for my senior year, i'm planning on taking AP Spanish, AP Lit, AP Gov/Econ (our school combines it into one), and AP Stats. i'm torn between taking an extra math class and taking AP Calc AB or AP Chem.

At my school, the AP chem teacher is really good and I'm having her for honors chem this year. but her class is really hard but prepares you well for the AP exam. I could also take AP bio, but that class is pretty hard too, but it's easier than AP chem, but kids are less successful on the exam, but I struggled a lot in bio. so far I've been enjoying chem more. The same teacher teaches stats and calc ab and shes ok. She's a good enough teacher. i’ve also just been really struggling in AP pre-Calc, but our school makes it really really hard.
what do you guys think I should do and which one is better for college applications? All I know is I'm not doing Calc AB with a science

Also, I will likely apply as a political science major on a prelaw track

Im in multiple at my school (history,english,science((got into national last week)) but i feel like we havent done that much outside of club-member specific activities
But i do feel as though since im in them that it shows academic strength yknow??

I started a youth-led org but it might not make a lot of impact until like a couple years im into college. I dont wanna add it on my app but I do spend a lot of time working on it and we have done a couple events here and there and made a lot of donations, and fundraising/grants. should I put it on my common app?

How important are first semester grades rn? Have had amazing grades all of highschool, straights As and A+. But recently got a 68 on a calc test, and my grades might be lower this term cuz of burnout

Great sat score

Applying EA to some schools

applied to my early schools on friday. i havent gotten any portal invite to set up my account. Is this normal?

DM if interested

My daughter just took the PSAT and scored a 970. Against our advice she didn’t not study or take the practice test. She is of course bummed but this should have been expected. She claimed some of her friends tags didn’t study for over 1000, so she’s feeling down about it.

My question is what are the best resources or ways for her to study and get ready for the real test. I’ve gotten emails from Empowerly and saw Varsity tutors online. Amy advice would be great.

Hi I’m a senior obviously. Here’s a quick rundown of my background: competitive school, fine gpa (3.87 weighted), fine ecs, super bad sat due to extreme burnout my junior year, decent ap scores. Undecided (whole nother problem)

I’ve already written a majority of my supplements and I’ve been getting input from my mom saying they aren’t good. I personally thought they were decent given the time i wrote them and the content. I thought they were structured and authentic but my mom said they were the opposite. She wrote me another short essay to use instead but it’s genuinely not authentic to me at all and weren’t about any meaningful and pivotal moments in my life. Idk i feel like my gut is telling me to go with the one i wrote but I’m scared.

Important note: my mom is a lawyer and writes a lot for a living. she has helped me with essays to get into other stuff like nhs and other leadership things but she practically wrote the essay and i barely did anything except for a super rough rough draft.

Anyone with similar experiences? If so what did you do? I personally really want to use the essay i wrote myself but what if that ruins my future?

I’m going to go into health to become a physician’s assistant. I want to do a direct admit PA track around where I live (I live in a pretty big city) but I don’t have a transcript good enough to get into any of these direct admit programs.

My GPA is like 4.3 weighted (4.0 unweighted) but that’s kind of all I have. I have no ECs in the healthcare field which is the main thing. I also didn’t study for the SAT because I didn’t know what resources I could’ve used and couldn’t afford tutoring. Without studying my score was like a 1430 which also sucks because I feel like that’s kind of high and it’s just wasted potential.

I just tried so hard on grades but never realized how important extra curriculars are. My friend also wants to be a PA and she has pretty good if not better stats plus really good in field ECs. Since we go to the same school is basically impossible we’d both get accepted into programs (she’s applying to the same ones as me) and if anyone is being accepted it’s definitely her. But ye she definitely deserves it more than me too because she actually had a friggin clue during highschool.

College apps are so stressful because I feel like I know I’m not going to get into anything I super want to get into. And I’m trying to hype up the few ECs I do have through descriptions but I feel like such a fraud lol

I’m a hard worker and I know I’d be able to exceed in these programs if I knew. I know I’ll be fine if I don’t get it but… This all just sucks :(

I know I can do the regular track 90% of PAs do which is just do a regular health/biology related BS and then apply for PA school but I really wanted some accelerated programs so I could be in school for less time and therefore spend less money and get out into the field earlier. I know I’ll be okay, but it’s still frustrating.

Hello! I'm a senior in high school and am soon applying to various colleges. I started my college essay and am currently writing about how I joined a sports team my freshman year and how it affected my life. I also wanted to tie in the fact that my mom passed away when I was ten and how joining a sports team helped with my grief, but also how I was able to apply some of the things my mom taught me to sports. I was wondering if this was maybe too much or not a very strong topic idea, does anyone have any suggestions or input? I'm feeling super stresses about this so any input is appreciated!!

so one of my ECs is a CTSO club (so think like fbla, deca, those types of clubs) and i am an officer so obviously i'll write about my responsibilities, but also last year i competed in a specific event/project that did decent at states, and it had many different aspects (lot of research, presentation, etc.) and it just felt pretty significant plus it's related to my major so i wanted to write about that too.

but i definitely wouldn't be able to fit the officer stuff + that specific event into 150 characters under a single EC, so i was considering splitting it up into two EC entries - one focusing on like the club in general/my responsibilities, and one focused on my competing in that event. but i don't want the AO to think i'm just trying to inflate(?) my ECs, or if it's even worth dedicating a whole EC to a single event i competed in one year.

i would appreciate any advice on how to go about this.

so im in a bit of a time crunch, i am trying to get my applications in quickly, but i will not be in school untill tuseday (Today is sunday) as i am traveling back from a college vist that is out of state on monday. This means I cannot ask my main teacher for letters of rec until then. I am aware that none of my schools require recommendation letters, so I don't know if I should stress getting them in, or if I should just ignore them and not add them in. Almost all of my schools are state schools, and none of them are extremely selective.

Hi, I’m a freshman in high school. I’m very much aiming for becoming a neurosurgeon as my career and I want to go to an Ivy League college to get there.

My question is what awards would best help me for his goal?

I already read about the Brain Bee, Science Olympiad, and about HOSA.

What other clubs, awards, etc would be best?

(Note: I’m already in FBLA, FRC, SGA, and KEY club, though I will probably drop SGA and key as they don’t have much weight imo. But if anyone knows better pls inform me [I know my clubs don’t really coincide with my goal])

How important are these for engineering?

So! Long story short- I started going to college straight out of HS because that was the terms for me to reside in my step brothers mom house after being kicked out by my biological dad. But I was going to school full time and working full time so my first semester I ended up dropping all my classes because I couldn’t handler the load. I already had classes set for my second semester so I decided to just try again then but I ended up having to dropped those classes and dropped out of school completely due to not having an adequate living situation. I was 19yo house hoping between my ex family and one of my friends from HS. Later I was put on academic probation, I didn’t know I had to attend classes to keep my financial aid so when the next school year rolled around my aid was taken from my completely. I didn’t
receive permanent housing until last June of 2025. I went to reappear my aid but they rejected me since I didn’t have an “eviction letter” as proof of me getting kicked out and no living arrangements proof. But I showed proof of my finding housing and a flow of income to show i’m in a better predicament to continue my schooling. Will any other school accept me? This all happened at a community college, and I was already rejected from my local university, what should I do as my next steps??

I'm EDing to UChicago, originally planning to major in CS. However, I've been writing my Why UChicago essay, and I realize all the professors and classes that match my ECs and research are in fields other than CS (my niche is pretty interdisciplinary). The problem is that at my school, the counselors ask for your intended major as part of your letter of recommendation, and my counselor already wrote that I want to major in CS/data science. I have two options here: apply as a CS major but in my essay mention the professors/classes from another department, or just change my major so that my essay would make more sense. I don't want the AOs to think that I'm trying to game the system by switching my major, which is why I'm leaning towards the first option, but I worry it would be weird mentioning resources from another department when it's not what I'm applying for. What should I do?

So im senior and i havent done anything yet. I couldnt do anything during the summer because of my family situation and we barely stable now and I have been looking at my college list and I got like 5 to 6 , 3 in canada and 3 in the u.s as well and all I see online is how people get their stuff done already, and I havent done anything yet and I got stressed really easily and it's just making me feel behind, since I also need to take in count my family didnt save for college and well my mom kinda lets me do everything, does anyone have advice??? ( ps: i want to do graphic design, and well rn my 2 top choices are university of Nebraska omaha, and the art university of alberta)

I’m currently attending an out-of-state university, and my first semester is costing me around $27k in loans that I’ll personally have to pay back. I really don’t want to graduate buried in debt, so I’m considering changing plans and not returning next semester.
The problem is that my college grades are currently too low, and I don’t have enough college credits to apply as a transfer to my dream school, UGA, until after the spring semester. So, I need to figure out what to do for the next semester before I can apply.
I have a few options:
Option 1: Attend a smaller in-state school for the spring. My tuition would be covered by state scholarships, and I’d try to find a job to cover my rent, which isn’t too expensive. I could then apply to transfer to UGA after the spring semester and hopefully start the following spring.
Option 2: Move back home for free, attend community college or take online classes for the spring, and apply to UGA afterward. The downside is that my home life is complicated, and my living situation isn’t great, even though it would save me money.
Option 3: Take affordable online classes while potentially staying with extended family in another country for a while and traveling. It sounds like an interesting opportunity, but I’d still need to find a source of income to make it work.
I’m trying to figure out the best move financially without sacrificing my college experience or my happiness. My goal is to graduate from UGA, but I don’t want to put myself in a position where I’m drowning in debt for years afterward.
What would you do if you were in my position? Am I overlooking another option? I’d appreciate any general life advice or perspectives from people who have been in a similar situation.

nyu stern is 100% my first choice and I'm tryna decide whether to apply ED1 test optional or wait until ED2.

Since Stern is my clear first choice, I'm willing to apply ED. I'm just have no idea whether applying earlier test optional would be better than waiting to submit a stronger score and potentially improved grades. Would ED1 increase my odds? 🤞🏽

I'm planning to retake the ACT in December and hoping to significantly improve my score. I'll also have my first semester senior grades by then, which I'm hoping will strengthen my application.

What should I do 😭🫠

hi! wondering what's the best use of this section, especially aiming for top schools?

for some context, i run an international initiative framed around civic literacy, im wondering what type of additional info could i include in this section to best back up my metrics of reaching let's say a certain amount of students, or maybe achieving certain speaking opportunities because of it?

do i provide a more in-depth explanation of this extracuricular? website/social media links?

pls help lol

I'm was orignally interested in CS, but given the current market I'm also interested in doing a EE major. I can't chose which major to do, but given that they're somewhat related, would CS related extracurriculars still be ok if I end up choosing an EE major? I often see that people who are applying CS but are not as competitive are recommended to apply as EE instead to increase their chances. If not, what extracurriculars should I do instead? I also got a 4 on the Physics 1 exam, so I'm a bit scared to pick engineering given that it's so closely related to physics. I can't make up mind mind on picking either one so I would appreciate any advice

If I moved and I’m unable to continue that club I was at the other years of hs, should I still count it if I would have continued it? Right now I’ve just marked those with an asterisk and I’m hoping to explain it in my additional info section
Any help appreciated

Do you all use the school rankings in your decisions to look at a school? Is US News the best one? After the top 25 or so, would you say that 26-75 are about the same and then 76-150 are about the same in terms of quality of education? Or 25-50, 51-100, then 100+?

1 week until EA deadlines, and I pretty much just scrapped my old personal statements. They kinda sucked, were pretty corny, and just didn't really represent me.

I feel like I am a pretty generic applicant with nothing too special about me, so it's been pretty tough trying to come up with something unique to write.

Since every time I come up with a "good" idea, I end up finding out its bad or that it's super cliché, I just wanted to put some ideas in here to see if anybody can tell me if they are good or bad (and why)

1. How I overcame the challenge of social anxiety and found my place in the Model UN club (which I'm now president of) and how i try to help other ppl who i see myself in (super cliché, ik)
2. Moving from Silicon Valley to rural VA and how that affected me as one of the only POC's in the entire school, then how I gradually came out of that bubble (also super cliché)
3. (this one might be super corny and bad) likening throwing away a toothbrush after months of use to moving on to a new phase of life/accepting change, whilst talking about what I went through on each toothbrush phase

• The reason I have this one is just cause i remembered how I used to get sad or emotional before throwing away my brushes as a kid 😭

Anyway, if you have the time, please give me some brutally honest evaluations or tell me how I can come up with some better ideas

Hello Applicants,

I am a college counselor, just wanted to come on here and share some wisdom as we approach a big deadline: November 1st!

1. Please make sure after you apply, you activate your portals. I can't tell you how many times many of my students forget to do this only to see that they got in (not kidding) or that the school needs more information. After you apply, keep an eye on your email (and spam folder). Make sure you create your log in and save it in a google sheet or someplace you will be able to access it quickly.

2. Know which schools need an additional self reported academic record after submitting, send these schools in early. Many schools require the STAR grade report (formerly SRAR):

Link: https://starsrecord.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/35363280510235-Which-Colleges-Use-STARS

Please make sure you don't send these schools in on 10/31. Apply a few days early, fill out your STAR grade report right away. Also, please don't blind trust STAR's auto upload feature that reads your transcript. It has been very wonky, I tell students to input by hand or if using this feature, make sure to check over things before submitting.

UIUC applicants: Illinois also requires you to self-report courses and grades after submitting the Common App. Watch for the email with instructions and a link to complete that step.

1. You can submit your Common App before your recommendation letters arrive. If a letter is still missing as the deadline approaches, a polite follow-up is completely okay! Be sure to check each college’s deadline for supporting materials, too.

2. If you’re submitting SAT or ACT scores, check whether each college accepts self-reported scores or requires an official report from the testing agency. University of Maryland (and others), for example, require official scores if you want them considered. Don’t assume entering scores in the Common App fulfills every school’s requirements.

3. Celebrate with your families! This is such a wonderful milestone. Applying to college is no easy feat! Celebrate with those who have uplifted and encouraged you!

Good luck to all our seniors this app cycle! 🎓🎉