I saw a video on YouTube showing admission officers making decisions on who to accept/reject/waitlist, and I was shocked to say the least, it's a literal dice roll, they choose their literal gut feeling and what they feel about the person they are about to change the course of their life! Isn't this a super flawed system? What are my chances of getting into ivy leagues if that's the case.

Can I submit my Economics Extended Essay as my Princeton graded paper or is that not allowed because of its size?

https://www.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/comments/1xgjudc/you_owe_the_doomers_an_apology/ Brother I just want to get a j*b in 4 years 🥺.

Recently, I joined the 67 cult. I have devoted the entire senior year to worshipping the holy god 67 and singing its praises. I believe that with the purification of my god, I can attend any college I want.

The problem is these unenlightened peasants called AOs may still believe in their pagan nonsense gods. How do I enlighten them with the truth and guarantee my acceptance?

i need genuinely good schools that ARENT ivies that give solid merit. i dont qualify for need based aid so basically every prestigious school is out of the question, but my dad isnt willing to pay full price either. my dream has always been yale's cogsci program but im slowly coming to the realization that we won't be able to afford it, so i might not even bother applying.

anyone in the same situation have any advice?? 🙏🙏🙏
edit: i live in ny for those wondering.. im not tryna go to a suny

So, I’ve submitted the majority of my applications (the ones I care about), and I found out earlier today that a college credit program with a local university i participated in classified as duel enrollment. As it was just a standard Spanish course, with paid credit at the local university, I assumed it did not qualify for duel enrollment when I filled the Colleges and University section of common app.

Of course, I was wrong, and since then I’ve emailed the schools I’ve applied to letting them know I inadvertently omitted these two courses and gave them the information that CommonApp requested, but I was wondering, could this effect my chances at admission? The grades for these courses are on my high school transcript. Could it be seen as a liability or a potential risk for an incomplete/inaccurate application? Did I even have to contact admissions offices?

I’m deciding whether I’m going to ED to my reach or not today. This sounds like a stupid predicament, but while I liked the school I’m thinking to ED to, I’m not sure if it’s my favorite I’ve visited. One of the big publics I toured had my favorite town and favorite campus and it felt like I would fit in there really well, it’s just really not as good as my other school (though it’s definitely not bad). I’m scared I might make the wrong choice by EDing, but I’m also worried I won’t be able to get in without EDing. I do really like my reach school too, I’m just worried it won’t be nearly as good as the other one.

Can a high GPA & advanced STEM rigor make up for a mid SAT at Stanford/Ivies (mid = like 1450-1500)?

Which is more prestigious to the public (not that it matters just curious)

yeah the title sounds real elite I know, my dream school was middlebury as they have a great program for the major I want to do, and I'd expected I would qualify for their free tuition program but i found out they require a report from BOTH parents

my parents are separated and my mom is poor and won't be able to afford middlebury, and my dad is unemployed and isn't very present in my life but has enough money sitting in the bank allegedly that disqualifies me from the free tuition program. (he refuses to tell anyone how much he has or what he's going to contribute for college) I know you can fill out a form arguing for one parent to not be considered in the form but it's tricky because he's just present enough that we can't argue for taking him out of consideration

I don't want to be paying 90,000+ dollars in tuition but I've worked so hard all my academic career to get into a prestigious school (straight a student, bunch of aps, extracurriculars etc.) and it's been HARD, just for the realization to set in that i cant even afford any of them.

​​and I don't qualify for fafsa either because the income threshold is much lower, I live in a high income area despite my family being on the poorer side so to be making what fafsa requires would mean we'd literally be homeless

I don't know, I know I shouldn't just be looking at acceptance rates but I'm stuck with this mindset that if I go to a "less prestigious" school that its basically a failure (+I have pressure from other people in my life to go to an elite school)

and what if I go to an affordable school just for the money but regret it for the rest of my life? but on the other hand I don't want to be saddled with debt

I guess this is just a rant and I probably come off as snobby, but it's so frustrating to me that just because I'm not extremely poor that I can't get any financial aid, even middle class families can hardly afford these elite colleges I imagine. ​

I'm currently in 11th grade and trying to figure out where to pursue my undergraduate degree in 2028. I'm a trans girl, and I wanna move somewhere I can feel safe, accepted, and free to express myself

I initially considered Germany, but after being diagnosed with clinical depression, learning German to a university ready level in just 2 years feels impossible. I'm now considering the US, but I'm unsure how competitive I would be and feel demotivated after reading lots of pessimistic reddit threads and about the high competition from my country

My main achievements so far are a 97.6% in my 10th grade board exam (which is like a national standardized exam in india) and a Minecraft modding profile with over a million downloads and around $4,000 in ad revenue. I don't have many other extracurriculars yet,but I'm willing to work on that (but i don't know what activities I can do)

I'm interested in stem, particularly mathematics, and would probably need some financial aid (my budget is like 12k usd per annum probably)

Which countries and universities would you recommend for my situation? Looking for advice on realistic options, scholarships for international students, and other countries I should consider

GENUINE question not a shitpost wallah

been getting straight A's up to now except one B+ freshman year but im getting straight teeth rn in one of my senior courses

how bad is this like ik my previous grades might be a good blanket but its hella downward trend and im genuinely losing so much sleep thinking about how thats gonna effect admissions

She says, "It is a party school and not good for you since the ages 18-22 are the years when you develop your personality. Additionally, she also states that USC is meant for the elite and rich class public. Since i would be applying from india based on hoping to acheive trustee schoalrship. she sayd getting in makes no point since you wont be able to match the people there and be depressive or end up spending too much and stuff. And she says I must go to a research-heavy university only, as it is the best for me "

Is this true??? Someone help me!

I know there are advisers who advise on getting into college. But are there advisers who counsel on how to maximize FAFSA/financial aid and/or scholarships? TIA!

So I’ve submitted all my EA’s and none of them see my first quarter grades, but a few of my colleges only offer ED and RD so I submitted RD, and now i’m worried. Currently I have a B- in IB HL Bio 2, and while I am obviously gonna work to bring it up it most likely is gonna sit in the B range. My DE Precalc w Trig class might also go down to a B, though currently it’s sitting at an A. I’ve never gotten a B before, only two A minuses (in IB Apps 2 and IB Spanish), and I have a 3.98UW and 4.5W. How bad is this gonna look? Specifically at W&M (in-state) and Northwestern. I don’t plan to major in anything STEM for the record.

hello! i already have a pretty finalized list of schools that i’m applying to, but i noticed it is leaning a little heavier towards out of state public schools that will likely give me no aid. i want to branch out and maybe consider some more private schools, but i don’t want to expand my reach list.

here are some of my basic stats:

4.26 w gpa/3.93 uw

1410 sat/1420 superscore (would go test optional at some schools)

ranked 9/311 at a rural/suburban smaller school with decent opportunities

8 APs (all 5s and a couple 4s), 3 dual enrollment

i have fairly average extracurriculars including president of my school’s environmental club and HOSA chapter, jv tennis player for 4 years, stage crew for theater for 4 years, tutoring, cultural community, nhs, part time retail jobs. no major awards besides collegeboard stuff and a minor competition award.

i‘m looking for schools that would end up around the target range for me that might be worth adding to my list! looking for prestigious academics, good opportunities for a bio/poli sci double major (pre-law), welcoming social scene especially for people of color (none of the cliquey preppy vibes unless it’s actually tolerable). also preferably in a town or city that isn’t boring and/or miserable.

any help would be great!

What the text says.

i’m applying to usc ea and was wondering if anyone would be willing to look over my quick takes and supplementals and give me some feedback! i’d really appreciate it

Hi everyone! I’m planning to apply for the MEi:CogSci Master’s programme at the University of Vienna for 2027/2028.

I’d love to hear from students who were admitted. What was your academic background and GPA? Did projects, research experience, or a motivation letter help? Were there any specific admission requirements or selection procedures?

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, and I’d really appreciate any advice or information about the admission process, especially from international students.

Hi everyone, I’m currently a Grade 10 IB student and I’ve been thinking a lot about what I might want to study in college. I’m mainly planning to apply to universities in the US, although I’m also considering universities in Hong Kong. My current grades are around 40/45 in the IB, and my interests are somewhere between mathematics, applied mathematics, computer programming, economics/finance, and the applications of math in business. At first, I was mostly looking at finance-related majors such as computational finance, financial mathematics, and quantitative finance because I may want to work at a large financial firm in the future. However, I’ve recently started to feel that specializing in finance too early might not be the best choice.

Right now, I’m more interested in majors such as Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Computational/Applied Mathematics, Mathematical Sciences, Operations Research, and Statistics. I like the idea of studying a lot of math first and then deciding later whether I want to apply it to finance, computer science, data science, economics, or something else. One concern I have, though, is that while I genuinely enjoy math, I don’t consider myself naturally gifted at it. I’m not the type of student who can immediately see the solution to a difficult competition problem, and sometimes I need quite a long time to fully understand something. Because of that, I’m not sure whether I would still enjoy math once it becomes much more abstract and difficult at the university level. I also currently don’t have any significant math competition achievements.

Instead of focusing entirely on competitions, I’m considering building a longer-term applied math project. I could start by learning probability, statistics, and Python, and then gradually explore things like mathematical modeling, optimization, Monte Carlo simulation, and portfolio risk modeling. I’d like these projects not only to help with college applications, but also to help me figure out whether I actually enjoy applied math enough to major in it.

Another important factor for me is the overall college environment. I want a university with a strong academic culture, but I don’t want to be surrounded by people who are constantly stressed or competing with one another. I’d still like to have time for clubs, sports, friends, and other interests instead of spending almost all of my time studying. The US schools I’m currently looking at include Brown, the University of Michigan, UW–Madison, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, UChicago, Cornell, and Princeton. In Hong Kong, I’m also considering CUHK, HKU, and HKUST. CMU originally stood out to me because of how strong it is across math, computer science, statistics, and finance, but I’m a little worried about the workload. Brown has also become very appealing to me because of its strong Applied Mathematics program and Open Curriculum. Michigan and UW–Madison interest me as well because they seem to combine strong academics with a more traditional and balanced college experience.

My main questions are:

For someone who likes math but isn’t sure they want to commit to pure or theoretical mathematics, is Applied Mathematics a good undergraduate major?

Would it be better to major more broadly in Math/Applied Math and add CS, Statistics, Economics, or Finance later, rather than choosing something like Financial Mathematics or Quantitative Finance from the beginning?

If someone genuinely enjoys math and is willing to work hard, but isn’t especially strong at competition math, is it still realistic to do well in a rigorous undergraduate math program?

Is IB more competitive than AP?

I’m still pretty early in high school, so I don’t want to lock myself into one career path yet. What I’m really looking for is an undergraduate environment where I can seriously explore mathematics without closing off too many other possibilities too early. I’d really appreciate any advice from current Math/Applied Math students, graduates, or anyone familiar with these universities.

Thank you so much for reading my text, I am really appreciate it!!!

I swear 90% of the questions here are just people trying to cope. No a 1550 SAT isn’t going to magically make up for your 3.2 GPA. So many people come here knowing they have glaring weaknesses in their applications, yet still seek external validation just to feel better about their chances. Deep down they already know the answer to their questions. They just want someone to tell them otherwise.

Hey everyone! I'm a student from Nepal planning to apply to US universities for Fall 2027. I'm looking for universities where I can get a strong engineering education, hands-on experience, a great peer environment, and, most importantly, enough financial aid to make studying in the US possible.

Here's a little about my profile.

Academics:

- Grade 10 GPA: 3.77/4.00 (unweighted)

- Grade 11 GPA: 3.26/4.00 (unweighted)

- Grade 12 GPA: 3.29/4.00 (unweighted)

- SAT: 1310 (720 Math, 590 Reading and Writing)

Software Engineering Experience:

- Approximately 3 years of coding experience.

- Built a substantial freelance project for a US-based tax firm, handling the development process end to end.

- Independently developed a website with 50+ users after identifying a problem worth solving.

- Completed a 3-month full-stack internship at a technology company in Nepal and currently work there full-time.

Technical Skills:

- Backend development with NestJS and REST APIs.

- React and full-stack development.

- Real-time communication, including audio/video calling and WebSocket-based data transmission.

- Caching, Docker, and testing.

- A good understanding of C.

Engineering Projects and Extracurriculars:

- Built a DIY DC motor out of curiosity about the physics behind electrical and mechanical systems.

- Designed a PCB for a full-wave bridge rectifier to explore electronics and circuit design.

- Placed third in a national-level hackathon, demonstrating problem-solving under time constraints.

- I also have experience with hackathon organization and other leadership activities.

What I Want to Study:

I'm primarily interested in Computer Engineering, EECS, or Computer Science. I enjoy software development, but I also want to explore electronics, computer architecture, and hardware through hands-on projects and research.

I'm looking for a university with:

- Strong academics and practical engineering opportunities.

- Access to laboratories, research, and project-based learning.

- A collaborative environment with ambitious, technically curious students.

- Ideally, a full scholarship or financial aid covering education.

My family's financial situation means that attending a US university without substantial financial aid would be extremely difficult.

My questions:

1. Which US universities would you recommend for my profile, particularly those offering generous need-based aid to international students?

2. If you were in my position, how would you build your university list?

I'd especially appreciate advice from international students who applied from Nepal or other countries with similar financial constraints.

Thanks in advance! I'd really appreciate honest advice, including universities I might not have considered.

I like using parallel structure a lot in my essays. Does that make it like, AI?

Hi, I’m a prospective undergraduate student applying to the Grainger College of Engineering. I have an SAT score of 1510 (780 math, 730 R&W). I’m applying for the computer engineering major.

For context, middle 50% is 1490-1550. So I’d be below 50%. My GPA is 101.4 weighted on a 100 point scale, and I’m ranked in the top 10% of my class officially (unofficially top 3 in my class of about 230 students). Do I submit my SAT score or stick to just listing GPA?

Howdy! I’m a current junior from TN. I plan on double majoring in Math and Art History.

i have taken the ACT 2x. Sept. score: 33 composite 35 English 33 math 30 reading Oct. score: 33 composite 35 English 35 math 30 reading. so all that happened is a 2 point increase in math, but hey, ill take it.

im probably gonna retake again in December to try to get a reading score of at least 34 (which would bring me up to a superscore 35 composite). Even a 31 reading would bring me up to a 34 superscore composite. However, not every school on my list super scores. I just really don’t want to deal with the stress of keeping up my math and English scores on the next test. :( I know, lazy lol.

Anyways, is it worth trying hard to keep up my math and English scores for the next test when most of these schools do superscore? Should I even retake? Here is a (ranked by how much I like them) list of the colleges I plan on applying to (I don’t plan on it changing much, seeing as I am very picky and I’ve already done a thorough amount of searching.)

1. Vanderbilt

2. Georgetown

3. Holy Cross

4. UT Austin

5. Villanova

6. Stanford

7. CU Boulder

8. UIUC

9. Emory

10. U of Utah

11. SLU