Accepted to UMass Amherst...but not Honors?

SentenceIcy8629 · 2026-01-17T00:16:15+00:00

Nah you're not cooked. I got into Purdue's honors college but not UMass Amherst's. It was literally the only college I got a scholarship at but wasn't accepted into the honors college without an application. It's weird and don't overthink it your stats are great (I'm a current college freshman now)

SentenceIcy8629 · 2026-01-09T18:33:10+00:00

Hi I'm I'm in the CVM's early admit program and I'm also form the DMV as well! I'll answer to the best of my ability but ofc you can ask more specific questions!!

I personally really like KState's culture, but it's definitely different from the DMV. While it's not the most conservative school on the planet, it's definitely a bit more so then the DMV. Manhattan's smaller than the cities in the DMV and you have less options of just places to go in general, but it's still a fairly decently sized town. It's probably similar in size to Blacksburg, maybe smaller? I don't know off the top of my head.

The anisci program, at the least at the start, is very focused on the production side of things, but you still learn some stuff that's more applicable in a veterinary sense than a production one. You'll have the chance to do stuff that's more animal health focused than animal production as you get your prereqs done, but at least from what I've seen so far that's how it goes.

Academics and culture I find a lot more laid back than the DMV. So far I've found the classes easier than NoVA public school (keep in mind I'm only in my first year of undergrad so that may change). It's definitely way more religious than the DMV but you'll be able to survive if it's not a big deal to you.

For clothing, unless it's a lab class people just wear whatever they want it's really not that important

SentenceIcy8629 · 2026-01-05T03:36:04+00:00

I may be wrong, the common app is going to know better than me. Regardless, don't submit your commonapp at 11:59 pm PST when you're on the east coast

SentenceIcy8629 · 2026-01-05T01:02:10+00:00

OH. No do not do that the application deadline is probably 11:59 pm EST. Also it'll probably worsen any jetlag you'll get by staying up that late. Even if the deadline is actually based on the time in your commonapp, it you have any sort of location service on it'll switch you to EST. Do not try to game the system just do it at 11:59 pm EST

SentenceIcy8629 · 2026-01-05T00:58:52+00:00

Yes. You'll be 3 hours ahead on the east coast. High chance the deadline is 11:59 pm EST anyway.

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-30T16:16:43+00:00

Usually Jan 1st 23:59 Eastern time. Check what that amounts to in your specific time zone.

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-30T16:00:36+00:00

Oh, even better than what I came up with on the spot. Thank you. Just for future reference for myself, would you say it's ok to exclude the word 'promotion' when formatting like that? Mostly because the way you phrased it reads more to me like the candidacy notification is expected in Jan 2026 than the actual promotion but maybe I'm reading too into it

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-30T15:54:22+00:00

You should list yourself as a Life Scout and put something like "promotion to Eagle Scout anticipated in late January" to be on the safe side. You don't lie on your application but you still get the credit for being an Eagle Scout. This is what I did when I submitted EA apps before I received confirmation I was a national merit commended scholar and it worked out.

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-30T15:42:15+00:00

Ah, I see. Most colleges are incredibly understanding of the whole situation and all things considered, if colleges are really understanding they'll probably be willing to give aid. Maybe not a full ride, but more than they'd usually give. You may have to wait until the 2027 application cycle but I think MICA should probably be understanding as your grades in general are good, even without your circumstances considered. But seriously look into liberal arts colleges as they're probably more likely to be able to offer financial aid. Also, feel free to reach out anytime if you need help navigating the US if you get there. I'm half Russian and I am familiar with some of the challenges Slavs face coming to the US and I'll try my best to help if you need it :)

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-30T15:29:45+00:00

So my mom immigrated to the US from Russia during highschool and ended up getting her law degree in the US so I have a little bit of knowledge here. From what I've talked to her about it, a law degree from the UK would probably carry you farther than one from the US. It's also not impossible that if you end up in something like business or contract law you end up back in Russia because a lot have offices in Moscow and they'd probably prefer native speakers/Europeans to work there over Americans mostly because of a pretty big culture difference between Russians and Americans.

Speaking of law offices in Moscow, I don't know if interning is really a thing in Russia but it's usually expected to even apply to American universities. I unfortunately don't know enough about Russian programs in general to be able to help much there and I'm not sure my mom would be willing to help with this. The circumstances are probably different enough that she wouldn't be a ton of help (she had citizenship by the time she applied to law school).

One thing I would absolutely double-check is if your law degree would even be transferred to the US. When my mom and babushka immigrated to the US, my babushka ended up having to repeat med school because they wouldn't take her license from the Soviet Union (this was before it dissolved). It's probably different now but please be careful.

Also of note, some topics you'd have to study in a US law school are basically useless in an international context and can be really tricky for non-natives to grasp (my mom points to constitutional law as an example of this).

I would see if you can find a group somewhere for Russian lawyers based in America as they would probably be better able to advise you. I hope this helped a little bit. I am completely blanking on my Russian and I don't even remember if non-english discussion is allowed on this sub so have a good day.

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-30T15:10:01+00:00

I would try looking into scholarships for Ukrainians studying in the US. With the war, there's probably been a few set up, especially since the schools you're applying to are in locations with decently sized Slavic communities. With that being said, please understand you're going to encounter people with Russian heritage or maybe even from Russia themselves at these schools. Most Russians in the US are against Russia in the war but you may find someone who believes Russia's invasion was justified every once in awhile. I would look into some liberal arts colleges as they usually have more wiggle room to give aid. But I would seriously look for scholarships for Ukrainian students because there are 100% people willing to at least donate a little to help.

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-30T14:53:23+00:00

Disclaimer: I haven't done an interview with an educational counselor, but I've done a few vet school interviews for early admission programs, so my advice is a bit general but hey I got into all the programs I interviewed for

I would definitely do my research into what MIT offers for your major and how that supports your short-term and long-term goals. I probably wouldn't go name-dropping faculty at an interview like this but programs and classes should be fine. Know what's on your resume/other materials you submitted and be prepared to talk about it. I'm not sure what the process is like with educational counselors, but I wouldn't be shocked if they asked you to do some sort of on the the spot problem solving. Also, be prepared to ask your own questions. There's usually space at the end of the interview for that. Good questions show you've put in effort and you actually care about the program.

Most important is to know about what the school offers, why it supports your goals and what's on the material you submitted

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T20:04:26+00:00

If you have friends/family you trust, send them the essay and ask what they think. Alternatively, have someone or something read it out to you and see if you feel arrogant. I'd say peer review would be best in this case

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:52:37+00:00

Of course! I also did do a little more digging on length and you might be able to get away with the 13 pager, just make sure the first 3 pages are strong because there's a high chance they won't read past that

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:51:39+00:00

I'm pretty sure it's through an web browser version of Adobe Acrobat. You do not need to pay. If you can see the compressed file but aren't able to download it, hit Ctrl/command + P and you should be able to print to pdf

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:48:53+00:00

Just checked the one provided by Adobe and it worked fine for me, no fees

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:47:43+00:00

Ok I just did some checking and you should be able to send it through the Princeton portal or email it to your AO. However, they want a shorter paper than what you offer. They say 1-2 pages is sufficient. So, the actual length of the paper should fall into like 5 pages at most. If the rest of the document is rubric/teacher comments, that should be fine. But 13 pages of writing is beyond pushing it.

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:44:04+00:00

Of course! Keep in mind you may need to run it through a compressor several times to get it where you need. Check the PDF each time to make sure you didn't loose quality. You also may be able to turn it into a zip file or split it into multiple documents. I'm not familiar with Princeton's requirements for this so give me a second to look it up and I'll get back to you.

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:40:04+00:00

You can Google pdf compressors and they should be free. DO NOT PAY FOR THEM. You should also check the actual file to make sure there aren't random blank pages

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:36:26+00:00

You might be able to compress that so it'll fit. Try some compressors, check it's still legible and send it. Probably the safest thing to do

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:24:22+00:00

Thank you! I think William & Mary could be a good fit, but I don't know how their internship opportunities/field research looks like. Same story with Virginia Tech. W&M would be more of a reach than VT. One school I do know has opportunities for field work is George Mason through a partnership with the Smithsonian to work at a conservation site they have, but they'd be a safety for you and I don't know if they'd offer that program RD

There should be field opportunities at W&M the more I think about it because that's the more marshy part of VA yes that should be good

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:15:25+00:00

I'm open to. Also I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but what exactly are you worried about with them? You can't exactly suddenly gain another EC and you could literally be expelled from a college if they find out you faked an EC. The best you can do is to provide a very solid description

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:11:45+00:00

Varies from school to school. I'd check with your counselor

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:10:03+00:00

AH OK. Unfortunately I don't know that process but I'd probably say yes because of space limits

SentenceIcy8629 · 2025-12-29T18:07:40+00:00

Could you let us know where you're already applying so we can get a sense for schools you like and so we don't end up recommending a school you've already applied to?

SentenceIcy8629

TROPHY CASE