i've been on xiaohongshu (rednote) a lot lately and the profiles of some of these chinese applicants are actually insane. like everyone has igem gold, usabo gold, a 12/15 aime score, 1550+ sat score, research w professor but somehow they get rejected from every t20????

there's a rumor that they get rejected bc of the "paid research", and by that i don't mean pioneer or horizon but the sketchy agencies that charges half a million yuan to basically buy a professor's name while a grad student handles all the work for the student.

if these kids are actually brilliant enough to pull near-perfect stats and win insane olympiads, why are T20s rejecting them so hard?? is it because AOs can instantly smell the manufactured/packaged research? or is the international pool from China just so brutally competitive and saturated with identical "perfect" profiles that these accomplishments have completely lost their value?

so my best friend and I are applying early decision to the same college. thankfully, we go to different high schools so we aren't in direct competition with one another. the issue is, i just feel suffocated now that the stakes are pretty much doubled.

if both of us get in = amazing, we can celebrate and it's double the excitement
if one of us gets in and the other gets rejected = it would suck, even though it'd be amazing for the guy who got in
if both of us get rejected = i don't even need to explain

i'm really nervous because the deadline is in TWO WEEKS (nov 1). and yeah maybe i'm overreacting but jesus christ man this college application stress in general is just draining the shit out of me.

Curiosity

The major pop culture references are really dominated by Harvard, but it's interesting to note the most iconic references of all time since they contribute to public perception of a university.

Edit: Since I'm getting a lot of comments, I want to clarify I rated this by most iconic references, meaning 1) the movie/show has to be very popular in general, 2) the school connection has to be particularly strong, e.g., a main character spends a lot of time at the school or the school is mentioned a lot, and 3) the movie/show gives the school a lot of aura.

1. Legally Blonde (Harvard) - "What, like it's hard?" Arguably the most quoted line relating to any elite school, and portraying what it takes to get into Harvard in a satirically ditzy manner.
2. Good Will Hunting (MIT/Harvard) - One of the all-time great movies, with the timeless plot vehicle of Will Hunting casually completing an unsolved MIT math chalkboard puzzle left in the hallway by a professor. Also famously and cheekily equated a Harvard education to "$1.50 in late charges at the public library."
3. The White Lotus (Duke) - Painted a brutal yet humorous picture of the wealthiest finance elites and deep family ties to a top tier institution like Duke, while also spawning one of the most iconic college memes of the 21st century.
4. The Social Network (Harvard) - Showcased the inner workings of Harvard and its social hierarchy, including athletics and finals clubs, while demonstrating how socially unforgiving it can be during Zuckerberg's efforts to make his mark at Harvard.
5. Iron Man/Spiderman (MIT) - Two of the most popular superhero franchises of all time via Marvel, which introduces Tony Stark as a wunderkind inventor who graduated MIT early who later becomes a mentor to Spiderman who also dreams of going to MIT, which cemented MIT as the poster child for technical genius among modern movie-goers.
6. The Big Bang Theory (Caltech) - A major sitcom phenomenon that took Caltech from being a tiny STEM factory in California to being well-known across the country.
7. A Beautiful Mind (Princeton) - Much of the film centered around John Nash's time at Princeton developing Game Theory, highlighting the unique combination of "life of mind" and social hierarchy/bullying from elites at Princeton in the 1900s.
8. Gilmore Girls/Gossip Girl (Yale) - Neither were originally big shows but got popular later on, both following two girls, Rory Gilmore and Blair Waldorf, who at some point develop an interest in Yale. Interestingly, Rory Gilmore originally wanted to go to Harvard, but the show writers had to change the script after Harvard refused to let them film on campus.
9. Suits (Harvard) - Painted Harvard as the most elite in the law world, as their firm only hired from Harvard, and a major plot line was Mike Ross pretending he went to Harvard while working at the firm.
10. The Sopranos (Columbia) - Considered one of the greatest shows of all time, some of the show explored the juxtaposition between Tony Soprano's ruthless mafia life and his daughter Meadow Soprano's protected, idealistic pursuits at Columbia.

Sorry for lowk spamming ts my brain is fried from trying to write supps

So my original post said:

Upward trend in both GPA and rigor, extenuating circumstances (DM for further details I don't want to doxx myself), decent ECs and essays, Asian female competitive area, high income (edit: high 6 - low 7 figs) full pay blah blah blah yk the drill

My list is finalized but I am curious what people think the reasonable tier of colleges I can expect admissions from is?

My parents are not allowing me to apply ED to any school where that would actually make a difference for me lol. Also not applying to LACs other than one super reachy one bc I wouldn't be allowed to go (yeah yeah my parents are dumb about US college admissions ik)

Pls don't just say "you'll get into your state school" cuz I'm in CA lol (test blind policy, ELC shtick)

Also I'm applying to a STEM major that's not that high demand but probably still fairly competitive

I wanted to clarify a few things

- I can't ED stuff it would make a difference at partly because some of the better schools on my list are the publics (i.e. every UC in between the ranking of UCSD and UCSC, UIUC, UMD, UW) which I agree are better than like NEU or smth and they SOUND semiplausibleish but I'm kirkenuinely not getting in...

- I'm applying as a physics or applied math major depending on the school; for a few I'm trying a ~niche~ route such as biophysics @ USC

- My SAT is 780M/770RW if that matters

- My UC GPA has like 6 Bs in it and 5 in STEM, no bueno for competitive admissions

- My weighted GPA is a 3.95, however some external APs and dual enrollments I took are not computed into this cumulative average. For schools that allow self report/STARS I think my GPA will actually compute to be a bit higher since my district limits how many courses you can add to your transcript that you did not take at school + doesn't replace remedial grades

- My extenuating circumstances involve multiple health issues, weird family situation, several unexpected school transfers (really bad optics around that, I know), and various bullying incidents

- There was a disciplinary incident literally everyone agrees should not have happened but I was not able to successfully appeal. I really hope my counselor corroborated this in her letter, but I believe records and memory of the incident may be foggy.

- DM for ECs/honors in detail - in essence, larp research stuff (got a LOR outta it, it's kinda slop tho) + STEM tutoring (w/ an honor for impact/hours that I listed) + content creation + long form writing (creative and scientific) (w/ a mid award) + art (w/ an award I listed in honors, I have more than one but I felt like it was redundant) + community service + a bit of debate

My expectation is that I'll end up somewhere like UCSC, RPI, VT, Purdue, SBU; maybe CWRU or Rochester, UC Davis or UMD if I get lucky lol idfk

I've submitted a few apps already but in my remaining ones (some of the more competitive schools + UCs), how do you guys recommend I approach ts?

Please don't doxx me this shit is kirkenuinely identifiable

Okay, so, like, for five years of my life, I've been a secret fanfiction writer...yikes. But most of my extracurriculars are run-of-the-mill (ish), and I'm really trying to bolster them and also make myself stand out. Part of my application centers around the reason why I wasn't super involved in extracurriculars, so I do think that holistically it's not so bad in the context of my application, but that being said, I'm applying ED to USC (I get free tuition if I'm accepted) and my weighted GPA is 3.97(unweighted 3.82). I really shot myself in the foot freshman year (3.5), locked in sophomore year (3.9), and was super locked in junior year (4.6), but I'm under no impression that I'm a competitive applicant.

I'm inclined to include AO3 because I've been writing for so long, and I've got a fairly active readership and somewhat high stats. Especially because, for USC, I'm applying as a PPE major, and for other tuition-exchange schools, philosophy-related majors that I feel like it wouldn't be the worst thing to include. I feel like it fits my application and the writing style of my essay, and it would help convey a more creative side and complement my stated interest in writing and English.

This is basically how I was thinking about wording it.

Digital Fiction Platform (Archive of Our Own), Author

Published fictional works totaling over 45,000 words across 8 published stories and accumulated a total audience of 25,000 views.

I feel like it sounds good, and it has been a somewhat significant part of my life, but if I really think about it, it feels foolish and stupid, and I worry that it will negatively affect my admission officer's perception of me as an applicant.

Like, it's literally fanfiction who cares? 😭

I know I can list it, but I'm more asking if I should, and if it would add anything in the context of my application. Or if it would be better to find something else to fill the slot.

I'm curious if you make any judgements from how the student has filled out the application. Specifically, do you look for proper capitalization (names, places, etc.), consistency in language (not on essays), shorthand, not using apostrophes correctly, misspellings, not completing optional fields, etc.

For example, I get really annoyed when students don't capitalize things properly and/or use shorthand (e.g., "on thu, i volunteer at the denver ymca 2 help clean"). I make judgements based on how the student fills out the application because it tells me how detail-oriented the student is.

That being said, I am not an admissions officer, so my opinion/judgement carries very little weight.

I don't know how the application comes to the admissions officer, so it's hard to tell if these small things make a difference. Is everything capitalized? Are empty fields left out? Do you try not to judge students based on how they filled out the application?

Any insight from admissions officers or others in the field would be appreciated.

Male from Arizona

1480 SAT

Valedictorian

2x Wrestling Captain

NHS Officer

Member of Leadership Group at School

Do I apply early decision? I'm not sure there's other schools that will beat this, since it'll be about 20k a year according to the price calculator. I want to go to MIT but it's very slim odds obviously. What would you do? Other schools I'm considering are UofA and university of Alabama, since they'd be cheap/one is in state and I could roomate with my friend. Idk tho

nail biting experience right here ☹️ basically they’re testifying to my research and work ethic and i’m worried they specifically mentioned one college cause i told them it was my dream school for ed… their rec letter will go to all 20 that im applying to though - i tried to get clarification and there’s no response

basically tldr can recommenders like retract their letters if mine ended up making that mistake?? help!!

3.4 weighted GPA amd 3.39 Unweighted. Just want to get into a decent uni. Should I be worried?

Im scared because everyone online says if you are a well rounded student you will get rejected everywhere

I didn't really build strong relationships with many teachers, I I knew them well and they know that I am a good student, but I didn't get to know them more on a personal level outside of class or something like that. I'm sure that they wouldn't write anything bad about me, but it would probably just be average/generic. I would say I'm competitive in all the other categories but how much of an impact will this have on me when applying to T20s?

So basically, I play the Indian Bansuri (wooden flute). I have been playing since before 9th grade, and since 11th grade, I have been conducting workshops on it to teach beginners.

Should the learning and the workshops be two different activities in my application or the same? If the latter, then how do I tell them which timing (weeks per year and hours per week) is for which? or should I combine the timing?

Hi all - I'm a junior in high school, but I cannot for the LIFE of me narrow down my college search. I know what I want, but it's very fluid. I would love some advice for colleges that would be a good fit for me.

I've got about a 3.7 GPA, but my extracurriculars really add to my resume. LOADS of leadership through Scouting, an Eagle Scout, and I started an outdoor education program to mentor younger girls. I'm a staff member at a leadership training course, where I teach and plan the material. I've done chorus and musicals for years (though never a large role). Currently in an EMT course. Last year, though, my grades dropped to a B average. I had straight As in freshman year and I have them now, but I know that limits me. I actually ended up switching from a public school to an all-girl's private school for my junior year, which has helped a lot.

I think that my target is a 30% acceptance rate, but I'm overall open to a college from 20%-40%. I want to be in New England, but honestly anywhere where I can go hiking and be outdoors. Not a fan of the South. I don't want to be in a city, but also not too rural - maybe a college town area? I'm a queer girl, so I definitely don't want to be somewhere conservative.

I feel like I've been searching forever but haven't found any good matches. I'd appreciate any help I can get.

on one hand i guess it does reduce our workload, but on the other hand my dream school removed it and there will probably be more applications to it from people who don't even care about it that much, and I have no where to show my passion for my field or the school.

i guess its more objective since its based on activities grades and common app essay but idk i wish they were there still.

I'm currently a high school senior applying to colleges as a business/economics major, and I'm a little worried about how cohesive my application looks.

In 9th and 10th grade, I conducted environmental research focused on restoring damaged soil using bacteria. In 11th grade, I turned that research into an environmental startup focused on making soil restoration more affordable and accessible.

Through developing the startup, I became more interested in the business side of things, especially pricing, commercialization, and figuring out how to bring a scientific product to market. That's part of what pushed me toward studying business in college.

However, I'm worried that admissions officers might see my interest as weak since I'm talking about sustainble business and talking about my start up work

I do have other business-related extracurriculars, including managing game development projects, founding a finance club, and managing the financial aspect in my family business.

Does this sound like a natural progression toward business, or does the connection seem forced? Would admissions officers question why I'm applying as a business major rather than environmental science?

As a computer science major at Purdue, is the Honors College beneficial? I've heard it's not super useful if you're in CS but idk if the priority course registration and stuff is worth it, since it is 4 additional essays.

So basically, I'm almost done with my personal essay for college, and it's about this art project that I did over the course of a year and how I learned how to be more consistent and how to persevere and pace myself. In the essay, I mention how one of my close family member's went through an intense battle with cancer and how I was dealing with that while still continuing the project. I sent it over to one of my teacher's to proofread, and one of her suggestions is that I should talk about that specific aspect more in my essay. Right now, it takes up about 84 words in the essay, and in the newer draft that I made talking about it more, it takes up about 140 words. I'm going to send it over again to friends/teachers to see if it sounds good, but I wanna know if adding this much in my essay about a sad part of my life makes me seem like I'm not over it/not growing from it. I'm just scared that I'm going to come off as someone who's searching for pity and not as someone who wants to show their growth/response to that struggle if that makes sense.

I am a high school senior trying to decide between these two schools. I feel like it is a head vs heart type of situation because, whenever I bring this up to people around me, they tell me that UVA would give me a better pipeline into internships and help me get a higher paying job than Tech. On the other hand, I really like Tech's campus, and the overall vibe feels more grounded and cohesive whereas UVA feels very independent and competitive. As I've been thinking about what I want to get out of my college experience and future, I know that I want to be able to live comfortably financially and travel after college, and I want to make good friends. Academically, I applied into the FinTech and Big Data Analytics at Tech and for UVA, I would aim to apply into the School of Data Science after my first year. It feels like UVA makes more sense based on the programs with what I would want to study, but I'm not sure which school I would make better friends at or enjoy my time more. I am planning to visit both schools again this year as I don't have to make a decision until spring, but I guess I'm just wondering if UVA is really that much better for post-graduate outcomes in the field that I want to go into, and if I would really have much better opportunities just by going to UVA.

I'm currently going through the college application process as a senior in high school. I am supposed to write an essay on the Common App (in case any of you are familiar with that), and one of the prompts I was given was to discuss a topic or idea that appeals to me or speaks for me as an individual, even if that subject doesn't pertain to my desired major. I thought that writing about my love for paleontology was a unique idea because it seems sophisticated and original to write about how paleontology connects to my desire to be a filmmaker through worldbuilding, deep research and understanding, etc. What does this community think of this idea?

I'm an international student from Cambodia applying to NYU Stern for Fall 2027, currently on a gap year.

My profile:

• IB Diploma: 38/45
• SAT: Taking it soon, aiming for 1500+, but won't have my score before the ED1 deadline.
• ECs: Raised $20k+ through a charity event with 400+ participants, founded a community gym with 150+ members, multiple internships/jobs in the automotive industry (sales, marketing, management, finance), $170k+ in vehicle sales, varsity basketball, MUN awards, and debate achievements.
• Gap year: Working full-time across different business departments to gain real-world experience.
• Intended major: Business/Finance at Stern.

My original plan was ED1, but I'm considering switching to ED2 so I can submit my SAT score (assuming I score well) and have more time to polish my essays.

Is the potential ED1 admissions advantage worth applying test-optional with a 38 IB, or would I be better off applying ED2 with a potentially strong SAT score and more polished application?

Would REALLY appreciate any advice, especially from current Stern students or people familiar with NYU admissions.

I am submitting my college app through apply Texas and the word count for the optional essay A,B, and C is 9600 characters. I am confused because the average word 600-700 on common app and also on Applytexas (looking it up online) but it shows 9600 characters. My college essay is around 860 words which is well below the 9600 character limit. What do you guys recommend, is it a bug and honestly anything that has anything to do with this because I am lost.

i alr took it 4 times as a junior and im signed up for two more. im at a 1500 rn but i wanted to retake to maybe get 1540+
is it worth it to retake a 1500 if i want to get into ivies and top colleges? would it still mark me as a competitve applicant or no

Hi everyone, I put fan fiction on my common app activities as creative writing. I was wondering whether I should keep it or not because I’m scared admissions officers might ask for my username. I’m not particularly proud of what I’ve written.