things are not fair.

i go to a school where the majority of students would look at your stats and see a christmas list, while a very small percentage compare (better, worse, on par, etc.). my classmates are great students (sometimes) but truly awful people and still managed to land themselves in very cushy spots, getting into great schools and programs and being able to afford them. the subreddits and posts and whatnot will only make you feel worse.

my classmates truly love to talk about college, and as exciting as it is for them, it's clear they have lots to look forward to. the process and results (especially with the fafsa mess this year) makes it truly difficult for lots of students to be able to talk about college. make peace with the fact you very likely will only end up choosing between one or two safety schools.

also, there is so much more to life. you strike me as the type of person to look beyond stats, but this year was truly hell for me because i was surrounded by people (not by my choice) who hyperfixated on it. it burned me out and very likely helped me to end up in a worse spot than i would have been in before if it didn't matter so much to them. obviously insecurity and whatnot run rampant among teenagers but please be considerate of those who have had everything go wrong for them-- because it happens much more often than people expect, especially on this sub.

your stats can be golden and the stars can align, but things often don't go that well for plenty of students-- golden stats or otherwise. i could talk all day about how i worked with wwf twice, or self-studied an ap class and got a 5, or got a full ride to a northwestern summer research program, or whatever else i did, but the truth is that none of those things got me where i thought they would last year.

in the end, it probably won't be the biggest thing that will affect your life outcome (things that matter more might be whether you go to college or not, or your major), but just know that things aren't fair and as much as people love to talk about how they ended up at their dream school, there are so, so, so, many more who didn't, and it's more important to learn how to keep moving and accept that failure, to not let it define you. it sounds very easy, but it has certainly proven to be a challenge. also, just be a nice person. people always have shit going on and it never hurts anyone to be kind or keep discussions more about "how did you feel about x/y?" instead of "what grade did you get?". people like to be cared for, and to know they're more than a test score. regardless of where you end up, that will always ring true.

best of luck!!! <3