<p>I can't believe I forgot this one:</p>
<p>LOVE THY SAFETY!</p>
<p>on interviews,</p>
<p>BE YOURSELF.</p>
<p>none of it is really astrophysics, and if it is, do you honestly think you can breka the system? </p>
<p>i got soo worked up about the interivew the first one i went to i kept saying stupid generic stuff like</p>
<p>when the interviewer asked 'wat extra cruricular actvities di you do'</p>
<p>i started w/ 'i participate in a variety of ecs, all of which i have leanred a lot from... blah blah balh'</p>
<p>liek *** u know? get to the pt and say wat you do. </p>
<p>so yeah, SO glad that was my first one AND safety, i learned my lession and the rest went really well. </p>
<p>but do search up the schl b4 hand! even what courses taught by wat profs you would like to attend, believe me u cud get asked that!</p>
<hr>
<p>on essays,</p>
<p>please. start early. </p>
<p>it is SO hard to get the right essay down the first time. </p>
<p>omg read a milliion guides, and essay ques and as you start writing them you'll get more of a feel of what they want for what ques. </p>
<p>some DO want generic answers, like PS for canada (or so i believe, sinc ehtats wat i did and i got in to all my CA schls); some watn yeah, the touching story in detaill blah blah balh</p>
<hr>
<p>figure out what scholarships wat schools offer!!</p>
<p>seriously! some fo thema re amazing! like emory scholars get full tuition i think or sth really generous, CMC also offers stuff like taht</p>
<p>except tehy usually come w/ 'apply before ....' and so me, not doing my research, and procrastinating, missed out on both.. UGH!</p>
<hr>
<p>If you can, apply to canada.</p>
<p>wahat? its cheap? </p>
<hr>
<p>DONT let ur grades drop while ur doing the college app,</p>
<p>you can do taht by starting the apps overs sumer,a nd i mean JULY. haha</p>
<hr>
<p>DONT get senioritis.</p>
<p>i slacked for two months since college apps were in,</p>
<p>sooo OOO oo regretting that now</p>
<p>i have a c- in ib hist hl and i feel like my head is on a platter.</p>
<p>that is giong to kill me if i dont get it back soon. </p>
<p>really soon...</p>
<p>(spooky music)</p>
<p>haha, thats it for now.
yeh it really sucks, but omg is it a rewarding process. so much introspection and commitment required.</p>
<p>you'll come out feeling good ;)</p>
<p>oh yeah,</p>
<p>YOU CAN IMPROVE ON THE SAT..</p>
<p>I SAY THIS NOW BECAUSEI KNOW. WHOEVER (TEACHER, COUNSELLOR, PARENT COLLEGEBOARD GUIDE) TELLS YOU TAHT YOU CAN'T IMRPOVE ON THE SAT IS SPEAKING BULLSHI*.</p>
<p>if i believed htem, id be in a MUCH different positon now</p>
<p>because my first psat was </p>
<p>1730./ 1750</p>
<p>yep, w/o studying thats wat i was. according to the college board, i'm screwed. period.</p>
<p>i STUDIED, really briefly w/ some generic, easy prinecton rev. stuff</p>
<p>and got 1950 on my second PSAT.</p>
<p>ok about a 200 point improvement with minimal studying, just basically getting to kow the ques types nad practicing. </p>
<p>and boy am i glad i chose to take the psat instaed of the sat because otherwise (unlike you lucky '08 who get SCORE CHOICE UGHH) i'd be looking pretty ugly still</p>
<p>and then</p>
<p>I STUDIED SO HARD. so hard SO ooOooo HARD. and that is not me bragging, but seriously, for two months i was like azombie, a full 4-hr sitting every weekend and like memorizing word roots inteh morning on the way to school it was insane. i must've done like 20 sth tests, and even to study for the essay piled all the possible essay questions and categorized them and thought of all reali life, books, historical examples i knew in my 17 yrs of life and matched them up. blah lbah blah~ didnt go anywher for break..</p>
<p>and it totally paid off</p>
<p>i ended up w/ a 2320 in may. </p>
<p>believe me, ANYONE can beat the test if you really put your heart to it.</p>
<p>you have my word. :) haha~</p>
<p>heres what i would have done differently</p>
<ol>
<li><p>volunteer. dont volunteer at a hospital like the typical asian (from my experience). start an organization, fundraiser, drive for the homeless, cancer patients, etc</p></li>
<li><p>be nice to your teachers. this will come in handy when you are asking for those college recs.</p></li>
<li><p>balance your academics with social life.from soph-jr year i started partying too much and my grades started slipping. i got two bs because of this and i highly regret this because those were classes i should have gotten A's in. but dont be a loser and have no life by just studying in your room all day. go out, make some friends, and have fun. high school will be a lot more fun this way.</p></li>
<li><p>this has been said over and over again. really take the time and effort to invest in your college applications. my deadline for the app was on a saturday for an ivy i did ed to. i ditched school on friday and just worked on my application all day long because i didnt start AT ALL. i submitted the application and realized how bad my essays were. i got rejected ED to that ivy.</p></li>
<li><p>dont make/join clubs just to pad your resume. colleges know what is legit or not. </p></li>
<li><p>do your hw and study for tests. i never did my hw and just copied it from friends. i was still able to maintain good grades because i always studied all nighters for the test but i regret doing this because i cant recall how many times i did this and just passed out that same day at home and felt like crappy for the next few days because my sleep rhythm was off. if you do your hw you dont have to do all nighters</p></li>
<li><p>eat a healthy breakfast. i just ate lunch and dinner until jr year when i started realizing that eating a healthy breakfast actually helps you to focus better throughout the day.</p></li>
<li><p>if you have the time and money, do please visit colleges. i wasnt able to do this because i didnt have the money but a few of my friends did and they knew for sure where they wanted to go after doing it.</p></li>
<li><p>dont apply to college x just because of its reputation. i see too many people doing this at my school. you should go to a college that serves your major and interests.</p></li>
<li><p>dont do anything stupid. dont get caught smoking in the school bathroom, get into a fight, stab someone, etc. you know what i mean. </p></li>
<li><p>dont overload yourself with too many AP/Honors/IBs. many people at my school are overambitious thinking they are hot s.h.i.t and take way too many APs only to burn and have all their grades fall.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>bump 10 char</p>
<p>Hello All :) </p>
<p>I am a 2009 graduate as well, and I have to say that I feel like I conducted myself very well throughout this terrifyingly awful college admissions process. Here are a few strategies/tips I have to share with you that I personally used while on my college journey...</p>
<ol>
<li>You have GOT to get good grades! </li>
</ol>
<p>As silly as it sounds, this is the most important thing you have to do. I know that it might seem silly to study for 1-2 hours for an APUSH test or to spend days preparing a project for AP Psychology, but just think about how these few moments will greatly impact your attractiveness to colleges come your Senior year! Unfortunately, I did not realize this until my Sophomore year, leaving me desperate to fish my way out of my bad grade slump! </p>
<ol>
<li>Take all of your Standardized Testing early! </li>
</ol>
<p>I began taking standardized testing very early on in my high school career. I believe starting early will only help you get the best scores that you are capable of achieving. I took my first SAT II as a sophomore; DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SAT II, seriously! I then took my first SAT in October of my Junior year, which allowed me to gauge my performance and determine what I needed to do to improve. By taking these exams early, you give yourself more time to improve and more time to prepare for that awesome score you know is inside of you!! </p>
<ol>
<li>VISIT VISIT VISIT!! </li>
</ol>
<p>I think a lot of people really underestimate how important the College Visit is. A college may look amazingly wonderful on paper but, more often than you would expect, the college is not so amazing when going to visit (for whatever personal reason you might have). I will give you an example: for years I had been interested in Oberlin College and had determined that it was my first choice. I decided to, thankfully, visit during the summer before my Junior year and was amazed at how much I did not like the campus (note--I think Oberlin is a fantastic school, just not right for me personally). By visiting I saved myself time, money, and the agony of ending up at a school that I would, probably, end up disliking. </p>
<ol>
<li>Applying to 1,000,000 colleges will not always equal success</li>
</ol>
<p>Alright kiddos, this is where it gets tough. Over the years, getting into college has become ridiculously competitive and difficult; you either have to be a blind Native American pianist or the owner of Google to get in anywhere "prestigious" or "perfect." So what do students do? Naturally they apply to tons of schools! One of my good friends applied to 13 schools and, when I asked her about why she applied to so many, she replied "I figure that by applying to 13 I will at least get into 5. It's a numbers game, nothing more." She went on to tell me that she didn't have any particular attachment to the 13 schools she applied to and that she didn't really know much about them. THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO GO ABOUT APPLYING TO COLLEGES! My advice? Apply to 6-7 schools you LOVE and **** the rest. Seriously. Why go to a college you kind-of-sort-of-would-be-slightly-okay-with-going-to when you can, possibly, go to a school you are obsessed with? </p>
<ol>
<li>2 safeties, 2 matches, 2 reaches</li>
</ol>
<p>Guys, this seriously is a winning formula. Harvard may be lauded for its brilliance but it is not the end all of success and academic power! As an applicant you MUST make wise and pragmatic choices for your future. This being said, this is how I divided up my application choices:</p>
<p>My 2 safeties: 1 state university (UT at Austin) 1 small, less selective instate LAC (Southwestern University). </p>
<p>My 2 matches: 2 mid-selective out of state schools that I knew could offer me financial aid.</p>
<p>My 2 reaches: Swarthmore College and Brown University (Could you get any more selective than that? No. hahaha). </p>
<p>College is what YOU the student makes of it; when you begin to let your college define your intelligence you begin to lose who you are as a person. </p>
<ol>
<li>HAVE FUN!!</li>
</ol>
<p>I loved writing my college essays because I was given the chance to express who I am as a human being, a student, and an intelligent applicant! Don't write about boring things (i.e. things you think admissions officers want to hear) write about things YOU love! For me these things included..
Russian Literature
Tie Dye T-Shirts
Swinging
My Umbrella Collection
Seriously, let your personality shine and your intelligence and attractiveness will shine right along with it!! </p>
<p>I hope this helped :] if anyone has ANY other questions, please feel free to message me!!!</p>
<ol>
<li>Hit the ground running freshman year. Even if colleges put less emphasis on this year, it still affects your GPA</li>
<li>Don't take an advanced class if you can't get mid-80's in the class. Colleges want a challenging course-load, but don't sacrifice your GPA to take one.</li>
<li>Study for the SAT's, even if just on your own, half an hour to an hour a day. I raised my score over 100 points doing this.</li>
<li>Visit colleges in your Junior year. It saves time later and is sometimes a fun stress reliever from your most challenging year in high school.</li>
<li>Start/finish most of your common app in the summer before senior year.</li>
<li>Submit your applications early. In October or November if possible. It looks better to schools.</li>
<li>Apply to an EA school that you like. It will take off some pressure come March.</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm sorry but I too feel the need to stress the procrastination thing, adding also the fact that commonapp.org was not very friendly to many students between December 31 and January 2 2009 when they tried to submit their apps.</p>
<p>EDIT:
(I realise many tips to come will be repeated, but that just shows how important they are)</p>
<p>DO YOUR RESEARCH. Seriously. Don't just look at a school's reputation or it's selectivity to determine how good it is. Visit the schools if possible (I wish I had but money didn't allow for that), go online and visit their websites, visit forums to see what students attending these colleges have to say about them. I did 2 of the aforementioned things and fell in love with my schools (2 in particular) and will be happy to go to any one of them.</p>
<p>SOURCE SCHOLARSHIPS. There are scholarships available for juniors and even sophomores. Enter essay competitions and anything else you can find no matter how small the prize money. It definitely adds up. I, unfortunately didn't realise this until it was too late, so now I'm left scrounging to try to find competitions.</p>
<p>APPLY ED/EA TO YOUR DREAM SCHOOL IF POSSIBLE. This usually heightens your chances (statistically speaking) and allows you more time to concentrate on that particular application. Again, I wish I had done this.</p>
<p>This is the most helpful thread I've ever read in CC. Thanks to all.</p>
<p>Jcancollegebound: thanks for mentioning the Early Decision/Early Action thing. I never really had thought about this. Isn't it only for the really "smart" people though? I have always been under that assumption. Granted, I am smart, but I always just thought it was only for those being awarded the big scholarships and such. If not, then I am definitely going to consider this with my top choice. Thanks!</p>
<p>If a school is your top choice, you should definitely apply EA or ED if it is offered. It shows the school that you are interested and statistically has a higher admit rate. If you are a valid applicant, or on the border, ED can put you over the top (not sure about EA).</p>
<p>^Thanks for the info. I probably should have searched the forum a bit before asking since I'm sure there's tons of topics on EA/ED. I think I will end up applying ED then at my top choice.</p>