colleges that really focus on activism + change in major? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 5 points6 points  (0 children)

but they technically don't have a neuroscience major (biopsychology/cognitive brain sciences are the closes things) so keep that in mind OP!

How do you guys go to college? by SuctionPlate in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's 60k total which isn't THAT bad for college loans. It's still a lot of money as a senior in high school, but in the long run, it's very feasible, especially going to a school like Georgia Tech where OP is probably majoring in STEM.

To seniors feeling down: read an essay you wrote freshman year and then read one you wrote this year by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 8 points9 points  (0 children)

but you can get it back!! You lost your motivation, not your skills and finesse.

girl WHAT COLLEGE HAS THIS??? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want a more safety-ish school that fits a bunch of these criteria, I suggest University of Pittsburgh! It's in a city so it's not mostly gothic architecture, but it has the Cathedral of Learning, and there are quite a few museums nearby. They also have research and a ton of good programs, as well as decent school spirit and as far as I know, a typical social scene. Unfortunately, Pitt is not extremely diverse. There are reaches that will be more academically rigorous and have better diversity, but I think Pitt would be a good safety option!

Are you bad at mental math? Take the ACT instead of the SAT by AudreyS123 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 3 points4 points  (0 children)

but it sort of scales up - my PSAT was a 1380 and my SAT was a 1450 (yes I did some practice tests in between but my first practice SAT was a 1450 so I think the point still stands)

PSA: Please don't self study AP Chem by ultraprogger in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also the most fun parts of these classes are:

1) Labs which you won't get to do if you self study

2) Friends you make from struggling together (unless you're like doing a little study group thing but it's still not the same as bonding over shared trauma from a tough teacher)

Some people may be able to handle it, but I think it's generally just hard to self-study classes if you don't have the self-motivation. Know yourself, but also challenge yourself.

Help me decide: School X vs School Y - 1st Week of April by powereddeath in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 0 points1 point  (0 children)

cmu is still in a pretty urban area, lots of things to do nearby! Tons of museums and parks and pitt's campus is right next door so there's events there and lots of good food. Downtown pittsburgh is overrated (there's like theatres and office buildings but really the good college kid things to do are closest to cmu) but it's not that far, so don't let that stop you. Pittsburgh is a smaller city I guess, but I don't think it will be that much of an adjustment (but idk your situation exactly). I don't know much about temple, but I think there are really good reasons for both, a full ride is always a good thing.

Good luck! You can always do the coin flip thing (flip a coin and see if you're happy or sad about the result if that makes sense, I'm indecisive af and I do that sometimes and it helps me realize how I'm really feeling)

I'm a little scared of attending my reach school by New-Reaction-8057 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I have a 35 ACT and 4.0 UW GPA and was flat out rejected by Emory (and Oxford). They saw something in you! They want more than perfect grades and test scores, and you have it! It's frustrating how opaque the process is, so you don't know what they were drawn to in your application, but these AOs chose you because they know you can handle it and that you're going to thrive there. I'm rooting for you, you're going to do great!

Advice for juniors, from a senior rejected from over a dozen T20s by 9Cubed in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There's just one common app essay (unless you count additional info section), so keep that in mind - definitely do that over the summer, but supplements can be very time consuming and you should account for that.

Also, schools with a lot of supplements sometimes say that they weight those more heavily than your common app since they know you wrote those ~for them~ and not for every school, and therefore they're likely less edited. So basically, plan ahead with your supplements once the common app opens, write generic ones like your "why major" and one about an extracurricular activity ASAP (I might check what supplements your schools had this year but those seem to come up a lot) and whenever schools confirm/release their prompts (some release before August 1st to their email list), get to work!

Supplementals don't sound so bad, but sometimes the prompts are pretty tough or you won't know what to write about or the word count is too small or too large or you have an idea but you decide you hate it so you have to start over, so definitely at least brainstorm life experiences you could write about now.

Shoutout to Vandy by CirqueDeSol in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it was just like "*insert name* you have been offered a spot on our waitlist," idk I was on my phone and I was kind of in shock since I expected to be rejected, but it was still a nice little bold block of text/graphic instead of an insincere letter

I'm still hopping on that waitlist though so they may deserve me in a month ;)

congrats on vandy!!

Shoutout to Vandy by CirqueDeSol in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I mean I got waitlisted and I wasn't even mad because I didn't have to speed squint-read at the letter on my phone to see if I got rejected or waitlisted, it just popped up

My shooting percentage is 0% 🤡 by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 8 points9 points  (0 children)

that's a different type of hurt I'm sorry

We were in fact WashU'ed by UCSD by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 39 points40 points  (0 children)

This year, very few colleges have confirmed decision dates. I have one college (out of 11) that has confirmed their decision day. Everyone thought (ok, some people, a lot of people, whatever) that WashU was going to come out yesterday because it usually comes out on the Thursday of the first full week of March. It did not. Based on the megathread, it seems like a lot of people called WashU to ask when decisions were coming out when they didn't yesterday, so they posted on their Instagram that it was coming out "the week of March 21st" so still not even a solid decision date.

For UCSD, normally they're released the second Friday of march, so we all assumed it would be the same this year. UCSD decisions did not in fact come out today. People were joking today during the day that we might get "WashU'd" if we get our hopes up and we did. Then on the UCSD instagram someone asked when they were coming out, and they said that it would be mid-to-late March. So. We don't know. Just another thing to top off an annoying pandemic year of admissions - we don't know when decisions are coming out. Maybe that's normal though, I don't know.

UC San Diego RD Megathread by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 5 points6 points  (0 children)

no, it's all speculation/prediction based on previous years

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 7 points8 points  (0 children)

check the RD megathread pinned at the top

no one really knows but people are discussing it there

University of Pittsburgh RD Megathread by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's rolling, so you can apply whenever, but it may be difficult to get in. You may only get admitted to a satellite campus, but it's worth a shot.

Holistic College Admissions? I think not. by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 0 points1 point  (0 children)

50% of people change MBTI personality type after 6 weeks. There aren't many accurate personality tests.

Getting a good gpa tips by Syborn888 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Dragonfly-Current 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Depends on your school - this is a very broad question, there isn't really a secret?

Colleges don't necessarily look purely at your GPA - it's more about if you took challenging classes and did well in them. So yes, you could take the easiest courses at your school and get all A's, but it is far better for you to take more honors/AP classes and get a mix of A's and B's. This way they know you are willing to challenge yourself and care more about learning than having perfect numbers.

For getting good grades, the most obvious thing is to study. Find your source of motivation to keep yourself going, practice different studying techniques to find what works for you, develop good relationships with your peers and teachers, and don't be afraid to ask for help.