<p>(I'm not sure if this kind of thread has been done before, but now I'm doing it)</p>
<p>As the colleges slowly start to send out their letters of rejection and acceptance, I can't help but think back on my own application process, and try to see where I went wrong. </p>
<p>I regret not forcing myself to hire a tutor to improve my math SAT scores. They were average, which is fine for many schools, but frowned upon at the top tiers, where my fate will be announced in the next few days. I also wish I had taken much more time to evaluate thoroughly which schools to apply to, and not rely on the empty optimism of my counselor. If I had kept a more level head, I would've applied to less reaches and more schools I stood a solid chance at. Oh well, I'm sure wherever I go, it'll be an amazing experience.</p>
<p>If you had the chance to do it all over, re-apply to schools, even re-do high school (taking different classes, extra-curriculars, etc), would you? What would you do differently?</p>
<p>I'm pretty happy with what I did, actually. I guess if I had to re-do everything I'd apply to more reaches and less matches/safeties, and gotten started on essays sooner than I did.</p>
<p>Nearly all of my applications got messed up somewhere along the way due to my name. My last name has a space in it and the collegeboard left out the space for some reason, as did many of the colleges i applied to for my transcript. So when i sent my essays and apps they were all confused and i recieved letters from almost all of my schools missing stuff because I essentially had two half complete files under the different spellings.
SO if i were to do it again i would definitely watch out for this stuff early on. If you have an unusual name- make sure to keep an eye on this!!!!
It may have cost me admittance to 2 of my schools.</p>
<p>Get really passionate in one or two things. Apparently, it isn't as impressive if you're still trying to find your "niche" or just like to be really well-rounded.</p>
<p>Same. Like, at my school, I'm known to be one of the 'good' students, involved in tons of extracurriculars with leadership roles, perfect gpa, etc, etc, but that's not enough. I wish I had maybe been an intern at a newspaper, or something to set me apart from the other smart people.</p>
<p>apparently, doing everything is just not enough anymore. what would do differently, find a cure for cancer? haha justkjidding, but in my school i was voted "most involved" and thought ihad eveyrthing a college needed, but realized that wow, some colleges want even better. its crazy.</p>
<p>i would have concentrated more on school work.. and studied much much more for sat i math! oh yeah, and i would have deleted facebook to minimize distractions :)</p>
<p>I would have given more than a half ass effort. Maybe join and stay in a club for more than two weeks, try in class.My sophmore year I recieved a C in WHAP because I didn't get my "bonus notes" from my locker. And I got a C in photography this year because I turned in 1 project during the semester, but got a B+ on my final.</p>
<p>I would've taken the SATs a bit more seriously..even though i got 2050 second time, I know that I could've cracked the 2200 mark if I would've focused more..
Also, getting more involve in a particular activity..my ecs were not great so if i would've focused on a single activity throughout 4 years, then it would be a different story...
Got rejected from UCLA, and Berkeley..pretty much knew that was coming..but now most probably going to CASE (still have UPenn and Hopkins--big reaches).
So, starting next year going to make sure my application is top notch for Grad school...</p>
<p>i would've challenged myself during these 4 years... but i think i was just unsure of myself and how much i could handle. i didn't want to take an honors/AP class just for the sake of putting it on my transcript. but i regret not challenging myself.. a lot more.</p>
<p>i also regret not having any leadership positions, and not even applying for nhs if i probably would've gotten it. i wish i'd had more ECs, and maybe work experience.</p>
<p>i regret not taking college classes when i had the time to.</p>
<p>I wish I had taken harder classes. I tried to balance AP and Honors classes with electives and fine arts classes, but if I knew four years ago that I'd care this much about college, I would have taken many more APs.</p>
<p>I regret not studying hard for my SATs and not applying to any "match" schools. Now as the process draws to a close, I look upon all my schools in fear of being rejected from them all >.<" Good thing I have my safeties, but I guess I will have to see what happens :) Goodluck to everyone~</p>
<p>I feel like I did all I could do. I worked to improve my SAT scores, which was a big success, improving by 300 M+V points. I didn't have many college classes at all, and tried to correct that, and believe I did what I could to correct it, though it wasn't enough for some universities.</p>
<p>I would've toned down the activities I took on Junior year. I really overworked myself between APs/Honors classes, Dance Team, taking classes at a community college, playing the piano for my church, and having leadership responsibilities in various clubs. It was too much for me and my grades suffered a little because of it.</p>
<p>In a way I think it's fitting that I might end up in a safety. I went to a safety for hs, and it ended up being one of the best, life-changing experiences I could've hoped for. I'm happier with myself as a person, and I'm more comfortable with myself. I'd still love to go to Stanford, but if it's not possible, I know that I tried my best.</p>
<p>I do wish I could've maybe done more to emphasize my 10-year French study, like, I don't know, been an assistant teacher to grammar school kids or something. Things that seem so obvious now, when during high school I would've thought it crazy.</p>
<p>I would have taken the full IB Diploma, instead of trying to take a mix of IB and AP (which my school doesn't have many of) classes. I also would have worked harder over the summer to decide on what type of school is right for me, instead of applying to a range of schools to try to please everyone. I've realized that I don't want to go to any of my universities I applied to (with the exception of Yale, hah), and I would have been much happier applying to another 4 LACs instead.</p>