and even more tangential notes: I was contemplating about Cornell and Brown. I felt Cornell was way too large and competitive. I loved Brown, but after running the NPC, the EFC was unaffordable, so I struck it off my list. I also loved the nerdy aspect of CMU, Harvey Mudd, and MIT, but felt that a small LAC would be a better fit. They would be hail-Marys, and I already have way too much of those. My relatives overseas pressured me to apply to Columbia and Harvard, but again, I felt they would be terrible fits. I feel burnt out, to be frank.
Thank you to everyone for following on this journey.