College Applicants Anxious About Admissions

“I know that this is irrational, but I feel like I won’t get into the schools that I want to. I’m not applying to any major schools. Mostly SUNY schools, with Binghamton being my top school. I have a 93.76 weighted gpa. Didn’t really take hard courses except apush, apgov, college and honors Spanish. My ecs are mid but I’ve been volunteering at this church since 2022 and I work on my school’s newspaper. I missed the signup date for the October SAT but I didn’t think I would even do great on it any”

“i feel like i never hear anyone talk about this but nyu does have an option to submit 3 ap scores instead of sat/act, so i was wondering if anyone’s ever done it and got in?? submitted by /u/that1bubble [link] [comments]”

“I am a prospective student for the fall 2027 admissions. I have a few questions, It would be really helpful if someone could answer a few of them at least: 1) Does going 'undecided' reduce the chances of admission? I've heard that any uni would rather give admission to someone who was a plan and has some clue about their majors and careers rather than someone clueless. Also the reason I am considering going undecided is that I do not have mathematics on my 11th and 12th transcript wh”

“As a junior, what can I do now to strengthen my chances? I’m basically locked into biology as the path I’m going down, and have been vying for SeattleU and WashU. I’m pretty confident in myself as a future applicant, but less so in extracurriculars. I was going to apply to GHP, but completely forgot to fill out the application— so that chance is gone. Anything I can start working towards now? submitted by /u/OldWall3833 [link] [comments]”

“Hi! I was wondering if it was better to submit sat scores or ap scores for NYU. I'm applying ED2. I have 1510 for sat and 5s for these APs (Physics 1, APUSH, Lang, Statistics, Psychology). If AP, which ones should I choose? submitted by /u/zsbr1na [link] [comments]”

“Hello, I'm currently a senior in HS and I need some more perspectives. I would say I worked really hard in HS, (I have a 4.5 cumulative and I'll have a 4.7 if I get all A's my senior year). I took many aps and 6 dual enrollment courses at my local community college as well. So I was planning on applying to all the UC's under environmental science, and would attend if I got into a good one. However, I've always been interested in civil engineering too but I didn't take any”

“Hi guys. I’m a senior in high school and I really really really need some advice. To put it into perspective I rank pretty high in my graduating class, have an overall good grade and have decent ECs (I hold leadership positions in a few clubs, have done internship at a company translating a chapter of a uni level book, worked as a translator…), and national medals +smaller scale passion project and I really want to send to my top school in EA but I have a problem. My SATs are just miserable, my”

“So I live in a place where I attended a private school but suffered like with isolation pretty seriously so i transfered to the public school in the same area but my mental health has gotten worse and my parents and I have decided that it would be a good idea to move to la or nyc. The big issue is, is that we dont have any good ideas of high schools to transfer to, and on top of that all of my sports/ec's will just be wiped and I will need to start fresh. I was wondering if anyone had good h”

“My high school offered a lot of clubs within it but I had none. All my ecs are outside of school (internships, volunteering, political advocacy). Its kind of rural in that its a big high school for several towns. I have a 4.8 weighted, 3.9 uw, and a 1570. I am just…worried now. I am a senior. submitted by /u/AfraidProduct [link] [comments]”

“if so, what were ur stats? i feel like all the ea acceptances had high test scores idk just curious submitted by /u/baibyeciao [link] [comments]”

“title im graduating early, 3.7 unweighted/4.9 weighted gpa, i took lots of dual enrollment and APs, thankfully doing good in my dual enrollments (discrete math/some geneds, doing calc2/3, diffeq, lin alg this year) but i got some bad grades in sophomore year. 1520 PSAT and i'm taking SAT this year what colleges should i apply to that aren't insanely expensive? i dont think my family can afford 70k/y tuition but we're upper middle class(200-250k) going to major in math/cs, probably qu”

“Hello! I’m currently a sophomore in colleges about to earn my associates and i’m looking to transfer to a college on the east coast (i live in illinois) i’m also willing to apply around but preferably i’d like to get my bachelors on the east coast I’d prefer a liberal arts school with a tight knit community but not too small Somewhere pretty with good extracurriculars and a decent social scene Also need a school with good financial aid offers my parents make 117000 a year My stats: 3.7 gpa (i wa”

“Like genuinely asking since colleges won’t even see your AP scores for them like ik college credit but is it even worth it? submitted by /u/Better-Chocolate-702 [link] [comments]”

“I’m currently a sophomore at a hyper-competitive magnet school in the Northeast, but our schedule doesn’t give us a ton of elective flexibility. There are several APs I’m interested in that I realistically can’t fit into my schedule because required courses take up most of my slots. I’m interested in aerospace engineering, and I’ll already be taking AP Calc courses and continuing through Physics E&M at my school, so I’m not trying to avoid rigorous math/science coursework. The issue is more”

“Hi everyone I am currently a junior in highschool and my dream school is USC. I have average score and stats, but I was just wondering if anyone who got accepted/is enrolled would like to drop their stats just for some reference. Or even just give some advice that would be good to have on my application that would increase my chances in getting in! submitted by /u/extravaganttaco44 [link] [comments]”

“hi all! I'm a junior currently and I really really want to go to Brown uni but I'm afraid I don't have any "stellar" ec's so far. The reason why I wanna go there is because I love studying languages but at the same time I like to study economics and other humanities (like philosophy and psych too!) and ever since I heard about Brown the very first time, I fell in love with the fact I can pick what I want to study. I know that its "open curriculum" is the wow-f”

“hi everyone! i’m a 12th grader atm and the only school i really want to go to is calpoly slo. otherwise i would go the cc route and transfer but i really dont believe i would keep my motivation through my time at a cc so i really hope to go to slo. i know its kinda a lottery if you get in but if anyone could help ease my anxiety id appreciate it. here r my stats I am applying for animal science!! 4.0 UW ~4.3 W ( there’s only abt 8 AP’s at my school and i couldn’t take them all bc of scheduling )”

“What are some top schools that don’t care about test scores at all other than these colleges: HYPSM, Penn, Duke, Johns Hopkins, UChicago, Columbia. My hs GPA was 3.89 unweighted and sat was 1510. I just started my college, but I am planning to transfer. submitted by /u/College_Tech [link] [comments]”

“Like 3.89 UW with good course rigor expect math but extenuating circumstances and is making up for it once the circumstances are over. Also, really good ecs and 35 ACT. Any recs on where to apply to and what happens to applicants like me. submitted by /u/Electronic_Paper_670 [link] [comments]”

“So my dream school is Brown, but due to all the influencer things, I don’t really know what actually is important. I am a junior, so I have time, but so far this is what I have: 5.4 gpa 10 APs by end of senior year SAT (untaken) (I’m going to take it in Oct) Extracurriculars: med club at my school (president), SkillsUSA (combined with med club), BPA, GirlsinSTEM, 7th year in orchestra (highest level), Student Council (I may drop it this year just because the people in it aren’t very nice) Awards”

“For reference, my target schools are schools like UNC Chapel Hill, UVA, Wake Forest, etc. my reach schools are john hop, Duke, and some bsmd programs, but those are pretty competitive. I'm a junior in high school currently, and here are some of my ECs as of now. I go to a small charter school, and the only competitive clubs we have are Envirothon and Science Olympiad. GPA: 4.0 uw/4.5 w APs taken: AP Calc AB, AP Lang, APUSH, AP Chem, AP Bio, AP Gov, APES - Shadowed an orthopedic doctor over t”

“Hi! Is this a rigorous enough junior year schedule? I just moved to the states right before 11th grade, so this is my first semester in the US school system. APUSH is available at my school (around 1/5 of students take it) and I know I need to be showing that I am taking the highest level of classes offered to me, but I just don't know how I will do because I have never taken a US history class. Is it worth the work to get a good grade in APUSH starting from scratch? Will colleges think I am”

“Went thru last admissions cycle and my biggest regret was not applying to USC early. I had 2 C’s and like 6 B’s on transcript, went test optional, had mainly 3’s on AP scores so I didn’t think I could get accepted. Even if you don’t think you can get into USC (like what I thought) I urge you guys to do so and apply ED to be considered for scholarships. USC ended up being too expensive so I didn’t go even tho I fell in love with the school. Good luck seniors !! submitted by /u/rahhbbi”

“I was considering applying EA to some T10 and T20 colleges just to see if I would get in. I would really like to get into these schools, but I would not mind if I didn't get in either. I have top-of-the-class grades (1st), but I have very little ECs (volunteering, coaching, light hobbies, stuff like that). I have no idea if EA could even benefit me, or if it could even backfire. Please share any advice, as it could also help other people. submitted by /u/thereciprocity [link] &#3”

“Florida is my clear #1. 1330 SAT 4.0 gpa from excellent public high school in PA. Volunteer, work, clubs etc. I will do ED but if anyone has other advice I am all ears! submitted by /u/bmault [link] [comments]”

“Were you guys academic weapons back in hs as well? submitted by /u/No-Cost4775 [link] [comments]”

“I’m the parent of a high school junior in Florida. We just sat down and had a talk about college and I’m worried he’s gonna have an issue. The week before his freshman year, he tore his ACL at football practice. He was really looking forward to playing sports in high school and this caused a noticeable depression. He was able to get back into sports sophomore year, but it took some time to get back up and running. This caused his grades not be great his freshman year and the first half of his so”

“Is it? I have a big range from Temple to Cornell, my academic journey is really wonky going from a 2.63 gpa freshmen year to 4.83 junior yr submitted by /u/Fickle_Amphibian_223 [link] [comments]”

“Hey I’m applying ED1 to Vanderbilt this cycle and I’m going test optional. I’m in the top ~5-10% of my class (competitive Bay Area) and I have fairly decent ECs. Just wanted to see what you guys think. submitted by /u/Dominater77 [link] [comments]”

“NYC competitive shsat high school 1500 sat, 3.9 gpa, 5s on 5 aps + taking 2 more this yr (calc bc, psych, histories, lang, chem) Girl Scout gold award, earned by starting a community service club at my school sophomore year. avg 25-30 ppl per meeting, biweekly meetings. founded tutoring program at my school (around 10 pairings) tutored algebra 20 hrs jv and v volleyball manager basketball team captain (amateur team, most players dont know the game well) nhs, small leadership role public health m”

“My senior was an A/B student, 1400 SAT, 4.0 GPA, taking the most rigorous courses, especially math. Then junior year he had some mental health issues and missed a lot of school. His GPA plummeted to 2.5. This year he's doing OK again, but I don't know how badly this will impact his applications. He's applying to places like Penn State as targets, with WPI as a reach. submitted by /u/Potatochips2026 [link] [comments]”

“NYC competitive high school 1500 sat, 3.9 gpa, 5s on 5 aps + taking 2 more this yr (calc bc, psych, histories, lang, chem) Girl Scout gold award, earned by starting a community service project sophomore year. avg 25-30 ppl per meeting, biweekly meetings. founded tutoring program at my school (around 10 pairings) tutored algebra 20 hrs jv and v volleyball manager basketball team captain (amateur team, most players dont know the game well) nhs, small leadership role public health major uMiami, u r”

“so im a senior in los angeles, i'm also a hispanic first gen low income student. I was wondering if anyone could provide any suggestions on schools I should apply to? Here are my stats: For APs I've taken spanish lang, bio, spanish lit, environmental science, english lang, ap calc (a semester then dropped) and I'm currently taking physics c mec, english lit, 2D art, and microecon, i got a 4 on all my ap tests with the acception of ap lang where i got a 5 and ap calc ab which i didnt”

I'm a high school student starting to think seriously about college applications. My school counselor is totally useless. They're literally given students false information or submitted the wrong transcripts likee really insane.…

“I’m a junior and I’m unsure whether taking AP exams would help with US college admissions. My school only recently began offering AP exams, and they’re essentially all self-study. We can take the exams at school, but there are no AP classes or teachers preparing us. My schedule is already demanding, and I’m taking the highest-level courses available, including Precalculus (which is the highest level of math my school offers for Grade 11),Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Mechanics, and Honors courses”

“For context, my dream school is NYU, that’s the one I’m EDing to. It’s a long shot, especially for a student like me, but it doesn’t hurt to try (CommonApp fee waiver). I basically did nothing in high school. No clubs, no job, just normal kid stuff. I only have 3 activities on my list, and they’re not very interesting. I did theatre 9/10/11th but quit this year (mental health reasons). I’ve done competitive dance my whole life and that takes up all of my time. I love it, but it’s basically all I”

“Im at one of the specialized high schools in nyc and I had a really rough freshman year, so I ended up with no aps at all. I only got into honors algebra two. I was wondering is there still hope? And I’m really scared that I may not get into a good college at this point since all my peers atleast have one ap. submitted by /u/PotentialGloomy8765 [link] [comments]”

“Its nearing the time to submit college apps but I don't really have many leadership positions for clubs at my school. All I have is - VP of a volunteering club for 2 years basically just increased membership for the club and planned meetings/events and stuff. Windows server coordinator for CyberPatriot club (Been in the club for 4 years but got the position this year) - I have to create training material regarding windows server for the incoming members of the club (its a cybersecurity compe”

“I don’t feel like sharing specifics of my application but I have an amazing application according to the multiple counselors who have viewed it. Essays are phenomenal, letters of recommendation, my activities are amazing, my SAT is not though. Stuck around the low 1400 range. Trying to get into UPenn Wharton. How big of a deal is that poor SAT. submitted by /u/RelativeOne2361 [link] [comments]”

“I have really good ecs and good grades (some dips due to circumstance) but i don’t have the resources to get good tutoring or resources for the sat. I have all 5s on my AP exams and take max course rigor. Good letter of recs too but a 1420 superscore. What should I do ? submitted by /u/Dismal_Wishbone502 [link] [comments]”

“3.9 UW GPA, just started junior year. No APs (previous school didn’t have it). Barely any extracurriculars My plan was always to do research once I started junior year and that is exactly what I was searching about. But I found a lot of people saying it is not as valuable as it used to be and high schoolers shouldn’t do it. I’m so lost rn, what do yall think? Should I still try? I plan to do physics. submitted by /u/PatoDeBone [link] [comments]”

“I didn’t have the best jr year grades. They weren’t terrible but not great either I took 3 AP classes but got removed from all three of them by the guidance counselor in the middle of the school year year over having Cs in all them even though I spent days convincing them to let me stay and try and get my grades up 2nd semester they claimed that the classes were gonna get harder and they worried I was gonna fail if I had a C the first semester so they switched me out of all of them out of my wil”

“so i have a 3.3 gpa (school doesnt do unweighted) and a 1530 sat (750 math 780 english) and im not sure what to do now, if it matters i did have an upward trend going from 83 no aps/dual enrollments freshman year to 86ish senior year 1 ap 1 dual enrollment and to 92 junior year 1 ap 1 dual enrollment. this year im taking 3 aps 3 dual enrollments and i got straight As right now. i know top 20/30 is completely out of reach for me but what do i do now? i really want to go to the west coast as a new”

“I’m taking dual enrollment my junior I was gonna take two ap classes my senior 3 dual my senior year as well? submitted by /u/Sad-Classroom-4938 [link] [comments]”

“I have a 1560 SAT and solid ecs and awards. My gpa is a 4.2W though. my school doesn’t do class rank and i’m not a legacy for any schools i’m applying to. Is it still a long shot to apply to schools like brown, georgetown, NYU, and USC? i’m looking into political science or business submitted by /u/Rare-Custard9371 [link] [comments]”

“I’m homeschooled, which means I wasn’t able to take APs. I didn’t have access to them. However, I did take a bunch of dual enrollment instead. But I’m still worried not taking any APs will be a bad look. Will AOs just assume that I didn’t have any access to them because I’m homeschooled? Or should I put it in my additional info section? submitted by /u/mikewheelerfan [link] [comments]”

“Not sure what place would give me the most advantage (mostly considering ed would help due to my low test score) 3.99/4.26 31 ACT Ap Calc BC 5 Apush 5 Ap lit 4 Ap gov 5 Senior yr: ap bio, ap lang, ap Chinese, ap comp gov Ecs: slightly above average with multiple leadership positions + job Colleges (reaches) - usc ( nervous tho since first yr ed offered) - nyu - upenn - umich - uc berk + la (no ed tho 😢） submitted by /u/oreese27 [link] [comments]”

“Basically the title! I know it’s college season right now, and recall being super stressed out about apps…so if you guys have any questions, I would love to help! submitted by /u/abby_sk [link] [comments]”

“My senior (who deliberately doesn't use social media and so has me making this post) is feeling overwhelmed with choosing schools to apply to. We are crowd-sourcing ideas. Stats:\ 35 ACT\ perfect PSAT (I forget what that number is)\ 4.0 unweighted; 4.62 weighted at rigorous large public school\ 9 APs (all 5s) before senior year\ Eagle scout\ Good but not prodigy-level musician (organ) Intended major:\ Computer science or CAD modeling\ Double major or minor in organ, or at least serious conti”

“Im currently a HighSchool senior applying to both college and aid programs (so basically I’m trying to enter a competitive land), yet my school has been giving me a hard time. I arrived to my school mid-junior year, so I was not told what rank I fell under, and this year central office decided we would become a “non-ranking district”. All my peers are saying they’ll just submit their junior-year rank, yet this is a problem for me since I never got one, and I’m worried that that’ll cause my “non-”

“Hi I am asking this as a senior because I have some qualifiers that are really good about me and others that id say are an active negative. Particularly I'd say I have a good list of AP scores plus the AP scholar with honors award, idk how much that helps but ik it does, my scores with 4's are comparative gov, apush, Euro, and human geo, and I got a 3 in english lit, while this year I am taking English lit, Comp sci a, AP cybersecurity, and AP networking. To point out I plan on going int”

“I’m a HS senior applying this application cycle and I need help adding to my list of schools. Demographics: Maryland resident Mixed Race Female Public school Academics: 4.0 UW, 4.85 W 1560 SAT 7 APs (CSA, BC Calc, Gov, Lang, World, Bio, Stat), all 5’s, taking 3 more this year (Lit, Chem, Psych) Pretty much every class aside from requirements (spanish, pe, arts credit) is honors or advanced. I’ve taken up to Linear Algebra in math and am taking a Calc III equivalent this year. Major: Biological S”

“Titleeeee (entering junior year) Also i wasnt accepted for transfer post A.A. due to enrollment capacity Ill prob get in next sem taking classes in the mean time but how bad does it look on apps 😅😅 Also my target med school is the same university (i also work as a PCA there now), but its got like a 4% in state acceptance rate 💔💔💔 submitted by /u/Tired_Bot [link] [comments]”

“I’m currently a high school senior, I’m really nervous about college applications. I wish my stats were better, but there’s nothing I can really change now unfortunately 😭😭 I’m applying to all the georgia state schools (GSU, GT, UGA) as well as NYU for ED1 (my dream school but i have basically given up hope). I want to go become an economics major but I didn’t take a math in junior year because I transferred to online school because of health reasons. I was initially taking BC but they didn’t”

“I've been a b student with about half honors and half regular classes for my freshman and sophomore year. i'm taking my first 2 AP's (AP lang and AP psych) this year with plans to potentially get in a dual enrollment class during the second half of the year if i think i can handle it. i haven't participated in extracurriculars much, i was in a creative writing club for about 2 months in 9th grade but i plan on going into the yearbook club this year when i can. for my senior year”

“I’m applying to colleges this year, and I’m honestly lowkey scared of handling the entire process by myself. I have a lot of questions, sometimes about important application decisions, but also really small things like how to format a personal statement, word certain responses, or order my activities. I’m looking for someone experienced who would be willing to talk through DMs and answer questions as they come up throughout the application process. I’m not asking anyone to write essays or comple”

“I'm currently starting 11th grade this week (international student btw). My IELTS estimate is around 7.5 or higher and I'm planning to start studying for both HSA and SAT next year. I'm more concerned about my ECs or passion projects; I don't have any that stand out yet. I started playing piano during 6-7th grade but stopped in 9th due to the standard leaving examinations in my country and I've been self-teaching since then. I'm planning to both get an economics degree an”

“this is not a chanceme post Hi. Im a junior in high school in iowa. Right now, things are going rough to say the least.... seeing statistics online is really questioning whether i can even make it to college lol. But anyways, could yall please tell me where I can possibly improve, what ecs is just bad, or if unis like umich or uwash is just delusional for me. Overall my ecs sat gpa are pretty bad but i just want to gain additional feedback. ECS: Founder and president of schools chess club (15-20”

“So in short, I wasn’t able to join any clubs or extracurriculars until this year, which is my junior year. I’m very scared for college admissions because everywhere I’ve looked says that colleges prefer if people have a long history of extracurriculars, which is making me paranoid. Would it matter? submitted by /u/InformalSurprise4898 [link] [comments]”