What would you have done differently?

Applying to College
21

<p>I would have tried harder in Math
I would have gone to the library to focus my junior year, when I was forced to live with 10 other people.
I would have started my essays earlier, started my applications earlier.
I would have gotten up the courage to talk to my APUSH teacher about fixing my grade.
I would have read more books.
I would have taken that regional position, run for governor instead of lt. governor.
I would have contacted the admission offices more.
I would have cracked open that SAT Subject Test: Math Level 2 book
I would have studied more for the SAT
I would have applied for more scholarships
I would have gotten my parents to save money</p>

<p>Surprisingly, it looks like it will all turn out fine :)</p>

22

<p>woulda done more to move up in math, didnt get to do that til senior year, woulda tried harder in classes i didnt like. my gpa really suffered cause i thoroughly disliked a few teachers.</p>

23

<p>I definitely would have applied to more reaches. I would have tried harder in my science classes (they always killed me). I would have actually prepared for the SAT I and IIs. Oh and I would have tried harder to do something amazing like cure cancer or find a way to decrease our dependency on foreign oil.</p>

24

<p>I woulda got my parents to pay for a private school education like Cate and literally live college admissions from the day i enter 9th so that i wouldn't have to experience the feeling of rejection</p>

25

<p>I regret not preparing enough for my SAT IIs, APs, and of course failing to take advantage of all of my free time.</p>

<p>Squandered too much of it playing videogames.</p>

26

<p>Since when was time spent on gaming "squandered"? :p</p>

27

<p>I regret not getting a 4.0, not applying to more Ivies, not getting 750+ on all my SAT IIs. </p>

<p>Other than that, I think I did pretty well so far :)</p>

28

<p>I would have taken more Honors and AP classes and definitely studied more, especially sophomore year - my weakest yr. I also wish I could have scored higher on the SAT's and I would definitely have taken at least two subject tests. Also I would have joined a club like Yearbook. Other than that I did pretty well with my other EC's and grades stayed between A's to C's.</p>

29

<p>I should have worked harder for the SAT. DX</p>

30

<p>I would have taken all honors classes during my sophomore and junior years, instead of the slacker schedule I went through.</p>

31

<p>NOTHING! </p>

<p>everything happens for a reason</p>

32

<p>More match schools, different reaches. No Swarthmore ED, but SOMETHING EA. EA schools would have been nice. Financial Aid documents together earlier.</p>

<p>I don't know, it's all turning out for the best anyway, but I made a ton of mistakes along the way.</p>

33

<p>I would have researched more about the schools I applied to. Our school puts a cap on how many colleges you can apply to (because teachers/counselors get 'overburdened' with letter requests). So I probably would have applied to more schools that interested me instead of just random-school-highly ranked-by-US-news-that-i-know-very-little-about :o</p>

34

<p>Oh my god right? When I discovered Boston College, it was because it was highly rated. I still don't know that much about it, making it probably a good thing I was rejected.</p>

35

<p>i would have gone to a different high school, studied for a test or two, prepared for my standardized tests, applied to (some) different schools, and taken some Prozac :p</p>

36

<p>As I said in another thread, I worked my butt off k-12. I did everything that I thought I should do. It doesnt seem like it is paying off at the moment. I believed in what they told me...the reality is, it is all a luck of the drawl. I guess maybe what I would have done differently???... maybe not believed.</p>

37

<p>I would probably:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Realize that high school is my one and only opportunity to get myself into a great undergrad school</p></li>
<li><p>Focus more on school and work right away rather than procrastinating ("do as I say, not as I do")</p></li>
<li><p>Better ECs. To me, a summer job for two years at a lab wasn't good enough. Should've done some internship somewhere or research.</p></li>
<li><p>Dropped baseball (Sure i was varsity but i wasn't going anywhere with it after high school) and probably joined yearbook so I could become an editor</p></li>
<li><p>Join Academic Decathlon earlier in high school ( I joined junior year, did eh...then exploded like crazy a couple months ago as a senior)</p></li>
<li><p>Participated in more science oriented programs/fairs so I might'va had a chance at MIT or CalTech</p></li>
<li><p>FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS and realize that SAT scores counted more than I thought they would</p></li>
<li><p>Mapped out my plans for college the moment I walked into high school. (Many of my friends in AP/IB classes at my school have older siblings who have advised them on which courses to take in order to stand out from the rest of us un-advised blind scholars.)</p></li>
</ol>

38

<p>gotten better grades. but i'm doing fine. i'm in at 4 top 20 LACs, and that's all I wanted anyway.</p>

39

<p>Better critical reading score.
Focus on the weaknesses at hand, not extra stuff that might have helped me.</p>

<p>Gone to a different school.</p>

40

<p>"It doesnt seem like it is paying off at the moment. I believed in what they told me...the reality is, it is all a luck of the drawl. I guess maybe what I would have done differently???... maybe not believed. "</p>

<p>I know....I remember staying up til 2, 3 in the morning studying for AP tests, doing projects, etc, doing every extra-credit to raise my grade, and now it's like wow. That was a waste of time.</p>