Waiting on applications and I am contemplating decisions

Applying to College
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I just turned 16 and as a senior everyone knows we’re getting closer to graduation. Getting closer to that climax in high school doesn’t surprise me as much as it should and that might be a problem. I can personally say the way I think and handle situations has improved from the times where anxiety and stress were all I could think abt(8-11th).
But listen, I do great in school. I’m rank 1, SAT score isn’t as good as I want it to be (1090), been doing dual credit courses since 8th grade summer, had a good number of EC’s, and have also done activities on my own. That isn’t the point of this thread though, not the stress, the rigor, the academic achievements, the grades, NO.
I’m stuck in this constant loop containing these questions:

  1. What actually resonates with you?
  2. What visions do you have on that field/career/idea?
  3. What is your Purpose?
  4. What are you doing to get closer to that purpose?
  5. Is what your doing right now pushing you forward?
  6. Is your purpose self imposed or given to you?
  7. Were you forced to accept a certain view or do you have a mental block making you think and see things a certain way?

My first option was Computer Engineering but I really didn’t know if I wanted that, maybe I chose it because of the pressure from my parents. I’ve always geared towards technology because that’s where my skill is at.
I want to set my mind on one thing and just push full force towards it knowing there’s a risk of me losing it all involved. A passion that people would think is crazy and would never work. You see all those streamers? All those people who took a risk? the people who were doing so well in college but took on their own path knowing they had a blazing fire behind them and one mistake could set them up for life?
Even the people that stayed in college chasing their dream. That inspires me. The goal has always been a life including the 3 F’s: (Fun. Finance. Freedom.) And I know before that comes the struggle, stress, blood, sweat, tears but you have to at least have some sort of plan. Anyone have any thoughts on all this ranting, should I just choose CE and see where I end up? (I also have the option of staying back a year or retaking my 12th grade year but that would put me behind everyone)

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If you just turned 16, who would you be “behind” if you did an additional year of high school? How is it that you are 16 and will be a HS graduate this year? Did you skip a grade or are you graduating early…or what?

Also…many many many students enroll in college as undeclared. OR they switch majors during undergrad sometimes multiple times. As a 16 year old, you might want to keep your options open.

Have you already applied to colleges?

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I’m using the common app to apply and seeing the deadlines I don’t think early admissions are still an option

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I said NOTHING about early admissions. I asked if you had applied to any colleges…yet. It sounds like you haven’t.

And I’ll repeat my questions.

  1. How is it that you are 16 years old and getting ready to graduate from HS this spring?

  2. Did you skip a grade or are you graduating early?

  3. If you stay in high school an additional year, who will you be “behind”?

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  1. I brought up “graduation” because of how fast my senior year feels, that’s why I said we’re getting closer to graduation.

  2. I didn’t skip any grades, this brings everyone confusion but I really just started school very early.

  3. I would be behind everyone with was with this year.

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I’ll go back and say again…you seem intent on choosing a major and sticking to it…at the age of 16. This is totally not necessary. In fact, there are many colleges that don’t admit by major, or where you declare a major at the end of your sophomore year.

You have a lifetime to lock yourself into something. Please take the time to really reflect on your strengths (and weaknesses) and likes (and dislikes). You might find that there are many many careers/majors that you might like.

In addition, college is a time for exploring other things, in my opinion. You never know what might pique your interest that hasn’t already.

Your subject title is a bit confusing. You don’t need to post your college admissions…anywhere. And you also are under no obligation to share or stick to any major.

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I appreciate your efforts thumper

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If you don’t seem to be ready to leave, try Community college to “find yourself”.

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Are you the same poster from a month ago - from CT, a low test score, and parents that are both software engineers so you 'assumed" you should do CE.

Guess what - many change majors and not just once. Many don’t finish college - engineering amongst the highest.

And many have jobs not related to their majors at all - and at that, jobs they’ve never even heard of - count me as one.

As a 16 year old, your life has a lot of twists and turns in your future - no point to bake it now!!

PS - why would you stay back a year? If you’re 16 now and a senior, I assume you’ve applied somewhere already - but if you did have another year, you would not be behind.

Anyway, no matter where and what you start studying at college, there’s a heck of a chance it’s going to change - especially if you go engineering given your test score.

But for you, undeclared sounds a better place to start.

Good luck.

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No I’m new here my bad if I’m giving off the same vibes as someone else. Thank you for this, though a lot of people have told me countless times over. I guess it’s just the pressure of my parents and me being indecisive. Thank you again and I promise I read it all.

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There’s a lot going on in this statement. There is no reason to put this kind of pressure on yourself at your age, when you are more than two years away from declaring a major even. Let go of rigid thinking because your three F’s are going to be really hard to achieve if you set your mind on one thing now, while you are still on high school.

You do not need to have your life planned out right now. You’ve got at least five or ten or fifteen years before that’s even a consideration.

Here is a truth: who you are now is not exactly who you will be in two years, or five, and certainly not in ten. Your brain doesn’t reach full maturity until you are 25. So forcing yourself to stick with one thing at the age of 16 with no room for deviation, exploration, openness, or flexibility is unlikely to lead to the desired outcome.

You just turned 16? In what way will you be behind with anything if you take a gap year? I’m going to strongly suggest that you take a PG year, or a gap year. Yes, some students start college aged 16, but I would not recommend it. Gap years are increasingly common. Most freshmen are 18 or even 19 these days. There is a world of difference between a 16 year old and a 19 year old.

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This was the thread. There is a lot of commonality with you. Perhaps you can glean some thoughts. Go to later in the thread. It’s clear this student (also from CT) really has no idea what they should be doing in life.

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And many change not only jobs but careers multiple times. Ask me how I know :slight_smile:

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Is 1090 a typo?

If you are the top student in your class - how big/small is your class of 2024? What’s your GPA thus far?

You’re a Senior now, so I understand the option of retaking 12th grade. But, is there actually an academic reason to do so - if you’re already top of your class, presumedly acing most every subject?

If your problem is standardized testing (e.g., your SAT score), then it would make sense to see if there is an underlying problem that needs to be looked into and addressed by accommodation, preparation (or, of course, applying “test optional”).

What is “staying back”? Are you talking about taking a gap year, after graduating next spring?

Your purpose is to figure out what resonates with you - and for that a very reasonable and common plan would be to apply to a liberal arts college (LAC - has nothing to do with “art” or “liberals” ) or larger university.

A very large percentage will enter college with the biggest major of all: “Undecided” - or they change the originally intended major by the second year, so might as well have started “Undecided.” Relax - you’re in good company!

Once you are in college, you’ll be exposed to a lot of different fields of study - from the course offerings, from hearing what your peers/friends are doing, from professors or TAs who mention various specializations/combinations, unexpected/unheard-of careers,… You might suddenly be curious about a particular facet in a field that you would have never considered before.

In college, you’ll break out of the rigid HS curriculum and a whole world of options will open, and it will help you figure things out within a year or two.

And, as others pointed out, your majors and minors don’t define your life or future career - they only expose to a wide field of knowledge and investigation - and through that prepare you for wherever life eventually takes you. I never took a single class in “International Business Management”, but still draw all the time on the breadth of knowledge from 4 decades ago.

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A gap year was my first thought too - in particular, a “super-senior” year abroad. This would give you another year with a peer group your own age, but in a different setting and cultural context.

You’re putting a ton of mental energy into trying to analyze your current frame of reference and decide what to keep and what to question. This is an admirable thing to attempt, but the most fruitful way to get there is to put yourself in a different situation with people who look at things differently from the people you’ve grown up with. You seem really driven to gain perspective, and a cross-cultural experience is the fast-track toward that goal.

You sound like a really thoughtful young person; you’re just very young, and need time to process and figure out who you are and what you want. Taking that time could be the best gift you ever give yourself. College will be there, and you aren’t meant to have everything figured out before the age of 17!

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