College Applicants Stressing Over Apps

“I have a senior applying to college for next fall. Child has decent scores, but not outstanding (shows better with SATs than GPA). We are looking at LACs; they are not interested in the larger Universities/State Universities (I don't think they could get in to the competitive schools as they have some C's in there). We are high income/assets. So I tested out a couple of Universities' Net Price Calculator. One of them didn't prompt for GPA and Test Scores, but I found that part af”

“I got a 1390 on my latest SAT (760 Math, 630 RW), and I’m aiming for around 1450+ on my next attempt. My GPA is around 4.3/5, and my extracurriculars are decent but nothing super impressive. I have some student council/leadership and a few engineering-related activities, but overall I feel like my profile is pretty average compared to the people I see online. I’m planning to apply mostly to universities in Korea and Asia, and I’m getting a bit worried that I won’t be competitive enough for good”

“i'm a current senior doing college apps (..started late), and i have a finished personal statement that i feel like is pretty strong, as well as a 1520 sat, 4.0 uw gpa, and 8 finished aps (with all 5s) with 5 more this year. i'm planning to apply as an econ major with goals of attending law school and becoming a lawyer, but i don't have any econ related ecs (just decided to do econ this summer). for ecs, i have volunteering at a local tutoring nonprofit, working at a civic nonprofit,”

“Just got my SAT score back, and I didn't make 1500 (50 points away), which puts me on the lower end of the 50th percentile for a lot of schools I'm planning to apply to. I am planning to major in biomedical engineering, and my top choices are Case Western, USC, the University of Rochester, and other schools that require you to ea to be considered for merit scholarships. Should I retake the SAT to get a 1500+ or apply by nov 1? How much will the ea process help me in terms of chances if w”

“I feel like AP scores are the happy medium between rigid standardized testing (SAT, ACT, PSAT) and GPA. They reflect both critical thinking and academic prowess, which are what the SAT purports to measure, and dedication and hard work, which GPA rewards. In that way, AP scores actually recognize the work a student put into a difficult class during the school year while providing an objective standard of performance that avoids the subjectivity of GPA. Obviously, there are flaws with assuming one”

“I'm super stressed out about college apps at the moment and am hoping to apply through QB, but I'm super scared that my SAT is going to fry me. Please give advice! My top schools are the Ivies, Duke, USC, and Stanford. In addition, my parents got arrested this past summer, so I am in foster care, so I guess for the sake of income it is $0 and applying through QB. I was a QB prep scholar, so hopefully that helps???? - Please give advice on whether i should even submit my SAT or not, and t”

“Hey y’all, I’m a newly-minted junior, and I have a lot of options for next summer, and I want to know what will look the best on my college apps. I’m applying to these programs, some music/band related and some math: Math: -PROMYS (applied last year, missed it) -Mathcamp -MathILy Music: -Music Academy of the West -NYO -Interlochen -walnut hill summer brass -Juilliard summer music program -BUTI Also, locally, I’m applying to governors school because I live in NC, although that is definitely not m”

“I'm a current junior who's aiming for a T20 or higher. I feel like I mostly have everything figured out, but I still have so many questions that are specific to me. And yes, I've seen all the redundant tips on instagram reels and whatnot. I've done free trials for multiple college counseling firms, but they're all scam after scam, wanting me to pay an absurd amount of money upfront, then telling me we would meet at most once a month. Or worse, the CEO of the firm actually has”

“So im applying to 2 schools early (northwestern and purdue) and I havent even started on my supplementals and common essay. I havent got a clue on how to get started since I cant think of any experience of mine worthy of being the main topic of my essays. My activities are all generic and boring and my intended major is also pretty generic and boring (industrial engg). I genuinely dont know what to do 😭😭 literally any help would be appreciated. Thank you! submitted by /u/Darkxify [”

“I am a Junior. I took the August SAT and got a score that I am very happy with. I wasn’t planning on retaking it. However, my school offers all Seniors a free attempt at a fall SAT. Should I do it when I’m a Senior? What if I get a worse score? Does that look bad? submitted by /u/sunflower_sunset_1 [link] [comments]”

“I’m applying to Princeton this cycle, and honestly I was a little thrown back by the civic engagement supplemental. I’ve spent most of my time in high school hard focusing on academics and stem extracurriculars, and have a really passionate reason for wanting to go to Princeton (labs, professors, specific papers and topics that I have a background in which support those future endeavors). However, in terms of civic engagement I feel I don’t have much. The only things I’ve done in a “community” s”

“I know this varies for a lot of schools, but let's say for a school (T20) the SAT percentile goes as follows: 25-50-75 being 1500-1530-1570 For test-optional schools, if my score is between the 25th and the 50th percentile, should I still submit? I keep on searching, and all I find is only submit if it's above the median (50%). Any thoughts on this? (I know context matters, but just as a general rule of thumb, should I submit?) submitted by /u/SatisfactionShort523 [link] &#32”

“i recently received my august sat score in which i super scored a 1500. i think i’m taking september too because i already signed up and i’m gonna try and see if i can get it a little higher. however what i believe is really bring me down is my low gpa (3.57 uw 4.37 w) and there’s not much of an upward trend. for so long my goal was to get a 1500+ sat to try and make up for my low gpa but now i’m wondering if my dream schools are a possibility. i’m a senior who still has sem 1 grades to be put i”

“I just got my August sat score back, and it was good but not what I was hoping for. I took the sat my freshman year and got a 1430, just took it at the start of jr year and got a 1460. I know I could have done so much better and I studied a lot. Does anyone know at what point it’s not recommended to take another Standardized test? I’m required to take the spring SAT, but I want to maybe take the November or December one. Is applying to MIT with 4 total SAT tests going to look bad? submitte”

“I am a rising senior and as I have been filling out the common app I have started to question whether colleges will be able to see my actual worth/authenticity and have in general just been doubting whether I've done enough. Everyone online loves to fear monger so I've stopped trusting those kinds of videos claiming that they know exactly how to get into top colleges, especially since they all recycle the same points anyways. I was wondering if theres anyone on here who has any tips for”

“Hi! I am a senior in the middle of college applications. I took the ACT in February and got a 30. (Highest subscore was 36 in reading.) The school I am aiming for is UPitt (Arts & Sciences). I want to apply as soon as possible to increase my chances, but is it worth it to try and retake the ACT now, or should I focus on the rest of my application? I believe my score and GPA are in the middle range for UPitt acceptance. I don't know if I have much else to make me stand out application-wis”

“I got a 31 on my ACT junior year, and I’m retaking it next month. I know it’s not an ideal score, but in case my score doesn’t go up, do you think it’s worth submitting a 31 to UNC? I’m on the fence since it falls within their middle 50%. I’m going test-optional for most of my T20s unless I get a really good score next month, but I’m especially on the fence about UNC. Now that they've gotten rid of their supplemental essays, I’m even more unsure whether submitting a 31 would help, since ther”

“I’m a rising senior and have been stressing a lot about college apps, especially my ECs. I’m hoping to apply to some T50s/reaches like Duke, UNC, Brown, JHU, etc., so I know my list is ambitious, but I’m wondering what I should realistically be doing with the time I have left. For most of high school, I’ve spent a huge amount of time taking care of my younger brothers. During the school year it’s usually hours after school and most weekends, and during the summer it can be all day. One of my bro”

“So I started my junior year, and I'm gonna go for the Fall '28 intake in the US universities as an international student. Computer Science probably with more focus on AI (still looking at the courses) I have worked extensive in machine learning, and have two research papers under my name (both in reputed journals), and a few good projects. However I still feel like my application is not enough to get into the best programs, so I wanted to know what else I could do. I know even with a per”

“relax and spend time with ur friends and family. unless you are applying early action or decision, you have until November/December to apply. I’m not saying you shouldn’t think at all about college, but let’s just BREATHE. Spend some time to brainstorm essay ideas and activities list, but pls don’t spend your entire summer sulking over college apps. submitted by /u/Jaded_Battle_7394 [link] [comments]”

“I am a Class of 2027 student and am starting to apply for colleges. I lowkey have realized that, compared to all the academicmaxxers in my school, I feel so average. I recently lost the SGA President position, and I was really hoping to get that position because I felt as though I "needed it". I had a horrible freshman year and start of junior year, and I tried my best to get back up. My stats are very average. UW GPA is 3.6; W GPA is 4.3. I am currently studying for the SAT, and my la”

“hey guys, i’m a senior from the USA and i’m really anxious about college😭‼️ I feel like i’m behind on everything?? i’m currently still on summer break and school doesn’t start until 2ish weeks. What should I do/ prepare for? I have done college visits and researching different colleges that match what i’m passionate about. submitted by /u/Apprehensive_Camel11 [link] [comments]”

“Ok so I have a 33 single sitting (35 E, 32 R, 32 M) for act and a 34 (35 E, 32 R, 34 M) super score. I am apprehensive to submit the super score bc in the test where I got the 34 M I also got a 31 E and it was the test AFTER I got the 35 E and I wanna do English in college and am looking at ivy leagues (top choice is Yale). I read somewhere that on common app you actually just type in the scores like it asks like highest English highest math whatever, and only AFTER you get in do you need to sen”

“I'm wondering if I should retake the ACT as a rising junior aiming for T20 schools, likely majoring in some combination of computer science and economics. I scored a 34 overall, with a 35 in Math, 33 in English and Reading, and 31 in Science. I think this may be a low score for some colleges, and I'm not FGLI or anything. Is it worth the extra effort for a maximum possible improvement of two points? submitted by /u/Massive-Exchange-226 [link] [comments]”

“As the title suggests, I'm a rising junior studying Astrophysics. I am incredibly passionate about physics and research and I will genuinely do anything to make sure I get into a PhD program once I graduate. Some background about me: This summer, I worked on an aerospace engineering REU (not my ideal field, but it's certainly a starting point). The research I did will eventually be published, but it is an ongoing project and we don't have a current timeline for it being published. I&”

Hold you back from what?

“Hello everyone I am a rising junior with a 3.9 GPA, idk my sat/act scores. Freshman year I took two math classes and sophomore year I took two language classes. Both years I had no free periods and took a completely full schedule. I am Student body vice president, editor of the literary magazine, and events coordinator for thespians. I also participate regularly in theater and I am on varsity track and field. I also have many in depth out of school activities I participate in. However, this year”

“I'm about to be a senior in high school. Got a 1470 on the SAT (targetting around a 1520+ this august), 3.98 gpa, 4.8 weighted, and Full IB (7/7 in econ sl, 5/7 in spanish sl, HL scores next year), and 5s on Apush, ap gov, bc calc, and a 4 on ap lit. I run cross country and track, a few clubs, vocal lessons/songwriting, and did a minor mentoship for engineering. But other than that I really didn't do much in high school and I'm regreting it. While I'm academically set, I feel lik”

“Hi everyone, I'm in a bit of a unique situation and would really appreciate some advice. I'm an international student (U.S. citizen living abroad) applying to U.S. colleges this cycle. I take the Cambridge AS/A Level curriculum. My current AS Level grades are weaker than I'd like, so I'm retaking my AS exams. The problem is that my retake results won't be released until mid-January , after most Early Action deadlines. I basically got the worst results of my life in my AS leve”

“is there any hope for me as a rising junior wanting a 1500+? i scored a 1340 on my first ever sat practice test without studying (720 math 620 reading writing) on practice test #7 two days ago. i took practice test #6 today just to see how much my score ranged and it absolutely cooked me. i scored a 1240 on it still without studying and i had such a bad time juggling time and my answers especially on the math section (600 math 640 reading writing). the reading writing section was meh and the mat”

“Hey everyone, I’m a rising senior in the US looking for recommendations for a private 1-on-1 college admissions counselor to work with this summer. I know this game is a big competition, but if anyone has any referrals please let me know! Dms are open. submitted by /u/DatabaseOld4326 [link] [comments]”

“My son plans to apply Regular Decision to all of his colleges. The Common App opens August 1, but he's taking the September ACT in hopes of improving his score at least in math. Right now he has a 29 superscore, he’s taken it twice and improved in science to a 35 but without science calculated in superscores anymore he remains at a 29 (26 math/33 reading/29 English/35 science). With the old model he’d have had a 31 superscore but now it’s just the average of math, reading and English. Should”

“Any tips on how I could improve my app as of now would be appreciated!!! - UW gpa of 4.0 (not sure of weighted on 4.0 scale) - white female, family income less than 125k. I would not be able to pay anything out of pocket so hopefully good financial aid/scholarships - intended major of something with math/economics/finance w a goal of a T20 school - currently ranked 2/400 courses : 8th gradeES honors alg 1 Spanish 1 voice 1a band 9th grade- English 9 honors global 10 honors Spanish 2 geometry hon”

“I’m a rising senior and I go to an international school in Asia. Extremely competitive, everyone has 5s across the board. The students who get into ivies have perfect stats. Reasonably so, since we’re international. Perfect GPA, APs, 1530+ SAT, ON TOP OF great ECs. It makes me so stressed out. For me, I’ve got a downward trend in junior year (few B+s). I think puts me (barely?) at the top 20%. Probably not even close to top 10%, which is where I should comfortably be to be competitive as an Inte”

“After 4 attempts on the SAT with a superscore of 1480, I decided to try out the July ACT. I got a 35 composite (34 math, 35 English, 36 reading) and a 30 science — no idea how. Since I’m applying as a STEM major, should I retake the September one? I would appreciate any advice/comments! Additional note: I’m already signed up for the August SAT, so I don’t know if I can back out of that at this point submitted by /u/matchatiramisu1 [link] [comments]”

“I am an international student & want to apply to a few universities in the us. I don’t have really good EC’s other than being an athlete (and that’s going terrible, it’s just figure skating, I’m nowhere near good enough) . and i’m a really mid person with just a lot of goals and stupid dreams.. What should i be doing in my junior year? Is it too late now? I’ll be starting IB this year. submitted by /u/Lanky_Salamander_649 [link] [comments]”

“hi, rising senior here. i've been working on college essays during this summer and focusing on upping my SAT score (haven't reached 1500 yet) as well as taking some summer classes. my ECs feel really mid rn (just did a lot of volunteering, didn't really do anything of my "own initiative"/by myself) and i'm basically wondering if i'm too late to start a "passion project" which i know is just a gimmick but starting something of the sort since i'm trying”

“I have a 3.6 uw with good course rigor, and I was wondering if it would beneficial to take both the sat and the act. would a 1500+ and 34+ help at least a bit? submitted by /u/bruhhhhhhhh386 [link] [comments]”

“hi i'm a rising junior and basically i've had to help my parents at their restaurant since i was little and due to time issues and transportation, i've had no time to do extracurriculars especially school related ones. in addition, my school is underfunded and no one is interested in stem so there's nothing for me to do as well. i just got my license so hopefully i'll get a car soon and be able to do a bit more. i'm just afraid that it's too late to start doing stuff”

“So basically I'm a rising senior and took ACT sophomore year and got a 34 composite, but I also took it with writing because I was pretty dumb and thought I might need it later. So anyway I got a 9/12 and I was going to retake ACT but I'm wondering if I should also retake writing or if t10s and scholarships just dont care about act writing, my top choice is mit and everybpdy there has like perfect scores so I'm worried that the writing might cook me but idk. Any advice would be appre”

“Hey, I took the June SAT and got a 1510 (750 English / 760 Math). Should I retake it to get a higher score, or is my current score enough for the unis I am applying to? I have also heard that most colleges are more lenient towards international students (like myself), but I will also be applying for full aid. Here is my list of schools: Amherst (ED) bates Bowdoin (ED2) brown colby dartmouth davidson emory hamilton harvard middlebury pomona swarthmore tufts vanderbilt Washington and Lee wesleyan”

“Hi everyone! I’m a rising high school senior from rural New York planning to apply Early Decision to Cornell’s ILR School. I took my first SAT in March and scored a 1300 (720 EBRW, 580 Math). I went into it without studying at all, and honestly didn’t even know what Desmos was until after I took the test… I’m retaking it in August and have about 1–2 hours a day this summer to study. Since I live in a rural area, I don’t have many in-person prep options. I’m willing to pay for a good online tutor”

“Hi everyone, I'm starting college apps early, so I wanna ask Is there a difference between using SAT and ACT when applying to college? I got roughly the same grade for my SAT and ACT (in terms of value), but I'm not sure whether to put my SAT or my ACT grade. I know ACT is more popular in the US, hence, it might be ideal for me to use my ACT grade, but does this really matter? submitted by /u/According-Reading492 [link] [comments]”

“Im going to keep this short, Im a student from Pakistan and i really want to attend a top university and i 100 percent believe i can do it BUT HOW???? I want someone to tell me from scratch: 1) what are college applications and what do they include 2) when to start working on them 3) What things make your application stand out? (passion project, research paper etc) 4) pls list exactly everything i can do to make my application GOOD. not EMPTY 5) is having counsellors really THAT important? consi”

“so i’m a rising junior and essentially i’m already noticing how stressed i am about college apps and i would love any advice on how to deal with this in a more healthy way esp because junior year is going to be stressful enough on its own. i really wanted to take summer to rest and recharge and i feel like im not really doing that fully - im normally really busy during the school year so i feel like i don’t know what to do with unscheduled time. i have a remote summer internship that’s leaving m”

“Hi I took courses in summer post eighth grade . This was my first experience in high school rigor and got a bad grade (c) . how does this impact my college admissions ? I am a junior and have all A’s so far submitted by /u/duv_sree [link] [comments]”

“Hello everyone! I am a rising senior and am currently feeling really behind on my applications. Can anyone who has already applied give me advice on how to maximize this summer to deal with less stress later on? submitted by /u/Kitsune136 [link] [comments]”

“I’m a rising junior and I honestly feel pretty clueless and helpless about this summer. I feel like I’m not doing enough and that I’m falling behind in terms of college apps, as this summer is supposed to be a really important one. I’ve already done my ACT so I don’t need to be studying for any standardized tests. I’m obviously doing all my summer homework and will be taking a couple of introductory classes to prepare for Chem (I have a lot of APs on my plate next year so better to get a head st”

“People here are (most of the time) fear-mongering about raising SATs scores to 1500+, where, at some point, even a 1510 is seen as worthless. Does this apply to people who had just migrated during college apps, are low-income, from rural areas, etc? If we scale the opportunities offered VS opportunities given, will low-income students who have different ECs and unfortunate circumstances be evaluated differently from students who always had private tutors, connections, legacy, non-profits typa st”

“Rate my college essay idea (cliche?) When I was I young I liked Pokemon (studied prices and everything)—> evolved into deep passion for the stock market and finance (introduced/helped friends and family set up a range of accounts) Other than that I don’t know what to write about. Like I work a lot at my parents place and go to business comps but nothing noteworthy to write. Thank you Edit: I’m applying to as a finance major to t20s and some LACS submitted by /u/GrandProblem985 [li”