<p>I've seriously debated killing myself over the past few weeks.
I just feel completely and utterly hopeless.
Ever since I've joined CC, I've become so stressed. I had absolutely no idea how important any of this was. This entire year, I've been trying so hard to make up for my ignorance about college my first two years of high school by self-studying 4 APs, doing online classes, volunteering 400+ hours over the weekends this year, joining 3 sports, getting a jobs, founding and running 3 clubs, maintaining service projects and other things besides. </p>
<p>It's not enough. It never seems like it will be enough. My extracurriculars are still incredibly weak in comparison to many others.
I've been keeping my extracurriculars under control, but I've been getting 1-2 hours of sleep a day in the process.</p>
<p>My grades are slowly slipping due to circumstances outside of my control (teachers not letting me make up work that I missed during AP tests), and I keep struggling to compensate. </p>
<p>I can't wait for summer to come, but I know that I'm not going to get a break nonetheless because I'm doing a full-time job, volunteering at hospitals and taking 4 AP classes through JHU CTY and FLVS.</p>
<p>My parents want me to stop because they feel like I'm working myself too hard.
I want to stop. I don't want to do this anymore. But I can't, because I know that if I don't, I'll never be able to get scholarships, get internships, get into a good college, find a halfway decent job that I enjoy.</p>
<p>Calm down. I doubt admission will be worth it if you feel this unhappy getting there. There are ALWAYS going to be challenges- getting into college is just the first step. Then we get to stress about getting into law/med/grad school, getting a job, etc. It’s a vicious cycle called life (cheesy, but true).</p>
<p>Don’t let CC distress you. Most of the people here are above average already. Just the fact that you are here shows that you are an exceptional student. Also, the EC’s that have you discouraged belong to those who are going to be accepted to the best colleges, and will even decline attending multiple Ivies. The rest of us lowly human beings just have to make do with the skill’s we have ;)</p>
<p>Keep in mind that colleges want a well-rounded CLASS, not necessarily well-rounded individuals. Don’t run yourself into the ground trying to pad your resume with EC’s. Stick to the things you really care about- if you like a certain subject, just participate in clubs pertaining to that. It shows passion and dedication, and is better than “3 sports and 3 clubs”. Quit a few sports, hand over leadership for a few clubs. Also, community service is great, but the same rules for clubs applies to service. Stick to the things you truly care about, and on your college application just talk about why you got into that type of service and how you benefited from it. Better to do a few things well than many things halfway. And none of this is as important as classwork. Colleges like to see you’ve been challenging yourself, but also that you’ve done well in your courses. Drop a few AP’s next year if you are too stressed.</p>
<p>Summer vacation is designed to be a break… treat it as one. Don’t bother with the AP’s if you already have a job. Plenty of time for classes during the year… and when you actually go to college.</p>
<p>Right now, you are just too stressed because you have too much on your plate. Don’t worry about being ignorant about college during freshman/soph year- almost everyone is. Cut down on a few things and your situation will get better. Don’t let CC get you down! Stop treating it as a competition- there are always going to be people with more talent. It’s an incredible resource you can use to your advantage.</p>
<p>Hope this fortune cookie wisdom is at least moderately helpful!</p>
<p>Killing yourself over CC would be like the stupidest decision ever.</p>
<ol>
<li>There are definitely some people who lie about at least some of their accolades</li>
<li>This is the 1%, seriously</li>
<li>You don’t have to go to HYPSM to be successful in life</li>
<li>
Quit thinking like that. Not true. Take a break and relax, quit focusing on college, and realize that everyone is not like they are on CC. REALLY. </li>
</ol>
<p>And I suggest getting off CC for a while and getting at least 6+ hours of sleep.</p>
<p>What are you planning on doing with your life? I’m only trying to go to a reputed college so that I can be hired by reputed software/tech firms. If I wanted to, I could start up my own firm as a webmaster/software designer for hire and make like 70k if I worked full time (I did it two summers ago during freshmen year and made like 7k working part time). For me, college really doesn’t matter – it’s just a goal I want to accomplish to help me when applying for jobs. Just do your best and try to work through this. The stress will be worth it when you get your first acceptance letter.</p>
<p>A good college to be would to me would be accredited and affordable, have the classes/major/degree program you want, and previous graduates in your field should have had success getting jobs or getting into grad school. Some fields are more dependent on prestige than others, and a lot of reasonably well-known/prestigious colleges aren’t even that hard to get into. (There are more than five of them.) It’s certainly not worth losing your sanity over. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I would talk to the administration. I don’t think they can do that.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That isn’t going to help you. They’re not going to penalize you for not taking classes not offered at your school. Save your money. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A lot your FA will be from your college, not from outside scholarships. Merit-based aid is often based on your grades and test scores.
Worry about internships once you get into college.</p>