Just got the official SAT study guide for the 8 practice tests in paper. My parents called studying for it insane because it’s 1200+ pages and about 2.5 inches thick, even though it’s only for the tests lol.
@RMNiMiTz Yeah, I was talking about the ACT held this past Saturday. Unfortunately, I don’t think I rocked any of the sections. Good job on doing really well on two of them 
@dietcig Yeah, you’re right. Thank god deleting a score is an option. I’ve already removed the colleges that I put down as score recipients so I should be safe. I’m applying to most of the UCs. My dream school is UCLA, but I’m fairly certain that my chances of getting in are incredibly slim with my GPA. Praying that my GPA is good enough to get into UCSD as a STEM major. Also, thanks for the tip!
Pretty late but how did you guys feel about the most recent ACT? I really don’t know if I improved my score…but fingers crossed
@gopgal i drank too much water and coffee that morning and i was dying through the first two sections. which sucks because they were my two highest-scoring sections. idk if i improved mine too, but apparently at least there’s an option to delete test scores if my scores were just that low so i’m not rlly worried
Have you guys begun finalizing your college list?
@aspiringgirl I have, but it’s nothing really special. I have no idea what I want to do with my life so I’m applying to cheap publics with lots of majors… and also Elmira College because I got their Key Award for 20k a year and I’m curious to how that will play out.
I just wanted you guys to know that I really appreciate having a community like y’all. None of my friends really care about getting into a prestigious university or getting a high score on standardized tests. Maybe one or two students take the SAT in my school and no one even knows that there are subject tests. I have no one to talk to about my insecurities during the college process, so I appreciate you guys being here.
@aspiringgirl I’ve been doing that literally all week! I made this big spreadsheet and everything. I started out with 20 schools and cut that down to 12-ish. Only about half of those schools don’t use the Questbridge app, so that’s pretty manageable for me.
@xxluvforeverxx Do you think you’d qualify for Questbridge? Your school sounds so similar to mine.
@xxluvforeverxx I feel the same way!!! Like everyone in my school is applying to public state universities, while I’m one of the very few that actually is striving for out of state and more prestigious universities. I"m just really happy I stumbled upon this thread a couple months ago and decided to make an account. This thread is making the college progress a lot easier for me to cope and manage through.
I had 10 colleges on my list and now I narrowed it down to 7(i might add Vanderbilt back on my list if my GPA increases.) I feel pretty good about my list.
Oh is anyone planning to apply to Vanderbilt RD? I was reading the admission blog that they have and found that they accept materials such as a transcript, LOR and etc. a little bit after the admissions deadline due to winter break vacation. DO any other universities have this policy? If that’s the case I might apply RD for some more prestigious universities as my GPA will be a lot higher and more impressive after the first semester of senior year.
I have 16 colleges on my list, but I am probably going to take off a couple colleges. Plus, If I get into my dream school ED, I don’t have to apply to all of the colleges on my list.
@aspiringgirl What is your dream school?
@Hamlon I didn’t make QB College PrepScholar, so I don’t know if I would even do well on the College Search. I’m going to look into it after my HOSA competition.
@aspiringgirl I have started finalizing my list and I think I know what 7 colleges I’m going to apply to, but I’m not finalizing finalizing it until after SSP. Admissions officers from the host campuses - NM Tech and CU Boulder - as well as the admissions officers from the affiliated universities - Caltech and MIT - are meeting with us, so I’m going to decide after we meet with them. It could change what schools I apply to and add perspective.
@xxluvforeverxx I’m thankful I found this community as well. I’m glad I found it at the beginning of sophomore year; I don’t know where I’d be now without it! My classmates and I haven’t started talking much about the college apps process, so I’m glad to have this place to talk about all of this.
@xxluvforeverxx You’d be surprised. Many kids who don’t become college prep scholars end up successful in the college match. A big plus is that you’ve already started your app. Which schools are you thinking about?
@Hamlon I’m looking at the Ivies, Johns Hopkins, NYU, BU, BC, Tufts, and others. Mainly selective to somewhat selective schools in the Northeast. What about you?
@aspiringgirl My list was 20 schools at the beginning of the school year. I recently cut it from 10 to 8. I still have 3-4 schools I’m “Still Thinking About.” My list won’t be finalized until I get back from my trips to Harvard, Yale, Northeastern, BU, and Santa Clara this summer. I’m really grateful we are able to visit these schools before my summer programs.
So far my schools are Harvard, Northeastern, UCLA, UC Berkeley, American, George Washington, Fordham, and ASU. Fordham and ASU are the only schools I will not have visited by the time I apply. My dad wants me to visit Fordham but I don’t think it’s worth the trip. I’d really only consider it if I get the full tuition scholarship.
@xxluvforeverxx I’m grateful for this forum as well! My classmates are competitive about the college application process so it’s nice to have a supportive group of students.
Today, some people made faces when an mentioned that I genuinely like in my safety (ASU). In their minds, safeties are gross because they’re lower ranked…Thankfully CC taught me to “love thy safety” (not sure where I read that quote but I love it)
Due to new financial complications, my college list has become extremely complicated.
Regular list:
Reach- Rice U, Brown U
Match- UCLA, U of Rochester
Safety- Cal State Fullerton, UCI
Financial Safety/If I get National Merit Scholar (I have SI of 222 in Cali so we’ll see :-S :-?? X_X ):
University of Central Florida(favorite-I think)
U of Oklahoma
Texas A&M
University of Texas at Dallas
Texas Tech
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with aiming for a state university. Ives/top universities are really expensive, especially for families who have a EFC that is too high.
If you guys had to choose, would you go to a university with full ride scholarship that has a ranking between 70-200 or go to an upper tier university with upwards of 60K in loans?
I’ve more or less finalized my list.
UChicago (ED)
Harvard
Wesleyan
Johns Hopkins
Tufts
NYU
Vassar
Kenyon
Brandeis
UMass Amherst
I just created my Common App account. The work begins.
@Iridescentgaze Dartmouth!!
@xxluvforeverxx I’m going to apply to a whole bunch of LACs, two (maybe three) ivies, MIT, Stanford, Rice, UChicago, Howard, and UT Austin.
@sewin2music I would look into outside scholarships before making that decision. Just get a scholarship book from you library. Some scholarships sit each year w/out a single applicant.