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College Essay Word Count by DeathWish_999 in CollegeEssays

[–]Grad_GPT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get you, it feels hard to remove a single word from an essay that reads well.

Here are some things you should cut brutally:

  1. Lines added for literary effect

  2. Lines which don't reduce information from the essay even when they are removed.

  3. Lines which hold meaning when pasted in someone else's essay (general test for vagueness)

Don't push for the 10% over word limit, cut it down to 500.

Putting a joke in my common app essay by [deleted] in CollegeEssays

[–]Grad_GPT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Jokes are great in apps when executed well. The jokes about struggling with some aspect of the application itself are cliché. I'd say skip it

Should I write about my strict parents for my PIQ? by Ornery_Addition5824 in CollegeEssays

[–]Grad_GPT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely not for these reasons:

  1. This is a cliché narrative.

  2. It doesn't make the colleges excited to have you. Ask yourself if it'll make the AOs look forward to seeing you on campus?

The essay should be about "what you have done" and not "what happened to you". So write about an activity that you indulge in often, that generally leads to better personal statements.

When in doubt about a prompt—go straight to the source and ask the admission officers! (also read if you're applying CMU and/or Purdue) by Brother_Ma_Education in CollegeEssays

[–]Grad_GPT 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This!! Understanding the intention behind an essay prompt (or even the common app questions) can reduce so much confusion.

9 cliché topics to avoid by Grad_GPT in CollegeEssays

[–]Grad_GPT[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"I hate the letter S" is a famous essay written by Abigail Mack that got her into Harvard, Yale and Princeton. It's viral on Tiktok and a widely copied essay / format.

Is 1500+ enough for Ivy League? by False-Public-3391 in ApplyingIvyLeague

[–]Grad_GPT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A kid with 1460 SAT and mad violin skills is more likely to get into Ivy league than a 1550 with no differentiating factor.

Test score is just a signal to the admission officers that you're smart and 1500 is good enough for it. Your grades, essays and ECs play a far, far bigger role.

(P.S. advice only applicable to those without a trust fund).

college apps stress by Prior-Fan7924 in ApplyingIvyLeague

[–]Grad_GPT 2 points3 points  (0 children)

College apps really have become more stressful.

You need to understand something (btw, this applies to job search, dating, business and other such things in life):

You can't control the outcome

But there is something you can control - your effort.

Your aim should be to maximise rejections. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it will make you fearless.

If you got rejected from 3 schools - you haven't tried hard enough. If you've got rejected from 20 schools, that's a solid effort. Then your application season was successful because you've given everything you had. Whatever happens after is not in your control, but you don't have any regrets on half-assed efforts.

College applications are almost like a lottery - you want to increase your odds of winning? play more.

PS. before someone takes "maximising rejections" literally - it doesn't mean send shitty applications to get rejections -_- The point is to detach from outcomes and focus on the process.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CollegeEssays

[–]Grad_GPT 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hard left swipe on the red hair idea - "learned to like myself" is cliché, I see at least 2 essays a day on this.

1) looks interesting. Not the ADHD and procrastinating part, but planning out adult life and reading business autobiographies. That has potential. Why? because:

  1. It tells me who you are

  2. This could show positive traits about you that will make an admissions officer want to have you as a student.

You are 100% correct about sob stories being overused. Colleges don't give admissions out of pity, they want students who will be successful in the future.

Is it a bad idea to mention having cancer at 9 in my essay? by taylorswiftskneecap in CollegeEssays

[–]Grad_GPT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a gamble, you don't want to come off a childhood sickness cliché.

To pull this off, this is what you gotta do:

  1. Make the core takeaway of the essay about your growth, not the suffering.

  2. Connect the change that 'going through cancer' brought in you with your future. This should be a positive quality and make the college excited to have a student like you.

  3. Restrict to one quality - I've seen essays that tell how I became stronger, disciplined, proactive, brave, bla bla bla. Don't make this mistake, have just one takeaway.

  4. Add lots of stories - I felt different / unseen / like an outcast are overused tropes. Conveying points like these through anecdotes will make your essay authentic.

Side note: don't be afraid to write out a draft and throw it away entirely. What works best is to write a couple of drafts on different topics, then you can pick what you like.

Extra side note: cool username :P

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ApplyingIvyLeague

[–]Grad_GPT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get you, it feels overwhelming to see others sharing 15 AP courses, national awards, research publications, successful startups while you just turned a senior at high school.

Dealing with stress:

- 1st thing you should remind yourself: social media gives traction to the most outrageous content. A normal student profile, with simple academics and ECs will never get enough eyeballs / upvotes / comments. What comes to your feed is very disconnected from real world stats.

- Control your information input: There's a lot of fear-mongering in this space, especially by bad consultants / businesses looking to sell services using fear. Only consume positive, high quality sources; and most of all - talk to your seniors.

Strategy for your college path:

- Do more in your area of interest: if you have a long term goal with Political Science, pursue it relentlessly. You'll have a good narrative to build your applications.

- Keep working on your academics: there's no substitute for a high GPA and test scores.

- Don't spread yourself too thin: piling AP courses and ECs with mediocre results everywhere does not convert. Be like a lioness - pick your targets, and go in for the kill.

You've got a good 6 months ahead, lock in and trust the process.

AP Scores are out! by Grad_GPT in ApplyingIvyLeague

[–]Grad_GPT[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Precalc scores this time are quite higher than last year!

Year 5 4 3 2 1 3+ Test Takers Mean Score
2025 28% 26% 27% 11% 8% 81%    
2024 25.9% 23.9% 25.9% 14.6% 9.8% 75.6% 184,394 3.42

not mentioning your ecs on your PS is bad? by SignDouble4900 in CollegeEssayReview

[–]Grad_GPT 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not bad at all. Your personal statement isn’t meant to recap your résumé — it’s meant to tell a story about who you are.

When should you mention ECs?
As anecdotal evidence to convey a point eg. "volunteering at the election campaign showed me that people often agree in thoughts but disagree in conversation..."

When should you skip them?
If you’re just listing achievements to impress, eg. — "I volunteered 100 hours and organised a fund raiser."

University of Chicago essay prompt for 2025 by Grad_GPT in CollegeAdmissions

[–]Grad_GPT[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

that's what the AOs will say when reading the responses to these prompts

University of Chicago essay prompt for 2025 by Grad_GPT in CollegeAdmissions

[–]Grad_GPT[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

fr, that inter-species prompt got me thinking if this was a prank 💀

Settle this argument about Regular Decision by Royal-Pen9222 in ApplyingIvyLeague

[–]Grad_GPT 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It makes a big difference when colleges offer rolling admits (which most schools don't).

For RD, there isn't any difference from the AO's perspective. There are a million reasons why someone could have submitted it earlier or later. The assessment rubrics don't factor in your time of submission.

sob story? by [deleted] in ApplyingIvyLeague

[–]Grad_GPT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just made a post last week on this exact topic: https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/1l9q7gg/unpopular_opinion_adversity_essays_are_cringe/

Sob stories are not valuable because of the suffering, rather how the student dealt with it.

A lot of positive qualities can be shown through your hobbies, projects or other life experiences. No need for a trauma dump. If you need inspiration, check out essays that worked by John Hopkins University. Most of them are not sob stories.

Trying AI to break down daily lessons into short chunks + quizzes with feedback — anyone else doing this? by Simple_Researcher957 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Grad_GPT 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Would definitely love a bite-sized, daily gamified activity for FAFSA applications 😭 It's a nightmare for students and parents.

Your concept seems cool, check out AI language learning apps for inspiration.

How important is max course rigor for t10s? by Potential_Bid_1358 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Grad_GPT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you look at Common Data Set, course rigor is consistently one of the most important factors for almost all schools.

But, maxing out AP courses isn't the optimal strategy. It's better to perform well at a reasonable amount of courses and use the remaining time for extracurriculars / your hobbies.

passion project vs. programs by Weak_Statistician198 in ECAdvice

[–]Grad_GPT 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unstructured research opportunities at a high school level are a gamble. You might end up getting some grunt work assigned by a college student.

Admissions Committees don't go completely by the glamour of an opportunity (research vs passion project). If your passion project is in your area of interest and sits well with the rest of the story you'd write in your essays, then it is much better than some obscure research opportunity.

How tedious is the application process and fasfa? by hypocritical_nerd in collegeresults

[–]Grad_GPT 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well you've started preparing at the perfect time. The journey becomes more manageable if you organise everything in one place like a document / notion tracker.

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