Iowa state!! Just something that made me happy :]

To finish the Common App and see a .pdf spit out of the last four years is really jarring. I've never felt so dehumanized. Where do I talk about all the friends who saved my life and are the spark of my world? Why did my orchestra experience get dumbed down to a handful of words and not the everlasting memories that I made? Why is my SAT score the first time and not the second time I took it? I studied CRAZY amounts just to get a lower score? My firefighting experience is the only thing that gets put into 650 words, but that's still not enough to show the brotherhood and the trauma I experienced. My dream school is far away, but it's the one I want. If I go to my dream school, will I see my brothers and sisters again? Will I step into my firefighting gear again?

I've cried so many times and lost so many hours just thinking. EA is around the corner. I dislike this process. I wish I were good at something. I wish I did something that would show better on a college app. I wish my studying didn't leave me barely short of a 1500 SAT. I wish my parents knew that I'm not built for T20 schools.

:(

I am an incredibly boring person. I have no intrest, I've never traveled. I have never had any deep, meaningful character arc in, well, ever. Theres only one thing im good at: telling a story.

So here I am, staring at the blank Google doc on my laptop, mind completely blank. Then it comes to me: they want a story. It doesn't have to be true, it just needs to sound true. The poor overworked underpaid bloke who will be reading this could care less about me as a person. They want to be told a story, so why not give them one.

I think the best way to approach this is by not looking at it as "an essay that will determine if i get into college and therefore the rest of my life", but as 500 word first person short story. I think this will sound a lot more personal than if I wrote about me. I hate writing about myself because I am a very private, and as before mentioned, boring person. But I do love to write stories.

Any advice (or just telling me this is a really shitty, terrible, idiotic idea) is appreciated.

Disclaimer: These are general questions I have received from friends and some of my own.

1. Testing - At what point does a lower than typical testing score genuinely bring up a red flag? Yellow? Orange?

2. Personal Statement - Are you looking for different attributes from different majors? A unique quality? A unique story?

3. Favorite - What are your favorite essays, activities, or genuinely standout parts on an application that has even the most average student gain admittance?

Is imperial college really better than all U.S schools excluding MIT or are the Brits coping

I am an intl student from Asia, and i am genuinely upset about my Oct SAT score..it was my first attempt and I got 1460 (800 maths, 660 r & w)..I am planning to apply REA to Princeton. Now, I am skeptical about whether I should go test optional or submit my score? My major is astrophysics and my LoR, honors and ecas are pretty good and math/physics centric. Will low SAT score affect how AO view my profile.

hi guys! I'm currently trying to decide which Ivies I should apply to. I really want to apply only if my character type seems fitting for the school (obviously not the only thing, but a big part for me). For example, Brown is known for its artsy/quirky kids. So my question is: what is the average personality for each of the Ivy League schools?

hi! My daughter was accepted to all 4 colleges she applied to - even her dream one! 3 of the 4 offered merit scholarships - the dream one didn't. FAFSA says we don't get any grants - how do we find out if the school will offer Financial aid before deciding on if she is going there??

Is it possible to get into top schools or any ivies with weak ECs
I have a summer job, tutoring, newspaper club, and key club that’s basically it. No leadership

4.0 UW gpa, top 10% in the class, 7APS, 1510 superscore

Can my essays and academics be enough or is it a waste of time?

For context, I am a FGLI student who attends a competitive public HS in NYC

My highest SAT was a 1460 710 ELA 750 MATH

I am applying to Peabody ED1 for Child Development

Should I submit my test score or not, I heard that they really penalize people who submit test scores lower than their median and most who do submit their low scores are recruited athletes.

Should I submit or no?

whats so different of w&l that makes it stand out from other schools?

im applying for ED1 this november and i just cant make out the supplemental essay, i need help

Disclaimer: I know I'm not a legacy!!

My grandfather did a non-degree certificate at Columbia. So can I put yes (in the common app part)? or does it not count.

thanks!

edit: they also ask how many degrees X family member got from there and there's an option to put no degrees so that's what I'd do. (but idk if that's only for dropouts)

I'm looking for Africans who have successfully moved abroad to study or work, and I'd really appreciate hearing your experiences.

For those who went to the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, UAE, or Europe for a bachelor's degree with a scholarship:

- Which universities and scholarships did you apply to?

- What websites did you use?

- How did you complete the application process with your Africa Final Exam results (WASSCE)?

- How did you secure funding for tuition and living expenses?

For those who secured jobs abroad with employer-sponsored visas while still in Ghana:

- Which websites did you use to find vacancies?

- What types of jobs did you apply for?

- How did you find an employer willing to recruit you from Ghana?

- What were the steps from submitting your application to getting your work visa?

I've watched a lot of YouTube videos and TikToks, but most give general advice without explaining the actual process.

I'm hoping to learn from people who have personally gone through it, especially those who started in Ghana without a university degree or much money.

I'd appreciate any practical advice about the websites, documents, application forms, costs, timelines, and mistakes to avoid.

I'm not promoting anything or looking for an agent. I simply want to learn from the experiences of fellow Africans who have done it successfully.

Thank you! 🙏🏾❤️

Hey everyone if anyone who's rn in esade got a scholarship or any grants please drop your percentage of scholarships and stats. Comparing it with my condition might give me an insight into the real situation. Cheers

MIT tends to keep the acceptance rates for EA and RD the same. So, what difference does it make if I apply EA or RD, where I have slightly more time to build a stronger application? Is there some other sort of advantage other than the raw acceptance rate?

Some backstory: My asian mom really wanted me to go to Duke and Northwestern, but turns out they were unrealistic reaches for me. Then we settled for Rice and Emory. But now someone from my school also wants to ED Rice which lowers my chances, especially with his demographics and background.

So talking with my counselor, he said Barnard is actually a great fit for me in all aspects, with maybe the exception of its location. NYC is highly competitive and requires constant hustle. I got expelled for nic and weed and she’s got confirmation bias towards my living and studying habits. So Barnard is a strong no for her. But I truly love it and I love the hustle when it’s working for something I want, not something she wants.

What do I do?? I don’t want to say anything hurtful like “your mind is too rigid” but I REALLY want to go and I have pretty high chances too. Plus Barnard is like ranked 100+ in the US and she keeps telling me I’ll have to take care of my own tuition for anything below 30.

Sorry for the long rant!!

It's been a guessing game to determine which schools have the most clout around the country, mostly because A2C has its own opinions, but the question has finally been empirically answered. Now, Americans from all over the country were asked to determine which universities are perceived as the best overall and have the greatest public sentiment and goodwill. The results (https://yougov.com/en-us/ratings/universities) were:

1. Stanford
2. Johns Hopkins (makes sense because Hopkins is synonymous with medicine and became really popular due to their leadership with the CDC during COVID, remember this is about positive public sentiment not just who heard of the school)
3. Harvard
4. Yale
5. Oxford
6. Princeton
7. Duke
8. Berkeley (I think people on here forget how prestigious Berkeley is especially for grad school)
9. MIT
10. Cornell (The results were compiled BEFORE the recent scandal became national news, so expect that Cornell has dropped significantly now)
11. Columbia
12. Cambridge
13. Caltech
14. Northwestern
15. NYU (Being in the most famous city in America has its perks with recognizability)
16. UCSD (this is the biggest surprise on the whole list for me, but great school)
17. UCLA
18. UMich
19. UPenn
20. UChicago

Im applying to universities right now for fall 2027 intake. Im an international student, so I need to fill out the ISFAA to be considered for institutional financial aid. Right now im working on my application to howard university. How do i fill out ISFAA? where do i find it? when do i have to submit it? I am so confused and information on the ISFAA is so confusing, atleast to me.

Is Dartmouth the only U.S. university that lets international students choose between applying as a first-year or transfer student, even after completing university studies ( 2 year university ) in their home country ?

Do y'all know which universities in the US or Canada I should apply to for a good biotech program prospect (lab experience, internship, etc.)?

They look fine to me but I'm an international applicant so i need an outer perspective!!

I’m an international student applying to Universities in the US for mechanical engineering. During my freshman and sophomore year (and some of my senior year) I took extra classes in subjects like physics, math and chemistry outside of school independently for around 7-8 hours a week for 30 weeks a year. Does that count as an extracurricular activity? Should I include it?

Why is it so bloody hard to get into university these days 🫪!? Like I wish my college grade was enough. What do you mean I gotta give UCAT and yada yada...

This is too much!

For the honors section of the common app, you only have one box to list your honor. With the extra characters you have left in that box, should you explain the award or why you got it?

For example, if I placed in like science fair, should I say what my project was? Thanks!