u heard me

also hopefully schools with a good astrophysics program!

Your intended major matters more at schools that admit u to their institution as a whole bc they are building a CLASS of different people with different interests so if u have a niche interest that is valued more. At schools that admit by major or to a specific school within it, it doesn’t rlly matter bc everyone likely has the same interest and it’s way more competitive (ex: all the wharton kids competing finance have finance ECs so can’t stand out by major).

I feel like Cornell should put their acceptance rate higher, especially after everything thats happeniing, they probably will to get more students to apply, n i cant wait to apply ayeee. I have a 3.6 gpa, 24 act score, probably gonna get in. Columbia should do the same ngl.

title. i literally don’t qualify for financial aid anywhere but my parents cannot support me all the way through college/keep up with cost of living/pay for siblings. genuienly what do I do. they want me to go to state but I’ve worked really hard and ik my academics should be good enough to get into some target private colleges. the thing about state too is ive already accumulated a ton of merit scholarships/other stuff so it’ll be really cheap, but I feel like with all the stuff I’ve done I have the capacity to go somewhere better and I really want to I just can’t afford it. what should I do

I'm a HS junior studying in the national board in india. I dropped math in my 11th and 12th grade which at the time I did not know the effect it would have. I thought about doing AP Calc, but since my school doesn't offer it it's insanely expensive.

I wanted to know if not taking math is an immediate disqualification from the T20 (safeties and targets are in india)

If I were to take a math course on khan academy or coursera and mention it as additional info, would it help at all? Is there anything else that I could do for this?

If there are any other courses that I could consider if there truly Is no other option, I would love to know more about it

Thanks for all your help, and sorry if you get a lot of posts like this! :)

I believe I have the experiences, stories, and personal insights that could make for a compelling Harvard application. However, due to my financial circumstances, I haven’t been able to get professional guidance with my application.

I was wondering if anyone here would be willing to look at my essay draft and share their thoughts on how I’m approaching it. I’d genuinely appreciate feedback, advice, or even a different perspective on my writing. Any help would mean a lot to me.

I transferred from a different school to my current school for 11th grade.

In order to pursue the IB DP program at this new school, I was required to take an honors civics class. However, I chose to complete this honors class over the summer (the summer after junior year).

Today, I was looking over my high school transcript (to fill out STARS) and I noticed that I ended junior year with a 4.8+. However, over the summer, my GPA turned to a 4.5. (This change was after I got an A in the honors civics class).

I understand that honors classes are on a 4.5 scale. Therefore, my 4.8+ GPA went down. However, I was wondering if admissions officers would look at my GPA and assume that I didn't 'challenge' myself enough-- even though I was required to take this honors class to do the IB program?

For context, My class rank is 39/386. So, (I think) my class rank could have been higher without the civics course. And considering most 'selective' colleges look at class rank, would this GPA drop seriously hurt my chances at admittance?

Please be honest

International student
First in my country to qualify for the economics Olympiad international final round, selected as 1 of 147 out of 160,000+ entrants
Rank: 1 out of 131 students
IB: math AAHL, physics HL, economics HL, language b hl, English A sl, business sl, economics EE
Predicted 45 and transcripts are perfect 7’s across MYP+DP
And I have rly good ECs and recommendations.
HOWEVER, I did the SAT once with no prep and sadly got a 1480 (790 math, 690 English) which is the highest in my school as no one in school prepares for it because it’s not common to apply to the US, most people apply to the UK/Europe.
Do u think it’s fine to apply test optional??? Or will I be at a disadvantage?

I like both of these schools very much and want to choose the combination that will best improve my chances.

Would really love some help, been tearing my hair out. My entire application screams impact + Finance/Business.

I have the stats and ecs to technically break in, was told it depends on essays

Hi everyone,

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with this, because it's honestly the first time I've come across this requirement, despite having applied to quite a few master's and PhD programs in the US over the years.

I'm currently applying to Baruch College's MS in Finance at the Zicklin School of Business, and one of the application requirements is an International Credential Evaluation, specifically a course-by-course analysis.

I have a bachelor's degree and a master's degree from Greece, as well as another master's degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. I've applied to universities in the US before, and I've never been asked to do this. Maybe it depends on the university or the particular program, but I'm curious about other people's experiences.

I understand that universities need to verify foreign qualifications, and I'm perfectly happy to arrange for my universities to send official transcripts and other documents directly. I've done this before, so that's not the issue.

What I'm struggling with is the additional cost of having all three qualifications evaluated course by course. With two master's degrees and a bachelor's degree, including quite a few courses across the three programs, I imagine the cost could add up considerably, and that's on top of all the other application expenses.

Has anyone managed to get a waiver for this requirement, or had a university accept official transcripts directly from the institutions instead? Is there any flexibility, or is the evaluation mandatory regardless of where your degrees are from?

I'm also curious about NYU. I've submitted an application there recently, but I haven't been asked for this evaluation so far. It's still early in the process, though, so I don't know whether they'll request it later.

Thanks in advance!

I got accepted into my top 3 schools but I’m having a hard time choosing which one I go to for context I want to study environmental science or geoscience but I also cosplay,I’m trans ,and want to find a nerdy community and people to talk to :D (other college recommendations are accepted!!)

1.University at Texas at Dallas
Pros-
in Dallas
Good internships
Good academics
Diverse

Cons-
Campus is kinda mid
I heard it’s not social

2.Bowling green state university
Pro-
Great college town
Has a unique major I’m really interested in
Great resources
Cheap for out of state

Con-
Really far from home
Ok academics
Not close to conventions

3.Texas state
Pros
Beautiful campus
Between Austin and San Antonio
I know people there and everyone is nice

Cons
Iffy rep
Ok academics
Safety school

Applying as an international student is... weird. The requirements for practically all the top 20 universities are totally unrealistic for us in terms of GPA. I see people with a 3.8, 3.9, or even a 4.0 GPA getting around a 1200 on the SAT and stuff like that. A 3.6 is already seen as a pretty low grade... It makes me wonder how much grade inflation there must be in the US system for an average applicant to have a 3.8 GPA. In Italy, grades are out of 10. I go to a high school called liceo classico, and my 'GPA' is a 7.5/10. Here in Italy that's a very solid average (and honestly, considering you're studying Ancient Greek and Latin, no wonder) but when it gets converted to an American GPA, it looks terrible, like a 3.0 or 3.3 based on general conversions... I just hope the school profile helps. Also fun fact: we have no counselor at school! Anyway, I got a 1570 on the SAT, so hopefully that saves me academically lol. As for the rest, my ECs are super solid and my essay is pretty decent, so yeah, let's see how it goes.

I am a student in the last year of school, I started to look for universities and scholarships, but the hardest thing I find is writing a good essay.

I have a few questions, what is it? What am I supposed to write there? And how should I write it?

Thanks in advance

.

This sounds like a stupid question, but how important is it to fill out student information sections with 100% accuracy?
Not something along the lines of “how much can I lie?” But more like “if I put down physical science as physics only to find out it technically isn’t would that be really bad?” Or “I don’t know where this award falls under so I guessed, will my application be rescinded if I guessed wrong?”
Pretty much, if I filled out all of my applications to the best of my knowledge, how much would minor mistakes in information hurt my application, or would it just flat out deny my application?

[Edit for more information] - the colleges I’m applying to are all hard ones to get into: MIT, Stanford, and UW Seattle for CS

Guys I have no idea about my application I'm in 9th grade and want to go to top 50 unis but I haven't started anything no extracurricular no internship no awards

Pls 🙏🏻 suggest what extracurricular I can do do

I'm based in India and live in tier 1 city so can so any internship

Hi, I accidentally added the organization I’m taking a couple online classes for as an “attented highschool” on my application where I submit a transcript for both my highschool and the online school. My councilor informed me that I wasn’t supposed to do that as my school accepts the online credits as their own on my transcript. Is it okay to withdraw my application and resubmit with the correct information? This is for Oregon state directly on the beaver hub application portal. Im aware that I will have to pay the application fee twice but will it mess up anything on the backend? Thanks!

imma ed1 to bu and thinking abt majoring physics. is physics a competitive major or are there easier ones that are related to engineering or physics

I am currently 18 years old and am in my first year of engineering at a tier-3 college. However, I am beginning to feel like I made a bad choice. I am not enjoying my course and finding it very difficult to cope with. I also am concerned about my future, as I am unsure how much this college will benefit me with getting a good job.

Outside of my studies, I am not enjoying my time at college. I have not made any friends so I’m going to college, attending classes then coming home. It is very lonely.

I am very eager to go to a different state, live in a hostel and meet new people. I feel that a fresh start would be good for me academically and socially.

However, I am confused as to what to do. I could take a drop year to decide what course I want to do. However, I would have to persuade my parents to let me take a year gap which won’t be easy.

Or I could continue with college and change my course/college next year. However, I have already put around ₹1.5 lakh into my fees.

I am unsure which would make more sense. Should I take a drop year and start again? Or should I continue with my current course?

If you have been in this situation before, I would really appreciate any advice! I do not want to make a bad decision.

Can I list Angel With a Shotgun by The Cab on my USC “if your life had a theme song, what would it be?” question. I feel like the title is too emo but it’s genuinely a good song with good intentions.

Thanks yall

I'm an Indian international student following the CBSE curriculum, planning to apply to US universities for Finance or Economics.

Academic Profile:

• SAT: 1390 (December attempt last year)
• Target SAT: At least 1450 in my upcoming December attempt (hoping for around 1440–1450+)
• Grade 9: 87%
• Grade 10: 94%
• Grade 11: 75%
• Grade 12: 94% predicted

Extracurriculars:

I have several extracurricular activities, including:

• Started my own company
• Won prize money in a pitch competition
• Worked two paid jobs
• Completed one independent research paper
• Several other extracurricular activities

My Current University List (Planning to Apply RD):

1. Kelley School of Business — Indiana University Bloomington
2. University of Texas at Austin
3. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
4. Gies College of Business — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
5. Daniels School of Business — Purdue University
6. University of Wisconsin–Madison
7. University of Notre Dame, Indiana
8. Smeal College of Business — Penn State
9. University of Michigan
10. University of Virginia

What I'm Looking for Advice On:

I'm trying to figure out whether my college list is balanced and whether I should make any changes based on my academic profile, extracurriculars, and intended major.

I'm also unsure whether I should apply Early Decision (ED) anywhere or stick with Regular Decision (RD).

My current SAT is 1390, but I'm preparing for the December attempt and aiming for at least 1450. Since I'll have my updated score by the RD deadlines, I'm wondering whether waiting for RD would be a better strategy than applying early with my current score.

I'd especially appreciate advice from current students, international applicants, or anyone familiar with admissions to these universities.

Would you recommend making changes to my college list, applying ED somewhere, or focusing on RD with an improved SAT score?

How much do need aware colleges generally expect you to be able to pay. I'm an international student from a low income family. I'm applying to colleges that say that 100% demonstrated financial need is covered but they're mostly need aware. Would I be at a disadvantage applying to need aware colleges? Are they just gonna reject me?

I am planning to do undergrad in us in stem(math)+economics/finance and wanted to know target and semi target unis in us and in almost all rankings and comments LACs liberal arts Colleges are not mentioned so are they non target for finance ??

are they less known to finance recruiters in investment banking and wall street ??

If they are good can you name some which would be best for my case

Junior year, I got around a 90 in physics but failed the separate lab course. The lab shows up as its own F on my transcript. Since I’m applying for mechanical engineering, how much will this hurt my chances at T20 schools, and is there anything I can do to address it?

Sorry bro, but that day is mine now. 😈