Cared more about scores on AP Tests - but on the flip side, not focus on class rank as much and actually experience high school.
I wish I took at least one science AP.
submitted all of my financial aid documents on time :((( it’s hopeless… i probably wont get any aid and will have to reject
but honestly i will take out the loans if possible if it was a really good school… one of my reaches 
i don’t want to go to my instate university…
I wish I would’ve done more with history! If I could do it again, I would have applied for that summer internship at the historical society and participated in NHD, even if it meant giving up one of my writing internships or something like that.
I would have applied to more prestigious schools just to see if I had a chance. Now I’ll never know if I could have done it
ED2!! And apply to all my safeties even after getting into a safety early b/c more options is always better.
Make sure my essays aligned well with the rest of my application.
What do you mean regarding essays?
I would better explain how my ECs were linked to what I wanted to do in/after college.
I would have started working on essays in January of my junior year instead of the summer.
I would’ve spent more time on my essays, visit campus, and apply Duke or Rice for ED
I would have applied EA (to GT, Tulane, Case West, etc) instead of REA to Princeton
I think my son reached a little too far in the ED round. He is happy where he ended up but I think our family fell for Dartmouth’s incessant mailings and invitations to open houses when I could have figured out on here he wouldn’t get in. I will keep this in mind with my younger two.
my SAT scores
I would change one of my rec letters. Read it and it was horrible. Known and been close to the teacher for 4yrs. She has even invited me to her home and out for coffee. The things she has said to me in person were greater that what was said in the page long rec. After reading the rec I felt depressed. There was no way I was going to get in to any school. It was very negative. The school I’m going to didn’t need recs. Needless to say beware of those that are always smiling in your face. Not everything is what it seems
@fresh1012456 How did you get to read the letter? Also, why would a teacher you’ve known and been close to for four years write you a horrible recommendation letter? That doesn’t make sense.
She let me read it actually after apps were submitted. Too be honest I really don’t know how to answer your question. I know of another kid who is in the same boat as me. It doesn’t make sense to me either. I would go into more detail of what the letter said privately. I have talked to the teacher since and she was somewhat rude. Maybe she was being fake the whole four idk. Besides my family I have had one close friend read the letter. Because she thought maybe I was exaggerating or even lying. To say the least she was shocked
She talked about none of my accomplishments. Spoke actually of my friend group rather than me. Talked about a few faults of mine they should consider. And also used words that have negative connotations. I’m not sure if it was on purpose. But to me it seemed as though she was trying to allude to me being unfit for these top schools. Idk. It could be because I didn’t apply to the schools she thought would be best for me. I’ll never know. But anyways the relationship seems sour from her end.
I’m sorry that this happened to you. In my experience, as a student and an educator, one should not ask for a recommendation, and one should not be willing to write a recommendation, unless it is very clear that the rec will be positive. From your perspective, everything seemed fine, but if she already knew that she was on the fence with you, she should have politely declined. It is one thing to mention a small issue in passing (one my my rec writers for my app to grad school said, “Though somewhat reserved, Hapworth is…” and then continued to say glowing things). That’s fine!
Of course, I graduated more than twenty years ago, and maybe things are different? Still, I would never write a rec letter for a student that I had serious reservations about.