Just curious how many of y'all have done research in hs. it's becoming more and more common and basically a stat padder in my opinion.

I might be biased, though, in my school, at least 100/500 of the graduating class has done research at real universities.

What are your guys's thoughts? Are conference submissions even worth anything? I hope papers are still somewhat valuable.

EDIT: Curious if you guys had thoughts on my situation as well. I did four years of research at a T20 university, initially through a free competitive program, then through a funded fellowship. In that time, I have coauthored 3 conference submissions to a niche/specific conference for my field. I also presented my work as an ISEF finalist through a competitive state fair. Would this situation, especially the free application based program, help me avoid being considered BS?

title basically. right now i'm sitting at my desk at 11:45pm at night. tomorrow i have two tests that i've barely studied for but i want nothing more than to just go to bed. ive gotten nothing above than a b in half of my classes for the past month which is incredibly out of character for me!! i'm usually a straight a student with an occasional b on an assignment. i literally havent gone to sleep before 2am once for like three months.

my teachers decided to give me 6 tests the week before ed and ea is due. i'm so so tired of studying for hours upon hours and getting mid grades. im taking 5 aps this year and i underestimated how difficult it would be, like i'm struggling in every single class and i genuinely have no friends in any of my classes so i can't ask anyone for help.

and i still have no clue where i'm gonna ed to the point that i'm questioning submitting an ed application at all, even though my parents have been pressuring me to ed to a school literally for TWO years. i had my heart set on uchicago and last minute i started doubting myself and decided to back out of that. oh and don't forget scholarships, on top of 7 ea applications due in 1 week! i'm applying to 18 colleges and my parents still want me to add schools too.

mind you, among all of this i have to keep up my extracurriculars, get half my grades back up from b's while maintaining the a's i have, and treat college as like a part time job at this point cus i spend over 20 hours a week on it at least with no end in sight.

the cherry on top is that ill be up for 2-3 more hours trying to understand econ which i dont understand at ALL even though ive been studying for the past 5 hrs. fmllllll

as title says, should i submit my sat score or go test optional? its below the 50th percentile, but if i go test optional im worried that the AOs will assume the worst (ex. they wont know the diff between someone with a 900 going test optional vs me with a 1490).

nothing profound here, just trying not to cry.

it hurts when you've spent hours upon hours (years, really) devoting your time to things that are practically useless in this landscape, only for people who are actually smart and worth anything to blow you out of the water. even with tears and endless all-nighters, my ecs and awards are still shit. i don't even know what career path i want. i didn't think i'd make it to 16, let alone my senior year. it's too late now.

and even if any of these schools liked me, i probably wouldn't be able to afford any of them.

7th grade me would be really, really disappointed.

my life could honestly be much worse, though.

ok bye now

My daughter is in the top 10%, very pretty and preppy, is great at dance and theater. She could easily go to a great school in the south and especially here in our home state of Texas. But she wants to experience life outside of the south for reasons. She is interested in SDSU and DePaul. I worry that DePaul might be somewhat isolating for her based on what I’ve learned of it, albeit an amazing university.

Wondering where else a cute smart preppy girl from Texas should consider? I appreciate the recommendations!

I'm not that old myself but I see these kids genuinely on crack in terms of EC's, spitting ivy league level shit from day 1. I see college application work starting from 7th grade, thing is it used to be never this deep but now I see the most cracked apps going downhill. College has become a joke and the students trying to play jester to pay high tuition and barely get a job in this shit market.

I’m almost done with early apps (1 essay left) and everything just feels so hopeless. It sucks knowing I didn’t put in nearly as much effort during hs as I should’ve and thinking about all the things I could’ve done that would’ve improved my application. I knew this was gonna happen too, I’m not stupid but lazy and unmotivated which might be worse. Then I look at my friends who actually did do cool stuff and I imagine them getting into their dream schools and growing up to be successful and idk I just can’t do the same for myself. Feels like delusion.

Yes ik you can be successful no matter where you go to college and maybe I’ll look back on this in a few years and laugh, but rn it’s hard believing. My life atp just feels like a conglomeration of wasted potential. I’m dreading in a month and a half when everyone’s talking about “so where did you get in early” and I’m gonna have to say some shit like “don’t worry about it” and everyone knows what that means.

Whenever I think about this I get a sinking feeling in my stomach that I’ve never felt before. This is the worst I’ve ever felt mentally in my life and I have a feeling it’s likely not getting better, since now there’s at least still hope.

Run on sentences to encapsulate my run on thoughts

I was supposed to finish my last essay today but in this state Idt I can

How much do 9th-grade grades actually matter in college admissions?
I moved from South Korea to the US in 10th grade. In Korea, 9th grade is the final year of middle school, so I honestly didn’t take academics seriously at all. I ended up getting grades in the 70s in pretty much every subject.
However, after moving to the US, my academic performance improved significantly. I’ve earned almost all A’s since 10th grade, and by the end of senior year, I’ll have taken 12 AP courses.
I also have some decent extracurriculars, including a corporate internship, and my SAT superscore is 1480.
The biggest problem is my GPA. When my Korean transcript was transferred to my US high school, all 12 subjects from 9th grade were included in my cumulative GPA calculation, even though many of them were relatively minor classes. As a result, my cumulative GPA is only around 3.0, despite my much stronger academic performance since moving to the US.
My question is: Am I basically out of luck when it comes to getting into highly ranked colleges because of my GPA? Or do I still have a realistic shot at some good universities given my upward trend, course rigor, and extracurriculars?
I’m genuinely curious how admissions officers might view a situation like mine.
I’d really appreciate any honest opinions or advice!

Consider the following as a public service announcement and share it with everyone that you know that is thinking about going to school, specifically online.

These programs are absolutely notorious for inviting you in with a lot of social media ads that talk about you getting thousands of dollars toward tuition. If you provide your information because you are more interested in getting that money, you will get a flood of phone calls. Everyone is going to try to enroll you in less than an hour and I am warning you that you should do your research, specifically on places like CTU. Look up lawsuit information regarding the program. If they are known for doing things in an unethical way, why would you connect yourself at all with them to begin with?

Don't think for one second that you are not going to pay back whatever financial aid you qualify for. If you don't have a computer, they will help you to get one and you will pay for it as part of your financial aid. If you have a history of failing in past attempts at being an online student, ask yourself if you are ready to try this again. If you owe financial aid from the past, it is not going to go away and these places will not bother with you because you owe. If you are not good with technology, you will struggle. Don't think for a minute that you are going to be able to do your degree on a cell phone. They do not have classes that will help you to learn how to be a faster typer. Whoever you speak with, they are going to do everything possible to sound relatable to you. That's because they need to make their number. You are a number, not a friend. They will latch on to you like a virus getting you to post attendance over and over and over again until you are totally locked in. Once you have decided that this is not for you, you will get warning emails about how you owe. If you already have bad credit, you are going to owe the financial aid back. Forget about applying for a credit card after that, trying to get a vehicle after that, or trying to fill out an application to get an apartment or a mortgage after that. It will affect your credit score. If you're pursuing a degree because you want to be a businessman, look into what it takes to start a business to begin with. Getting a business administration degree does not make you a business person. You will end up probably getting a secretary job after blowing a ton of money on an outdated degree. If you think that you want to be a counselor, you can forget about thinking that you're going to get a degree that leads to being certified in some sort of way. These places don't lead to any sort of certification. If you are not a person that has good communication skills, be real with yourself. Let's sat you do get a degree, when you go to interview, one of the first things that companies look for is you being a great communicator. Most people are not. They lack social skills. Be realistic with yourself.

I think it's fantastic that a person want to get an education. Try a local program first. Sit in a classroom what other students and raise your hand with other students. Read actual textbooks, not virtual ones. Feel a part of the experience, not online all by yourself. Do your research first about what degree you want. Make certain that it is specifically tied to where you are looking to accomplish professionally. Places like CTU have an 11% graduation rate for a reason. 11%!! That is a formula for failure. That means that most people withdraw or cancel. Go to a school and maybe pursue an actual trade. Mechanics are needed. Plumbers are needed. People that do carpentry work, or electricians are needed. Go back to your roots when it comes to being a student. These places will lead to you being even more devastated than what you probably already are.

Share this information with everyone. Copy and paste it everywhere. Love yourself and your family. Take back control of your life. Be proud of your efforts. You were meant to be amazing.

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.

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.

I’m considering UT Dallas for Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering as an international student.
I’d appreciate honest opinions on a few things:
● Social life: Is it actually difficult to make friends, or is the stereotype exaggerated?
● Education: How good are the engineering professors, courses and lab opportunities?
● Employer reputation: How is UTD viewed by employers, particularly for engineering and tech jobs?
● DFW job market: How realistic is it for undergraduates to find internships and full-time jobs in the area, especially in electrical engineering, embedded systems or semiconductors?

This is a very last minute question I know (lol) but as I’m looking over my ed application for Brown uni, I’m just not sure if it’s even worth it because my stats are average and I don’t stand out in any way. Are there any brown accepted people who had average stats?

so i am an international applicant and i have 4 gpa in both junior and senior but i had kinda bad early two years due to health issues including a surgery and low attendance due to skin infections and bed rest, so i ended up around 3.4 gpa, am i out of the race for ivys or basically t20s? also that i have 1570 SAT, and good ECs, honors, dont need full ride maybe half ride or even less, and counsellor has also supported my statement with proper context.

I lowk think I screwed up big time. In sophomore year, I took like alg 2 and got 65%, which apparently that's a D? or C?

then I also took some general science course that year and got a 76%, so ye.

then I took no math junior year and now taking ap stats, but ye...

besides that I have 3 grades in the 80s.

rest are all at least a 90. also, my school doesn't rank nor do they give like a gpa out of 4. but overall avg out of 100 is a 91.

avg is like freshman year - 93%, sophomore year - 87%, then junior year 93.5%

also, im going test optional. so idk how bad I screwed up. my guidance counselor tho said im competitive tho (we sent like 10/110 students to nyu last year) ... but still pls be honest. dream school is prob like a tufts

I am domestic for clarification...

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

Title, i have 6 semester Bs but a 3.9 unweighted gpa, ranked around 26/500 of my class. most ivy admits from our school have been top 10 people of our class but we have sent people to stanford and northwestern in the past that were ranked like 15-20.

So, I'm transferring midway into my senior year past some early action deadlines and I haven't been able to find what exactly I should put as my most recent/current school. If I put that I'm not graduating from this school, then I'm worried that will affect my applications negatively by giving off the idea that I'm not graduating period. What do I put down?

ok so i’m a senior in high school and I used AI help me write my essay. I did not just tell it to write it for me asked for some inspiration then wrote my own essay taking some of the formatting but not really much of it, I then used to to critique it and then I rewrote the stuff it brought up if I thought it was necessary, I may have used like a couple sentences that it wrote but very little. So i am wondering if this is fome because a couple ai sites say it’s written by ai and some don’t, and if it is deemed to be AI is it a automatic reject, because i am pretty over qualified for the school im trying to get into MSU(4.028 gpa, 6 ap classes, good amount of clubs)

I have 3.96 unweighted gpa
Had 2 Bs in AP calc ab but ended up grinding toward the end and scored a 5 on the AP test (also the class was super difficult haha)

I’m top 10% at my school (relatively competitive) and I’d say I took challenging classes.

My act score is a 33 (34 math 33 reading and English)
My major is in stem area, so I’m not sure if I should submit my score.

I’m a Texas resident viet male not first gen

I finished high school in my home country and then I decided to get a US high school diploma as well. I didn’t take a gap year after graduating, so I was a US high school Junior last year, but because of health issues, I couldn’t continue to Senior year.

I have two things:
1. Should I submit in the Most Recent HS section that I started a US HS diploma at xzy HS but I didn’t finish it (yet)?

1. Should I apply to for example Penn Foster to finish my US HS diploma online and then submit both?

i’m a parent helping my wonderful senior navigate senior year and apply to college

So he has taken a few AP classes, and I understand the whole concept of how you take a test and then if you get a certain number on the exam that schools will take that as college credit based on what their minimum score is

So I’m also trying to help him find resources to figure out what he wants to major and where he wants to go to school and it’s going well

We’re getting ready to fill out the FAFSA and apply to colleges this week together

So to add to my list of things to look into what is with Clep exams?

So is it something like you take a test and get credit?

I think my son is going to graduate with about a semester full of college already completed and I’m kind of realizing I don’t want him to finish school in two years because that isn’t quite the experience lol

I get the whole saving money thing, but he’s looking at getting a scholarship for most of the tuition because some of the local schools we live nearby give automatic scholarships for instance he did score in the top 2% for the SAT and has a 4.0 so one college that cost 16,000 will give him $12,000 toward tuition just for showing up.

He’s not looking for top 20 and I know that puts me at a minority and on this board

Hey everyone,
I’m looking for some strategic insight regarding my upcoming early application choices. I am an international student from Azerbaijan. My supplemental essays are finished for both schools, and I am applying completely Full-Pay.
I’m navigating a unique situation regarding regional data and admissions styles between UChicago and Columbia, and my tutor and I are currently debating the best approach.
Here is the context I'm working with:
The Regional Pool: Around 10 other applicants from my country are planning to apply ED to Columbia. To my knowledge, no one else from my area is applying ED to UChicago.
Admissions Behavior: A student from my area recently with top stats was waitlisted at UChicago RD but accepted directly into Columbia RD.
I am trying to choose between two paths:
Path A (UChicago ED1): Bypassing the local competition at Columbia entirely to be the sole applicant from my region in UChicago's highest-yield binding round, using my full-pay status to differentiate myself.
Path B (Columbia ED): My tutor is recommending this. The logic is that Columbia has greater familiarity/legacy with applicants from my country, and my full-pay status might naturally set me apart within the local pool anyway.
For those familiar with how these two schools handle international yields and regional pools: does it make more sense to use an ED1 choice to avoid a localized bottleneck (UChicago), or is regional familiarity at an Ivy (Columbia) generally a stronger anchor for an early application?
Thanks for any insights!

My son is a junior this year. He's always been a great student and school has come easily to him. Last year he started to say "I hate school" for the first time every. He didn't like any of his classes and dreaded going to school. This year he really amped up his difficulty level and is taking 4 AP classes (he took one as a freshman and one as a sophomore). They aren't really hard for him but they are a lot of work and suddenly he is saying that he doesn't want to go to college because he doesn't want to do boring school work anymore. I told him he doesn't have to go to college as long as he has a back up plan, but I also explained that as long as he chooses a major that interests him, the majority of college courses won't feel so pointless and boring. I think he understands this, but he continues to be ambivalent about the whole college search process. Has anyone else had a previously studious kid go through this? Is he burnt out? Should I stop mentioning college?