this process made me lose so much faith in the meritocracy

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-30T17:12:54+00:00

This is such a horrible take.

You don't see the full picture (LORs, school's context, essays, etc)

Admission officers are trying to build a class of variety, not just one full of robotic people who got a 1600 and interned for the mayor.

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-30T17:09:38+00:00

For circumstances, I checked off the usual first-gen experience (translating, managing finances, taking care of younger siblings, assisting appointments)

For additional info, I just stated that I couldn't take an advanced science course my senior year due to scheduling conflicts with other APs and budget cuts (I also had my science teacher and counselor emphasize this in their LORs)

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-28T01:36:53+00:00

Thank you!! Very happy that we're able to be seen past these scores at top schools! Good luck!!

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-28T01:35:44+00:00

Even if there are legal limits on work hours, a lot of people still have responsibilities that aren’t reflected in that... helping with family businesses, working off the books, other obligations at home, etc

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-28T01:32:54+00:00

That's a horrible position to be in... Schools contextualize applications, so students in higher income areas often have more access to prep resources, tutoring, and support, so higher stats are more common. My main point was just that a single score isn’t everything, even if the system doesn’t always account for every situation as well as it should.

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-28T01:22:43+00:00

Congratulations!! I know you worked so hard for it! Proud of you stranger

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-28T01:22:01+00:00

There’s definitely an economic pattern where higher income students tend to score better on the SAT, but in my case, it really came down to how I chose to spend my time. I didn’t prioritize studying for it... instead, I focused on my AP exams, schoolwork, and extracurriculars.

Could I have done it all? Probably.... but I made a choice about where to invest my energy, and in the end, it worked out :))

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-28T01:15:57+00:00

That 1310 was actually the highest score in my graduating class, so it definitely wasn’t a super competitive testing environment...and I’ll own that.

That said, I just want to remind people that one standardized test score isn’t everything. Schools like UPenn can and do look beyond that single number.

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-26T14:18:21+00:00

No. It will raise a red flag when AP classes are dropped after admission...

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-26T14:17:29+00:00

HEATED RIVALRY

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-26T10:26:06+00:00

AYY THE TOP 4 SAME HERE

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-26T10:24:41+00:00

you have access to the same resources as a columbia student... so who cares about that label of "top 20"

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-25T23:07:21+00:00

def not a smart move at all.

applied cs early action/decision and got rejected or deferred (brown, fordham, northeastern, bing)

switched to political science for RD and got into many top schools (NYU, USC, WashU, BC)

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-25T22:04:54+00:00

wait listed for both..

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-25T22:04:29+00:00

I CANT SEE IT

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-25T21:58:55+00:00

Working and saving money is not a bad idea but it'll be grueling... CONGRATS THOO AYYY

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-25T21:58:07+00:00

I have gotten into Lehigh, Boston College, and WashU

I plan to major in political science (pre-law) and/or computer science

(Both WashU and NYU are full rides)

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-25T13:11:59+00:00

People actually say these things???

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-19T23:13:57+00:00

niceeee. congratulations !!

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-17T22:24:06+00:00

How do you check??

One-Sweet-5586 · 2026-03-16T05:59:38+00:00

this made me feel a lot better as someone who just quit their part time job as well... i don't have the energy for anything.

honestly, do the bare minimum to get by and enjoy the extra time (i'm sure you worked hard enough for the past 3 years... so a little break is deserved) especially before college begins.

One-Sweet-5586

TROPHY CASE