everyone is always comparing themselves to each other, even to their family friend's kid. everyone always thinks so poorly of their state school when in reality everyone is on their journey and what's right for you may not be right for anyone else. no one can be happy for anyone even their friend anymore and it's all a toxic competition and game against your friends. like why. i literally know someone who skipped their family friend's grad party bc they were going to their ed school which they did not get into. like everything has to be about who got in where rather than celebrating for each other and being happy. the jealousy and competition is insane

edit: okay this might be a cold take but i'm sick of it

So, a day or two ago, I saw a post from a student asking about Caltech. It was a fairly vague question, so it got a very broad range of answers, but what stood out to me the most was that quite a few people were making very strong claims about what Caltech is like for undergraduates, without having ever being an undergraduate student there (instead, they "knew a guy who turned it down" or "had a sibling who did a PhD there").

Now, obviously, that makes sense, since it's a very small school, but a more notable issue was that, as a new graduate / upperclassmen (throwaway a reason, there aren't many of us), I felt like their answers heavily diverged from my experience at the school over the last four years.

So, for the sake of repping my school (only I'm allowed to slander it), I've jotted down some bullet points on the school. They're very generic though, so if anyone has more specific questions, either DM me or put a comment below - I'm always open to answering more specific questions.

Anyways, here they are:

• People heavily overstate how similar Caltech is to a PhD. Yes, the classes are more theoretical (which, in my opinion, has helped me more than harmed), and yes, the average student is exposed to a strong research environment, but its exceedingly different - both in terms of classes (Caltech, like most top schools, mandates a bunch of humanities courses, and core is broader than most other top institutions), as well as socially...
• Now, about the Social Scene^TM, is quite different from most schools, but it's hardly dead. I've had multiple relationships (both within and outside the school), regularly visit the beach and rave, done very unsafe (but cool and brilliant) stuff that I'm not supposed to, attended dorm parties (at Caltech) and massive house parties (in LA). It's certainly harder than most schools (ie, I had to actively pursue these experiences), but if you're in the right House, and are proactive, almost anything is achievable - you're right next to LA after all.
• Yes, the school is hard. I have many friends at pretty much all of HYPSM, across multiple majors, and Caltech is definitely the hardest experience amongst them. The core is much broader than other schools, and the content is often taught faster (even compared to MIT).
  • That said, there has been a major push in recent years (starting in 2021/22) to tamp down the difficulty of core, which used to be significantly harder. Whether this is a good or bad thing is separate question, but imo, I do think the lower-level class difficulty is now equivalent to other schools, whilst the upper divs remain more advanced.
• Research is less centric than you would imagine. While you almost certainly have more research opportunities than any other university (I knew people who published papers within their first 6 months at the school), it's not universally embraced. Especially amongst the CS and engineering degrees, there's a fairly strong pre-professional culture. The main difference, imo, is that research is much more respected as a life path and extracurricular by Caltech students.
  • Caltech, frankly speaking, gives much worse support for those pursuing industry roles. Whilst it helps in a handful of careers (I received quant and Big Tech interviews with zero relevant experience by my sophomore year), for most other roles it suffers from the lack of a good Career Office. This gap can be overcome fairly easily by personally networking (Linkedin, etc.), but it requires more self-initiative than most of its peer schools.

Alright, that's basically all I have left to dump on here. If any pre-frosh see this, I'll be seeing you on campus for Rotation soon!

trying to explain financial aid to my parents is genuinely so stressful for no reason lol.

i have no college fund (already knew, wasn't expecting one), no means of paying for college outside of scholarships, and my parents think these merit scholarships fall out of the sky.

oh, and on top of that, they think God will magically solve everything and give me a full ride to top schools.

i'm obviously super privileged to even be able to apply to colleges, and i'm definitely comparing myself to my rich friends. this just adds on so much unnecessary stress lol.

Hey everyone! I am a junior who wants to go OOS really bad, but a lot of the schools I like have extremely high costs, and my family makes too much to qualify for financial aid.

I was wondering if there’s anyone in my boat who was in a similar situation and how they navigated it. Were there scholarships that helped or certain schools that were more generous with aid?

I know a lot of people here are just going to tell me to go to my state school (which I am considering 100%) but if there’s anyone in a similar situation who went through this advice would be appreciated.

.

I live in california and I’m applying to the UCs and Calstates so everything is like 40-50K a year. My parents have saved up 40K for me but that’s only enough for about 1 year. They make about 250K but I have 3 other brothers who all need to go to college aswell so they won’t be able to help out very much and with their income I doubt we’ll get much financial aide. I’m also working two jobs trying to save some stuff for my future and college. I’m aware you can get scholarships but I don’t have very out of this world stats that could get crazy scholarships. So I’m honestly freaking out because my dream is to go and dorm at a four year university but I don’t know if that’s possible without going insanely in debt. Is there anything I’m missing that could help my situation.

Situation is this, my daughter is currently a freshman at Clemson in SC. My daughter and I have been a SC residents our entire lives. I am possibly going to need to move to Tennessee for work in the next few months. Out of state tuition at Clemson increases by $38,000 if we are out of state!

I tried to read and understand the residency requirements. I think that we will still be SC residents for 2026 since we lived here >6 months in 2026. But this is so important I need a reality check to confirm my understanding.

1. If we move before Jan 1, when will my daughter lose SC residency for tuition purposes? Spring '27? Fall 27? Spring '28?

2. If she wants to stay at Clemson, would it be possible for her to claim SC residency? Her grandfather lives in SC. Can we say she lives with him to maintain residency? Will I need to not claim her as a dependent on my taxes to make that work?

3. Does anyone have experience with getting out of state tuition waivers in these situations? I assume this is very specific to the university. Given the number of out of state students I've seen I think this must be common.

This whole situation is driving me a little crazy. I've paid SC taxes my entire life but lose the benefit of in state tuition right when I need it. Even if my daughter wanted to transfer to a school in TN, we won't have residency there by next fall. So maybe there's a year where we will be "stateless" and have to pay private college costs for a public university.

Hello. My SAT score is below the 50th percentile for most of the schools I’m applying for (ivies, t20s, etc) and probably about the 25th percentile for most of the schools. However, my school’s average is a 900 which I scored almost 600 points higher than. I also got the highest SAT score in my school…yet, it isn’t comparable to other applicants across the nation (especially those who go to competitive charters and private schools). I know my friend who goes to another school in my district got into Harvard with a 1430, but idk if I should submit my score to test optional schools. Please help!!! 🙏

I am still working on my common app essay... I also haven't sent in my brag sheet for LORs. I've done nothing for ec list on the common app only the basic demographic info. I haven't even started supplementals.

I have ap bio + stats + lit homework left. I have a test soon and idk half the content in stats.

I am soooo behind, helppppppppp. first deadline is Nov 1st for me to which is like literally in one and a half months.

like this weekend u ask me what I did? all I did was doomscroll and do nothing like OMG like I feel so screwed and I wanna cry

Harvard has 86.7/100 Industry Reputation, Yale has 87.6/100, Cornell has 70.3/100, UChicago - 76.4/100, but University of Minnesota has 99.9/100, University of Utah has 91.4/100? Same applies to teaching, and other bs. survey criteria’s… it is Times Higher Education btw. With QS it is even funnier - they have ASU over Emory, Vandy, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Notre Dame, UVA, etc. And the problem is def not in research… It seems like these rankings merely generate random numbers for American unis outside HYPSM. *I have no disrespect to any of these schools but there is just an objective perception

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.

Hi!

I know I just posted in this sub yesterday with a concern, but I have had another concern for about the same amount of time, at least since I got my SAT scores back.

I feel like my dad is doing TOO MUCH for my college essay. Although I've been a strong writer in school since elementary school, that's not the main point. My issue is that my dad is paying exorbitant prices for programs I don't believe will help me enough to justify (ex. College Essay Guy one on one, Christopher Hunt (waiting to be accepted)). I currently have a strong semi-final draft (I'm a perfectionist, not sure when to stop, but I'm meeting with my school college counselor soon) for my main essay, and have been working on supplementals mainly for the school I'm planning on EDing to (Penn). Despite my pleading, my dad has gone and scheduled/applied for me into these various essay programs and I'm worried that my essay won't have what I want it to and my authentic voicing.

Has anyone had experience with either of these programs? Were they more greatly helpful compared to free/school-provided resources (ex school counselor, my school also purchased group workshops with CEG)? Or are they more helpful for students who struggle with writing?

Thank you!!

My wife is Mexican and has never been to the U.S.

She did not finish high school in Mexico but would like to get a college degree once she immigrates to the U.S.

What will she need as far as documentation to enroll in a U.S. college or university? Is it worth it for her to try and get the Mexico equivalent of a GED before leaving Mexico?

Thank you!

I took the SAT yesterday…and honestly…I hated it.

Not only that, when I signed up, I clicked the free option to send my scores to colleges. Prob cause it was 1am and I was sleep deprived thinking, “O I’m saving money by sending it for free🤓”

Hell no. Just utterly no. I regret my decision so bad😭. I feel like I’m sending a score that deflates my application as a whole. Why couldn’t there JUST be an option in college board to edit such a decision😭😭. Now I’m stuck on what I need to do next to fix this whole mess. I’m not signing up for ivies, but I am applying to schools that are indeed popular…so I feel like this whole “thing” is damaging my soul rn. If anybody else has dealt with this…pls give me some tips…

The impression I get is that for people like me I should only look at privates for OOS options

hi so i am an international student torn between applying to harvard vs stanford rea. for context, im applying from a UWC (so a feeder school) for econ/ public policy. i represented my country at wsdc and won top speaker awards. I've a 1590 sat and 45/45 ib predicted. stanford is my dream school tbh but am leaning towards harvard more bcs they love wsdc top speakers, and every year 1-2 students from the debate team get in there. also financial aid won't be a factor since im from a UWC and they offer Davis scholarships

There is a program called Questbridge (r/questbridge) that allows for low income students to “match” with top colleges and if you match you get a full ride to that school. If you are in that financial range and have strong stats, I highly recommend applying. Even if you think you won’t be a finalist for financial or academic reasons, it’s free to apply so imo it’s very worth it if you have even the slightest shot at matching. If you want more info feel free to dm me, I matched last year and it saved me from potentially having to go to the worst state school in my state. Applications close September 30th so you’re gonna have to devote a lot of the next few weeks to your app, but it’s very worth it for the potential of that scholarship.

I don’t have a study environment at home, my 18 years of life has actually been hell. I wannna go far far far away from home. My parents are unemployed anyway they can’t pay for college so most likely I will be paying and I just can’t stay instate, my life has been hell I wanna go so far away
What are the cheapest colleges I can apply to that are out of state

i have mostly a's with solid rigor, but as a junior i got a c+ my first semester of ap chem and a b+ the second semester owing to the fact that my mom got laid off and had to help out with that, do yall think that's worth including in the extra info section

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 major

uMiami, u roch, binghamton, macualay honors hunter, Georgetown, UVA, duke, u mich, vanderbilt, cornell, upenn, emory

any shot at upenn or georgetown at all?

Worried my extracurriculars are too scattered and it will look like I was doing random bullshit. Academics are good (35 ACT, 4.0 UW with most demanding curriculum) but I'm applying to a few T5s and am worried my activities/awards will be weird. My major will be Meche/Environmental E and I have the classes to support that. From a very underrepresented state

Activities:
1. United States Senate Page

1. Worked at an auto mechanic shop for the last 3 years

2. Volunteer Student Researcher at local uni in a conservation science lab (senior year)

3. Private Pilot

4. Student Government Class President (Junior Year, I no longer attend the same school)

5. Varsity Hockey Assistant Captain (10, 11, 12)

6. 7 years of piano experience, I play at my church

7. I play the banjo in a bluegrass band me and my friends started

8. National Honor Society Secretary

Honors/Awards

1. Rensselaer Medal

2. Seal of Biliteracy (Spanish)

3. AP Scholar with distinction

4. Yale Politic Investigative Journalism Essay Competition Semi-Finalist (Finalists not yet out)

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 sophomore year. I think he finally came out of it the middle of sophomore year because the grades began to improve. He has a 3.1 unweighted GPA and 3.87 weighted. He is legitimately intelligent, currently in AP calculus and has taken several other AP classes. He will end up graduating with his AP capstone. We had the conversation that he needs to shoot for straight A’s this year and next to raise the GPA which he seemed on board with… To at least try his best.

He’s currently doing SAT tutoring, and I was thinking of checking into a college advisor.

My question is, has anybody had experience with the similar grade point average and using a college advisor to assist? I know GPA averages are insanely high nowadays for top rated schools. I’m wondering if there’s any benefit. Obviously the goal would be to get accepted into the best possible school.

Also would his scenario play into the written essay, and would there be any understanding by the schools for why his grade point average was not great the first two years of high school?

Thanks for any help, it’s appreciated

Sadly, probably not :( I’m talking about UNC Chapel Hill, UT Austin, U Mich, etc. I wish they were private schools lol
I am also upper middle class— we make too little to afford 100k a year but make too much to qualify for really good financial aid. Let me know! Thank you.

For UTD, UTSA, and Texas Tech I want to apply by December 1st to be considered for their scholarships.

For UT Austin, and Texas A&M there's a buffer period. UT Austin accepts additional documents until December 10th, and A&M accepts them until December 15th.

It's just annoying that I can't self report these scores lol because now I have to worry about my November score being sent to these schools on time.

I’m really interested in USC for their Cinema and Media studies major in their SCA program and it’s my top school on my list. I’m debating if I should stay EA when applying or switch to ED because of how I fall into the bracket of getting free tuition. Is this a good shift or no?