^Very tempting because I am prone to stress.
Gonna be burned out by the end of this year for sure.
@Woandering - Sometimes I think about that, too, 3 hours into studying for a chemistry test…I’ll also think, “none of this matters, I’m going to grad school anyway, screw it all!”, then continue to try too hard and cry over anything under a 95. 
Lol, I know how you feel. I missed one Friday for Leadership/Human Relations camp and I missed so much…most horrible scenario that occurred to me was my AP Biology grade dropping from a B to a D because of two worksheets and a root quiz, pretty pathetic (yes people I got it back up to a B).
I hear some individuals saying that college is easier than high school, which I wouldn’t be surprised if that was true.
Personal comment: I’m actually aiming at state schools, want that near to or a full ride. Top tier would be a heck of amount of stress and competition compared to most state schools, I’m saving that energy for graduate school lol - would be an amazing experience however. Basically that Full Ride @ State School v Ivy League & Top Tier debate I would have to go on the full ride side.
We got this fellow grads, we have 1 year and 1-3 months left of secondary school…don’t give up now.
@jdschooled5 Im on the same page you are. Althought the Ivysare great schools, they are too small, in the middle of nowhere and in a way, not diverse enough. I think the problem is I would get “bored” too often with the similar personalities and work ethics and blah blah. Thats pretty much why I love the city
@ErenYeager @glasshours Right?
It’s not even just thinking about it occasionally, which I do as well. Today, I pretty much slipped into that mindset and kind of felt the stress leave for a moment, until it came rushing back.
@elefish92 I completely understand and support going to the state school with near full ride, if finances aren’t great or you’re definitely going to grad school right after. Honors college should still be pretty great, if you go for that too.
Which state schools are u looking at that provide this kind of aid?
On the subject of lowering standards for colleges,
Odds are fairly high that I’ll end up going into research (maybe molecular biophysics), and if I do, I can’t just plan for my Bachelor’s Degree. I have to consider graduate school. I feel like the most realistic path is for me to go to University of Central Florida (UCF) under a full scholarship that I’m sure I could qualify for. I live five minutes away from UCF so I wouldn’t have to worry about housing or food. And really, I’d be able to use those four years to start saving money for graduate school. The only downside is that the closest majors that UCF has to my interests are Biomedical Science and Biology, but it’s a great school.
If I could dream wild, I’d want to go to a school in the 10 - 20% acceptance range with a strong biology program. I’ll definitely apply to a couple, but I don’t know how I’d afford out of state tuition.
@awakeningvenus how about U of F? Or U Miami? Those are good schools in Florida and they are bound to have something related to your interests.
It’s not worth the debt in the end. Stay in state and save for grad school. It’s more important in many STEM fields to have a strong grad school than undergraduate degree. Enjoy four years of preliminary studies and then get to work.
@awakeningvenus It’s great that you actually have a good idea of what you want to do, and you are planning for it. I will just say (and you probably have heard this) living at home can be a bit of a barrier to significant college life with friends. I won’t go in to a whole lot about it, but remember life isn’t just work (despite what it seems like right now).
Also, have you checked out UCF’s professors? Perhaps one has a similar interest, so that even if you can’t get the degree and classes, you can chat with and help out in research with the professor.
Unfortunately, if I wanted to stay near my parents, I would need to get into Stanford, which is a 5 minute bike ride from my house and a 5% acceptance.
On the subject of saving money, I am one of the unfortunate/fortunate ones that can just barely afford to pay the entire cost of college tuition. Luckily, I plan to work for a few years before getting an MBA, so I don’t need to worry as much about saving money for grad.
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During the school trip, I met a Senior who catches and breaks in wild horses to sell for a profit. IMO she (yes a girl) could have gotten into Harvard with finaid, but she probably didn’t try, and she would have wanted to stay near her grandparents anyway. So, she’s going to CC for 2 years then on to a state university.
Funny that we wouldn’t be able to meet some of these awesome people at the top tier universities in the world. I want to meet more people like her.
^Stanford has always been the dream, but frankly, I’d be really happy at UCLA or USC.
I can’t wait to be done with this entire process.
You gotta relish the struggle! And relive it, again!
I used to live basically on campus at UMD. That would have been really easy to stay close to home.
@Woandering I’m a little late to the party, but I know exactly what you mean. I would be pretty happy at my local school, ASU. It’s got a great honors college and is known for being a super fun place lol. I know several incredibly smart people who went here for undergrad and are now attending Yale Law or Harvard Dental etc etc. That being said, going to Penn is the dream and I’m low-income enough to end up paying very little to attend. So there’s no reason not to try in my opinion. Man, I can’t wait to just know where I’m going and start getting excited about it.
^Yeah same I wish there was an Early Early Decision that I could apply to now and get the result back before summer so I could just be done.
Does anyone kinda get the feeling that their entire high school experience has basically been all for college? The late nights spent doing work and everything. Somehow I’ve got it into my head that once I’m a senior and college apps go out high school is basically over for me, but I kinda have to grasp that that’s not the case. Senior year is still an entire year and will make up 25% of high school. It’s just as long as the other years but it definitely feels shorter. So I still have time to have great experiences with the people I care about and I still have time to grow because growth doesn’t stop once I apply to college. I’m not really sure if I’ve articulated this feeling correctly, but it’s just something I’ve been thinking about.
@Swinter Yes, kind of. Senior year will feel like 18% of the journey because 12.5% will be before college acceptance (unless I’m lucky to be in with ED) and then 5.5% is maintaining a reasonable grade so I’m not screwed at the last minute. Senioritis can eat up the other 7% that belonged to Senior year.
Otherwise, I will definitely be actually trying to hang out with friends (not doing hw) and then dreading leaving them and high school in the last weeks.
So yeah, except for the last few weeks (where seniors at our school get no school anyway, which may change for us) high school has really just been for college. Then college is going to largely be for grad or work. Anyone seeing a pattern?
I just hope that all this hard work will pay off and land me a job that I enjoy and will give me enough free time to actually enjoy life. That said, what is the ideal job for you guys?
@Woandering @Swinter I’m lucky to be going into a field where it’s actually frowned upon to go to grad school, at least before getting a job. In the field I want to go into there is such a thing as overqualified.
But yeah, High School sucks. You get judged whether you’re smart or dumb. You work hard just to get into another school and do more work. Ironic.
UF gives like no aid and I don’t really like Gainesville tbh. I also don’t want to see anyone I know in hs at UCF or FSU lol. @awakeningvenus A few kids got into Cornell at my high school so hopefully there’s a chance for me haha. Just need to beef up my ec’s
@Gatortristan doesn’t UF and the whole Florida system have Bright Futures? That thing sounds amazing. SUNY gives NOTHING to in-state residents. They try and justify that by already “cheap” tuition.
However, the great thing about SUNY is it partially funds Cornell, therefore we get reduced tuition on Cornell even though it’s Ivy League.
@jdschooled5 Even with bright futures they kill you with every other thing they can charge you for. It would be cheaper for me to just get a full ride at UCF (auto admit) and pocket the bright future money but I hat the vibe at ucf and the overpopulation.
@Gatortristan liking the vibe of the school matters most. If you can’t see your self walking around campus, don’t go there.
I love Florida, my top school is FSU because it is ranked third in the country for the program I want (Penn State is first but EXPENSIVE and Oklahoma is second but undesirable). The only way I can afford FSU is if I get the full OOS tuition waiver. Hopefully I get it. I hope you can go to Cornell