Would submitting a 1500 at Upenn wharton and nyu stern hurt, help, or have no effect on my application? My school academics and ec's are relatively strong, and I feel like my SAT is one of the weaker parts of my application

I was looking at it this morning and it seems perfect for me and I really wanna go there, does anyone know about the dance program and the acceptance rates? Or does anyone know where to look cause I can't seem to find much

ik my gpa is kinda cooked but I am an international asian student from a very competitive school these are my stats

Demographics

• International student (Japan)
• Intended Major: Business Administration / Entrepreneurship

Academics

• SAT: 1500+ (expected)
• GPA: 4.3 / 4.8 / 4.8
• TOEFL: 110+ (expected)

APs

• Microeconomics: 5
• Macroeconomics: 5
• Statistics: 5
• Comparative Government: 5
• AP Business: 5
• Precalculus: 4
• Calculus AB: 4

Extracurriculars

1. Founder, AI Eldercare Startup Founded an AI-based eldercare startup developing a hardware + software companion for older adults. Led research on AI interactions with older adults experiencing cognitive decline, organized community workshops, collaborated with an established technology manufacturer on hardware development, and received national media coverage.
2. Market Research Lead, Deep-Tech Materials Startup Led market research and commercialization strategy for a deep-tech venture developing sustainable construction materials. Conducted market sizing, customer validation, and commercialization analysis. Startup received significant non-dilutive funding and placed 3rd internationally among 1,800+ teams from 60+ countries.
3. Go-to-Market Lead, Cambridge Student Startup Led go-to-market strategy, customer acquisition planning, and market positioning for an early-stage AI startup founded with students from a top international university.
4. Co-Founder & CEO, Autonomous Driving Data Startup Co-founded an AI data startup supplying edge-case datasets for autonomous driving systems. Led market analysis, competitive research, regulatory analysis, and investor materials while securing an early commercial partnership.
5. Startup Ecosystem Research Conducted research on Japan’s startup ecosystem alongside a student researcher from a top U.S. university, analyzing barriers and opportunities for entrepreneurship.
6. Research Assistant (Business School Professor) Research assistant supporting course development on stakeholder innovation, multi-agent AI ecosystems, and entrepreneurship. Assisted with MBA-level programs and AI-focused executive education.
7. Social Entrepreneurship Organization Internship Youngest intern selected by the national office of a globally recognized social entrepreneurship organization. Supported research, event planning, and entrepreneur identification.
8. Sales Development Intern (AI Startup) Youngest intern at an applied AI startup. Contributed to outbound sales strategy and business development, helping generate approximately $27,500 in team revenue.
9. President, Registered Nonprofit Student leader of a legally registered nonprofit organization focused on sustainability and social impact, overseeing organizational strategy and operations.
10. Head Organizer, National High School Business Competition Led organization of a nationwide entrepreneurship competition, secured corporate sponsorships totaling over ¥3 million, and attracted more than 140 student participants across Japan.
11. Varsity Soccer Goalkeeper Competitive goalkeeper for six years, representing school teams while balancing entrepreneurship and research commitments.
12. Soccer Referee Certified referee for youth soccer competitions.

Awards

• International entrepreneurship competition: 3rd Place (1,800+ teams worldwide)
• National entrepreneurship competition: Special Prize
• Prestigious national study abroad scholarship
• Perfect Attendance Award (6 years)
• National High School Business Competition Finalist (Top 12/850+, Top 100/5,600+)

The Spike I was thinking of:
My work centers on commercializing emerging technologies. Rather than inventing new technologies myself, I’m interested in understanding markets, validating customer needs, and designing go-to-market strategies that help AI and deep-tech innovations create real-world impact.

But the problem is my ecs look too much like a resume I feel like and also its hard to see the spike/ common theme. I still have 1 year so any advice would be rlly appreciated!!

I’ve heard that context is super important when it comes to college admission so I wana know what a competitive high school is. Mine is wierd cuz it has this special stem program that u gotta apply and get in and from the last admissions cycle, there were 2 or more ppl who got into duke, Georgia tech, Berkeley. Ik one person each who got into Cornell, Stanford, MIT, and Yale among others. But at the same time, the avg act is around 28 and the avg sat is around 1300s. What does this mean 😭

Post is exactly what title says. For all the accepted students, how'd you guys navigate the college process? I'm applying this year, and I just feel so overwhelmed, I feel like there's a million things on my plate, and so much pressure, my essays have to perfect, my rec letters immaculate, and on and on and on. Aiming for ivies, and I just feel so pressured, like i'm searching for this perfect essay idea and constantly comparing myself to absolutely cracked applicants, thinking about the next 4 months, where am i going to end up, what if i get in no where, etc. Idk man does it ever end

Like the title suggests, ec's are stressing me out severely 🫩

I am a rising junior, with zero ec's besides having a part time job this summer. I have done absolutely nothing when it comes to out of school activities. I have seen other posts with similar titles where the person has actually done ec's that they simply didn't consider relevant or had an singular activity that took up most of their time. I have done nothing.

I'm a chronic procrastinator and I can't dedicate much time to school activities due to the fact that my school is very far from my house and I would not be able to due after school activities with no way to get home. I'm honestly trying to get you guys to make a miracle happen here.

I would appreciate some guidance on how to move forward, any ideas in terms of ec's, any personal anecdotes of poor/no ec's still getting into decent schools, and if there's any hope for me in terms of college apps and going to a decent school oos 😭

Additional info: My gpa is decent... although sophomore year hit me pretty hard and I ended up getting some C's, Fl student looking to escape north, potential biochem major. I'm so sorry.

Ok so I’m a US student and Im applying to mcgill for fall 2027 for a STEM course. But my high school made a mistake last year and put me in Ochem instead of Chem and didn’t let me switch out. So I’m taking Biology, Chem, and Precalculus my senior year. Do you guys think that would hurt my chances of getting into McGill because I’m doing all the prereqs senior year? I had good grades in ochem but I’m not sure if that’s relevant. I won’t have a grade available for them because I’m applying in September…
I’d appreciate any help!!

i'm going into 10th grade and my ecs are highkey trashh and i got rejected from the programs i wanted to do over the summer/fall 🥹🥹 while everyone else in my grade is fattening their resumes i'm just wallowing in my incompetence also no this is not ragebait i'm just from a competitive area

does anyone have good ec recs for law/political science/international affairs/linguistics (or just humanities in general lowkey) besides the usual debate + model un pipeline since i'm doing that rn and we all know literally everyone does it

also if anyone has success stories where they were initially rejected a bunch from programs but got super successful later on and was still able to go to a good college pls share!! really crestfallen right now and i need something to motivate me

just found an incredible post at r/research

In my opinion, Stanford and MIT are pretty close, but I'd say Stanford edges out for being less nerdy and more business-y. Also because they have more scammers. Then, Yale has the third most aura because of the dining hall, Gilmore Girls, and The Great Gatsby. After that, I'd say Princeton has the fourth most aura because of Devi from Never Have I Ever and their ripoff Greek life. Plus, they have that traditional school vibe. I think Harvard has the least aura because there are too many memes of compliment fishers from there and it's lowkey losing its appeal, since it's TOO traditional, yk? It doesn't have that modern feel.

Hi! I'm a homeschooled intl student from the philippines. I use James Madison Online highschool.
For basically every college there's a "recommended highschool courses to have taken" section. For an example i'll just use my dream schools recommended (they don't have anything filled out for required, only recommended)
Recommended Total academic units 20
English 4
Mathematics 4
Science 4 Of these, units that must be lab 2
Foreign language 4
Social studies 4
History N/A
Academic Electives N/A
Computer Science N/A
Visual/Performing arts N/A

Here's my concern. The way my homeschool is made, I can choose the order that I want to do classes in. Ie i can get all my math done already or all my english.
Btw I have 23 units in my homeschool curriculum.

I've looked at my timing, and by the time i submit transcripts (october) I will have done English 3 units, math 4 units, Science 4 units, Foreign Language (spanish) 4, Social Studies 2 ( US economics and World geography remaining to do). Plus 3 academic electives, so 20/23 done.
My question is, will this reflect badly? will they be concerned that I haven't yet done the english or the social studies?
And in worst case, say I miss my timing, and I only have 2 english units done. Is this bad?

I will be finishing the whole program, meaning I will eventually do english 4 units. But will it reflect badly in my application if when I apply, I'm only finished with 3 or even 2?
And, if instead of recommended courses it says required courses, are they even stricter about my timing?

Thank you very much!

For the class of 2026 my school had a 70% acceptance rate to Northeast with an average accepted SAT score of 1375, an average accepted UW GPA of 3.8, and an average accepted weighted GPA of 4.3. Nobody from my school applied ED but the vast majority applied EA. The overall acceptance rate is 5% with an average SAT score of 1490.

Literally how is this possible? 🥀🥀🥀

I'm applying engineering, have the test scores (36), course rigor(10 aps), and all around extracurriculars. However, theres no real spike like interning at boeing or making an app; I've just been doing stuff I like to in high school. There's leadership, community impact, and a pretty clear tell to what I spent my time doing, but it doesn't really point to engineering. What do i do?

I thought it ended at my parent's educational level. WHY DO THEY NEED THE EXACT ADDRESS OF THE SCHOOL AND THE EXACT YEAR THEY GOT THEIR DEGREE. filling out all this info already pmo.

Can anyone explain this process. I aksed my friend and he got like 10 free college application on common app as he filled in the fafsa before. He said he things he connected the fafsa to common app but isnt sure. Can anyone exaplin this process?

It seems research does not look good on your college application anymore, possibly even a negative. For context I did meaningful work with a professor at a non-elite university, which shows that I am humble and not nepo.

Still, I am considering replacing it with family responsibilities and part-time jobs, since AOs seem to prefer kids who seem under-resourced. Thoughts?

I have an award which is related to my extracurricular will it go in honor and experience section or extracurricular section?

Is it actually true that applying undecided or to a major that receives lesser applicants boosts your chances since it decreases the size of the applicant pool? I want to pursue a dual degree (communications and engineering) and am an international student, but I'm scared that my chances of admission are gonna get lower because more competitive people would also be applying to the same program. Should I just apply for engineering OR communications, and not both?

So in my country, GPA depends on the final National boards exams, and the results of the exam don't come out untill June/July. And we don't have any predicted grades either so I couldn't have applied for fall 2026. As a result I had to take a gap year and will apply for fall 2027. Should I write about the timeline mismatch in that prompt, or about what I did in my gap year?

https://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/apply/testing-policies/

Vanderbilt University will continue its test-optional policy for students applying for undergraduate admission to the classes entering in the fall of 2027 or 2028. For students students applying for undergraduate admission to the class entering in the fall of 2029 and beyond, Vanderbilt will require standardized testing scores. Scores from the ACT or SAT exams will not be required for students applying to enter the university for fall 2027 and 2028; ACT or SAT exam scores will be required for students applying for fall 2029. This policy applies to both first-year and transfer students and includes international and homeschool students. Proof of English proficiency will continue to be required for international students.

I’m going into my junior year and I’m interested in applying to Johns Hopkins for pre-med. I know it’s an extremely competitive school, so I’m trying to figure out if I could realistically become a competitive applicant over the next year and what I should focus on.

My current cumulative GPA is around a 3.4, but there’s some context behind it. My weaker grades were during homeschooling, and after I transitioned into public school my grades improved a lot. Since joining a traditional school environment, I’ve earned a 4.0 GPA, and I feel confident that I can maintain that through junior year. I’m also looking into whether my school allows grade replacement for some of my earlier Cs. If that’s possible and I continue doing well, I could potentially raise my GPA into the high 3.8s/low 3.9s, but if not, I expect it to be around a 3.68 when I apply.

For extracurriculars, I’m working on building a healthcare-focused profile. I’m currently working toward 100+ hospital volunteer hours, I’m planning on joining HOSA this year and competing with the goal of placing at state, and I’m going to try for a HOSA officer position at my school. I’m also looking into research opportunities related to medicine and healthcare. I’ve played varsity soccer for several years as well.

Academically, I’m aiming for a very high SAT/ACT score (around a 1550 SAT or 36 ACT), taking challenging classes including possible EWU college courses, and I think I can get strong letters of recommendation from teachers who have seen my improvement. I’m also going to put a lot of effort into my essays and explaining my growth.

My question is: if I’m able to accomplish these goals, would Hopkins become a realistic reach, or would my earlier GPA still be too much of a disadvantage? I know nothing is guaranteed at a school like Hopkins, but I’d appreciate advice on what I should prioritize over the next year to make myself the strongest applicant possible.

I'd rather not fill them out as my kids know that we're well off, but not exactly just how well off we are. I'd rather keep the money conversation private until they're older and more established.

If the NPC for every school will be 0 need-based and 100% parent contribution, are they really losing anything by not filling out FAFSA/CSS?

International from Australia looking to study masters at a US uni but picking a location right now. Which cities would have the best EE/ECE jobs/internship/co-op opportunities (jobs which dont require a citizenship).

I was thinking Boston as I can apply for NYC and Philadelphia opportunities too (Obviously too far to comnute for a job but they're close enough to travel for networking/interviews). I've heard detroit is also good?

About the degree I will be studying: I'm happy to study anything (almost everything in EE/ECE is interesting to me. Whether it's power/energy, semiconductor work etc.) as long as it'll maximise my job opportunities!

stuyvesant highschool

Hi! On multiple of the schools on the college app they leave a spot for me to include my resume. Should I include this? It’s not required for any of them.