Talk Elections

Due to Tmth's popular and now diverse thread...What colleges and universities are you all planning to apply to? (For including Seniors, though anyone can post what they're looking at as well)

I'm looking at graduate programs.  If I stay domestic, I'm definitely going for a PhD.  My top choices are Maryland's Linguistics program, NYU's Psych program, and URochester's Cognitive Science program.  I'm also applying for a Marshall Scholarship, which is two years postgrad in the UK (so, not enough for a PhD); my top choices right now are University College London's Psych program and York's Psych program.

Bolded my Top 5. Hard to do 5 though. I'm not entirely in love with IU yet, but I don't really have another solid option.

My community college.  Eventually UGA and maybe Georgia Tech.  Georgetown in my dream school, but I have neither the grades nor the money.

More likely than not I'll end up enlisting :(

Ah, I wish I could go back to college and get my bachelor's... But alas, for now, the dream seems for naught.

'Kinda late, but here's where I applied last year:

- LSU (accepted with full scholarship, hence, I went there!) Geaux Tigers! lol
- Tulane (accepted)
- Loyola University New Orleans (accepted with half-scholarship)
- Ole Miss (accepted, partial scholarship)
- UNC- Chapel Hill (rejected...hence the beginning of my bitter grudge against UNC!)
- UNC- Charlotte (accepted with scholarship)
- Davidson College (rejected...which was expected, its super-hard to make it in there)
- Duquesne (accpeted)

My daughter went to LOYNO......great place

Expensive, no?

Less than the other schools he mentioned

I'm going to apply to Ozarks Technical Community College. It's unique in that every student pays for his education by working in one of the number of on-campus businesses run by the college, so every student graduates totally debt-free.

UNC-Greensboro- I was planning on trying to transfer there in a few years, but they are going thru budget problems and are raising tuition

Appalachian State- I really want to go here as well in a few years. They charge a low tuition for a non state school.

Winston Salem State- Good school with a low tuition but it is an all black school. I would not fit in.

Greensboro College- Great school and love their colors but they charge way too much to go there.  Good a great history department.

UNC-Charlotte- Like the school and is not as expensive. If I do good enough at my Community College I can maybe get a scholarship.

I don't know what I want to do yet, either become a history teacher, get a Political Science degree, or something in TV. I also did not take the SAT in high school either which I should have done.

Yeah, LOYNO is a pretty neat school. After LSU, it was my second choice. I might go there for grad school.

With the scholarship, I got it down to $14k; not bad, but still not cheap.

The most expensive was Tulane....$54k!!!!! That's insane.

Is that for the full... is it three or four in the States? Anyway... years, or...?

It's 4 years in the States.  And that's probably annual pricing.  I went to Tulane myself back in the day, it wasn't quite as expensive back then, but still pricey.  I think it was something like $34k before you count financial aid and scholarships.

Per year.

Amazing, isn't it?

That's real nice

This is what I'm beginning to look at

Harvard
Princeton
Yale
MIT
University of Virginia
Georgetown
University of Pennsylvania
Washington and Lee
George Washington
William and Mary
University of Chicago

Somewhat in that order ish. And no, there's really nothing that would keep me anywhere but the east coast for schools. And now that I look at it this list creepily closely resembles Ben's... :P

To the eyes of an uninformed foreigner, this list looks like the crème de la crème (forgive me my use of French ;)) of America's top universities. I'm pretty impressed!

I still need to get accepted first ;) But now that Harvard and Princeton have brought back early admissions...that helps out a lot.

Im 3 years away, but I figure I should have my choice selected. WVU, and FSU are my choices for now, but I might go to Indian River State for 2 years first, then to FSU.

about to begin my senior year at UT San Antonio, looking to go into a graduate program in Public Administration...so far, a first draft list consists of:

-University of North Texas
-UNC Chapel Hill
-University of Texas at Arlington
-Texas State
-University of Illinois - Chicago
-Syracuse
-Carnegie Mellon
-LSU

combination of reaches, bit more realistic shots and an in-state safety or two...what worries me is that I am not too stellar of a candidate at the moment (at least not in comparison with my competition, I can only imagine) so I definitely need to work extra hard and be super productive these next 16 months or so (i'll be graduating in December of 2012).

None of those are schools I could get into, so I don't see any reaches there.

Well, I feel that way about the top six or so (minus Cornell), but I think I could get into at least one or two of them.

Cornell is easy to get in relatively to the other ivy leagues but harder to get out...

For those who are thinking Ivy, I say never, ever avoid applying to at least one big state school.  Turning down Brown for Michigan State was one of the best decisions of my life.

With the exception of MIT, I am (at the very least) extremely interested in all of those schools.

That's what I hear... no grade inflation at all. Cornell ED has something like a 35% acceptance rate, but the workload is intense.

Sorry, meant safeties, not reaches.

Amen

Why no GWU when you're applying to American?

American is a safety that I may or may not apply to; GW is simply too expensive to justify over a school like AU or JMU.

Ontario has an online application system called OUAC where you pay one fee which allows you online, free applications to 3 Ontario unis. I was a bit on the lazy side and I didn't feel like going out of town, so I only applied to 3 unis. If I had wanted to apply out of province, I would have needed to do it myself and pay extra (I also would have needed to pay extra to apply to 4+ unis in ON).

So... I applied to the 2 in Ottawa and Queens in Kingston (just as a necessary third choice)
Carleton University: accepted with full scholarship+rez advantages within days
University of Ottawa: accepted with full scholarship+rez advantages a few days later
Queen's University: accepted in late March but no scholarship iirc

My first preference had been Carleton because uOttawa requires 2 mandatory ass-boring English courses which I could be dispensed of based on IB results. So I took a chance and accepted Ottawa over Carleton, which was a Very Good Choice.

Carleton called me likes 5 times between January and May to basically beg me to accept. Ottawa called me a few times, Queen's iirc never called.

^ This. Considering it costs just as much as the ivys. I would only consider it if I got a good scholarship.

it's a scheme to get people saddled down with unbankruptable private debt.

Yep.  GW is a fine school and all, but I'd certainly never pick it over UVA, W&M, or really any other school on my list unless I received a healthy scholarship.

Just wondering, did anyone else take the Explore and Plan tests? The Pre-Pre-Pre and Pre-Pre ACT? :P

I take the PSAT in October

No but I've taken the PSAT. I only got a 182.

As an elderly foreigner I have only a vague idea of what GPA and SAT mean let alone any concept of "weighting".
I know I could google them but I'd sooner have some first hand explanations.

A few questions...assuming SAT is an examination when do you sit it and can you make further attempts in order to improve your results?
Is your GPA an ongoing score through your high school career?
What are average scores and really good scores?
What is "weighting"?

Our universities are competing for students so they'll accept anyone (as long as they can pay or get a student loan).It can difficult to get into individual programmes e.g. medicine but they'll accept any undergraduates.
Of course all our universities are government-funded and not privately run.

The PLAN was somehow required in my school, or something.  I was mostly excited because there was an interest inventory, which promptly told me I had no interests >:(

The SAT is a privately run examination that tests one's "reasoning" ability. While the company (College Board) offers watered-down versions of it to younger grades, the actual test is taken between the middle of 11th grade to early 12th. You can take it multiple times, and since it's made up of three sections you can combine the best score in each section for a "superscore".
American GPA is an average of your grades from 9th grade, the first year of high school. Almost all involves assigning points to a grade or a range of percentages, hence "Grade Point Average". GPA is all relative, though to apply for top private schools a GPA of at least 3.8 out of 4.0 is necessary.
So far I have only described the unweighted GPA, but because many high schools have advanced "honours" or university-level Advanced Placement courses (http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/), taking those means you're graded on a higher scale. For an AP course, the highest point possible could be a 5.0 while a C grade is still worth 3.0. The bonuses you gain for taking these courses account into the weighted GPA, which can exceed the 4.0 barrier of the unweighted one.

Don't think that most private schools aren't competing for students either! The problem is that Americans can apply to many, many schools with the advent of technology, and as you can see all of these kids try for the top 20 in the country. These schools have low admission rates, but outside this bubble there are many people who are willing to go to a public state school.

I took the PSAT - don't remember what I got exactly, but my best section was ironically math.

I took the ASVAB last year - of all tests to do well on, this had to be it! :( I think I got a 94 on it, only doing poor on the automotive section (lol). Anyways, I've been getting lots of phone calls from the military now. The full-ride scholarship to any public school is tempting...:P

No ECU?  If I were to do it over again, I'd look into there.  SMOKING HOT women!

If you want to go to the military go through an Academy. This way you're an officer and get paid through college, not owing a dime. Otherwise ROTC. But don't just enlist :P

Thanks...I appreciate your reply.

I guess population size is the big difference...we have thousands of new entrants each year and the Americans must just about have millions.

It's only been in recent decades that University educations have moved away from just being for the academic elite....in the early 1970's I was one of a student body of 4,000.The same University now has over 20,000 students.
The big difference was that it used to be entirely government funded...not only did I have no loan but the Government paid me to study.Nowadays it's a revenue gatherer for the universities as they charge tuition fees directly to the students and receive government funding based on their student rolls....more students,more money.

Sooooo many Kiwis at ANU. Half the med post-grads were Kiwi.

I've got to decide whether to return to ANU or transfer to a uni down here next year. Swinburne os five minutes walk away and i'd be accepted withoit any hassle, but it's also a third tier university. Top of the third tier, sure, but a big step down from ANU. Otherwise Melbourne, LaTrobe or Deakin. Melbourne might be a fight to transfer to, LaTrobe is convenient and second tier, and I have a sh**tload of mates at Deakin.

My parents seem to have gotten it into their head that I will double major in Economics and Statistics, apparently without considering whether I actuall have any interest in either.

Economics could be cool.  Majoring in History is the best one, though.

UCSD

My father is going to force me to apply to Cal-State University, Northridge.  I have other plans.

No, he is entirely aware what the best field to major in is ;D

Economics is fun if you like math. I don't, but I got used to it.

Applied and accepted to Statistics (major) & Insurance and Risk Management (minor) at the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität in Munich.

Personal registration is next Thursday :)

Linguistics?  Very boring (and impossible for someone like me who lacks a facility for language).

Oh, right, I just forgot that linguistics was learning a bunch of different languages.  Silly me.  I'll just drop my major, then ;)

As you should ;)  What is involved in a linguistics major?

As a common cunning linguist I'll tell you it's a noble degree ;)

Starting yesterday, I officially should be expecting a letter from IU. It generally takes 4-6 weeks, and it's officially been over 4 weeks now. :) We'll see.

What's the point of majoring in history? It's interesting, but what does that get you besides teaching history in high school where nobody gives a sh**t or being a history prof?

Unless you go to law school, it's pointless, much like Political Science, english, etc..

Seeing as how I want to do those things, it works perfectly.

Historical perspective is a useful thing to have even a basic understanding of.

Edit: it's especially useful as a means of, well, dissent. That's why so many of the craft are lefties.

That's not actually true, in my experience.

Of course, of course. But to the point of majoring in it?

If you actually want to become a history teacher, yeah it's good, but I don't want to become a history teacher.

As if a History undergrad degree is any more worthless than most other undergrad degrees . . .

Winston Salem State is an HBU.  It most certainly is not ALL black.  If you are not black you may be eligible for a scholarship depending on your grades/test scores.  My only issue with HBUs is they are not representative of the work environment you will encounter upon graduation.  Its the same reason I wouldn't attended one of those Bible colleges.

Linguistics is, broadly speaking, the study of the underlying structure of languages.  We're particularly interested in finding commonalities between languages, because those commonalities might spring from whatever underlying base all (normally-functioning) humans have that makes us capable of producing and understanding language.  Though language seems utterly chaotic on the surface, linguistics tells that there is underlying order, and, being Lawful Good, that's quite appealing to me.

Of course, within linguistics, there are a variety of different approaches, as well as different topics studied.  The modern field of linguistics (as promulgated by the God of Linguistics, Noam Chomsky) started with syntax, which is, roughly speaking, the study of word order, but you don't need to study syntax to consider yourself a linguist.  I'm hoping to focus on neurolinguistics when I go to graduate school, which is the study of speech/language processing in the brain, primarily using neuroimaging techniques.  Most of my current research is focused on word segmentation, how it is that we're able to hear where one word stops in speech and the next starts even though speech doesn't have spaces (or the acoustic equivalent thereof) like written language does.

Linguistics majors in college are usually required to take a variety of courses where they learn the study of various different levels of analysis of language, from the level of small variation in sounds (phonetics) to how words combine together in sentences to create meaning (semantics).  Beyond that, it's usually good to have experience in areas related to linguistics, depending on what likes best.  For me, having a psych major is a good fit, though other linguists would be better-suited double majoring in computer science, math, or anthropology.

Ah, okay.  That sounds interesting, especially the neuro-related parts.

Yes, the neuro parts are the best parts ;D  Unfortunately, a lot of neuro-related people have a fairly naïve idea of what linguistics is and how language works, which helps in picking grad schools, as there's so few options ;)  Making the decision to go towards neurolinguistics is also motivated in part by the desire for future employment.  There's absolutely no job market for linguistics majors, even within academia.  The only exceptions are the more "applied" fields related to linguistics, including neurolinguistics, where you could get faculty appointments in psychology/neuroscience-type departments as well as linguistics.

How would the quality of education I receive differ between a more prestigious school that I could get into and a more bland state college? Is the extra cost of attending a more prestigious school worth the education in all honesty?

I'll probably just try to transfer to UChicago anyways but this would be good to know.

It depends on the quality of the state college.  In Virginia, only a couple of schools are probably worth not going to UVA or William and Mary, or even JMU.  In other states, like Alabama or Idaho, it probably is.  Especially if you intend to go on to grad school, and can go to a good in-state school.

It really all depends on where you live :P

I'm not talking about in-state, I'd rather drown myself than go to U of I. :P

I'm talking about a decent Midwestern state school, maybe one of the UCs or a worse ranked Canadian college. I should probably give you a list if I want good advice but I still honestly have no idea which state schools I could get into yet would still like to attend.

UW-Madison
UM-Ann Arbor
UBC
University of Minnesota (maybe)
UDub (maybe)
UC-Boulder (maybe)

I wanted to go to UCLA but I realize how futile that is so I'm not even going to bother applying.

Madison and Michigan are great schools, certainly close to some top tier institutions (which Michigan actually is).  I'm not familiar with some of the others, but those two are excellent.  Michigan really gouges people who are not from Michigan, though.

Some state schools are excellent.  The University of California system for example.  I think the more important thing for most people is picking the right major.  A college degree will not guarantee you a good income so I would be VERY leery of dropping six figures on a history or political science undergraduate degree.  Student loan debt is the next financial crisis for America.  When you visit a college they will sell you a truckload of dreams.  When you are done you will probably have a job paying $40K and tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

I got contacted by Brown today to go to a Brown, U Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, and Rice joint info session in Denver. Finally and Ivy league knows me!...even though I don't care to go to Brown haha

Yeah, Madison and Minnesota are great.  You should consider MSU, too.  Do it.  But, seriously, if you're Honors College material, there's really few better Honors programs in the country.  All course prerequisites are waived!  Distribution requirements become ridiculously easy to fulfill!  Scholarships aplenty!

Anyway, I'm definitely a proponent of cheap state schools over expensive private schools.  You can get whatever you want to out of your education, no matter where you are; it's just a matter of how much effort you put into it.

If you were to go to UCLA, you would have to live in Los Angeles.

Those things are the worst.  I went to a UPenn, Duke, Stanford, and Harvard one, and it was a total waste.

congrats. looks promising for your future.

I hope to keep this active so we can all track each others progress. :)

Regarding me, I still haven't heard back from Indiana. :( I applied to Grace College yesterday, a Christian college in Indiana, just as a way to keep my options open.

I also have a new potential course - a very close member of my family may be relocated to Ogden, Utah. They'd be there well before I start college. The new possibility is going to Weber State for a year or two, qualifying for in-state tuition, then enrolling in Utah. Utah has low in-state tuition at just under $7000 currently, which is about $3000 less than IU. ;) Brigham Young would also obviously be on the table.

Then again, I could just stay at Weber State and get my degree there. This plan could become extremely realistic, it just depends on whether or not he's transferred.

Remember to get to know the admissions officer.  That's always your ticket. ;)

I got the same thing though I don't think I'd want to go to U Chicago -- I visited there during my summer classes at Cornell.  It is undoubtedly a great school, but it just isn't my taste.

My friends who went to Brown say that it is a really great school.  Many of those who went to summer programs at Cornell and Columbia are looking to apply to Brown instead.

As for my list, I think it's currently:

Cornell (Already lived at the campus and took classes there, so I know the lifestyle well and I really like it)
Northwestern (Visitied along with U Chicago -- it's seems like a wonderful school and Evanston isn't too far from the city)
Harvard (It's been my dream school since I was in elementary)
Stanford (My second dream school, and it's pretty close to home)
UC Berkeley (I can walk there on any given day, so room and board isn't a problem)
UCLA (My friend tells me the campus there is amazing -- then again, I'm probably going to do the full UC circuit when I apply)
Columbia (I've always wanted to go to school in NYC)
Brown (Supposedly it has one of the best open curriculums)
Princeton (This one is rather out of left field, but my friend from Cornell lives there and tells me that it's a really good program to get into)

This is not all "supposedly"; there are no specific classes at Brown, or even categories of classes, that Brown requires you to take.  You have to have at least one "concentration" and have a certain minimum of credits, and that's it.  It was wonderful.

Given that you care about that, I have no idea why Columbia, a school that has 6 classes that every single student is required without exception to take, is on your list.

Meanwhile, the Honors College at Michigan State requires 2 Natural Science, 2 Social Science, and 2 Humanities classes, each of which can be fulfilled by multiple departments' classes and AP credit ;D

I don't really care too much about the open/closed curriculum thing to be honest.  As for Columbia, it's more of the environment I'm looking for, as opposed to Providence.

One of the reason I like Columbia is the core.  It looks fascinating.

I'm finishing up my double-majors in Public Administration and Health Science next year. I plan on obtaining my Master's in Healthcare Administration. I've been browsing grad schools for the past couple months now (never too early) and here is what I'm looking at:

Grand Valley State University (Just a safety, really)
Northern Michigan University (Another safety)
U of M - Ann Arbor (#1 choice. Great program. Affordable tuition relatively speaking. Close to home but also far enough away ;) )
University of Detroit Mercy
Ohio State University - My #2 choice.
University of Pittsburgh
Penn State
University of Indiana
Northwestern University
University of Minnesota - #3 choice.

I want to stay in the Midwest but I'm not adverse to leaving Michigan.

I got invited to the UPenn, Duke, Sanford, Harvard, Georgetown one. I'm going to go to it just in case I do get any useable info, but I'm not going to any other things like that.

Well...

I GOT ACCEPTED INTO INDIANA UNIVERSITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

There's not a greater feeling than your first acceptance letter. :) :) :)

Congratulations on IU!

Thanks...again! :)

Listen Boy... do NOT waste the opportunities that will be presented at the nation's #1 party school!!!

Good job.

I agree.

I didn't see any mention of Arizona State in his post.

University, not whorehouse.

Congrats Tmth. Where else will you apply now?


I like Columbia, but no one in my family wants me to live in NYC at age 18 (for whatever reason). UChicago has a similar "core" system, right?  Maybe for graduate school, but hey, I'm still a junior and should just focus on that. :P

By the way, I was thinking of attending a "summer college" for high school students next year (probably at Cornell or UChicago). I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them at all.

Does anyone want to give my anymore university recommendations? I'm still searing all over the place, I already know the schools that I ideally want to go to as shown by my college lists. I'm just looking for one or two safeties that I could get into easily with my grades/SAT, a school where I could easily transfer into a "prestigious" school easily from and a school that is in a good location. (hint: think where a stereotypical hipster/latte liberal/creative class person would want to live)

My stats are:
GPA: 3.4 (weighted)
SAT: 2060 (Math: 640, Reading: 740, Writing: 680), I expect to boost this score by at least 50.
Extracurricular: canvassed for Idaho Democrats in 2010, interning with the Idaho Democrats now, possibly participating in OFA Fall Fellows, possibly doing some sort of stint in municipal government.
Other information: I have a upward trend with my GPA from 2.4 to 3.8 to 4.0 from year to year.
Major: Economics

My college list should be on the last page. :P

Yeah, my stats blow. Why? I'm lazy, I live in an area with a bad environment for intellectual stimulation and I went through an angsty period in my Freshman year and part of my Sophomore year in high school.

You can easily get into CU with that as long as you get your GPA up to 4.0 once you apply since your freshman year hurt (just so you know we call it CU not UC Boulder ;) )

I know, I just refuse to use that backwards acronym, it's stupid. :P

Really though, a 4.0 GPA to get into CU-Boulder? I thought it was far easier than that to get in, even if you were out of state.

Colleges in Utah generally have pretty low out-of-state tuition. I've been looking at possibly going to Weber State for a year or two then transferring to Utah.

For whoever asked where else I'm applying, I'll apply to Ball State, Purdue, Grace College (already did), maybe Hillsdale, Kansas, and Weber State. I've crossed off most of my "Backup Options" now that I've gotten into the place that is #1 on my list.

If freshman year you got a weighted 2.4 GPA and CU being an out of state school, then yes you should get a 4.0 to make up for it, unless you are planning on going into sports at CU. It's possible to go under and still get in, I mean the school isn't that grand at all except a decent engineering program, but if you want to guarantee 99% you'll get in you need to get up to that 4.0. Your SAT scores are great for CU though so that will help

Michigan StateMichigan StateMichigan StateMichigan StateMichigan State!

Oh okay, I was confused by your post and thought you meant that I needed to get my cumulative up to a 5.0. A 4.0 this semester should be easy for me to get this semester, too bad I failed one out of the four math tests in my College Algebra (Pre-Calc) course. I've honestly been thinking about not going to CU though, hence why I was asking about other colleges? :P

There's always the possibility that my SAT scores will be in the 2300+ once I retake it. Hopefully.

What makes State better than Ann Arbor?

I've been getting stuff recently from both Michigan State and Michigan. Interesting schools, but high tuition costs.

I've figured out that for Early Action I'll be applying to:
University of Virginia
Georgetown University
University of Michigan

We give you money, Michigan doesn't! ;D

Also, our Honors College program is better.  I don't know of many other programs which let you bypass literally every single course prereq if you so desire, enroll in graduate-level classes at will, ignore core curriculum requirements in favor of a general set of class distributions, and substitute classes willy-nilly for degree requirements (my psych degree is being fulfilled with the help of something like 3 non-psych classes).

There's also a different in "feel" on the campus.  MSU is definitely much more campus-like; it's just one big block of land that's Michigan State, with East Lansing kind of chilling there on the north side.  Michigan is more integrated with Ann Arbor, but from what I've heard it's more in a "they stick buildings at random places where they happen to have room" kind of way, not like UW-Madison where I was blown off my feet by the amazing seamlessness of it.


MSU's Honors College is really good (http://honorscollege.msu.edu/scholarships/incoming_freshmen.html) about trying to make it affordable for talented out-of-state students to come to MSU.

I thought it was only possible to do two early actions?

I don't think so.  I'll have to check, though.

Hmm, I always thought it was your ambition to attend Harvard. Why not apply there early decision? By the way, are you applying to Georgetown College, or the School of Foreign Service?

When was this decided?

Also, I figure I'd release my new list (it keeps changing):

Indiana - Accepted
Purdue - Will apply, interested in seeing how many scholarship offers I'd get\
Kansas- Found out about a great program they have for student's out-of-state, so it's definately back on the table.
Weber State/Utah - Under this scenario I'd go to Weber, then transfer to Utah after 2 years.
Indiana State - If all else falls through, I'll be stuck going here, but this is very unlikely. I feel pretty confident I'll be graduating from a BCS school.

It's a strategic decision.  I have a better chance applying Regular Decision to Harvard, when my test scores will be higher, and I can now apply to additional schools - UVA is very high on my list too.  And I'll likely be applying to Georgetown College, although Walsh is tempting as I wish to study Diplomatic History/become a diplomat.

Isaac: I decided to apply to Michigan essentially as a safety; I've heard it's easy to get in to for an out of state person with my qualifications, so I'm going for it.

Michigan's a safety? What?

I do think your system of application is much better than our centralised system based on raw numbers and specific course to be taken.

My grades and test score line up well with Michigan, and my extra-curriculars are excellent.  Plus, I'm out of state.  They can charge me up the wazoo.

I don't think Harvard has early action anymore, do they? Or did they just do away with early decision? I remember they were changing their admissions procedures while I was applying to colleges in 2006/2007.

Harvard and Princeton just added early action back

Harvard is also Single Choice, meaning I cannot do EA anywhere else.  If it were unrestricted, like UVA, Georgetown, and Michigan, I'd go for it.  But I'm now better off waiting.

Plus we have ANU, Melbourne, USyd, Monash, and UNSW for 'free', the first two of which at least would make the top 20 list of unis if they were in the US. So nyah nyah ne nyah nyah.

The acceptance rate will be higher (twice as higher according to the last years they did it) if you apply early for them though. How will waiting increase your chances?

Higher test scores and grades, and more tournaments to win.  Plus applying EA to multiple schools is just more comforting.

I just spent a couple hours this afternoon starting the application to Notre Dame's graduate school. I'm planning to apply to MIT, Ohio State, and SUNY Buffalo also. In case anyone is wondering at the odd selection, those schools happen to have particular Chemical Engineering resources I'm interested in. (There's a method to my madness... :P)

Weren't you applying to UChicago as well? They also have unrestricted Early Action.

Hey, I just had a crazy idea. Since many of us are applying to the same colleges, wouldn't it be crazy if some of the posters here chose to attend the same one? Of course, I'm a year behind most here, but still, it would be funny.

That would be cool, NiK. Come to Indiana! :P

I applied to KU last night.

applying to undergrad is way more fun than applying to law school

Maybe, Tmth. My grandfather absolutely loves Indiana; though he is a graduate of Michigan and Miami.


Hey, you went to Cornell for undergraduate studies, right? How did you like it? That school is  close to the top on my list.

I've dealt with it ok.  I'm sort of an atypical case for a variety of reasons, I never got involved with the Greek system nor its spheres of influence, and I go to one of the smallest schools (ILR has 800 kids, all of whom have the same major).  it's a diverse place so you're highly likely to find something you like if you seek it.  just be sure to pack boots and an overcoat.

Bad stats?  Other than a so-so GPA these aren't bad.  Is college that much harder to get into?

Pretty much.  More applicants + intensive college training = hell of a time getting in anywhere.

So, I went to a college fair on Thursday at a neighboring high school. Very disappointed. The only two schools I was interested in that were present were UC Berkeley, UCLA, and U$C, and there were practically no privates from out of state. MSU was there for some strange reason, though, but I didn't get the chance to speak with them. Not even Stanford was present, which shocked me. Though I bet the Stanford Admissions Office thinks that not a single person who would approach them would get admitted, so maybe they didn't see it as worthwhile to go. It's a shame, because I thought the Ivies and Ivy-caliber institutions would be there, and only a few comparable institutions showed up.

In any case, it was not a fun night. I really strained myself the entire day, and my body literally collapsed from exhaustion afterward.

Apply to uOttawa, noobs.

Stanford, Harvard, and UPenn do pretty much all their "college admissions fairs" together with Georgetown and Duke. So if you want them keep an eye out I'm sure they'll make some stops in Michigan, they were going to Montana after they came to Colorado Springs

wtf is your problem >:(

Thanks A-Bob. I'll keep an eye out. I'm on the mailing list.


Hey, I really did wantto, but couldn't. Due to my back's recovery, I can't stand for more than ten minutes at a time, and I got really sick while I was there. My friend loved their info, though.

Well, at least you know they're in the area ;D

In that case he should go to UVA.  #1 public school in the nation.

UVA is very hard for an out-of-state applicant. You Virginians have it easy. My friend was accepted at Princeton and MIT, but rejected at UVA.

And besides, Cal Berkeley, despite all of its current problems, is the best public school in the nation. 68 Nobel Prizes do not lie. :P

I don't deny Lansing is a very dull town.  But who cares?  The other benefits of coming to MSU make it worthwhile to live in Michigan for four years.  If you're picking a college based on where it's located (other than wanting to move somewhere away from home or close to home), you're choosing for very petty reasons.

Personally, I really like East Lansing in the summer.  The campus is much nicer without the masses buffeting you when you're on the way to the lab ;)


Or he should avoid somewhere where he'll get in debt up to his ears :P

ANU, now home to six Nobel prizes, is always a good choice ;)

I can't go to UW because of my lack of an performing arts credit which I didn't factor into my schedule this semester. According to their website, Speech & Debate "generally is not accepted". I'd expect that from a LAC but really from a public state univerisity? What is this nonsense, I get punished for not caring about something that's useless?

I already applied to University of Idaho as a massive safety but because of free apps I'll be applying to:
Tulane (sup Bacon King)
Case Western (sup TJ)
Carleton

I'm not going to spend money applying to schools I don't necessarily want to go just in case.

Very odd.  If you do Speech and Debate, I'd consider a school like GMU, especially if you do OO or Extemp.

Yeah, since Tulane is making it free I'll probably apply there.


...?

It most certainly is.  Not only is the faculty better than that of UC-Berkeley, UCLA, or Michigan, but it is also a better size, fewer financial issues, etc.  Definitively #1.

lolllllll being partisan.

The obvious answer is that "the best public school in the country" differs depending on the program.  For linguistics, it's Maryland; for nuclear physics and secondary education, it's Michigan State; for cognitive science, it's Indiana; and so on and so forth.  I'm sure it's Virginia for some random things, too.

Don't ruin my narrative, Verin ;)

Well, no one seems to be paying much attention to mine, so I might as well ruin everyone else's!  Because I'm a Scooby Doo villain or something!  Muahahahaha!

You could come to Gonzaga! We are roughly equivalent to UW and yet a fair distance closer to Idaho. Though honestly I would probably have gone to Seattle U. if I had to make the choice over again (I love the Jesuit education model but personally prefer Seattle to Spokane). Also Whitman is a GREAT option, although it would be very difficult to get in. What is your unweighted GPA by the way?

Hmm Whitman is a very good school.  A family friend (from my high school) got a full ride there for Debate.

Carleton as in Carleton U, where the K stands for quality or...?

()

I went to both Princeton and Yale things these past few weeks. Yale's college life seems amazing, despite it being in New Haven. Princeton literally mimics what Yale has going (with their mini residential colleges and stuff) only it seems less unifying and a less active school (not that it isn't).

College life is amazing, and you truly don't appreciate it until you are out. I remember thinking about how I was ready to be done and graduate, but law school sucks and living closer to home does too. I feel like I've gone backwards socially.

So, I got some things in the mail from Princeton last weekend, and WOW. I had no idea about how generous they are in giving out financial aid. My family's income bracket would qualify me for free tuition, as well as 12% off Room and Board expenses. Amazing. Definitely near the top of the list. Well, that is, if I can get in...

Damn dude, nice.  I don't think I can get any financial aid; I have to actually earn it :P

But I've also never been interested in Princeton.  The eating clubs are unnerving.

Yeah, I asked my teacher (an alumni) about them. He says that some people make a big deal about them, while others don't. And since he attended the school in the 1970s, I think that it is safe to say that their influence has diminished.

Anyways, don't Harvard and Yale have similar things? Harvard has the "final" clubs, and Yale has its secret societies...

That's around the bracket I'm in and my family has been in for some years, but my sister got zero from Cornell her first year and small increases they next few years and they advocate the same sort of policy of such large average grants so...-_-

perhaps Carleton College of MN, a personal favorite.

I feel stupid around some of you, talking about places I have 0% at getting into...:P

I'm hours away from enrolling at Indiana. Getting some final questions answered now online with a representative.

Why on earth are you applying to the schools you are, then?!


I hope so :)


IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO APPLY TO MICHIGAN STATE

INDIANA AND MSU ARE FUNCTIONALLY EQUIVALENT BUT MSU HAS MORE MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS

(but good choice)

My impression is that Princeton is worse.  That may be wrong, but it is what I've heard.

Out-of-state tuition. ;)

Hey, look, it's a page specifically dedicated to scholarships for out-of-state students (http://admissions.msu.edu/finances/scholarships_nonResident.asp)!  And a page for merit-based scholarships (http://admissions.msu.edu/finances/scholarships_merit.asp) which are awarded without regard to residency status!

Yeah... perhaps. I'll check it out and ask next summer when I'm visiting. I'm generally not someone who worries about that sort of thing, though. I'll be enrolling in summer college, I think, at one of the Ivies, and will get to check them all out in excursions afterward. 8)


Wow, that's absolutely brutal... But I've heard Cornell is kind of skimpy when it comes to financial aid when it comes to the Ivies.


Nonsense. School =/ intellect. Besides, there's no guarantee we'll be going to any of the schools we have mentioned... since really, most of the acceptance rates are sub-25%.

Luckily for me, though, I have a few aces in the hole...

I did Summer@Brown.  It was fun, and Providence was lovely :)

To early apply or not early apply...

If it's Early Action, hell yes.  I'm doing three schools EA.

Only do early decision if you are absolutely in love with the school and know that that is where you want to spend four years. You have the disadvantage of not being able to compare financial aid packages if you do early decision.

I meant EA, whoops. As far as I know there aren't many advantages to EA if your school doesn't do rolling admissions.

I mean you find out earlier.  I'll hear from Michigan and Georgetown by Christmas, and UVA by the end of January.  It gives me peace of mind if I get in anywhere.

I graduated from UCLA this year.


I applied to these:


1. UCLA (Got in, and graduated)
2. Stanford (rejected)
3. USC (Got in)
4. Washington (Got in)
5. Montana (Got in)
6. University of British Columbia- Vancouver (Got in, i think, dont remember)
7. San Diego State (Got in)

Did anyone else take the PSAT today? If so, how do you think you did? I think I got a few wrong on the math section (I skipped one due to time constraints), but I think I nailed the verbal and writing sections. I'm hoping I qualify for the National Merit Scholarship, but I had no time to study and my surgery over the summer prevented me from doing anything for two months, so...

My son did. Does that count as vicarious testing?

The PSAT on a Saturday?  My school had us take it in the morning on a school day.

Cool. Are there any schools in particular that he is interested in?


Yep. I was sick, too. I ended up lying down on the floor and taking it, since I can't fit in desks or sit up for long periods of time. I still think I did well, though.

Yeah. I thought I nailed the reading and there were 3 I was sorta unsure what the question was actually asking for math. Writing I didn't feel too good about, but that's always been my lowest score for practicing.

For math, the time constraints sucked. Math is not my best subject anyway, but I generally try to view each problem for a sufficient time beforehand. I just hope I did well, since a lot of the questions were ridiculously easy. "2000 is 50% of what number?" et ceterea. I skipped over one, and I probably got two of the fill-ins wrong (though that doesn't deduct points). I felt comfortable, though. For writing, there was probably one that tripped me up. The whole "Is the error A, B, C, or D?" thing confused me on a few. But for the reading, I don't think I could have possibly gotten more than one wrong. There were just so many easy questions... though once again, I didn't have any time to look over them.

I took mine on a Saturday morning last year. I was up fairly late the night before reading about Irish elections, so my strategy was to get through each section as fast as I could and then sleep until the next section. I finished one point below the cutoff. Oh, well.

Got my SAT scores back; raised my score 120 points, now looking at a 2120, well within the range for my choices :)

Ben, here's some data on the average student admitted from my high school to each of the colleges you listed.

School	GPA	SAT	SAT superscore
Harvard	3.99	2313	2320
Yale	3.99	2332	2340
Virginia	No	data
Northwestern	3.95	2268	2286
Duke	3.99	2302	2316
Columbia	3.96	2275	2293
William and Mary	3.90	2153	2180
Pennsylvania	3.98	2282	2289
Georgetown	3.86	2270	2320
James Madison	No	data
American	3.63	1983	1987
George Mason	No	data
Michigan	3.82	2149	2179

I don't want to be a downer, but that SAT score really isn't going to do you many favors. My friends who are seriously considering Harvard and Yale all have 4.0 unweighted and 2350 at least.

Yeah, but I'm a national champion in Extemporaneous Speaking, which colleges love.  Thankfully schools don't do things based on test scores alone; and you're school ain't exactly an average place, Xahar :P

I got my scores back and I improved, though I don't feel like sharing since I just feel stupid compared to you guys. I reached my goal though, so I guess that's good.

That's what matters, of course.

Can anyone tell me much about UPenn? I've kind of ignored the school until now, but started doing the research, and it seems very interesting. For some reason, I thought it was smack dab in the middle of Philly, but as it turns out, it is in a gentrified area in the western part of the city. How good is the school compared to the other Ivies? What is its main focus (besides Wharton)?

I'm not sure where you were looking; UPenn is smack dab in the middle of an awful part of town, though there's something like a 5 block "exclusion zone" surrounding it.  UPenn has the world's best sociolinguistics program, I can tell you that ;)

It's an excellent school all around.  Wharton is the most famous, but really every program is exceptional.  I'm looking into it; if I weren't so hung up on Harvard, I would've applied ED to Penn.

Yeah, I really like what I have read so far. Have you ever been to the campus? Do you know anything about the Huntsman program?

I loved the campus, but no, I know nothing about the Huntsman program.

From what I've read, the Huntsman program is a joint degree that combines undergraduate study at Wharton, a degree in International Studies, and a specialization in a foreign language. It seems really awesome, but I don't think I'd be eligible. For one, I will only have had three years of German (my high school does not offer it as an AP Class, and I didn't get into the class as a Freshman) and need to have about a 700+ on its SAT II to get in. Plus, I have no business extracurriculars, so yeah...

I still like what I've seen though. I think I'll apply to UPenn CAS, and I'll definitely add it to my itinerary next year. :)

Penn is exceptional.  A friend of mine is applying ED, and she just loves it.  I'm in the same boat; absolutely love Penn.

P.S. what can anyone tell me about Georgetown?

Obviously it's great to go to because its in DC, and in my opinion, better than the rest of the DC centered schools like GW. Georgetown used to be at the top of my list, but now its moving down the ladder. They have their own separate app, though with your scores and extracurricular I would put money down that you'd get in. Even some kids from my school have gone there and Colorado public education is equally as impressive as North Dakota.

North Dakota?  But anyway, it's actually the opposite for me.  Georgetown has been climbing steadily, jumping up to #3, behind Harvard/Yale, but ahead of even UVA.

So tomorrow I'm going to be forced to apply to CSUN...

Since everyone else is mentioning it, I'm applying early action to Fordham and DePaul and early decision to George Washington. I have no idea how my chances are for any of them.

Odd list.  Aren't Fordham and DePaul rather Catholic?  But if you go to GW that'd be awesome, especially if I ended up at Georgetown.

Weird list?

My mom went to Fordham...accounting.

What a fun thing to study blah

Good thing for career placement, though.  Especially if you study in NYC already.  NYU is particularly good at getting Accounting majors jobs.

I'm probably not going to be applying EA or ED to any schools outside of University of Idaho (my safety's safety), just so that I can get my SAT II results and get good letters of recommendation in the works.

It doesn't matter anyways because I'll probably end up going to a school that I don't really want to go to.

DePaul seems like a nice school, from what I hear. (Though obviously I know next to nothing about US universities.)

Fordham is a great school and I count many friends who are quite successful that went there.  However, I would say as a non drinker it may be a tough adjustment.  In particular being so far away from home and with bleak weather come winter time.   There are a very high percentage of kids from the tri state and many people who went to the surrounding Catholic schools like I did.  Binge drinking is prevalent and many of the ones who don't drink are of the super religious Catholic variety.  It has been 11 years since I was an undergrad though so this could have changed.

Yeah, DePaul is an awesome school in a great location (only an extremely brief "L" ride to Wrigleyville) with great parties and a lively cast of characters. Not to mention probably having the hottest girls per capita in Illinois. I've never really understood what was really "Catholic" about it. Just a bunch of kids with rich parents who know how to live life maybe a little too properly. 

I almost went to Fordham

3 apps nearly done; all that's left is the proofreading.

Had to listen to a college rep from Wabash yesterday - pretty informative, but I missed out on a $30,000 (total, not annually) scholarship from attending Boys State, so I'd kick myself for going there.

Make sure to get a teacher (or someone like that) to look over it. Humans are not infallible; make sure to get a second (or third!) opinion before sending it.

Amen to that.

Has anyone applied or thought about applying to the University of Washington? It's still pretty far off for me but I'm contemplating applying there for Grad School after I get back from the Peace Corps (assuming I get into the Peace Corps *knock on wood*). I'm going to go for my Master's in Public Policy.

It's official: I love UPenn. And the Huntsman program is epic. Dual degree from Wharton and the College? Wow. I can't wait to check the Ivies out next summer! Let's just hope my SAT lands where I expect it to. (One practice test was a 2290, the other a 2330, but I know not to go on those results, plus I administered them myself...)


Where did you go for your undergraduate degree?

University of Phoenix :D






Just kidding!

I go to Saginaw Valley State University. It's a mid-tier public university by Michigan's standards. I got into UofM and MSU but the allure of full tuition remission was just too much to pass up. Barring anything disastrous, I should graduate with about a 3.8-3.85 GPA. My extra-curriculars are good and after I get back from the Peace Corps *again, knock on wood*, I should have a pretty demonstrable record concerning commitment to public service.   

Oh, and I meant Master's of Public Administration. Sorry, MPA and MPP are so easy to confuse sometimes.

With a 3.85 and good extracurricular activities (Peace Corps, yeah, you're solid), you would most likely get into Washington. But hell, if you score high enough on the GRE, you could get into Harvard Kennedy or Princeton WWS too, probably. Applying for an MPA isn't nearly as competitive as say, a JD. Keep that in mind.

Thanks.

Yeah, one of my primary faults is that I underestimate myself to my own detriment. I probably could have ascertained some good scholarships to U of M or MSU but I always disqualify myself in my mind beforehand and don't even end up trying for them (which is why I probably jumped at the full-ride that SVSU was offering me).

Thanks for the information and advice. If you're still on the forum in 2 1/2 years, I'll let you know how it all worked out. :P

And I have no applied to Georgetown, UVA, and Michigan :D

Last night I paid my enrollment deposit at Indiana.

How much is instate for Indiana?

9400ish

Congratulations! Now you are in for an excruciating November and December. Have fun!

A Senior friend of mine just sent his application into Georgetown EA as well, but he didn't apply to any other schools. I'll pull for you both.

But I know you still have your heart set on Harvard. ;)

Thanks man.  Harvard is still the 1st choice, but Georgetown is making one hell of case.

Tweed goes to Cornell, FWIW.

How do you like Cornell, Tweed?  I'm considering applying.

Well, even though I've paid my enrollment deposit at Indiana, I still haven't made up my mind. I have it narrowed to these four schools:

University of Kansas
Indiana University - Bloomington
Indiana State University (Note: If I enroll here, I'll likely transfer to either KU or IU after a year or two)
Xavier University

I've also applied to:
Grace College
Baylor University


Ultimately, it comes down to which of these schools offers me the best financial package, as I'd be fine going to any of them. I'm also considering UPenn, but I'm not sure just yet if I want to pay $75 for a school I probably won't get accepted at. My guess is I'll have the best deal at IU, but it's not a definite just yet.

All my Emory stuff needs to be done by Tuesday. including an additional 750 word essay for a scholarship.  Oy.

Want to change the focus away for a minute from the United States.. I´m thinking of, for various reasons of which cost is a significant - but, I stress, not the only - factor, of applying to study in the Netherlands next year. Especially to either Leiden or Utrecht (and possibly Rotterdam as well).. Anyone here got any suggestions for me about doing this?

Small update:
I got accepted to Baylor. It's nice, just because it's a pretty competitive school.

Anybody get in today?

Who wants to give me their opinion on my college app essay (well it's not one but it's a template for all them)!

Currently in a scholarship frenzy - so many deadlines, so little time! Luckily, I think I made all of my December 1st ones. I have a bunch due on the 15th, though. Sucks :(

Next week is finals week for me, and I also have 3 apps due, and I'd like to get the other 2 apps I have due out.  Yay.

My final list is, incidentally (and approximately in order of preference):

Maryland — College Park (PhD, Neuroscience and Cognitive Science)
McGill (PhD, Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience)
NYU (PhD, Psychology, Cognition and Perception)
University of Rochester (PhD, Brain and Cognitive Sciences)
Boston University (PhD, Computational Neuroscience)
Harvard University (PhD, Program in Speech and Hearing Biosciences and Technology)

what's your GPA dude?

3.99.  4.0 in majors.  Silly electrical engineering :P

Deferred at Georgetown

How do you do it? I'm Poli-Sci (i.e. easy major) and I'm barely mustering a 3.6. :(

Sorry to hear that. At least it wasn't a rejection, though, you still have a chance. Now, how about Michigan and Virginia?

(Btw, a friend of mine just got rejected from Georgetown. He wasn't very surprised, but thought he stood a chance).

Mostly planning ahead.  I started studying for finals (this week) about two and a half weeks ago, and usually start papers a couple of weeks in advance, too.  And keeping a good sleep cycle.

I have a 3.28 and that's likely to drop this semester.  largely due to addiction, depression, and anxiety problems that for a long time went largely untreated (and still does on the first count).

My friend went to Cornell...and I went to grad school upstate...depressing area at times (if not always)...pretty high self-termination rate right?

well I think about 90% of kids graduate, if that's what you mean by self-termination.  we haven't had a suicide since they put big fences around the Gorges in 2010.  it is a depressing area in that the sun basically doesn't come out from December through March, it goes from 17 hours of darkness to 7 hours of overcast greyish.  this is particularly problematic for those with 'Seasonal Affective Disorder' (which disproportionately impacts young adults, whose sleep schedules will naturally move towards eating up those hours that do have a modicum of daylight).

I'm sure the fact Cornell is an ivy league school doesn't help when you're under regular environmental stress/depression.  Not to slam Cornell (as it is a great school, better than my undergrad) but the addage I always heard (even from Cornell alums) was "easiest ivy to get into, hardest to stay in..." or something of that sort.  Then again, the easiest ivy to get into, if that's even true or whichever one that is, is still harder to get into than what, pretty much every other school (save for a few other non-ivy elites) in the country?

it's ranked like 15th in the country, worst among Ivies.  acceptance rate is approaching 20%, way higher than Harvard and Yale which sit at like 6%.


this contributes to an odd form of inferiority complex among the sector of the student body that was groomed to be part of the ruling class; ie, went to 30k/year prep school K-12.  Cornell was the safety school for a lot of these people and they are only here because Harvard and Yale rejected them.

I'm interested in Cornell, though it should be noted it is not worst-ranked (It's tied with Brown), and is better ranked worldwide. Not that it matters, though - rankings are silly with institutions like that, and laymen's prestige places Harvard and Yale (and Stanford on the West Coast, but not the east) higher than any school in the country. After that, it doesn't really matter.

I've heard nightmarish stories about Cornell's depression. I don't know how much I'd like to go to a school like that.


That's rather silly of them, then. No one should treat an Ivy League school (or even a top public) as a safety.

As a former student of the place, Cornell is a wonderful school for sure. Of course, if you plan on being anywhere close to major human civilization, well.....it isn't the school for you. Otherwise, the campus and town is quite beautiful.

But yes, there always was this unspoken thing about death at the school that sort of hung on everyone's minds. I mean, things do move on, but if you're not careful, you can get hurt bad. Two students died through accidents when I was there -- one of them was caught underwater for a while while another slipped off a ledge. It's disheartening at times.

I hear from Michigan in the next week - I expect to get rejected.  I think I'll get in to UVA, but they'll tell me on January 31.

My best friend went to Cornell. He liked it for the most part, but said it got depressing during the winter months when the sun stopped coming up and the temperature didn't get above 10 degrees. I visited him on a few occasions. It is a beautiful place. Very quaint. But coming from Wake Forest, I just couldn't see myself living there for an extended period of time. Ithaca is in its own little world, not really connected to much of anything else.

Why do you expect rejection? Michigan is probably easier to get into than UVA (though you are in-state, so that may be a different story). Your SATs line up well, too.

My finalized list of colleges:
University of Idaho
University of Portland
Reed College (Early Decision)
George Washington
Case Western
Tulane
American
UBC
McGill (maybe)
University of Minnesota

a strange list

how rich are your parents / how much will they be contributing?

I didn't put a lot of effort into the application, especially the essays.  I'll probably get Deferred, but I assume Rejection.

There are a lot of schools there that I'll be applying to.

the owners get their own special way of doing things, Nik.

~60k household income / 5k a year. Yeah, I'm effed.

I got in to Michigan!

Sweet!!! I am so happy for you :) :)

My sister is in her last year at Cornell and has always hated it. It is a pretty solemn place with nothing up there, cold, and dark in winter.

And easiest to get in hardest to get out is pretty true, but probably because the focus isn't on liberal arts there as the other undergraduate ivy leagues are.

Cornell is one of my top choices for law school, so hopefully Ithaca is less terrible than it's being made out to be here... I kind of like cold, gloomy weather though, so maybe it won't be so bad.

Or maybe I'll get into Columbia and get to live in NYC instead.

Told you! (I may apply there next year as well, my grandpa went there)

Now onwards to... what else? UVA, Northwestern, and the Ivies?

I have came up, as well, with a final list:

UC Davis (safety)
USC (close to a safety)
UC Berkeley
Georgetown
Michigan
Northwestern
UChicago
UPenn
Cornell
Harvard
Princeton
Stanford

I will hear from UVA on January 31.  If I get to be a Semi-Finalist for the Emory Scholars Program, I'll hear then as well.  Otherwise, it's nothing until April 1.

still waiting on my goddamn december LSAT score. >:(

What's going on with this quote pyramid? Fix your tags, because it's illegible.

Yale is submitted.

Right now, I'm about 80% decided. I plan on attending the University of Kansas with a major in political science. Following that, I hope to be accepted into their law program. Who knows. :P

And everything is submitted.  Thank God that's over.

Hail!

Which application did you put the most work into?

Columbia, by far

Congrats, Ben!  Feels good, doesn't it?

Yep.  Now the four week wait until I hear back from UVA, and then nothing until April :)

Due to what they require, or out of personal desire to make it exceptional?

I remember you stated that your number one choice was Harvard. Is that still your number one choice?

Both, and yes, Harvard is still #1

Best of luck to you, then.

I'm sure everyone on this forum in the grade above me who has applied will be really nervous for quite a while.

I applied to six colleges.

Got accepted into West Virginia University, and the University of Alabama. Along with 2 deferments and a rejection.

Where are you attending?

Most likely WVU as it's cheaper.

My junior year was miserable. Marred by bad grades, and depression. Killed my chances of getting into top tier schools like UNC-Chapel Hill or Michigan.


But oh well, life goes on. Gotta work with what I got :)

Good for you! :) Alabama is a great school - I have a friend who's going there.

Have you looked at anywhere in-state?

Community College?  Could you do 1-2 years, and then transfer to UNC?  Or is that not an appealing option?  I have some friends who did that with NOVA - going to UVA, W&M, JMU, etc.  Worked brilliantly for them.

@ Ben: Nah, Commity college not really an option i'd like. But I did apply to App state (in state school), which is a UNC system school so i could go that route (I get a response  on the 26th)



@ Tmthforu94: Thanks :) I applied to App state in state, and ECU.

Ah, okay.  Well, best of luck.

thanks :)


where did you apply/get in?

I applied to: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Penn, UVA, William and Mary, Northwestern, Emory, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, and Michigan.  I've gotten into Michigan, and deferred at Georgetown; I'm still waiting on everyone else.

Quite an impressive list! :) Congrats on Michigan, it's a great school!

I have a friend who went to WVU. What are you thinking of doing there?

I applied to Massachusetts, Rutgers, Connecticut, Vassar, Bishop's, and Williams. I got into all but Rutgers, which gave me a deferment, and now I'm studying Japanese Literature at UMass. I love it.

You got into Williams but not Rutgers? That alone proves how much of a crapshoot this process is.

Yeah, that's... bizarre.

I had thought that the deadline for Occidental was on the 15th, so I had to do their five essays after finding out this afternoon that the deadline is today. Today was also the George Washington deadline, and I wasn't seized with inspiration for one of the essays until about 90 minutes ago. I'm happy with how it turned out, though, so that's nice.

I'm planning to study Political Science.

and yea, I know that feeling...I got rejected by ECU, but got into Alabama and WVU. lol.

That was exactly my thought when it happened.

I'm not sure how WVU is for polisci. My friend who went there majored in developmental psychology and is now an elementary school teacher.

You and my younger brother are applying to the same schools apparently.

Don't go to college to study political science. It's a waste of money unless you want to go to law school, which is a crap shoot these days.

Truth.  Unless you're a gunner or going to a T14 school...go into the sciences.

I plan to go to Law school, and hopefully become a lobbyist. (The Law degree would help if my plans fall apart)

Of course things can always change.

Don't go to law school if you don't want to become a lawyer. It's not worth it.

So I assume you finished up going to Boston College in Boston?

Extremely bizarre.  And terrifying.

Yep. I'm looking at Law too, and everyone tells me not to do it unless I actually want to be a lawyer. It's a lot of time and money, certainly.

I have an Aunt who lives in Raleigh...huge Duke fans. I like them too. You should try and transfer to Duke - it's one of the best schools in the South, easily the best school in North Carolina and the ACC.

Too much $$$ and UNC > Duke :p

Not easily the best.  UVA, William and Mary, JMU, Washington & Lee, UNC, Emory, Vandy, Sewanee, Rhodes, UK, Centre College, UT-Austin, Rice, and Texas A&M all resent you ignoring them.

I'll let that one slide... ;)

It's good to have another High School Senior on here to converse with about college. Personally, I'm leaning towards Kansas right now, though Indiana, Xavier, and Baylor are still in the mix. I entertained the idea of Notre Dame, but the financial burden would just kill me there. :(

Re-read what I said. ;) One of the best in the South. Saying it's best in NC was more of a jab at UNC; there may be some small, great, private school there I don't know about.

Very well, withdrawn.  But I mostly just wanted to list how many great schools the South has.

I have a lot of regrets from junior year. But I'm not gonna cry about not being able to go to UNC, or Texas A+M, or Michigan :)

I've entertained the idea of being a lawyer, but my fantasies probably don't stack up with reality, considering that my fantasies amount to it being a lot more like this:

()

Than what is more likely to be true, like this:

()

Yeah... think more the second... that's why I didn't finish my law degree and went into public policy instead. The pay isn't as good... but it's not as soul-crushing or without a work-life balance.

I'm finally done with all of my apps and I applied to NYU at the last second.

What was the complete list of schools?

My SAT tutor went to Kansas. Play baseball there :) Good school :)

...good school? Are you kidding me? It's the greatest school. Dorothy was absolutely right - There's NO place like Kansas.

:)

I posted it in here a few pages ago and am too lazy to copy + paste it here again. :P

Finally finished the last of my law school apps. Now we wait.

In the end I did Harvard, Yale, NYU, Columbia, Chicago, Duke, UVA, UPenn, Michigan, Georgetown, Cornell, Texas, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Vanderbilt. Thank the lord for fee waivers.

What was your LSAT score (obviously high if that's your repertoire, no)?

Yeah, 174. I did about 30-practice tests worth of questions in 2 months leading up to the test.

Has anyone hear ever read College Confidential? I rediscovered it, and god is it debilitating.

It's hilarious, isn't it? I feel like most of my friends troll there for fun.

Living in a rural area where college is treated completely differently makes it even more soul crushing. I had no idea that the application process was treated like it was until I found that site.

Then again, the site's "community" helped me get 5's on all of my AP tests so I'm not going to complain too much.

College confidential basically taught me how to apply to college, back in the day.

Off to Harvard's open house tomorrow.  NYU's is Feb 2-4.  I've also heard good things, though haven't received a final invite, from Rochester, Maryland, and Boston U :)

Oh, I'm not denying that it is a useful tool (I've found stuff that has helped me out, too), but the sheer arrogance that many of the people display there is just bizarre. The debates about prestige, the "chance" threads, the elitist attitudes.

At the same time, it's funny, but it makes me nervous because I see the "stats" of people admitted. I mean, I think I have good chances, but when people get rejected from college with 2400s and perfect GPAs it makes you uneasy. 

Anyone in BPA? District is Saturday here.

I got in to UVA!

That's awesome Ben! Congrats :D


Well, lots of my friends got into UNC-Chapel Hill on Thursday :)

And Appalachian State gives me their decision next week. I visited them on Thursday, was pretty fun.

Not sure which I prefer App or WVU. The sports fan in me says WVU. But idk....App is a great school :S

EDIT: I'm not saying Sports would be THE factor that decides where I go, but it's important to me, as stupid as it sounds.

Congrats! *hughughug* ;D :D ;D

That's awesome, congrats

Double plus good, man.

Never moving means that relocating myself 300+ miles away (at least) from my hometown is going to be shocking. This fact didn't hit me until now. As much as I hate Idaho, readjusting myself to a completely new environment is going to be pretty overwhelming.

Nah, it's better than you think; depending on how big the in-state contingent is wherever you relocate, you'll either 1) be immediately tied in a bond of fraternity and friendship with all other out-of-state students or 2) be thrust into a situation where everyone is finding new friends and enjoy the ride. 

Congrats, Ben!

I'm at Kansas now - absolutely love it here. I think this is where I'm going to go.

Thanks all!  I must say, I've lost a lot of motivation in the last 3 days :P

Congrats Ben! You have two excellent schools to choose between so far!

Which would you prefer as of right now? UVA or Michigan?

Unless I get into an Ivy or Georgetown, I'll be attending UVA.

I decided West Virginia University is the place for me :D Can't wait to be a Mountaineer!

Good luck! As somebody from the northern end of it, the Appalachian Chain can be a really fun place to live in general, no matter what anyone else says.

I got into the University of Minnesota.

Congrats!

()

This week, in a flurry of emails, I learned I've been invited to the open houses of all the grad schools I applied to that have them (and got good news from the one that doesn't, too) :)


;D THE TUNDRA CALLS TO YOU!

:( :( :(

Congrats! thats awesome :)


And Thanks Nathan :)

Well my avatar is going to be changed to Oregon next year...

That's my round about way of saying I got into Reed!

Congratulations! :)

Did you get into Wake Forest? I wouldn't recommend going there unless you don't care about sports. Our basketball program is in shambles thanks to our inept AD.

Congrats, you godless, communistic nonconformist! ;)

Congrats! My brother applied to Reed, maybe you two will be classmates.

Given your personality I'd say that's basically the perfect fit for you.

Do all colleges have entrance applications? I don't think the public university I registered for had one.


Isn't it about time you left reactionary Idaho behind for good?

What do you mean? Did you just enroll?

Pretty much, yeah. I was transferring in from the local community college though so maybe they had an agreement?

Got into NYU!!! Definitely going to law school next year then.

Hope you enjoy $8 beers at the bars!

but after the aggressive nights he can take refuge in the plethora of $1 pizza places that have sprung up around NYC.

How much is a PBR in NYC? $8? That's what's really important.

How much is it in DC? Our here in collegetown we get like PBR tallboys for $1.50

Jesus, $1.50?! We were drinking tallboys for $4 last night and I thought that was a good deal.

I'm visiting NYU right now! :)

I'm apparently the only language person visiting for their psych program, which is kind of awkward.  Fun, but awkward.

been admitted to CUNY School of Law so that's probably going to be it.

Boris lives in the Rust Belt, you see.

I ultimately never applied.  I was never terribly interested in Wake, so I decided not to bother.

After talking to people in my graduating class, I can confirm that Reed is the altiest of all the alt schools.

I am getting mad tired of getting spammed out by law school fee waivers

^^^^^^^^^^^^ seriously

congrats DeadFlagblues, and Lief :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hR5YNqE3K8

Decided not to apply to Yale, because it was a longshot anyway, the essay was annoying and difficult, and I don't really want to live in New Haven for three years.

So it's either NYU or Columbia (or Harvard if they decide to accept me) or I guess UPenn if they give me literally hundreds of thousands of dollars.

you were accepted into Columbia?

Pointless because...?

because you are worth as a human what the market says your labor is worth.

xD

In all seriousness, I am disturbed by the trend in American education (and much of society, frankly) that puts earning potential over...you know...a comprehensive, well-rounded education.

The vast majority of people will not be technocrats, and it's pretty bad for a  society when its  "middle" falls out.

"UNESCO sponsors the International Baccalaureate program, which seeks to indoctrinate US primary and secondary school students through its ``universal curriculum'' for teaching global citizenship, peace studies and equality of world cultures. This program, started in Europe, is infiltrating the American school system."

-Hon. Ron Paul (BNP-TX)

I understand you're being facetiously callous, but how is this statement not actually true? I mean, you and I and everyone else here is more inclined to hang out and sleep with people who are good looking and charismatic. Does that make people who are not good looking and charismatic inherently worthless? I really don't see any catalyst through which the US/EU can ultimately change innate concepts of efficacy, so I mean, what is it you and everyone else seeks to accomplish? So gays can marry and we can smoke pot on the streets? That's fine and all, but in the end, I don't really see how that changes the nature of the game.

it is true up to a point but I can imagine being happier at around $40-50k/yr than at $100-120k/yr (and my choices up to this point have put me more on the former track).  the larger argument that you're hinting at wanting to talk about, ie, what is there to be done about this, are the rules of the game subject to change due to our own initiative, etc I don't cover here.  in my own life I hope to tread a fine line between altering the rules and playing within them.

I think I've settled on Indiana.

What has made you decide to choose Indiana over Kansas?

Last night I dreamt that Herman Cain sent me a handwritten letter congratulating me on my acceptance into law school.

You all would be happier not going to law school. All it has done for me is make me more cynical, caused me to drink more and to abuse sleeping pills. Of course, if you are going to a T14, go ahead, but otherwise I would avoid it. I wish I had gone into banking, and I probably will even after law school.

One more month. Most of my senior friends are on edge. When I talk to them about college, they don't want to think about it. Any similar thoughts, seniors?

Can I go to grad school yet?

Basically. This undergrad stuff sucks and I don't want to do any more of it.

I can't take high school seriously after being accepted to Reed and I'm considering cyrogenics to skip the next few months. Senioritis never truly begins until you get your first major acceptance letter. There's a huge trough in your performance after that and then it slowly improves, plateaus and then dips again (I'm guessing).

I kind of wish that I had applied to Reed. Oh, well.

Willamette's offering me $14,000 a year in scholarships (contingent upon a 2.5 GPA), so that's appealing.

I think you'd be pretty suited for it (outside of the whole counter-culture aspect, maybe) and that you'd be accepted.

Yeah, besides my being a boring religious, it could have been nice. But I sort of ended up applying to schools at random and at the last minute (literally the last minute in the case of Maryland). Such is life.

AND IT WAS SUCH A GOOD DECISION TO DO SO

Why do you guys WANT to be done with undergrad? Once you get to grad school, you realize how wonderful undergrad truly is; going out every night, not having to work all the time, studying for exams a few days before instead of weeks before. I was like you all in the sense that in May of last year I was ready to graduate, but now I just look back on those days and wish I had done more with my time there, not wasted 2 years dating the same girl, not forgoing an opportunity to go out on a Tuesday, having one more PBR than I should. It's things like that you can't do in law school all the time. Cherish your time in undergrad. You will miss it when you leave. Trust me.

I miss everything once its over.  and distort the past's picture towards the positive.  doesn't mean that it is actually good.

lol


lol


lol

Where else did you apply? I remember that you were interested in Fordham, and were planning on applying to GWU. And nice job on landing a scholarship. A lot of my friends are afraid of private colleges because of the "expense," but obviously scholarships and financial aid aren't taken into account...

Kind of, but not really.  UVA has always been my realistic first choice, so there isn't as much stress about reach schools like Harvard and Columbia.  It's nice :D

Try to do them problem sets, kills 3 or 4 nights a week.

Depends on the problems ...

Update: accepted everywhere!  Current top choices are Maryland and Rochester, with NYU and BU having outside shots.

go to Boston University, it sounds like the most over the top title.

God, you kids are so smart. I had to suck a big bag of dicks to get into a Community College with 100% acceptance rates.

Haha  yea!

I got into West Virginia, Alabama, and Ole Miss and will be attending West Virginia in the fall. I feel so dumb lol! Plus I only took 5 APs, while, I bet some people here took like 10!


lol it's good to be on an intelligent forum though :)

I got into Case Western. Under normal circumstances I'd be happy about that acceptance because it shows my competence but at this point I don't need acceptance letters to boost my ego. This just means more work for me in the form of calling the school or writing them a letter indicating I won't be attending.

Congratulations! How can you possibly choose? :P

In the process of hearing back from Public Affairs/Public Policy Schools.

Accepted:

American
George Washington
Maryland
Minnesota
USC
Washington
Wisconsin

Declined:
 
Syracuse
Texas

Still Pending:

Carnegie Mellon
Georgetown
Michigan

I have no idea where I want to go yet. I went to Wisconsin for undergrad, am originally from the Madison and I want to get away from home for a while, so Wisconsin is probably at the bottom of my list. As of now I think I leaning either towards George Washington or USC, but Minnesota would be the cheapest (but that would mean I am a Gopher, which I don't think I could do as a proud Badger, lol), I would get a $15,000 fellowship from Washington and Georgetown is probably my dream school. So lets just say that I am conflicted right now. Any suggestions? 

My brother's at George Washington for International Policy and loves it.


My final decision is likely going to have to be based on the philosophy of my top schools.  The language sciences are a field riven by differences in their perception of how the mind works, and I have to navigate picking between the side with the momentum on its side (Rochester) and the side that holds personal emotional appeal (Maryland).

Washington Univ. in St. L?

go with the sh**t you believe in.  let your blood ring true.

Going to be applying for programs inside my school this summer.

USC's Price is probably the best one you have been accepted at so far. Though I'd hold out for Michigan, because they have one of the best public policy schools in the nation. Congratulations!

---

That seems like a good plan. Why not HAHVAHD though? Most people jump at the opportunity to attend HAHVAHD.

Right now, I'm inclined to agree with you.  Six hours ago, I would've disagreed.  Argh, this is frustrating.


Most people likely didn't turn down Brown to go to Michigan State :P  But, even my anti-elitism (and that earlier decision was much more about money than egalitarianism, though it turned out to be an excellent one for many reasons other than money) could've been turned aside if Harvard showed me it had a program that was doing what I wanted in a place.  No such luck, unfortunately; it's a good program, but a good program for things I'm not really interested in (e.g., general auditory processing on basically a cellular level).  Maryland, Rochester, and NYU, meanwhile, have excellent programs in things very close to what I do (though the advising situation at NYU would be... complicated.), and BU's program, though more distant from my interests, is great.

My girlfriend applied to WVU.

I have now been waitlisted by the University of Chicago for the second time in four years, the bastards.

Color me shocked; UChicago definitely has more hipsters per capita than any school in America.

Isn't the UChicago stereotype that it's full of hard-working nerds?

I think he forgot that schools like Bard and Sarah Lawrence exist.

I've never heard of those schools and cannot say whether UChicagoans work hard as I have never visited during the schoolweek (Torie might be a better fellow to ask), but on the weekends they dress like hipsters, drink a lot of PBR and smoke a lot of cigarettes. And indulge in their knowledge of various obscurities, such as Norwegian drinking songs and infrastructure development in Nova Scotia. Super interesting and awesome people all around, but I could never thrive in that atmosphere since I'm not really an intellectual and never will be one.

Although I have visited on a day off colloquially referred to as "suicide prevention day" (maybe Torie can elaborate, if that was around when he was there), so I think the stipulation is that they do, indeed, work hard.

That is where my professor got his undergraduate degree and many students of religious studies and theology attend. Good luck but stay away from the Alinski radicals!

Multiple GW applicants! Go Colonials.

have a classmate who will be going to UChicago med school in the fall.  also my half-brother has a Masters in Anthropology

To all the vets out there: 13k a year in tuition is pretty manageable, right?

that's up to you, but if it isn't nothing is.

Are you going to accept a spot on the list?


Sounds cheaper than a UC.

11 days until Ivy decisions.  Stressful, to say the least.

I'm automatically placed on it but there's not much chance to get off unless I actively grovel at their feet for the next few months. And I wouldn't have picked Chicago over Columbia anyway unless they gave me a lot of money, which they're obviously not if they're waitlisting me. So beyond being kind of annoyed it's not really a big deal.

Rejected from UC Santa Cruz. LOL.

Also Davis, but I was expecting that.

I've started applying for grad school already, even though it's pretty early (they have it open, so I guess it isn't that early). Really, really hoping for UW and an assistantship, though.

I guess what I read about the UCs being intensely focused on grades was true...

Who cares; you're going to the University of Maryland, and that's that.  I may be trying to decide between it and other schools, but, given your interest in syntax, it is, empirically speaking, the only school you will need to go to.

I got into American. Someone who's currently on their waiting-list will be taking my spot.

Rejected by Northwestern.

Ivy-leagues come out April 1st right? I'm trying to remember back to when my sister applied.

April 1 is the day they release decisions for most schools that don't have rolling admissions policies.

This Thursday, at 5 PM, the Ivies announce.

Are you nervous? I'd be freaking out right now... Of course, you already have two excellent acceptances, so maybe your mind is at ease.

I am freaking out, but it is tempered by the fact that UVA is my default, and UVA has also always been a top choice of mine.

don't freak out, you are powerless.  the result has already been fully caused.  sit back and relax.


soon-to-be Ivy League graduate Boss Tweed

Good Luck Ben! :)

btw, which ivies did you apply to? I know you said Harvard was one of them.

I applied to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Penn.

Also, I got in to William and Mary.

Got in to Emory!

Awesome!

i just realized that   I'm going to go to college that sent me my first acceptance letter! lol!


Go WVU :)

Waitlisted by Vanderbilt and Georgetown.

Rejected by Penn, waitlisted by Columbia, waiting on the others

No dice on Princeton.

Deferred, and then Waitlisted at Georgetown? Harsh, man. Are you going to accept a spot on any of the lists? I'd take a shot at it, especially at Columbia and Georgetown.

I'll take Columbia and Georgetown, yes.  Also rejected by Yale, accepted by Hopkins, and haven't heard from Harvard.

And I was waitlisted at Harvard.

ACCEPT THE SPOT!!! (And by the way, it's an honor just to be waitlisted. Plenty of people with perfect SAT scores are outright rejected). Realistically, considering that you were waitlisted at several top-notch schools, there's a reasonable chance that one will have to fill up some spots.

And congrats on Hopkins, Ben! One of the most prestigious and best schools in the country (especially for international relations and the sciences).

Join the club. :(

Accepted at NYU Stern and UChicago- and I thought we concluded I wasn't a hipster! Yet to hear from Columbia- password problems. 5 for 6.

Here was my take:

Congrats on Stern and UChicago, Simfan! I'm applying EA to UChicago (and I'm not a hipster, safe for my big old black-frame glasses) next year, so perhaps we'll be classmates. As for Yale, there's always graduate school. :)

Well, knowing that two Atlasians have gotten into superb schools has raised my spirits a little bit. Maybe there's hope for the rest of us.

Wait-listed at Harvard and Columbia is awesome! I hope you get to go to Harvard :D

I've basically all but committed to CUNY Law, but Hofstra just told me they'd give me $40k/yr scholarship to go there, which is an ego boost if nothing else.

I'm so jealous; it seems like everyone else always has a clear first choice.  I'm still deciding between Maryland, NYU, and Rochester :P  Since March 13th, I count 11 days when Maryland has been my first choice, 5 days when NYU has been my first choice, and 2 days when Rochester has been my first choice.  (Okay, so, maybe I do have a first choice of my possible first choices, but Maryland would also be the riskiest choice for me.)

Thanks NiK! And the password problems with Columbia were resolved and the verdict is: I'm in! :D

Congratulations Simfan34- that is an excellen tschool!

flip a coin.  then if it turns out to be the wrong decision, you can foreverafter blame it on the coin.

well, it's official my graduating high school class is full of geniuses... lol.

2 more people got into Cornell yesterday, one into Penn, and 1 into Princeton (top of our class). Add on 3-4 Duke acceptances, and the bucketload of kids who got into UNC-Chapel Hill  awhile back.



I now, officially, feel little and insignificant :P

EDIT: Just wanna add in, that I'm proud of my HS for breaking all the stereotypes of High school in these 4 years :)

My sister got into Hunter. I'm aiming for UPitt.

I got into NYU but I'm still committed to Reed.

I walked around NYU today. Such a cool neighborhood. So many cuties. So many awesome-looking restaurants. Still probably going to Columbia though.

My brother got waitlisted from Georgetown today, which is weird because he got rejected by George Washington. If he doesn't get off the waitlist he's either going to UT Austin or Boston College, though if I were him I would pick UT.

if you're still in that neighborhood in NY check out this little restaurant 'Natori' and order the fried alligator appetizer.  absolutely amazing.

Thanks!  I doubt it'll happen, and I expect to go to UVA (which I'm excited for), but twice in three years a Jewish debater from my school has gotten off the waitlist at Harvard, so I'm optimistic.

If you don't mind me saying so, you must have wrote one hell of an essay to get into such schools, considering that you had a 3.4 weighted.:) But you said you had a big upward trend, so maybe GPA doesn't matter as much as I thought.


What's the big difference between Columbia Law and NYU Law anyway? They both have excellent placement, and seem to be on the same tier. Why not go to the school with the hotter girls?

Congratulations to all! It seems like everyone in this thread has gotten into one school they wanted, and that's what really matters.

Was surprised Ben didn't get into Northwestern and Simfan didn't get into every school to which he applied, considering how much more impressive their resumes were. But they seem like they didn't set their hearts on one school in the first place, which is a very good attitude to have.

Too bad no one here got accepted to my school, but that also means there won't be the awkward moment when I bump into said person. There's a silver lining to everything.

Just our of interest: How much time and effort goes into these university applications in the U.S.? It seems incredibly difficult and annoying, from what I've been reading in this thread.

Depnds - My IU application took less than an hour. Many applications themselves take roughly that long. Just factor in the essays - you'll get 1-4 typically in an application, and how long it takes per essay.

it is its own massive industry.  children of the upper-middle class or the bourgeois are often forced into cupboards, devoting the soul of their existence to the goal at the tender age of 16-17.  it's cruel stuff and goes a long way to pacifying the future managerial/political class, harvesting attitudes of submission to authority and a more general fatalism.

...and then of course once they are "successful" they get sacked with $150k of debt, so their lives are very literally foreverafter owned by finance capital.  land of the free.

Yeah, I've been reading through this thread with an increasing sense of horror. This whole process seems like a pretty miserable experience.

Yeah, this thread is gross. It's also reminding me that where you went to school doesn't mean all that much. I mean, does anybody really think Benconstine is smarter than Xahar? I know I've poked fun at Xahar before but he's obviously about ten times smarter than Ben.

When I applied to Wake Forest in 2007, I had to write 7 essays and 2 short answers. I don't know why I did that application at the time.

Don't be a dick, dude. You're right about how it doesn't really matter in the end, but there's no need to put other members down for their accomplishments.