<p>This morning was better than any christmas I've ever had... I just got a 33. A 33!!!! I have honestly been waiting for this since I got that horrible score on my SAT. Thank you guys. My parents said it would never happen but you guys gave me faith. Honestly you've all backed me throughout this process and now I finally feel like I have a great shot at UVA. Also for all of you out there who think your horrible at test taking... dont. I took my first SAT in Feburary this year and got a 1820. To say I was crushed would be an understatement. I stayed up till 1am and cried myself to sleep (not really but you get the point) I got a 30 my first ACT 31 second ACT and finally a 33! If you practice you will do better. I got a 19 on my plan so I didn't even think I was going to take the ACT. This summer was a studying fiesta and it payed off.
I'm honestly shaking I'm so excited.
THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING! especially blueiguana - you've helped me a ton</p>
<p>Nicely done! Now, be sure to put that same level of effort into your grades for the rest of this year and on EVERY aspect of your applications. Listen to all the great advice you’ve gotten from your supporters on this board.</p>
<p>Congrats and best of luck to you.</p>
<p>I honestly feel like I just got a gift on christmas that I’ve been waiting for for 5 years. To say I’m happy would be an insane understatement. I’m shaking I’m so happy.</p>
<p>Congratulations.</p>
<p>I would like to note, however, that the ACT and SAT will never define who you are or how much success you will have. You cried over an 1820? What does that even mean? It’s just a number. Try focusing more on your impact on the world and where you are going. Universities reject thousands of candidates that ace the SAT’s or ACT’s. Anybody can study hard and score well, but how many of those people will make a difference in the world? See where I’m going with this?</p>
<p>But congrats.</p>
<p>I didn’t cry, it was more of a metaphor, but I was extremely dissapointed because I thought I could do much better. Well atleast now that I’m done with testing I can start to concentrate on my essays and write some killers. Thanks for the response livingston.</p>
<p>Absolutely!</p>
<p>I’m a OOS transfer hoping for UofVA (and Wharton) as well. Hoping to knock these essays out of the park. have you started yet?</p>
<p>I’ve written 1 essay. If there is one thing I’m actually good at it’s writing quickly. It’s really a skill I’ve aquired over time from so much procrastination. It has turned into an artform for me and I’ve mastered it. I’m a 3 page-1 hour type guy.</p>
<p>I feel you, man! I’m the same way. Give me a Redbull, a writing prompt, and watch out! lol.</p>
<p>Hopefully we both get accepted…</p>
<p>I’m not really a redbull guy but you’ve got the point. I think energy drinks are disgusting. They’re all mental for kids to drink them and be like “ohh man I’m so high”. Energy drinks are like drugs and alchohol - they’re for people to make a scene.</p>
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UVA… it’s about quality, not quantity.
Sometimes it’s a useful skill to have, but it’s worthless for college essays.
Just sayin’</p>
<p>Ohh I know Euroazn, I’ve taken 2 ap classes and suprisingly did well. I used to be HORRIBLE at english, like getting C’s but now I’m somehow getting A’s. Well private schools make you work.</p>
<p>Energy drinks are comparable to drugs and alcohol? Give me a break. And yes, quality not quantity. I would be very hesitant to send in anything I prepared in 1 hours time.</p>
<p>OP…I’ve refrained from addressing this for some time; however, I feel as though I must get this off my chest. I’m hopeful you will carefully deliberate what I’m about to say.</p>
<p>Several months ago one of the contributors on CC’s UVA forum pointed out to you that your posts were filled with glaring spelling and grammatical mistakes. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but that individual is actually an English professor at UVa. You responded by simply saying something to the effect of, “I know. My spelling is horrible.” As an educator who holds several degrees (among which is a B.A. in English), please look at the following:</p>
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<p>Do you see a problem? English, ALWAYS starts with a capital letter. Second, when one is using abbreviations for well-known terms, one always uses uppercase letters (A.P.). Third, it’s “surprisingly” not “suprisingly”. Fourth, “like getting C’s” is a modifier that needs to be set off in parenthesis, and all you really need to put is (Cs). You don’t need the word “like” nor should you put “getting”.</p>
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<p>Do you see another problem? You’re is the word that should have been used in this excerpt. It is a homophone and a contraction for “you are”.</p>
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<p>When the article “a” precedes a vowel, it should be changed to “an”.</p>
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<p>Where’s your end mark? Also, you should practice the avoidance of slang ('till). Slang, cliches, colloquialisms, etc. have no place in formal writing.</p>
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<p>Huh? When you string things together, you should separate items with commas: “I received a 30 on my first attempt at the ACT, a 31 on my second attempt, and a 33 on my third attempt.”</p>
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<p>Okay, here you have a complete sentence, “THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING!” followed by a fragment. Here is how the revision should look: “Thank you all for everything! Blueiguana, you have especially been very helpful, and I am most appreciative.”</p>
<p>I realize this is the era of texting and Facebook where oftentimes grammar is lax; however, in your case, I don’t think this is your issue. I truly, truly do not think you know or perhaps have been taught some of these basic mechanical principles. Have you ever heard of the expression, “You can’t see the forest through the trees?” Well, it’s frequently difficult to see the content of your messages because the errors interfere with the reader’s ability to digest them.</p>
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<p>My reaction to this statement is that either a) your English teacher obviously does not know what the heck he/she is doing and needs to be terminated immediately, or b) your school apparently practices gratuitous, inflated grading. It’s not my intent to try and bring you down and belittle you especially on a day where you’ve received such great news; if this post comes across that way, PLEASE forgive me. What I want you to know, though, is that writing is a cross-discipline skill that you are going to HAVE to master if you want to have any hope of excelling once you’re in college. My fear is that regardless of what school you wind up going to, you are going to have an incredibly difficult time if you don’t work on your fundamental writing skills. I do not think you are at level, let alone above level, which is where you need to be to succeed at a top school. PLEASE, I implore you to seek qualified tutoring NOW and continue it until you leave next fall. Shed your attitude of, “I’ve always been bad at grammar and spelling.” That’s a defeatist cop-out, and it’s not acceptable of UVa students who truly value education. Your current teachers may be able to edit your essays that you submit to the schools where you’re applying, and you may indeed get accepted, but they won’t be there to hold your hand once you’re there. Please give what I’ve said serious consideration.</p>
<p>Ohhh, JC40, I completley understand. I mean on most of my papers though that I hand into school I review them over and over. I even go so far as to have my friends read the paper to make sure I didn’t make any mistakes. My dad is dislexic and I think I may have gotten some because I switch up letters so so often. Half the time I spell words wrong that are increadibly easy to spell. I know this is a blog, and I should probably take more time on practicing my spelling, but when I need to I can be good at english. In no way am I saying I shouldn’t need to be good at english on this site, it’s just that for my posts I don’t review them when I’m done. </p>
<p>And your probably right, I do need to get tutoring for both my handwriting and spelling. My grammer is good when it has to be (hence a 35 on my english ACT) but it can still certainly use work.</p>
<p>I definitly agree with all your saying JC40 and I’m going to start to try to work on my spelling and grammer here so hopefully it rubs off onto my school work.</p>
<p>Looking over your post again Jc40, I don’t know if UVA is excellent at teaching English, or you’re going to be an English major, but you picked up mistakes that I would have not even thought about. On that topic, in “grammer school” I did not learn any grammer. The closest I’ve come to learning about proper grammer is through Princeton Review’s Cracking The ACT.
But JC40, you’ve shown that you really care. You’ve got the guts to tell me what I’m doing wrong so I can try to correct it.
Thank you</p>
<p>(Also, how was the grammer in those paragraphs?)</p>
<p>Haha, well for starters, it’s spelled “grammar.”</p>
<p>^That’s what was glaring to me too. hahah xD</p>
<p>Man, I feel so stupid. I don’t know why but spelling is for sure not one of my strong points. I’m going to have to work on it.</p>
<p>UVAorBust, jc40 is completly correct; you need to spend some time working on your grammar. </p>
<p>Universities care more about your communication skills than any test score. If you write an essay full of grammatical errors, you’ll be rejected no matter what your scored on the SAT (or ACT).</p>
<p>This is purely constructive criticism: I would SERIOUSLY consider a writing tutor if you want to get into UofVA.</p>
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Livingston, not you too!!</p>