So I live in a very competitive area where everyone is vying to go to our extremely competitive state school (UVA, along with others like Duke, the Ivies). My peers are very competitive and are always comparing their GPAs and class rank because they want to go to to elite schools. I know in my head that the college you go to does not always determine your success and that if I don’t get into UVA/elite schools it’s not the end of my success because I have other really good options too, but it’s hard to believe that in such a competitive place where there is so much importance on getting into the “best” college. This situation kind of has me second guessing my grades/coursework (since it is lower than my peers who are always comparing) and makes me wonder if I even want to apply to these elite schools especially UVA, even though I feel I am a good applicant overall. How do I deal with being intimidated by my peers when applying to college?
Find something that excites you and build your list around that. Whether it be a particular program, a place with ensembles non-majors can play in, some geographical goal or whatever, you’ll have a non-USNews list that is based on you. “UVA sounded great, but at U of ZZ I can play in the pit for theater dept productions and they have a great neuroscience program and I’m getting preferential consideration for their grad school.”
EDIT: You can also play the “I wanted to get further from home” card if you’re avoiding the in-state options.
I can understand your anxiety esp. coming from a hyper competitive region.
Firstly, discuss with your family if any cost restraints and create a balanced college list.
Try to identify 2-3 colleges where your stats are above 75% where you would like to attend. These will be your safeties/likely schools.
VA has many good in-state options.
Lastly, do NOT discuss your college list with your friends at school and try to tune out the chatter. Often, kids brag about their stats and their reach schools, but come April, you will find out something different.
Do your best with the application essays, and then focus on your last year of HS.
Good luck !
This. Run your own race. If friends ask where you are applying, tell them you are still exploring your options. You don’t need to engage.
“Run your own race” is excellent advice.
Make time for friends who have different interests than you as well. It’s easier to be supportive if one of you wants to go into nursing and the other into business and another to engineering. It’s perfectly respectable to tell your friends you are “chasing merit aid” and that’s why your list is a little different than theirs. It’s perfectly respectable to tell your friends you are looking for a more collaborative and supportive environment than one might find at Duke and the ivies.
Seniors tend to dream big in the fall. Come spring they are usually a bit more humbled, even the ones that actually do make it in to their reach schools. So will it be with most of your classmates.
Yes, agreeing with what other have already said, run your own race. If you happen to find out that student A is applying also to school X on your list, don’t entertain the thought of not applying because student A might be perceived to have stronger stats than you do, or the thought of school X is not going to take two from our school. Keep in mind that stats are only part of an application; keep your head down; don’t brag; work on the rest of your applications. I advocate minimizing contacts with those who are constantly comparing test scores etc. Do enjoy your senior year.
Lots of good advice here. Your own guidance counselor should be able to help you with your list. That person has access to years of data about admissions from your HS.
In addition, if your HS subscribes to Naviance, you can use that to see where your stats fit in the admissions history at different places that you are interested in.
Talk with your parents about how they expect you to pay for your education. Work through the Net Price Calculators at the websites of several in-state public Us and and for a couple of other places you and your parents are thinking about. If the numbers are unaffordable, you need to know that now.
If VCU, Longwood, GMU, etc. are in your price range and look moderately interesting, toss those applications off early to get yourself in line for any early application goodies (scholarships, housing, class registration, etc.) that they have on offer. If you end up at any of those next fall, chances are that at least one of your “I’m only interested in UVA/Duke/Ivies” cronies will be carpooling off to college with you, and a whole other bunch of them will be planning their daily commute to NOVA.
You seem to have a strong sense of maturity. You’re right. If you’re put off by those hyper-competitive kids that are always comparing themselves to others, you probably don’t want to go to a college with 30,000 of those same hyper-competitive people. Why the heck would I want to be around MORE of them…and eat and sleep with them too? It’s a lot easier to stand out in a diverse school. Look at scholarships at Univ of AZ, and Univ of Alabama. Choose an affordable school that’s a good cultural fit and be happy with it.