Apply ED and work on the RD essays a LOT sooner.
reading this is super helpful haha. now I know what I’m doing from now till December. thx
Only if those are the students with need. I think more than 60% of students at NESCAC schools ARE athletes, so of course they are getting the aid.
Hi everyone! I am here for an observation I need to do for a class research project.
If I could change one thing about my application, it would be the essay portion. I wish that I had been a bit more mature back then, so that I could have written a far more scholarly essay.
I would have interviewed instead of brushing it off. Additionally, shown more interest in other ways. I only fully realized recently how important showing interest can be at the LACs I applied to.
My senior year grades.
I had all As and A minuses with the occasional B/ B+ for freshman through junior year in difficult, a 35 on my ACT, took 5 APs, had good ECs and recs, and “excellent” essays according to everyone who read them (past admissions officers who I know, my guidance councilor and my family) but due to a difficulty I had transferring schools senior year, I got mostly Cs with one B and four three A pluses (in music classes and psychology) during my first term senior year. I applied to 12 schools and so far I’ve been rejected from 7 including my safety & many targets and waitlisted at another safety with no acceptances.
I wish that I would have taken more initiative during my high school years to be more involved in extra curricular activities, especially unique ones. For the first two years of high school, I wasn’t really passionate about anything and it looks like I just wasted my time. But I guess hindsight is 20/20…there isn’t much to be done about it now. :-/
Test scores. For sure. I’m telling you, STUDY and PRACTICE until you practically bleed critical thinking skills and math equations. Also, take the SAT/ACT multiple times. I took both only once because I was concerned about money, and it was not a good decision because both mornings I went to take them I felt terrible and was in a total brain fog. So study hard and take them multiple times until you’re satisfied.
techmom has, to me, the post of the century on page 60. She regrets not pushing her children like the Joneses down the street. Her final line made me smile.
“My children, although I adore them, are lazy.”
Wish I took more risks when applying to places. I was too afraid of being rejected. I got really depressed my freshman year of college because I felt like I didn’t fit. Feeling better now about my choice though.
I did a lot of things wrong in this process. Applying to too many schools, not spending enough time on essays… however, I’m very lucky and fortunate to have gotten the results I did. My only regret is not spending more time on Stanford, though I feel like even if I had gotten in, I’d still turn it down
GPA and SAT/ACT. I wish i hadn’t taken so many AP courses at once, i wasn’t ready for all of that heavy of workload. Taking regular classes where i would’ve gotten straight A’s would’ve definitely increased my chances of getting into many colleges. Also i should’ve studied more for those tests, bc they really mattered. I mainly focused more on extracirrculars and other outside activities.
working harder in freshman and sophomore years
My son would have taken FEWER AP/Honors classes. In the long run, if you don’t get a As in your AP/Honors classes, there is little advantage. We were told colleges value rigor – but really they value GPA & test scores more. Fewer AP/Honors classes would also have provided him more time to pursue ECs (outside of his 3 school sports).
Well first of all I shouldn’t of applied to so many universities, I didn’t spend enough time on most applications. I took a risk with the theme of most of my essays and I don’t think that was the right choice. I was extremely lucky and got accepted into some very prestigious schools, which I am still pretty surprised about. After I got admitted I just lost interest with academics in general and made some really bad choice, I got a letter threatening my admissions rescinded. After a couple of months and some one on one with a therapist, got my life back together and right now I am trying to survive all my IB and AP exams.
@Loser160 I don’t like typing your username because your not a loser! You are a winner because you recognized what you needed to change and did it (BEFORE STARTING COLLEGE)! I’m very proud of you!! VERY PROUD!!
I would have had my nephew apply ED to his first choice school rather than RD for all the schools to which he applied.
@CABoyMom Colleges do value GPA but if that GPA isn’t based on rigorous academics it’s pushed aside. A lot of the AP/Honors (and IB) better prepare students for the ACT and SAT. Many students who don’t have the opportunity to take some of these courses encounter issues with the testing. Balance is key.
applied to only community colleges and saved myself time and energy and heartbreak applying to schools I knew I couldn’t get in to.
@chemist76 I say this not knowing your stats but I know there were many schools you could have gotten into. Once you complete your first semester at your college (and do well) you may be able to get into a school of your choice.