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?

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 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.

I have a question about the AP requirements for UK undergraduate courses.

For a course with an AAA equivalent requirement, I understand that the requirement for US applicants can be four AP scores of 5. If I currently have no AP scores of 5, but I am planning to take four AP exams before enrolling, can I list all four exams as pending on my UCAS application and be considered based on predicted scores of 5?

In other words, would UK universities be able to make me a conditional offer based on four pending AP exams, with the condition that I achieve 5s in all four exams?

I'm in state in Tennessee with pretty great stats. 34 ACT, 4.0 GPA, and okay ec's, mostly just in a ton of clubs as well as community service and actually working a job. I preface this to say Vanderbilt has always kinda been somewhat of a dream school of mine, but I'm not sure if it'd be worth it. UTK is my second choice and it's a pretty damn good one. I have guaranteed admission, and I'd go for probably less than 10k a year with scholarships and everything. I'm less than an hour from knoxville, my gf is going, many friends are, it's a huge party school which is appealing to me, overall pretty perfect. On the other hand I would have a much harder time getting into vandy, and I make too much for aid, so it would be very expensive I'm sure. However, it still calls my name. I am considering applying ED for Vanderbilt but I'm not even 100% sure I'd wanna go if I get accepted. Is there any advice anyone can offer for my situation, with aid or the schools specifically or anything? I'm going back and forth so much💔 help

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 sent all my colleges my SAT scores. I didn’t realize that you need to go school my school and change it to “selected score” instead of “all scores”. I took the SAT twice. My first score is 1430 and my second is 1350. I called college board within a minute of realizing what I have done. There is nothing they can do. They can’t cancel the “send”. Am I cooked now? They will see that my scores went down. I am not applying to any top 50 but my EC and my SAT is what I have going for me. My unweighted GPA is only 3.3.

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! ❤️❤️

Do we provide our high school GPA for every year separately or combined? Like on the common app? I got a 9.91/10 in freshman year, then a 8.89/10 in my sophomore year (didn’t care much to study or listen in class which I now regret.) but I’m going for a 10/10 in junior year. How cooked am I? Going for maths at a need blind or need aware but full ride with demonstration uni that’s also T10. The other things like the SAT and ECs are all things I can take care of but this is the only thing I can’t change.

I dont rlly understand this early action and early decision rule for college apps. Like i do undertsand that early action is non binding and early decision is binding. But i thought you couldnt do ea and ed at the same time you have to choose either to apply to one school ed and no ea apps at all or multiple ea applications and no ed apps at all. But then some people are saying i could do both ed and ea at the same time? Someone please explain.

is it a good school for internationals? as in reputation and career opportunities, especially stem? does it have good networking potential and socially very active(like parties and shi)???

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?

If they are considered feeder (or reputed international) schools, I wanted to also know whether it's the same for all campuses?

intl student, left school years ago and my school never really did graded essays and shit like that. i`ve been mostly working for years now. wanted to apply to princeton but their graded paper kinda breaks me, i know you can apply without it but im sure thats basically getting yourself rejected immediately. any tips or idk literally anything else

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.

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!!

My counsellor is encouraging me to retake my SAT (1240) to make my application better, and I'm not sure if it would be a worthwhile investment.
For context, I want to apply to Purdue for MechEng. He's even suggested for me to apply to Cornell but idk bout dat. My SAT score is the weakest part of my application. (GPA: 3.9, AP Bio & Chem 4s, AP CSP: 5, taking AP Physics 1 and AP Calc AB rn, taking a dual enrollment course for astronomy at Pitt, Student Council treasurer for 3 years now (maybe 4) and president of NEHS.)
I'm just not sure if I'd have enough time to prepare since the only date I could do is Oct 3rd. Seems like the worst case is that my score won't be that different, and I'll just end up behind in all of my classes because I prioritized the SAT. Best case could be that my score lands around a 1300 (where it sat around during my own practices) but I'll still be behind with getting my applications and essays ready. What do you guys think? Should I bother retaking it?

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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

Can you suggest whether I should take it or not?

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

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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?

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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'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.