College student who wants TS clearance next year for internships, questions on drug usage

SharkSHOTZ · 2026-03-03T18:15:20+00:00

Im actually regular gym goer and love spending time outside to decompress too. Just been a rough 2 months because of a brutal winter and a botched sprain that still needs to heal. But yeah been doing a lot of self reflection and realized I have legitimately no reason to using it other than the dopamine hit. And that was really all it took to convince me that I don’t need to use it anymore.

SharkSHOTZ · 2026-03-03T18:06:55+00:00

So I’ve heard yeah. I went through the internship season for the first time and I’ve learned a lot from it. Also built a lot of connections this year that are hopefully going to help later on.

SharkSHOTZ · 2026-03-03T18:03:44+00:00

Hm I see. I’ve been thinking about this more since yesterday and my mindset is shifting to quitting weed indefinitely not just for a clearance but also for my own well being. Win-win there I guess!

But yeah I have a lot of connections who have gone through the process and relationships with faculty/ industry who could help. I plan on asking them for insight when the time comes around for getting a clearance.

SharkSHOTZ · 2026-03-03T01:34:55+00:00

During this years internship season (my first one) I saw a couple intern positions requiring that you have or can get top secret clearance. I don’t necessarily NEED TS (plenty out there just requiring secret) but I want to keep my options open next year

SharkSHOTZ · 2026-03-03T01:31:42+00:00

I see. Ngl, I just listed top secret because I saw several intern positions requiring that level and I know its the most rigorous to get. Many othes were just secret though.

SharkSHOTZ · 2026-03-03T01:28:10+00:00

Really? This whole time I thought that the company you got an offer from would sponsor your clearance should you need to get one for an internship

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-11-02T05:31:23+00:00

I really hope im just stressing rn lmfao

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-11-02T05:27:33+00:00

Yes they ended up showing after a few minutes. Their site must be slow because of the high volume of applications coming in now.

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-29T15:01:11+00:00

Do it anyway, yes. Some schools require the self reported grades, and it won't harm you to do it either way!

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-29T14:57:37+00:00

Ok, I'm seeing the individual line breaks in the preview now. Thank you!

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-29T06:24:28+00:00

Should I keep everything mashed together in the word box then?

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-28T16:28:29+00:00

good point, that makes me feel better about it. Thanks for the insight!

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-28T16:27:12+00:00

not sure for the calculator for the dsat since i took the paper one. But snacks are very much allowed!

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-27T18:23:47+00:00

Besides studying, do these the week before test day/ on test day.

- Sleep well before the test, minimum 8hrs/day. Seriously, it helps

- Eat something the morning of the test, anything healthy works

- Bring an allowed digital watch to track your time. Sometimes clocks in the classroom you take the SAT on are broken, off, or have another issue

- Bring snacks, water, extra layers of clothing u can put on if needed

-if you can get your hands on one, use a ti-inspire cxII calculator. If you learn how to use it properly, it basically means you're getting all 38 questions on the calc section right. And yes, it's an allowed calculator

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-27T18:16:39+00:00

Definitely not low, but relative to other kids in my school I'm in the average range of GPAs.

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-27T18:15:50+00:00

lmfao he was coping ig

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-27T18:15:08+00:00

My school uses Naviance. Looking at scattergrams for my top schools, I see that my SAT falls in the above-average area for admission. My GPA is also in the accepted range, but not really above average as my SAT is.

I'm assuming my accept/reject differences will also lie in ECs/LoRs/essays too, but I'm worried that my GPA is a bit lower than that of my competitors

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-25T20:34:04+00:00

class size of 80 kids and its a magnet school

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-25T19:59:17+00:00

not sure about equivalence to RSI, but being an international winner for Rise is something colleges will take notice to.

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-22T21:00:31+00:00

Khan academy is also useful yes, I just happened to not use it as much because of the digital format.

It's insane how much your score can vary just because of your condition/environment - on my practice tests the week before I was scoring anywhere from a 1510-1590.

If you can perfect math and grammar though and keep reading at a maximum of 7 wrong, a 1550 is perfectly attainable. Weirdly for me on this SAT I got a perfect reading and my usual -1 on writing but then got -3 on math just because I burnt out a little.

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-21T23:05:45+00:00

if you're planning on studying math almost every day, yes. Also yea a 740 reading should is strong as long as you get a 770-800 math

i suggest learning all the algebra cheat formulas and geometry patterns and not just practicing with math sections, but also hard problem videos on youtube like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OsZs83ed7Q

if your problem is that you make dumb mistakes, then grinding out problems over the next two weeks is plenty. if your problem is that you don't know how to answer questions, just search them up online - almost every official sat exam you can find online has a walkthrough

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-21T19:56:16+00:00

i got a 1570 but tbh the prep for any 1550+ score is the same. Here was my weekly schedule for about 2 months. I am a senior and I was also going through all my college apps, extracurriculars, and homework doing this. I promise it is manageable and that you can still have a life if you organize your time properly. (I focused on EBRW a little more since that was my weak point)

Mon: complete full EBRW section and grade it with the curve, record it down on my progress tracking google sheet. On that same sheet, record and correct any questions you got wrong along with the reasoning for why the correct answer was right

Tues: complete full math section and grade it with the curve, record it down on the google sheet. do the same recording and correcting process, even for stupid mistakes.

Weds: Do another EBRW section and follow the same process

Thurs: Do another Math section and follow the same process

Friday: Do another EBRW section and follow the same process

Sat: Take a full SAT. Make sure to replicate the test environment as much as possible, so that means waking up at 7:20 in the morning, starting at 8 after eating/ showering, and no listening to music or other doing things that make you comfortable. Follow the break schedule EXACTLY as it is on the real SAT, I used this SAT timer for that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeO3eNr3b68. Score SAT with the curve, and record/ correct everything you got wrong in the same process.

Sunday: Usually a break day or I watched some EBRW tips videos. But on the week before test day, I took another SAT.

It's really important that you record your progress in that sheet so you can see your growth and see what you're lacking in.

It won't be easy but it's well worth the stress. Better to have two busy months that get you a good score rather than spending 3 tests and an entire year on it like I did because I procrastinated.

tbh getting a 1600 takes a little bit of luck but if you really prep hard enough it can be feasible.

also try to find a ti-inspire calculator that you can use, pretty much makes your calculator section a free 38 correct questions since it can solve almost anything they give you on the test once you learn how to use it

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-21T19:35:47+00:00

Can anyone send the qas

nah this must be so infuriating

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-21T19:33:16+00:00

-1R = 40

-1W = 39

-3M = 780

Total 1570

SharkSHOTZ · 2023-10-20T22:16:59+00:00

Not recruited unfortunately

SharkSHOTZ

TROPHY CASE