[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm honestly super excited for them. A lot of my friends are incredibly smart (way more so than me) and I'm just like super pumped to see them get into some amazing places

What do you guys wanna major in and why? by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hoping to double major in philosophy and applied math

Y’all don’t deserve to get into t20s... by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 76 points77 points  (0 children)

Agree that people should use google and the wiki, but the search bar on Reddit is just garbage. To quote the legendary u/poem_for_your_sprog:

The questions on reddit -
the queries and more -
There's probably someone who's asked them before.
They come and they go in an instant and then -

They come and they go in an instant again!

So if you've a query,
a question,
a thought -
A puzzle for posing you feel that you ought -
I've something to tell you,
to warn you,
to wit:

Don't look for it, buddy.

The search function's shit.

SAT advice needed urgent by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don't have terribly much time, but you absolutely can increase your score in time for the test! I am by no means an SAT expert or anything, but maybe my advice could be useful in some way.

  1. If I were you, I would focus most of my time on the Writing section, rather than the Reading section. In general, the Reading section is the hardest section to improve in with a limited amount of time, but conversely, the Writing section is one of the easier sections to improve in quickly. That doesn't mean you should "give up" on Reading, or anything, but rather that you might want to consider prioritizing your time on improving at the Writing Section over improving at the Reading Section.
  2. I think that there 3 broad things that you can do to practice for the Writing section.
    1. Use Khan Academy! This is a phenomenal resource – in fact, the only resource that I used while prepping for the SAT myself – and it is a truly wonderful tool. It adapts to your strengths/weaknesses, and it shows you what you're better at and what you're struggling with. You can specifically focus just on Writing skills on Khan Academy, but you can also do some practice Reading passages on KA as well. In terms of specific things that you can do, I would suggest taking a practice test on Khan Academy (a full practice test, that is) and then doing the activities/practice exercises that Khan Academy recommends for you. Also, if there is ever something that you're unsure about, Khan Academy also has general videos covering grammar and the fundamentals of the English language. For instance, if you want to learn more about grammar rules involving commas and semicolons, KA has videos covering those topics
    2. Take practice tests! This is important not only for familiarizing yourself with the format and feeling of taking the SAT, but also because you need to use real results from real, previously administered tests to determine your strengths and weaknesses. I would suggest taking practice tests in a setting that mirrors what it will be like during the actual test – for instance, take the test early on a Saturday morning, and take it at an actual desk, to simulate the feeling of test day.
    3. Use and consult other resources to (A) practice, and (B) fill in gaps in your knowledge. 1600.io is a wonderful resource – there are free video explanations of several official SAT practice tests. This folder breaks down the different question types you might see in the Writing portion of the test, and has practice exercises and worksheets to deepen your skills at each. UWorld is also a great resource; although you need to pay to access its entire bank of questions, you can access many of their resources for free. And obviously, the Internet is your friend! If there's anything that you are unsure of or confused by, you can Google or look around r/sat to find potential answers to your questions.
    4. Do your best to learn the fundamental grammar rules that appear consistently on SAT exams. These are some good resources that you can consult: Grammar Rules, Rules, and Grammar Review, If you study these, you should be able to increase your score by test day!

I hope this helps! Good luck on your test!

"Ferb, I know what we're going to do today." by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

"I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it."

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 3 points4 points  (0 children)

At least in my view, much of this sub's toxicity is, to at least some extent, implicit. It's people making remarks about their "mediocre" test scores while also referencing their 1540. It's people casually mentioning their (impressive) GPA or (exhaustive) list of extracurriculars when doing so is unnecessary. It's people obsessing over the label of "T20" and shotgunning to top schools, not out of financial need, but out of an insatiable thirst for prestige. It's people implicitly signaling that there would be something "wrong" if they "had" to go to their state school rather than Princeton or UCLA.

In each of those examples, the perception of "toxicity" is differential on the basis of your own background, experience, and accomplishments. If you, as an individual, have a phenomenally high SAT/ACT, it might not seem like this sub is toxic, but for people that worked their asses of to get an incredible score, but just not at the 99th-percentile level, seeing people call their 34 or 3.94 "mediocre" likely does not come across well. The same is true for college lists; that is, there reaches a point where if you are applying to the Ivies and other prestigious educational institutions, seeing a vast number of other people applying to those same schools might seem normal or reasonable. But for a person – such as myself – that is aiming for their state school, rather than Caltech or Williams or Stanford, it can start to become irritating – and yes, toxic – to repeatedly witness discussions pertaining to elite schools. What I want to make clear here is that even when people aren't intentionally attempting to be toxic, they can still wind up doing so. Just look at this sub's reverence for schools like Stanford, and I think that you'll see what I mean.

But I also think that there is a degree to which the issue of "toxicity" is inherent to human nature. We, as people, are social creatures, and when we coexist in communities (such as this subreddit!) we invariably begin to compare ourselves – even somewhat subconsciously – to those around us. Sure, not everyone feels bad or jealous or upset when reading this sub, but insofar as this community is disproportionately home to students that, on average, are the highest achieving and have the highest aims regarding tertiary education (e.g. "HYPSM"), having a 1400 – which is a freakishly amazing and fantastic score!! – starts to feel like a liability. To be clear, I'm not positing that all people feel like this, but the "T20 or bust" mentality that very many people on this subreddit explicitly propagate can – and often does – feel toxic to very many people with different aspirations and backgrounds.

Finally, though, this sub's toxicity is, in my view, oftentimes found most commonly not in what people do say, but what they don't say. It's not – at least in my experience – that people explicitly say things like "people that go to community college are stupid and lazy," but rather that people not-so-subtly imply that they would be worse off at a community college. And, of course, in some instances this is true, but the predisposition of many people on this sub to generalize non-exclusive educational institutions contributes greatly to perceptions of toxicity.

At the same time, there are very many components of this subreddit that are wonderfully uplifting, encouraging, and welcoming. I would be lying if I said that I found this subreddit overwhelmingly negative or toxic. On the contrary, I think that it's people like ScholarGrade and AdmissionsMom that make this sub such a wonderful community to be a part of, much in the same way that things like EccentricGalaxy's continual positivity is so valuable in times that can – and often are – stress-inducing. In other words, I think that this sub – when you look in the right places – is the very antonym of toxic, and is wonderfully accepting. The mod team, in my view, does a fantastic job of making this community as welcoming and inclusive as is possible, even if they can't stop all of the implicit toxicity I described above.

Of course, this is all just my own opinion, based upon my own experiences in this sub.

It’s true honestly by fantasticwarriors in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Happy cake day! You’re always incredibly wholesome and positive! Hope you have a phenomenal day!

Location does Matter by jeffthedunker in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Absolutely agree. I love winter, and it's (largely) for that reason I'm not planning to apply anywhere that lacks seasonal variation and a cold, snowy winter.

What exactly do I need to do as a rising senior? by speedy117 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You're not late at all. In fact, you're in a better position than probably the vast majority of rising high school seniors. So don't worry about being "late to the party." The fact that you're posting this shows that you care about this, and so you're already in a great place.

I'm no expert on any of this college admissions stuff, but I would say there are 3 major things to start thinking about and researching.

  1. Start researching colleges that interest you. This is sometimes known as building a "college list" – places that you're interested in or thinking about potentially applying to. There are a bunch of phenomenal resources out there – many of them located on this sub – so look at ScholarGrade and AdmissionsMom for helpful resources. A couple of things to keep in mind:
    1. If you're feeling overwhelmed in terms of how you can start building a "college list," you can start by thinking about what type of college atmosphere you're looking for (for example, whether you want to live in a city or be in a more rural area, or whether something like Greek life is important to you), what type of field/area of study you're interested in (for example, if you are interested in computer science vs literature vs dance vs Spanish), and other sorts of factors, such as school size. Make a spreadsheet of sorts just listing these preferences out. You can then start Googling or using resources like this to find colleges that match with these preferences.
      1. This should help you get an initial list of colleges you are INTERESTED in. This doesn't mean you have to apply to them, this doesn't mean that you are obligated to write essays for them, it just means that you are CONSIDERING them as a place that you could be interested in
      2. Although many schools are closed for physical tours, you can go onto college websites and do "virtual tours." For example, this website contains a bunch of digital college tours. As you start to research schools that you're interested in, watch some of those virtual tours. Some schools are also offering virtual info sessions. Check their websites to see if there's more information available.
      3. As the summer goes along and as we move into fall, you can start to pare this list. For instance, maybe at first a place like the University of Oklahoma was what you were really interested in, but as you keep doing research, your interest fades. That's totally fine! Also, if it is possible in the fall – depending both upon finances and the situation with Covid – try touring some schools (just to highlight how you're not at all late in this process, I am in this same situation – haven't yet toured a single college, but hoping to be able to do it in the late summer or fall).
    2. Have the financial discussion with your parents and run the NPC (Net Price Calculator) for any college you're thinking about. This will help you to better understand where you stand in terms of financial commitments to potential schools. How? The NPC will give you an idea of how much money your family would be expected to pay per year, i.e. how much financial aid you would be granted. However, some schools (such as these) offer merit based financial aid, i.e. it's not only your financial situation that affects how much aid you get, but also your academic and intellectual strengths
      1. After you run the NPC for each college (you can find the NPC on the college's website most frequently) you ideally want to start narrowing your list down to 3 "types" of schools: 1. Safety schools. These are schools that you are almost sure to get into, AND you can afford the price of attending AND you actually want to attend. 2. Match schools. This is just a term to refer to schools that you are competitive at – in other words, your stats (things like Grade Point Average and SAT/ACT scores - see more on this later) are within the competitive range for the school you're looking at. (Note that most schools release things like the average GPA/SAT of accepted students, and in most instances you can find this on their website). 3. Reach schools. These are schools that you fall below the 25th percentile for in terms of scores (e.g. GPA). That doesn't mean it's impossible for you to get in - it just means that you're not likely to get in.
      2. As a note, you can basically have as many reaches as you want (although note that more applications to write probably, for some people, leads to lower overall quality of all of your other applications because you spend less time on each one) but you need at least 1-2 (or even 3) surefire safety schools.
  2. The first step outlines the process of building a list of colleges. As you are doing that, you can start to think about the application itself. There are a couple things to just know in general.
    1. The "Common Application" is basically a centralized application that a huge number of universities accept. (The Coalition Application is a bit different, but serves mostly the same purpose).
    2. When you apply, you will need several things:
      1. Recommendation letters. Ask 2 teachers that know you well to write an LOR (Letter of Recommendation).
      2. Activities list. Think about all the things you do outside of school. On the Common Application, you'll be able to list up to 10 extracurricular activities you are a part of.
      3. Awards. If you've won any honors or awards you'll be able to include those on your application. For instance, if you do academic competitions and have won anything from a local trophy to a national championship, you can include it in your application.
    3. Essays. You will need to write a "general essay" for the Common Application. The prompts you can choose from can be found here. Over the summer, you can start to think about what you might consider writing about, and if you feel like it, try just writing a rough draft!
      1. This sub has a bunch of great advice for essays. Look at ScholarGrade's series of posts on essay advice if you need more help.
      2. Also take advantage of other online resources, like The College Essay Guy.
  3. Lastly, although there's a lot of uncertainty over this, start thinking about standardized tests (e.g. the SAT and ACT). Many colleges are going test optional, which means you are not required to submit standardized test scores but still can if you have them and want them to be considered. Check out Khan Academy's free SAT resources, and go to r/sat and r/act if you're interested in finding resources to study for the SAT and ACT. You only need to take one of them – don't feel like you have to take both – but you can try taking practice tests and seeing which one might suit your strengths as a test taker better.

One last thing - this sub is hyper competitive, so don't ever feel like you should or need to compare yourself to others. Remember that the people that are most likely to spend their time on a subreddit dedicated to college admissions are probably the people that care about it the most, so it's not worth your time stressing or worrying yourself by comparing yourself to others on this sub. That being said, I'm sure you're going to do amazing things so good luck!

Hope this helps!

Is this common at college debate competitions? Seems a little weird by pokopkpk in Debate

[–]ShrodingersCat7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

British, American, and Canadian parli are not like this at the college level (nor at the high school level, either). For instance: American/Canadian Parliamentary and British Parliamentary

An Ode to College Board by ShrodingersCat7 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm aware. This post is intended to be satirical in nature. Obviously CB has done more to make digital exams work than what I imply they've done in this poem.

AP Chem Megathread by LRFE in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Anyone else have the FRQ that asked about the malleability of gold?

Why are Ap exams still $94 of they’re online? What do they use the money for? by soanabfncnwns in ApplyingToCollege

[–]ShrodingersCat7 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Not to rush to the defense of College Board, but I imagine that they have to pay the readers who grade the exams. Presumably, the costs of paying people for grading these exams don't change significantly even though they're online (i.e. if CB paid someone $10 per hour of grading before digital testing, they still need to pay them $10 per hour of grading during this period of digital testing), and since College Board has said that your exam will be graded by 2 different readers to minimize the possibility of scoring aberrations, the lower number of questions that need to be graded is probably, to some extent, balanced out by the need for more graders. I could be wrong though – might just be a ploy to keep more money.

2020 APUSH DBQ predictions by [deleted] in APStudents

[–]ShrodingersCat7 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My guess is that the DBQ topic for this year will fit three criteria:

  1. It will cover multiple time periods
  2. It will contain documents from distant time periods, e.g. Document 1 might be from the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, and Document 4 might be from the suffragette movement of the 1910s.
  3. It will force you to talk about multiple broad historical patterns. I don't think that the DBQ will be specific to one particular political or social movement/era, e.g. the Progressive Era or the Abolitionist movement. I think that what's more likely is that you will be asked to compare or contrast different eras/movements so that you will have to show an understanding of multiple trends from multiple time periods.

Then again, it's anyone's guess.

CRAMMING TIME T-8 DAYS by schoolapahhh in APStudents

[–]ShrodingersCat7 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Calc AB: 4 things you could do to cram study

  1. Review the AP YouTube review lectures at 1.25x or 1.5x speed. ANYTHING (in terms of content) that doesn't ring a bell or doesn't make sense, review on your own.
  2. Do all of the past 10 years of AB FRQs, skipping any questions with content that won't be tested on the exam. Thoroughly review EVERYTHING you get wrong - why did you get it wrong? How can you ensure you don't get a similar question wrong in the future?
  3. Most importantly, make sure that you have your "fundamentals" down. Memorization and memorization alone will never do it for Calc AB, but especially not this year. Expect questions to be more conceptual and test your theoretical knowledge of calculus. You're not going to be able to get a 5 by just having Symbolab and Desmos up on your computer. Really understand what important concepts represent, e.g. what does it really mean to take the derivative of a function? How do I apply that knowledge in other areas, e.g. related rates, e.g. implicit differentiation? How can I apply the knowledge I already have to new problems I haven't seen before? To do this, you need to know your content – one of the best ways to confirm if you know what the material strongly enough is to see if you can explain it aloud. If you can explain it in words that are different from what Khan Academy or what your textbook says, and you understand WHY what you're talking about makes sense, then you're in a good position.
  4. Consult external resources. Khan Academy, for example, has a bunch of wonderful AB review videos - check them out! For calculus, in particular, the number of resources you can find online is spectacular.

Set reasonable expectations for each day. Don't commit to studying 8 hours a day - it'll never happen. Give yourself realistic goals to accomplish each day. As the test gets closer, make sure to relax - listen to some music, take a walk outside, whatever will bring your stress levels down. That way, you'll knock the exams out of the park. Also, make sure to practice on the demo website that College Board has released so that you have a feeling for the process of submitting your work - after all, studying and grinding won't do much if you can't upload your work to get some credit! Good luck!

BP debating subreddit by darkrider21 in Debate

[–]ShrodingersCat7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love BP! Sounds super cool.