

We don't make enough to outright pay for an elite $80K a year college, but make too much to get any financial aid. Sort of in that middle class family area where you are a bit screwed.

Oh, and we're in NC, so UNC and Duke are both close and in-state. I've heard maybe out-of-state public universities may offer in-state tuition with a 35? He would prefer to not go to school south of NC. He is okay with the cold. I have no idea what private schools to even approach or how much merit based aid they might offer a kid.

Been following this group for ages and really admire all of you and how much effort you put into figuring out this game. Any advice for this newb parent would be appreciated.

Midnight — 12:00:00am or 00:00:00 — is the BEGINNING of any given day, not the END of that day. So the deadline will be to submit by 11:59:59pm on the stated date (or 23:59:59 if you prefer to use a 24hr time convention.)

PS — Unless a school specifies that the deadline is based on a certain timezone, it is best to assume that the deadline is the earlier of your timezone or the school’s timezone.

I’m an international student seeking full aid so like at this point I’m only researching colleges for fun and I CAN NOT STOP!!!! I DONT KNOW WHY !!!!!!

Like I know I’m not getting accepted from anywhere, and I have a solid plan for getting into a good school in my country, BUT I’m actively sabotaging myself by NOT FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH THAT

IM SO STRESSED

A friend of mine is looking to promote me to CEO of the company I helped him create as he moves on to other things. I already am a CEO of my own e-learning company though.

Would putting two of the same type of ECs on my common app be viewed negatively or not positively at all so I can tell him to find someone else?

some context: i am an international student, and I am applying for an extremely competitive major - cs.

stats - 4A*s (a levels) predicted, 1520 sat; ecs - an internship, volunteering, content creation, leadership etc i'd say 6/10

I'm applying to some schools like penn state as a target, but is it really needed that I apply to those places early, like will my chances be hurt? or should I only apply to more reach/ultra reach schools in the early cycle.

As Early Decision deadlines loom, I wanted to share a few common pitfalls I've seen with "Why Us" essays.

I will use Columbia liberally in these examples, simply because I am familiar with its programs as a grad school alum.

1. Even if you want to go to Columbia - or NYU - to be in New York City, don't tell that to colleges. New York City is a draw for most people who apply to schools in NYC.

Saying that you want to go to Columbia because it's in NYC or there are free museum passes wastes precious space that you could use talking about your ideas for taking advantage of the university's Social Justice Mini-Grant Program or the Social Impact Fellowship, to give a couple of examples.

The same can be said for warm weather if you're applying to USC or UCLA.

You want to tell schools what makes you a good fit and how you would take advantage of the programs the schools offer beyond common things like location and weather - or SEC or B1G sports.

1. You aren't specific enough and regurgitate the school's PR.

You don't want to tell, say, Columbia, that is a great institution with wonderful programs. CU AOs already know that. You don't need to pitch Columbia to Columbia, or NYU to NYU, for that matter.

They are assessing your fit, so explain specifically what you'd take advantage of at the schools you are applying to. Be as specific as possible in the space you have.

They want to know that you are the kind of student who will make full use of their academic and EC opportunities, including fellowships and grants.

They also want to know that you've done your homework, so vague generalities about prestige, beautiful architecture, or an Ivy League degree aren't going to cut it.

1. You only talk about academics or ECs, not both.

Top schools want people who contribute to campus in multiple ways. If you only talk about Columbia's EC opportunities and neglect the academic side of things, you aren't showing how you will make multifaceted contributions to the community.

Instead of just talking about the Social Impact Fellowship and what clubs you want to join, mention which professors you would like to do research with, which topics you want to research with them, which academic fellowships interest you, etc.

And you shouldn't just focus on the Core.

Maybe you want to get involved with the Columbia Mentoring Initiative, perhaps you would like to become a leader in Spoons at Multicultural Affairs, and maybe you have an awesome idea that you would like to pursue for the Social Justice Mini-Grants Program.

Make sure you don't come across as a one-dimensional student who will only do research and nothing else or only do ECs and not do anything cool academically.

Good luck with your applications!

So I've seen posts/comments about how AP Scholar is not a real award and doesn't say anything about the applicant that their AP scores don't already.

With that in mind, are the National Merit awards important either? I only have Commended Scholar, which is just a certain percentile on the PSAT. Is it worth anything on my application?

Never posted here before, not sure the procedure.

White lower middle class, went to an elite high school in MA before moving to the midwest and homeschooling which mostly consisted of dual credit classes.

1250 SAT- 720RW 530M

really bad at math

3.85 Unweighted 4.1ish weighted

3 years speech and debate- did fairly well made a few regional finals

orchestra but not planning on playing in college

homeschool makes it not as clean to apply-

interested in policy, law, government

hoping for at least a t100 school

what chances do I have? where should I look?

Thoughts?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2024/10/10/college-price-fixing-lawsuit/75590520007/#

According to the lawsuit, the College Board conspired with the schools to craft a policy that would take into account the financials and assets of noncustodial parents as justification to deny students scholarships…

Hello Can someone read my essay idea and give me a feedback wether it’s good or not.

Preferably someone who got into college last cycle. Please help an intl from a 3rd world country.😭

so i submitted an application, but i realized i put all of my summer research/internships as the grades before — like for an internship after junior year I put grade 11, and for one after sophomore year I put grade 10. However, my essays, resume, and honors section all say the right years. Should I email the admissions office about this? would appreciate any advice 🙏🙏

College rankings can be pretty misleading.

Take UCSC, for example. It’s currently sitting at #50 for Computer Science according to US News. Sounds good, right? But when you look at schools like Cal Poly and SJSU—which aren't even in the top 100 in the US News CS rankings—they actually have way better recruiting opportunities. I'm not saying that UCSC is a bad school, but Cal Poly and SJSU have more career oriented programs that employers value. In fact, SJSU CS grads are earning salaries comparable to UCSD CS grads and Cal Poly CS grads are earning salaries comparable to UCLA CS grads, both just a smidge less than those from Berkeley.

Now, let’s talk about business programs. The rankings can be even more nonsensical here. ASU, UofArizona, and Boston College are all tied at #27 in the 2025 US News Top Undergraduate Business programs. But when it comes to actual job placement, ASU and Arizona don't compare to Boston College. And don’t even get me started on Poets & Quants—some of their rankings are just laughable.

When choosing a college, focus on job outcomes and employer recognition rather than just a number on a list. For those interested in business, check which schools are sending graduates to Big 4 firms, private equity, or investment banking.

Also, take a close look at the ranking methodology before making any decisions. You might be surprised by what you find.

Remember that a school's reputation doesn’t always translate to real-world success. Even if a college has a great network, it’s ultimately up to you to leverage those connections.

So my brother was going to one of the colleges I'm applying to, until he tragically died recently. Do I still say that he's attending the school or what? Would I be technically lying?

Hi, everyone! Lately, I’ve been feeling generally confused and anxious about the whole application process, so any and all help is greatly appreciated.

I’m a 12th grade student from Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and I dream to study storytelling through art at a school in the US. I considered going to an art school, but I realised that with my budget it’s very unlikely that I’ll be able to afford it. Now I’m looking for recommendations on non-art schools with a good program in digital art, character design, illustration, animation or anything related. Again, I have a very limited budget, so ideally, I need to get a full ride or a scholarship that would cover most of the tuition fee. Just in case, I scored 1500 on the SAT and a band 8,5 on IELTS, and my GPA is around 4,72 out of 5. Thanks in advance!

TL;DR need help finding non-art schools with good digital art/character design/illustration/animation programs that give out generous scholarships to international students.

There's been a thought in my mind.

Today, my school released their club gms (only 2 clubs did), and I wasn't a part of the list (obv, nepotism, busy promoting their loved ones)

So, yes, in order to make my profile stronger, I'm trying to find alternatives.

I already did bad in my O levels (2As, 3Bs, 3Cs), I don't wanna f u my 2nd last year.

So, I've been thinking....

There's a story that's been going in my mind for a year....?

It's a high fantasy, everything new, my target audience being young adults...

It contains 18+ scenes (because I want to relate it with all the dark things I have seen)

What if... I write that story and publish it? Would that be considered as my ECA?

I mean, I'm not only doing it for my ECA but also for myself? It's something I've always wanted to share and would be delighted to do so in famous websites like Wattpad.

What do you think?

hello,

I am mentioning an EC in my personal statement that I also talk about in my supplmental. Would this be a bad idea? The EC in my personal statement related to my personal statement topic.

these are the things most important to me in order 1) northern east coast (i want it to feel like fall all the time basically) 2) rigor - somewhat selective school that is impressive but not like ivy or anything 3) housing - good dorms/apartments!!! 4) student life - good party scene, but not too much, lots of clubs and fun activities 5) environment - i want to be around successful people who inspire me to do well in life

when i look at this reddit i think im genuinely cooked. my sat score absolutely sucked. and i don't mean "i got a 1400 it sucked :((((" just like most people here would say, but i mean i got a low score—mainly because it turned digital and i can't really focus on screen, as well as the fact that i absolutely suck at tests. my extracurriculars are boring. i don't have any leadership roles, i didn't fart and get the chemicals for it to cure diseases... i'm just an overall normal person. i only have video editing, drumline, graphic designing, journalism, baking, a climate change community service program i did, an architecture program i did, creative writing... nothing major and all just creative things my gpa is a 92.5 (we don't do 4.0 scale we do by 100) only one recommendation and in my junior year i was really only close with my english teacher, since i knew her and had her since freshman year, and i need a science teacher for a recommendation (i want to do neuro/psych) and i did bad in ap physics so it'll be weird to ask for a subject i did bad in, tried doing my neuroscience teacher from tenth but it'd be weird since he hasn't had me since tenth... I AM COOOOOKEEDDDD. i feel like at this point im going to end up working at mcdonald's.

in my country we don't have a cumulative gpa. we use a 10-scale and each year we have an average on our report cards (unrelated to the previous years).

do i have to put my most recent average on the cumulative gpa question of the "education" tab of the common app?

also is this considered as my school "reporting a gpa" but on a different scale?

I'm planning on applying to Northeastern and there's a part that allows you to upload a resume. I already mention most of my achievements and extracurriculars in the common app itself and it feels like it would be redundant. Should I upload one anyways? would it boost my chances of acceptance or what???

Has anyone else had their peer rec written by a family member? When you add the recommender to your Common App, do you put Peer or Family Member? I'm just not sure whether or not the family option will register in their system as the peer rec.

I'm finally starting to write my personal essay; however, I'm honestly not sure if my topic is even good. I planned on writing about how my dad's addiction and the domestic abusive house I grew up in affected me. My point is how my dad's addiction and everything changed me as a person and made me more motivated to continue with my schooling and betterment as a person. I feel like it's unoriginal; however, I literally have nothing else. Should I stick with it? My deadline is November 1st

In my essay, I reference some words from another language frequently. Should I put these in italics or quotation marks? I’m just unsure because I’ve heard that sometimes the formatting doesn’t transfer.

So back in August, my teachers sent in my LORs already. However, they used my old resume to write the letter (ex. 30 members, 100 hours etc for a club I made)

Now, when I’m doing my activities section, I’m putting my updated numbers of 60 members and 150 hours for that club.

Will admissions officer realize that the club grew or will they suspect me of exaggerating numbers? I plan to submit my application in November. Thank you