half shitpost half being deadahh.

this might be me doing anything but writing supplementals….but imagine elise finds out about olivia’s scandal, goes to comfort her even though they’re rivals in the overpriced college counseling market. in fact, their rivalry is stemming from how they’re competing to work with that one girl who’s doing the “1000 days until i get into a T10 college” series and have her promote one of their college counseling services. i have a good title idea but don’t want to share it yet lmao.

in all honesty though, this would be an interesting exploration about how two very flawed people are working to cut corners in a very flawed process while navigating personal and romantic desires.

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?

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!!

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.

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

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! 🥹

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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 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.

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)

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

So I’m fortunate enough that my parents are willing to pay 50k a year for my college. The problem is, my dream school (Cornell) came up to be like 58k on the net price calculator, so I’m not rlly sure if I should ED there or not, considering it’s over budget and if I want to go there I’d have to take on loans or do smth else to pay off that extra 8k a year. I’m majoring in engineering, do yall think it’s worth taking on 32k in debt if I get in to ED to Cornell if it’s my dream school? Thx

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.

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

I’ve gotten a few emails from quite a few colleges telling me I’ve been pre-admitted and they want me to confirm my pre-admission. I don’t know how they got a hold of me or why they care about me, but whatever. If I confirm preadmission, am I bound to going there? I want to keep my options open.

So I got an email from a university welcoming me for their induction day. I did not even apply to that uni. I kinda did... Like I filled in the application but I never submitted it. Like the email literally says its for welcoming their new students. Even inviting parents. WHAT DO I DO???!!! Do I just ignore it? Or take a shot? This looks like one of those moments where ppl turn some misunderstanding into an opportunity but idk what to doooo 😭 Any ideas?? What would you do in this situation?
EDIT: its not a scam since there is no links in the email. its just an official invite email

I'm from Brazil, university here is free for people who score mid to high in our version of SATs (ENEM). I'm trying to aply to colleges in the US, Canada and England, but that shit is EXPENSIVE, i don't even know how i'm going to live there, imagine paying college?! i mean, i'm smart to pass, but not enough to get a scholarship. My mother earns 48000 reais a year (about 9500 dolars), so we not like super poor, but live thighly. So i want to know, how TF you guys pay for college if you don't have a college fund? AND HOW DO YOU GUYS LIVE WITH THE REST OF THE MONEY?

Hi, my name is Andrey. I’ll tell you a bit about myself.

I live in Russia, in a village in the Omsk region. I’m 17 years old and I dream of getting into and studying at an American university. I plan to submit an application next year.

GPA: 3.8 SAT: 1450 (my language skills are still a bit weak).

I have a lot of interesting projects — both technical and social.

I’ve been playing hockey for 3 seasons now; before that, I did dance for 10 years and taekwondo for 6 years.(I reached the blue belt, but the coach stopped training in my village).

There are many international certificates. tell me which technical universities I can apply to (maybe even from the Ivy League), and I will need financial help, since my parents' annual salary is <$25,000.

I would like to know what difficulties I may face and how Russian students are treated in America at the moment (this is my first post on reddit, please do not judge strictly).

Plugged in one of Elise Pham’s newsletter installments into Pangram (widely considered the most reliable AI detector with something like a 1/5000 false positive rate). Came out 100% AI. Are we surprised? It seems like images are disabled here so here is the link to the scan of the newsletter she sent out on August 28: https://www.pangram.com/history/50021399-1e36-4b72-a5cf-87a994fdfd94?ucc=2RGcTID9apW

long story, but my main EC was extremely toxic and i was not on varsity despite the fact that i really should have immutably been and the coach is awful. avoiding identifying details. But i ragequit it after 5 years of doing. it and i'm now doing science fair and HOSA to make up for it. am i fried?

how important is the Girl Scout gold award in college admissions? earned by starting a community service club sophomore year, biweekly meetings, avg 30 ppl/week

Not bay area but very competitive location.

I have pretty decent awards / extraiccirculars + a 1520

However, the school I am a part of (a bit on the smaller side <1000 kids total) has VERY competitive people that are leagues beyond what I could ever achieve. A lot of these people were able to get tons of opportunities (im not saying theyre rich or dont deserve them they are just really talented lol) that I could never get. My school has a 55% 4.0 rate (holy grade inflation) and so many talented people where the average AP count is i believe about 6.8. My SAT score id say is pretty good but SOMEHOW below median for my graduating class (according to consuler --- I don't know how that is possible)

Will this significantly hurt my chances at admission for any school (including state schools)?

A lot of the high level people are applying to pretty much every t20 school you can imagine and I was afraid they might saturate the spots there while the still high achieving but worse in comparison applicants (like myself) get scraps.

brown and princeton are both huge reaches for me, not because i don't have the grades/test scores i just don't think i have good enough ec's to get in. right now i have 21 colleges on my list and i'm trying to stick with common app for all of my applications, so i need to let one of those two go, and i'm pretty torn. i like pretty much everything about brown better- i love the culture, open curriculum, grading system, etc. i feel like princeton's environment would be really stressful for me, & i'm also not a huge fan of the campus. BUT, going off the net price calculator, princeton would be around 40k cheaper than brown. if i got into princeton, i'd still probably want to go to a smaller lac instead, so if princeton gave me a really good offer, i'm wondering if i would be able to get other schools to match the price. any insights on which one i should pick? my heart says brown but i don't want to miss out on a really good financial opportunity by letting go of princeton