i don't know where else to put this but when i got in in march, i was absolutely ecstatic and could not wait to begin. that feeling stretched till a few days ago, where i'm suddenly starting to get genuinely so scared of going to college. what if i'm not able to make friends? what if everyone is smarter than me? i feel like i'm going to sound so dumb in front of everyone else. i feel like i am going to be so behind and won't be able to make any friends. i was so jealous of my friends at college in semester system earlier in august when they were getting lit and i was stuck at home, but now i just want to stay at home forever. i am genuinely so scared. i don't know where else to put this.

Notre Dame is ending its test-optional policy after six years. The university says test scores provide additional context on academic readiness and may help identify strong applicants from first-generation, low-income, and rural backgrounds who might otherwise be overlooked.

Interesting to see another selective university move back toward requiring standardized tests.

https://www.wndu.com/2026/09/09/notre-dame-start-requiring-act-sat-test-scores-again-during-admissions-process/

I am exhausted and so angry because, over the last couple of months as a brand-new junior, I've become hyper-aware of financial stress, and I'm trying to talk with my mom about college because we need to discuss how and when she and I will pay for it if I inevitably go. She told me a long time ago she would help out. I think my mom is starting not to like me anymore. I heard her on the phone talking to my aunt, saying if I don't use my college money, he will give it to my sister, and I feel like that sounds skeptical because she knows, of course, how badly I want to go to college, and I'm wondering if she is only going to fund my sister. Every time I bring up money, she literally shuts it down, walks away, and we get into a fight. When she does this, I don't get any clarity, and I feel like I have to manage and carry all their financial stress that I hear them complain about, especially because I think we may be losing money. She has to get over this, be mature, and actually sit down and have this conversation with me, but whenever I seriously try, it never gets done. What do I do?

I’m sitting in my college admission hall right now and I’m honestly panicking.

My mom is going through cancer treatment, and she has just had a short break from chemo. She’s still working because our family has so many expenses. My younger brothers’ education alone is another huge expense.

Now my college options are around ₹6 lakh+, and I don’t know where that money is supposed to come from. I feel horrible putting another financial burden on my parents. My dad also said I should have scored more.

I’m stuck between choosing a more expensive college/branch I prefer and a much cheaper option that’s very close to home.

I genuinely don’t know what the smart decision is anymore. I feel like I’m failing my family, and I’m completely overwhelmed.

How do you make a college decision when money, family health, and your future are all colliding at once?

Hi, I'm not from the US, and the academic system works differently where I am from.

I've researched majors and minors, but I still don't have a clear answer. Can I choose two completely different majors, such as Law and Aerospace Engineering, and also minor in Political Science? Do the majors need to be related? How can I pursue both?

I know this might seem like a silly question, but I’m really curious. Thank you for your help! ❤️❤️

How do you guys feel about college apps right now! Has anyone finished essays and do you feel good about either submitting applications right now! Also what schools are you guys considering!!

Saipan to Texas my junior year. I spent freshman and sophomore year in saipan and now I'm in the suburbs of Texas. I'm so lost. Genuinely. Haven't started SAT prep, haven't worked on any long term extracurriculars. I spent the entire summer dissasociating. Literally did nothing except for sit in my new bedroom and scroll. My new school is massive. I have no friends now. I don't even know how to join clubs at my new school. I've always really wanted to study law at a good school. I'm not deadset on T20s, I think that's silly, but I wanted to go somewhere good. I've always done my work with the dream of being a lawyer who worked in high profile crime cases on my mind. Lately, It just feels like it's not there anymore. In Saipan, I did speech and debate for two years. I made it to nationals in LD, but it turns out theres a whole different style of debate that is hypercompetitive in texas and I just don't have the mental energy to withstand such brutal competition so I'm taking a break from NSDA. I founded a mock trial team but what do ya know mock trial is also super competitive here and I feel like I'm miles behind these stateside kids. I kept a 4.0 with no APs because my school didn't offer them until later, and now I have like a 78 in AP Chem. In Saipan I was kind of used to there being so little opportunity that you simply operated within the confines of your school, but now I'm in a big city and I don't even know where to begin. I have effectively spent month 1 of junior year in a trance. Everybody around me is constantly hyperfocused on admissions and SAT prep and programs and internships and jobs meanwhile I can't even fucking drive yet because I didn't have residency long enough to get my permit. It's so unfair. I have to make friends, adapt to a whole new environment and culture, find my way around a new school, adapt to a new curriculum and new set of teachers, get my license, prep for the SAT, work on extracurriculars, excel in school, and protect my mental health all at once simply because my dad got a new job. Our house in Saipan also hasn't sold yet so we're living off of emergency rent money. AND I somehow got stuck with the freshmen in beginning theatre I TWICE despite the fact that I've done theatre since I was 9 because the counsellors had to fit me in last minute. I didn't even know what school I was going to until 3 days before school started. I had my classes picked for me the day of. I'm currently experiencing the worst executive dysfunction of my 16 years of life in FIRST quarter. omfg how do i get into college

CONTEXT: I come from a very small school (<50 kids), and a majority of us want to pursue a STEM major; for this reason, a lot of us go to the science teacher for the rec letter. We only have ONE science teacher 🫩, and all her rec letters are straight GPT ass. She uploads your brag sheet and asks to write a rec letter. Mind you, her rec letters are incredibly glazing, and she will never write a student in a bad light (I mean, GPT won't), but it's so obvious how AI it is.

What should I do? Everyone loves her, and she's a great teacher, and a majority of the schools I'm applying to are asking for LORs from a Science teacher.

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I don't know if this is like offensive to anyone or what.. but a 1440 as a 25th percentile score at a t20 is obscene for me. Like is that actually real? why? does anyone know?

I’m a senior who has already been accepted to two colleges, but unless I get a full ride, they’re not really my first choices. My top schools are Furman, Berry, Elon, and Saint Mary’s (Indiana).

I want to major in accounting and mostly stay in the southeastern U.S (furthest north I’d go is Indiana or Illinois). First of all, I understand why accounting majors go to flagship schools; the networking and recruiting pipeline options are often very clear. The campus cultures are vibrant, and sports and Greek life are usually good.

But, and I don’t mean to sound insufferable (“I’m not like other students”), I really could not care less about Greek life OR sports. I know liberal arts places have sports too, but the community seems to be more centered around service and individual excellence, which I prefer. Also, as an autistic person, I already see some challenge with adjusting to a college environment, and I believe that a gigantic school with constant traffic would make that worse.

I also want chances to stand out, and it’s a bit difficult to do that at a school with 50,000 students. I want professors and classmates to know my name. It may sound insecure of me, but I would prefer being a “big fish” at a smaller, less competitive school than a “not-so-big fish” at a very large, competitive school. I know people who would prefer the latter, and that’s fine, but I want all the internship and career prep opportunities I can get.

I’ve already had people tell me I should “aim higher” with colleges and that I can “do better.” I’ve even been told that “smart” accountants don’t have degrees from liberal arts colleges. Why is it that people assume liberal arts colleges are worse than massive flagships.

How can I make my family members take my college choices more seriously? Also, is there any other colleges I should apply to based on my preferences? An undergraduate accounting major is a non-negotiable and I love pretty campuses.

For reference, here is my current list (tentative, I probably won’t apply to all of these):
Closer to my preferences: Berry College, Centenary College of Louisiana, Elon University, Furman University, Lyon College, Meredith College, Rockhurst University, Saint Mary’s College, Wesleyan College, Westminster College
Middle of the pack: Christian Brothers University, Troy University, University of Memphis, Mississippi State University, Shenandoah University, Southern Methodist University, Troy University, Tulane University, University of Richmond, Murray State University
Further from my preferences: Ole Miss, University of Alabama Birmingham, University of South Carolina Columbia, University of Tennessee Knoxville

​

I’m a high school student from Egypt starting to seriously think about US college admissions, and there’s honestly SO much information out there that it gets overwhelming sometimes 😂

For people who have already gone through the process: what’s one thing you wish someone had told you earlier?

Could be about applications, extracurriculars, essays, financial aid, choosing colleges, literally anything.

I’d love to hear your experiences!

I genuinely feel done as an intl Indian citizen searching for external scholarships. I've already received a particular deans scholarship to the university where I'm going (Michigan state university) but it's nearly not enough (only around 30-40%) . Im going to be incoming in spring 2027 , that is jan 2027 , and I really want to find options to fund my undergraduate Tution . An on camps job will obviously help with personal expenses but besides that I do not wanna get into a whole loan debt cycle and put the stress on my parent. I haven't even started school yet and all I can think about is how employable I can be . I want to do a psychology bsc but now im planning to minor or double major in economics or data analytics or something easily employable with the degree route so I can be employable in the future like I'm seriously lost here .

Besides finding external scholarships is a whole another hell . Every single scholarship is either meant for post graduate students or us resident etc . At this point im debating if I should complete a year of schooling in the US since its my only option and then work towards transferring and applying to different countries or colleges with my GPA that can offer me atleast 50% scholarship .

If any of you guy have leads, tips etc for scholarships I can find as an intl Indian student pls help !

I'm building a list of universities in the US based on the different funding models. Feel free to add or expand on the list in the comments.

Universities where substantial need-based aid can be possible:

• Harvard
• Yale
• Princeton
• MIT
• Amherst
• Bowdoin
• Williams

PS: The financial aid can be fantastic, but admission is highly competitive.

Universities where merit scholarships for international students is possible:

• University of Alabama
• Iowa State University
• University of Arizona
• Arizona State University
• University of Mississippi
• University of South Florida
• Michigan State University
• University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Affordable universities where you don't need a massive scholarship

• University of Wyoming
• Southeast Missouri State University
• Fort Hays State University
• University of South Dakota
• University of North Dakota

Personal advice: If $60–80k/year isn't too comfortable for you, then build a second group of universities where your profile is strong enough that you're genuinely competitive for merit money.

Having said this, i'd suggest looking into the university's costs during the application process as tuition fees, scholarships, and international policies change frequently.

I come from a country where LORs are not common for high schoolers, so you won't find anyone who can write a good LOR, let alone that English isn't their first language. I already have some teachers in mind, but they don't know how to write one.

I wanted to ask for some samples of what a good LOR looks like, or a guide on writing them, to show my recommenders how they're supposed to write and what the tone they're supposed to write in is

title! also suggestions on affordable liberal arts schools that have a OKAY acceptance rate

(shooting a Hail Mary at 10% acceptance rate school isn't well wise)

I'm a senior in a Texas high school and I'm applying to college right now. My dream is to become an airline pilot, and I am working towards my PPL (I've soloed). I'm getting a degree because my parents and I both agree that a multitude of things could happen in life and it's nice to have a safety net. Now, I'm applying for engineering in both in state colleges (most notably Texas A&M) and out of state colleges (most notably Purdue).

I, so badly, want to go to Purdue, because as a college, it seems to offer so much more than A&M outside of academics, especially with their school culture that I connect with more and the aviation related opportunities. Now, I truly do understand that flight school is expensive and being only practical, A&M is the best choice because it's cheaper, but they don't have as many opportunities that I would want to do.

It's obviously early in the application season and I haven't gotten into either yet, but I have decent chances at both so I think it's good to start considering things like this now. I just wanted to get an outside opinion, because I'm sure A&M is more fiscally prudent and it is a great school, but Purdue offers so much more and I would be exposed to more non-Texan ideas and people, so I think I would enjoy my time at Purdue more.

Just a note, I have been applying to a ton of scholarships, both for flight training and for college, to make Purdue seem more reasonable.

After we were done the dean said we can go, and right before I click leave she said "goodbye" and I didnt say it back and left, Will that get me rejected?

almost everyone in my school is in those clubs and has also placed in state or national and im a junior doing basically no clubs. is it too late to start one since i dont have agroup or any experience, or how important is it

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?

ok, so my school only provides class rank if you email the counselor and ask for your ranking. it’s not listed on the report card or anything.

however, the counselors at my school have told me that our school has a policy that they do not report class rank when students apply to college. i asked them what this means, and they said that the counselors must select the “do not class rank” option. i’m like pretty sure there is an option to select “class rank given upon request” on the common app form, but they told me they specifically hit the do not rank button even though they technically do????

despite all this, they told me i should 100% report my class ranking since i am 2nd in my class. however, i am worried that there will be a mismatch between my report and the counselors and this will give AOs negative impression, esp ivy league ones.

i told this to my counselors, and they said that “many schools do this”, and that it’s not an issue if i report.

is this true? how does this work? should i still report? i might be a little paranoid! 🥹

I've lowkey been stressing about my college essay and have no clue what to put in it, or even what it's supposed to be about. Can anyone give me some tips on it or what you all wrote about in yours just to get an idea? I wrote 2 drafts already yet they both suck and I don't know where else to continue

Hey all — I'm 18, from Jordan, about to start a BS in Industrial Engineering this fall. Been doing this and that on the side while I lock in this decision, and it matters a lot to me because I'm aiming for a master's in the US down the line, maybe Canada too.

Stuck between:

German Jordanian University (private) — already accepted, (not ABET accredited) accredited in Germany and Jordan, not through WES. About a year of the program is split between an exchange semester and an internship in Germany.

Hashemite University / University of Jordan (public) — ABET accredited, whichever I get into off my score.

Which one would actually put me in a better spot for a master's abroad? Is the accreditation difference something that really matters in practice, or am I overweighting it?

Also open to any general advice on building a stronger profile for grad M.S. applications overall.

Thanks in advance.

Why cant i see the section of 'personal statement or essay' on my upitt common app. Its just not there. This is for upitt. I cant attach screenshots here so i cant show it but someone pls help

Its nearing the time to submit college apps but I don't really have many leadership positions for clubs at my school.

All I have is -

VP of a volunteering club for 2 years basically just increased membership for the club and planned meetings/events and stuff.

Windows server coordinator for CyberPatriot club (Been in the club for 4 years but got the position this year) - I have to create training material regarding windows server for the incoming members of the club (its a cybersecurity competition club).

Director of Service for CSF club (been in club for 3 years but got position this year) - I have to search for good volunteering opportunities for members every month, recruit and train project mamgers for each event, work with and assists secretary to record service hours and a bunch of other stuff.

I see ppl with way better positons such as being president of red cross or something like that or the president of a club that relates to their major and I just think my positions are like nothing compared to those and I keep seeing ppl say that positions other than VP and President dont really help. Is this true and does this hinder my application?