So, one of my graduated seniors from the class of '30 got into Purdue for Robotics Engineering test-optional with, at most, a 70% four-year average as a full-paying international student. How in the world?!

I admit his ECs were crazy. Not only that, but he also had major robotics winsss. (Intl level)

But how in the world did he get into Purdue? Not only that, he also got into Georgetown, umich 2nd campus, some top-ranked universities in Australia, and more T50 and T40 schools in the USA. But how?

And I can confidently say he got a 70% average because he wasn’t a gifted kid, nor was he naturally good at these subjects—he was my peer in a lot of competitions.

He even failed 11th grade! 😭 I swear I am not making this up. Either he absolutely cooked in his essays, or I don't know what, but how?!

title. i literally don’t qualify for financial aid anywhere but my parents cannot support me all the way through college/keep up with cost of living/pay for siblings. genuienly what do I do. they want me to go to state but I’ve worked really hard and ik my academics should be good enough to get into some target private colleges. the thing about state too is ive already accumulated a ton of merit scholarships/other stuff so it’ll be really cheap, but I feel like with all the stuff I’ve done I have the capacity to go somewhere better and I really want to I just can’t afford it. what should I do

I believe I have the experiences, stories, and personal insights that could make for a compelling Harvard application. However, due to my financial circumstances, I haven’t been able to get professional guidance with my application.

I was wondering if anyone here would be willing to look at my essay draft and share their thoughts on how I’m approaching it. I’d genuinely appreciate feedback, advice, or even a different perspective on my writing. Any help would mean a lot to me.

I’m a high school senior applying to colleges for Fall 2027, and I just realized I made a pretty stupid mistake.
I listed “AP Scholar” in the Honors section of my Common App because I misunderstood what the award meant. I recently found out that you need scores of 3+ on at least three AP exams to qualify, and I haven’t earned the award.
The problem is that I’ve already submitted applications to seven universities with AP Scholar listed.
As soon as I realized the mistake, I started emailing the admissions offices to explain what happened and ask them to remove or disregard the honor. I haven’t even gotten the portal for most since I applied like this weekend except for upitt and usc.
For context, I have a 1510 SAT and a 3.85 unweighted GPA. Everything else on my applications is accurate, as far as I’m aware.
I’m genuinely worried that admissions officers will interpret this as dishonesty rather than an honest misunderstanding, especially since the mistake appears on multiple applications.
My questions:
Could this mistake alone get me rejected?
Does voluntarily correcting it make a difference?
Has anyone experienced something similar and still gotten accepted?
I’m not trying to make excuses. I know I should’ve verified the award before submitting. I’m just trying to understand how serious this is from an admissions perspective.
The colleges are:
University of South Carolina (USC Columbia)
University of Pittsburgh
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
Drexel University
Temple University
Miami University (Ohio)
Case Western Reserve University
Smbody reassure me cuz I’m genuinely freaking out.

International student
First in my country to qualify for the economics Olympiad international final round, selected as 1 of 147 out of 160,000+ entrants
Rank: 1 out of 131 students
IB: math AAHL, physics HL, economics HL, language b hl, English A sl, business sl, economics EE
Predicted 45 and transcripts are perfect 7’s across MYP+DP
And I have rly good ECs and recommendations.
HOWEVER, I did the SAT once with no prep and sadly got a 1480 (790 math, 690 English) which is the highest in my school as no one in school prepares for it because it’s not common to apply to the US, most people apply to the UK/Europe.
Do u think it’s fine to apply test optional??? Or will I be at a disadvantage?

Part1: T-20 Universities Ranked by Average Cumulative Student Loan Debt : r/ApplyingToCollege

I just finished my personal essay, and while I did use AI to polish a little, I wasn’t expecting how much of it would get flagged. Zerogpt flagged it as 5%, GPTZero said mixed, and Turnitin said 88%. The turnitin flagging it terrified me and I’m unsure if I should rewrite the whole essay now. My essay is so specific and personal that I don’t think an admissions officer would think it’s AI, but if they use turnitin I’m scared they’ll just throw out my application. Please help

hi guys I'm an international student trying to get a full tuition waiver or a full ride. I got an 8 on my ielts and currently averaging 1500 on my bluebook practice tests. I have no mentionable ECAs but I heard that it is possible to get a full ride presidential elite scholarship in Uni of Alabama, Ole miss etc. Is this true or do I need strong ECAs as well?

Hi, I accidentally added the organization I’m taking a couple online classes for as an “attented highschool” on my application where I submit a transcript for both my highschool and the online school. My councilor informed me that I wasn’t supposed to do that as my school accepts the online credits as their own on my transcript. Is it okay to withdraw my application and resubmit with the correct information? This is for Oregon state directly on the beaver hub application portal. Im aware that I will have to pay the application fee twice but will it mess up anything on the backend? Thanks!

Guys I have no idea about my application I'm in 9th grade and want to go to top 50 unis but I haven't started anything no extracurricular no internship no awards

Pls 🙏🏻 suggest what extracurricular I can do do

I'm based in India and live in tier 1 city so can so any internship

I'm an international student and my immigration application is underway but I'm also trying to apply to colleges in this admission cycle. The submitted immigration application contradicts the non-immigrant intention required for an F-1 Visa and the embassy will most likely deny my visa. I now have three choices:

1) Keep applying to colleges and hope that the immigration application gets through

2) Wait for the immigration application to go through and apply to state schools with higher chances of admission and financial aid

3) Join a local university and apply for transfer when the immigration application goes through.

The problem with number 2 is that the green card isn't guaranteed and I don't want to waste a year or so for something that's uncertain.

I would like some advice or if anyone knows there's any other avenues I can avail.

imma ed1 to bu and thinking abt majoring physics. is physics a competitive major or are there easier ones that are related to engineering or physics

I am a student in the last year of school, I started to look for universities and scholarships, but the hardest thing I find is writing a good essay.

I have a few questions, what is it? What am I supposed to write there? And how should I write it?

Thanks in advance

Hello, I am a senior planning on going pre-med in college, and I am having a hard time deciding whether I should ED to Rice or just apply to UCs instead. I am a California resident and going to a UC like davis or irvine would be much cheaper, and I heard that they have great pre-med resources. I am likely going to receive no financial aid for Rice due to my family's assets (even though our income falls below the level that qualifies for free tuition). My parents offered to cover my tuition, and although we wouldn't have to take out a loan or go into debt I am still hesitant to place that financial burden on them since we are very much middle class. I have heard that it is difficult to get research, clinical hours, and professor letters of rec at UCs because there are just so many students, and that Rice is amazing for pre med because of its small size. I don't want to make my parents pay for such expensive tuition, especially since I might need their help paying for med school later on, but I also don't want to potentially ruin my gpa competing with so many other students at a UC and pass up the opportunity to have an easier time at a smaller school. How hard is it to get research, clinical hours, and professor attention at a UC compared to Rice, and which one is more worth it? If anyone could tell me their experiences with these schools so I can better gauge the pros and cons of both, that would be amazing. Thanks!

I’m taking Introduction to Information Technology but on Infinite Campus it says DE Computer Science. Will take create problems during college application season or is it harmless?

You miss all the shots you don't take but man, opportunity cost of investing all this effort into not even moonshots but like... Plutoshots.... tho ofc I'd just dig myself further into the shittyapplicantoilrigs with bad essays........... I'm actually a chud and need to just go study for my fucking test but I'm stuck in the essay writing mines because I need to ride this flow state out before I lose all my motivation for this one fkin "why us" essay 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Applying as an international student is... weird. The requirements for practically all the top 20 universities are totally unrealistic for us in terms of GPA. I see people with a 3.8, 3.9, or even a 4.0 GPA getting around a 1200 on the SAT and stuff like that. A 3.6 is already seen as a pretty low grade... It makes me wonder how much grade inflation there must be in the US system for an average applicant to have a 3.8 GPA. In Italy, grades are out of 10. I go to a high school called liceo classico, and my 'GPA' is a 7.5/10. Here in Italy that's a very solid average (and honestly, considering you're studying Ancient Greek and Latin, no wonder) but when it gets converted to an American GPA, it looks terrible, like a 3.0 or 3.3 based on general conversions... I just hope the school profile helps. Also fun fact: we have no counselor at school! Anyway, I got a 1570 on the SAT, so hopefully that saves me academically lol. As for the rest, my ECs are super solid and my essay is pretty decent, so yeah, let's see how it goes.

I got accepted into my top 3 schools but I’m having a hard time choosing which one I go to for context I want to study environmental science or geoscience but I also cosplay,I’m trans ,and want to find a nerdy community and people to talk to :D (other college recommendations are accepted!!)

1.University at Texas at Dallas
Pros-
in Dallas
Good internships
Good academics
Diverse

Cons-
Campus is kinda mid
I heard it’s not social

2.Bowling green state university
Pro-
Great college town
Has a unique major I’m really interested in
Great resources
Cheap for out of state

Con-
Really far from home
Ok academics
Not close to conventions

3.Texas state
Pros
Beautiful campus
Between Austin and San Antonio
I know people there and everyone is nice

Cons
Iffy rep
Ok academics
Safety school

Completed the FAFSFA and got barely anything in Pell, and the loan we have to pay is genuinely too much for us. Middle income family that for the sake of not getting to specific, literally cannot afford to send my brother and I to college and also pay for everything else.

I want out of NY. It’s so toxic here and while I’m glad that my in states are far from where I am (Ithaca, Fredonia, etc.) Travel costs are going to annihilate me.

Also academic scholarships are NOT happening. 3.6 weighted, 1390 SAT. I unfortunately have the dumb and middle class combo (even if I can get like… neurodivergence scholarships?).

Also I’m a music ed major so if I want to be able to receive admissions and actual scholarships I have to travel all over the east coast (and Michgan!) to audition. These travel costs are wrecking my family. No fee waivers bc I don’t go.

I’m also missing a ton of school which is why using a ton of money sucks for auditions. Not the smartest, so missing school for the thousands of field trips and auditions I have is detrimental.

Just wanted to get this off my chest.

Yes, Community College is an option, but I’m trying to get my undergrad done fast so that I can get into the field. Teaching music is hard to find. Also I don’t want to go to CC as that would kill my mental health.

This post was honestly dedicated to the fact that WMU, a relatively cheap-ish school, might be too expensive. I went to a summer camp at WMU and want to actually enroll (if I don’t get Berklee ofc) but yeah

Everyone in this subreddit talks about being recruited for NCAA teams, but people don’t realize how hard it is to just make the high school team. You can’t make the basketball or baseball teams without starting at 5 years old. “Rich” sports like lacrosse or water polo have massive skill barriers for entry. Lacrosse requires you to be a fast runner with extremely good hand eye coordination, and water polo requires you to tread water in your sleep. Even cross country has a big genetic barrier to entry since most varsity teams only have room for the top 7 fastest runners. You can’t get there if you didn’t start running from a young age.

It just sucks when sports are an interest for you, but you just don’t have the genetics or background needed to be successful.

Is there any harm in going over the suggested word count? Specifically, it is the brown supplement about what brings you joy and is 100 - 150; right now my supplement is 210 words. Should I try to cut down a lot?

I'm a 17-year-old Indian student currently in Class 12 (CBSE), graduating in 2027. I've always wanted to pursue my undergraduate studies in the US, preferably in CS or a related field, but I'm concerned about my academics.

Academics:

• Class 10: 79%
• Class 11: Around 79%
• Class 12: Final boards in 2027; aiming for a significant improvement.
• SAT: Haven't taken it yet, but planning to.
• Financial aid: Would need substantial aid, ideally a full or near-full scholarship.

Extracurriculars and achievements:

1. Hardware projects: Built an ESP32-based automated system that was deployed at my school, and an electronic voting machine (EVM). Received certificates for both projects.
2. Startup founder: Founded a small AI-agent testing tool focused on financial safety, transaction accuracy and reliability. I've been building and improving it while learning software engineering.
3. Security research: Conducted research on real open-source AI and financial-agent projects, identifying issues that were acknowledged by developers and led to actual fixes. Some of my contributions have received public credit.
4. Paid research opportunity: Recently accepted an offer for part-time, paid research projects with a US-based AI infrastructure startup after collaborating with its team on technical findings. The founder previously held senior positions at major technology and financial companies. She has also offered to write me a university recommendation letter based on my work. The paid projects haven't begun yet.
5. Software projects: Developed multiple applications, including a study/productivity platform with approximately 50–100 daily users, a desktop testing tool and other web-based projects.
6. MUN and volunteering: Participated in Model United Nations activities and volunteering, alongside other school extracurricular activities.

Most of my software development has been AI-assisted. I don't claim to be an expert programmer, but I enjoy building things, solving problems and learning through projects.

My main concern:

My academics aren't particularly competitive, especially compared with applicants who have 95%+ throughout high school. I know extracurriculars cannot simply erase a weak academic record, but I'm wondering how much they can help.

I would really appreciate advice on a few things:

• Is my extracurricular profile genuinely strong for a US undergraduate applicant?
• How much would a recommendation from a US startup founder who directly supervised my technical research help?
• Could a strong Class 12 result and SAT score compensate for my earlier marks?
• What universities should I realistically target if I need significant financial aid?
• Would applying after a gap year give me a better chance?

I'm not exclusively targeting Ivy League or T20 universities. I'd be happy attending a good US university where I can study CS, grow technically and afford the education.

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])

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+?

early action is due on nov 1st and i havent started college essay yet, i already got an idea on what to write but i have been feeling demotivated that now im procrastinating. thats the last task im doing other than that ive finished everything