<p>So as I was waiting for my flight home yesterday, I started to remember what it was like being a high schooler stuck in the college admissions process. I remembered how much it sucked, and how I wish there could be someone experienced to guide me through it. Since I have much sympathy for the people who are currently going through this period of extreme stress, I decided to write some advice I would have given myself if I were still a junior/senior. </p>
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<li>Stop making or thinking about making re-assuring threads on CC. Yeah, I know you want to make "Chance me" threads or something along the lines of "Is this EC unique?" "Is my GPA too low?" "Will a high GPA/SAT make up for a low SAT/GPA?" "Does my competitive high school increase my chances?" etc... </li>
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<p>Stop it now. Remember that this site is filled with people who AREN'T college admissions officers. No matter how many posts they have or how much they claim to know about college admissions, CHANCES ARE, THEY ARE NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS SO IN REALITY THEY DON'T REALLY KNOW THAT MUCH. It's even worse when high schoolers -- people who are in the exact same boat as you -- try to give advice or "chance" someone. A CCer could write you a 5-page essay detailing your chances at your college choices, and it still won't mean crap in the end.</p>
<p>When I was still a senior, I went crazy with making CC threads. Almost every other day, I would make "chance me" threads or threads asking about whether I could make up for my pitiful GPA in any way. I got a mix of responses, but the majority of them were negative. Most people would say that I had absolutely no chance of getting into any school besides my safety. I would get super depressed after seeing all those "chances," because I thought that those people's opinions actually meant something. In the end, it didn't matter because I got into a reach school that I'm very very happy at right now. </p>
<p>So yeah, stop looking for reassurance by making pointless threads here. </p>
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<li>Stop trying to stack yourself up against your peers. I know a lot of you are guilty of this. You're thinking... "My buddy Jose has a 2300, 3.85 GPA, and 35 ECs. I have a 2350, 3.9, and 37 ECs. I should wreck this kid. But crap... Emily has a 2360, 4.0, and 40 ECs. I should make a thread on CC called 'Which applicant would Harvard prefer?' and see if people will think I'm better." </li>
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<p>I used to be extremely guilty of this as well. I would always think about what my "competition" had -- their GPA, SAT, ECs, etc. and see how they would stack against me. In the end, none of that mattered of course, because a lot of the kids who I thought I was "better" than got into schools I got rejected from. And a lot of kids who were supposed to be "better" than me got rejected from schools I got into. Don't stack yourself up against everyone else, because it just makes you even more insecure about yourself. </p>
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<li>Stop treating the college admissions process like a competition where the winner is the person who gets into the "best" school. In other words, stop worrying about where your classmates do or don't get in and worry about where YOU get in. Because in the end, where you go to school is the only thing that matters. </li>
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<p>Ok, so what if that pretentious d-bag in your grade who everyone hates got into Harvard? Good for him. So what if your friend got into Princeton when he didn't "deserve it" because of his low GPA? Good. For. Him. </p>
<p>Thinking about the college admissions process like a competition will only make it so much more stressful than it really is. Instead of working on creating the best possible result for yourself, you will be worrying about how everyone else will be doing. So even if you DO get into the best possible college for you, your happiness will still be affected by where everyone else got in. That's not good, so be selfish, and worry about you and your own needs first. </p>
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<li>Don't fall in love with a school. Yeah, I know that having a "dream school" will motivate you. But in the end, you still do have a very good chance of getting rejected, no matter how good you are (assuming your dream school is a top school). Have a bunch of schools that you LIKE AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO GO TO, but don't obsess over any particular schools. </li>
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<p>I remember when my "dream school" during senior year was UCLA. I would do anything to go there, and would even have dreams of myself being there. I would always obsess over it, and invested all my emotional energy on whether I got in or not. In the end, I got rejected. I became depressed after that. But today, I'm a freshman at a school I could never have pictured myself at last year, and I LOVE it. So keep your options open and don't focus on any particular schools. </p>
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<li><p>Don't save your apps for last minute. I remember writing my NYU essays on Christmas Eve. It sucked. And I didn't get in =[</p></li>
<li><p>DO apply to some reach schools, even if you don't think you have a chance. That doesn't mean you should apply to all the Ivies + Stanford and no safeties if you have a 2.0 GPA, but applying to a couple reaches in addition to your list of matches and safeties won't hurt at all. I had a 3.15 UW GPA and top 40% class rank in high school, and I never could have imagined myself getting into any top 30 school, let alone the one I'm going to now. But I thought, "Why not?" and still gave it a try. </p></li>
<li><p>Stop being a prestige-whore. I know a lot of you want to go to Ivies or any elite school because of the name. But please DO look into other important aspects of a school (such as social scene, atmosphere, etc) instead of just worrying about prestige. Pick a school that you will really enjoy, not a school whose only purpose is to give you bragging rights. I know some people who go to prestigious schools but would rather go to a less well-known school that would allow them to have more fun. </p></li>
<li><p>Last but not least, stop surfing this site all the time. Asking a GOOD (ie. not some bull thread made only for reassurance) question once in a while is fine. But going on here all the time will only make you more stressed out as you see a bunch of losers crying about their "pitiful' score of 2350 on the SAT. </p></li>
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<p>During my senior year, I went on this site literally every day. In the end, I can't name ONE positive thing I gained from that experience. If I had just relaxed, spent more time with friends and less time worrying about irrelevant crap, the results would have still been the same except with less stress involved in the process. </p>
<p>So... yeah. That's the advice I would give to any high schooler who's still going through this painful process. Good luck and happy holidays ^_^</p>