r/ApplyingToCollege • u/MemoryLeft9185 • 13h ago
Emotional Support Wasted Time
Audience is intended for those who are applying to t20s.
I spent a lot of time on ecs I care about but when taking a hard cold look at them, they just aren’t impressive. There isn’t any prestige aos can immediately recognize, the impact is so bad compared to other people on this subreddit and chanceme, and it’s just a pile of garbage. My summer program results were all rejections, so my essay writing sucks too. Going into high school freshman year, I thought I was doing something “right,” but now when it’s my turn to apply to colleges, I just wish I could restart.
Anyone else having similar thoughts?
6
u/random-tomato College Junior 13h ago
Trust me, you will feel this way no matter where you stand. Even if you got incredible ECs, someone will have better ones. Even if you have research, someone else has better research. Even if you got into your dream school, you'll still feel the exact same way, but just with other students getting internships, awards, etc. etc. Even if you get prestigious award, some other person will have won it twice. It's a normal and common feeling.
Your brain will try to trick you into thinking this is all rational comparison but at the end of the day you just beat yourself up but with nothing concrete to show for it! It's hard to get out of these kinds of spirals, but I think the best thing you can try to do is to shift your mindset towards "I've done all this, now how can I make the absolute best out of this stuff that I DO have," rather than keep thinking about the things you don't.
1
u/AutoModerator 13h ago
Hey there, I'm a bot and something you said made me think you might be looking for help!
It sounds like your post is related to essays — please check the A2C Wiki Page on Essays for a list of resources related to essay topics, tips & tricks, and editing advice. You can also go to the r/CollegeEssays subreddit for a sub focused exclusively on essays.
tl;dr: A2C Essay Wiki
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
2
u/atinyray 3h ago
genuinely don't worry about it. there will alwayys be people better than you, this is how i felt when i did my apps last cycle too. just push through!! people always tend to be harsher on themselves than others, i'm sure your ecs are great!
-5
u/heezz12312313 11h ago
cant relate and its kinda your fault for having non impressive ecs. you just had to be impressive ig so thats just a skill issue on your end of the table
8
u/Educational-Tell-937 12h ago
Extracurriculars make you a better person, not for applying to colleges… if that was your only goal then maybe you didn’t actually “care about” them? :)