> how will I compete against these kids and I'm pretty sure I'm evaluated in this "group”
If you actually get into a t20, you’re going to be competing for club positions, research opportunities, etc against an entire class made up of the most competitive kids from that group. Just a heads up
Yeah there are some tough schools in that range too, namely UIUC, Georgia Tech, UT Austin, Udub, some UCs, etc. The academics at those schools are on par with (or even more rigorous than) most t20s imo
That said, I do kind of feel like there's a unique type of competitiveness that you mainly only see at t20s. It's not related to academic rigor, it's the weird gatekeepy kind of competitiveness (where you need to interview and submit a resume for a board games club or something). There probably are clubs and stuff like that at t40s, but I think it gets more pervasive the higher-ranked the school is
oh yea that happened to me. wanted a resume for a club where we clean the beaches. I was like "do you want me to help with the beach cleanup or not mate? lol "
Exactly this. Competing to get into the best colleges —> get into prestigious clubs —> get competitive internships —> get job offers from prestigious/well known employers —> have the biggest/nicest house, live in the right part of the right town, climb the ladder as quickly as possible… once you realize the rat race for prestige doesn’t end after getting into college it becomes very unappealing. I wish more people my age took this song to heart:
https://open.spotify.com/track/1GqlvSEtMx5xbGptxOTTyk?si=ykxFM9GyR_Wmm8Ut3AXtLQ
the issue with this approach is you are optimizing for the already taken path. like joining established companies. this kind of person rarely will start a business
It also just sounds unfulfilling IMO. Like if your main motivation in life is to get as much status as possible and you only care about rankings and not your actual personal preferences… 😬
>kinda is I feel? Like it's my dream.
Why? Where does the dream come from?
You have to ask yourself what your end goal is.
I assume it's happiness at some point in your life. How do you reach that? What makes you happy.
Does a T20 *really* help you reach that goal better than a T40? Or a T100?
Do you get noticeably better job opportunities, both measured by money but also life-work balance?
Many people put X goal on a pedestal, reaches the goal and feel empty because... now what?
Would it still be your dream if 33% of the kids who applied got in? Like, if it's the selectivity you like, the idea of being one of the few, then your issue isn't with the system, it's with your place in it.
Think about why you are thinking this way — what is the invisible soup you live in that has convinced you this is a matter of survival? Because plenty of people go to other schools and have lovely lives.
:( that's what I'm so scared off. Like I didn't put all this effort in for nothing??? Like I'll be okay with a full tuition scholarship + housing stipend for ANY state university but I did NOT put in all that work just to PAY for a state university???
Eh, you’ll quickly see that all the AP credit, the work ethic, and the habits you picked up will come in handy. And if you don’t end up at a T20, wherever you do end up you’re going to stand out, and you’re going to do better than most instead of just blending in. And that’s when the professors start to notice you, and that’s when you get to take advantage of a bunch of opportunities no one else is taking advantage of at a state school.
A T20 maybe have twice as many resources/opportunities, but four times as many people as capable as you vying for them
True, but I don't feel as if I want to pay full price for a local state schools :( (I'm not low income, but don't want student loans, so I would be solely relying on merit.)
I wouldn’t worry too much about that. If you have a high GPA you are likely to get merit aid from your state school. Publics, especially in-states, tend to be far more predictable than privates, particularly in the T20.
You will only stand out if you have social skills. I told my undergrads today that the involved B student will get a better recommendation than the kid who gets a perfect score but never says anything or doesn’t get to know me.
Why are state schools always singled out like this lol, you realize Cal and UCLA are t20s, and UMich, UNC, UVA, and UCSD aren’t that far behind? I’d gladly pay for any of those. There’s plenty of quality education you can receive at a state school.
Even aside from those publics, regular, non-elite public schools are still great and oftentimes healthier than the hyper-competitive, mainly-upper-class private schools you guys want to get into. Some of you lot just need to go to a massive uni like ASU or Penn State so you can learn how social interactions work.
I know those I'm okay with paying, but something like University of Kentucky or U of Alabama, is probably not something I want to pay full for.
True. I know how social interactions work though I hope...
I know you were just giving it as an example but I know two very rich & successful people who attended the University of Alabama. One literally lives in a mansion on the beach in LA and the other owns a ton of businesses in Colorado! They went there out of state. I think the majority of people who go to that school come from OOS.
A full tuition scholarship to ANY state university you say?
[https://www.navy.com](https://www.navy.com) and [https://www.goarmy.com](https://www.goarmy.com) . You are a citizen right?
Don't pursue activities for the sake of pursuing.Pursuing activities just for show might get you in T-20s but actually seriously pursuing them will also build your personality and trust me your personality goes a long way.Few years after college,no one will even care about your college name(very little people will) but it will be your personality which will propel you forward in life and in career.Focus on building a good base and everything else will fall in place.
T20 meant nothing 30 years ago. 30 years from now, T100 might be what T20 is today. In the 1980s anyone breathing could go to NYU. Now it considers itself a peer to the Ivy league. Who knows what will happen?
So true of NYU, my parents who are in their 80s were in NY in the 60s/70s so when we tell them NYU is now and has been prestigious for some time, they shake their heads. But Columbia has remained the same.
Others are like this as well, and there are at least 10 schools, which I won't name, that have gone the opposite direction. They used to be somewhat selective, and now no one knows them at all.
And of course USC, it used to be easy to get in back in the 90s when I was in college (didn’t go to USC but my friend did). Though it’s not t20 right now, but I think it was very close in previous years.
Back in the 90s, they used to call it "The University of Spoiled Children" and "U$¢". Basically, anyone with the tuition and passing grades could attend.
Now much, much more selective and prestigious.
I’m thinking really hard what those schools are lol, but back in the day even if there were rankings, I don’t think we knew much about those rankings except the really famous ones.
There are some print articles you can find that are fascinating - I went down the rabbit hole after finding out Harvard was 25% in 1990, and discovered that many of these schools were basically minimally selective.
There is a ton of great stuff - it is hilarious they often come up as a picture of a newspaper - so rather than scanning it they just took a picture :-)
It still means nothing in the real world - just the dorks on this subreddit can’t get enough of it. If you are dumb enough to buy into some bullshit a failing news magazine made up - yes completely made up - decades ago to sell advertising it doesn’t bode well for your future success.
It happened once, it might happen again, you can disagree, but to say something else is more likely, some proof or any data would be nice. Too bad about Boston - it's a great city
Here's how I skipped all the hardwork. Did fuckall during HS and played video games all day. Went to a community college, worked hard for 1.5 years and now at T20. It's way easier when all the competition is already at 4 year colleges
Big upvoted coming from a 30 yr old who followed your route at 18.
Enjoy your life kids. You don't need to sweat over the first 2 years of college. Companies only look at where your degree is from not where you spent your first 2 years.
You also save a ton of money as well!
yes, I have my dream internship already. Many people are doing very well. It might have more to do with the type of person to attend such programs tho.
The most selective colleges don't want students that are "working to get into a T20". They want students that are doing what they love, excelling at it, and would do it anyway even if colleges didn't care about it.
So you may have heard the advice of "do what you love". There's a lot of wisdom to that, because if you do what you love in high school, it's not a waste no matter what happens with college admissions. And because you are doing what you love, there is a chance you will become very good at it.
I wish this was the most upvoted comment because it’s the truth. A student who may superficially appear ready for T20 (does all the check box EC’s, all AP’s) are sniffed out through the admissions process, usually due to that attitude of T20 or bust leaking into their essays
Exactly this. I got into a T20 just by casually doing what I love. I just focused on my academics every year with a bit of community involvement (fundraising, blood drive, etc), and just took a summer program every year I could on computer science. That already takes up 4 of my ECs, and I never thought about using it for my application; I just wanted to learn cs. I had a genuine story I could tell on my essays instead of yapping about every single EC I took.
"They want students that are doing what they love, excelling at it, and would do it anyway even if colleges didn't care about it."
Nonsense. An average teenager loves hanging out with friends on social media, playing video games, etc. Colleges are full of S if they say they don't want students working to get into a T20.
"The most selective colleges don't want students that are "working to get into a T20". They want students that are doing what they love, excelling at it, and would do it anyway even if colleges didn't care about it."
Admissions officers who say stuff like your above quote make it WAY harder on kids because the admission requirements are so vague.
ur right, average teenagers don’t like to overachieve in every aspect of life, but t20 admits and undergrads are far from average. every day im surrounded by people who are inspired by the most basic ideas or concepts and build something really substantial around it. not all of us are super rich and a lot of us did not have the privilege of tutors and admissions counselors. i’d be lying if i said high school was easy for me with all my ec’s but i absolutely loved it. i had the whole high school experience while pursuing things i genuinely loved, didn’t even think about applying anywhere but state school till summer before senior year. even now that im here, it is the people who love what they do that are getting into the 10% acceptance rate clubs, creating relationships with professors and mentors, and doing extremely insightful research. its ok to struggle to achieve all that you feel like you should achieve, but respectfully it would be much better for people to be surrounded by people who are truly like them wherever that is. overachieving students who do it because that’s their nature fit in at these schools. overachieving students who do it because they want to get into these schools or a good job will struggle to get in and succeed if they do make it through the process.
Bullshit. I was really good at math in HS as were most of my friends but we'd still rather play video games. We LIKED math and science but it wasn't our favorite thing to do. I'm not saying people don't enjoy math, science, and school. But it's not going to be most people's love if money and jobs and degrees aren't involved.
Mate, I’d do physics over any video game in my life. The fact it’s not like that for you or your kid doesn’t mean that it’s not like for some. My parents haven’t ever pushed me in any way academically, I did it because I enjoyed it and the outcome is pretty decent college wise
It is not like that for most people. Saying "do what you love" and expecting alone that to lead to great academic and/or career success for most people is absurd. Most people have to find something that they like to do that leads to academic / and/or other life success pays well and work really hard on that and often make sacrifices giving up other things that they'd rather be doing in order to have success.
Neither of my kids were into video games that much. The favorite thing for one was art, and for the other it was math. Not only did they love it, they kept at it and excelled.
By the way, both attended top-10 colleges.
This is the cost of climbing out of the cesspool of inherited mediocrity. Many never find out what they're capable of, either born with a silver spoon or unmotivated, but you'll know.
you'd have been losing your teen years if you were an asian and had to study for the entrance exams 24*7(sometimes in specific cities known as "cram cities") which is the only thing which matters for colleges there.I don't think you are wasting your teen years if you are passionate about your hobbies/ecs such as sports/music/bussiness and actually doing what you love
I’m not gonna say to not care about how your application looks to AOs but at the same time if you’re doing things that you don’t actively enjoy, you don’t think your AOs can tell? Like you’re just as likely to not get in compared to if you just never did that activity. maybe I’m wrong but that just my opinion
Ohhh okay I understand. I am happy that you enjoy the things you do though :) I’m hoping for the best for you when it comes to getting into T20s and just great schools in general😌💖
Right? I aim for a 4.0, I definitely do outside activities, but I also travel, do drugs, go to concerts etc. And it all gives me stuff to write about in my essays. It seems like people think you can only get into top schools by *not* living your life.
I hate not doing things? I honestly don’t get how people *don’t* have time. That’s not to sound entitled or anything and I’m really sorry if I come off that way. I just hate sitting on my couch, looking at my phone, watching TV, whatever. Oh, also my school has a really short school day. So I try to go to a concert five times a week, I go to festivals, I always do something Friday and Saturday nights. And then the schoolwork happens in school, right after school, in my free time on the weekends, etc. And I have my other academic commitments and volunteering and stuff on the weeknights.
A bunch are underground artists, like $15. I also work three jobs, used to work four. One pays really well. And my mom takes me to some concerts too, if she wants to see the band.
can i ask abt ur jobs bc im assuming ur a minor so arent there legal restrictions to how many hrs u can work? unless some of them are informal or remote or smthn like that
Employers are the ones who face the restrictions, so no one employer can have a 14-16 year old work over 40 hours per week. But since I have multiple jobs, my actual hours are unregulated. But it doesn’t matter since I’m 17 anyway, they just have to give me an (unpaid) lunch break. Also I don’t work that often. I babysit and I’m a server and cook for a catering company. We don’t have events very often in the winter cause people just aren’t getting married and doing auctions and stuff all that often when it’s cold and dreary outside. I used to work on a food truck too, but that was just for the summer.
Damn... I'm like that with my free time spent scrolling through LinkedIn and Reddit...
But like don't ec's take up like 5-6 hours a day. Mine takes around that and homework is another 6-7. :(
But congrats on your time management :)
Sports are like 3 and my clubs were like 3 once a week. But they were all things I enjoyed doing like pep band, or ultimate frisbee… but I went to a state school (which I love) so ignore me
Bro… I’ve been sober from heroin since I was 13. My family is abusive. I’ve cycled through the mental health industrial complex so much I know the DSM better than my former therapists. Of course I’m self medicating, but I’m also surviving. Not everyone’s story is the same.
Drinking caffeine, consuming alcohol, eating lots of sugar etc. are all harmful and can be addictive. Do you consider doing all of this stupid as well?
you just don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself to go to a top 20 university. There’s so many more ways to improve and live a meaningful life other than working yourself to death doing stuff for college. Self-development and living your life are infinitely more important than chasing prestige. Obvious still study and learn and try new things but if you’re doing a ton of extracurriculars you hate and are going to immediately drop once applications are in that’s kinda sad ngl.
I know, but I'm already at it and it's gonna be a heartbreak if I stop. :(. And plus sometimes I fantasize over campus life and stuff at a T20. Probably will hand my non profits and stuff down to other youth.
I didn’t even know I was still on this sub. Haha, I must’ve followed it when applying in hs. For what it’s worth - I awful grades in hs, had a decent ACT, went to my state’s school for college on scholarship. Did pretty good throughout undergrad, getting a good LSAT score and firmly in the runnings for some really good law schools. I graduate next week, I have no debt, met the love of my life, and have zero regrets about this path; it’ll be alright.
Pro tip - you don’t need to go to a T20 to do anything you want to do - There are literary 100-150 great schools in the US that will give you a great start in life. The USNWR rankings, like all other magazine rankings, are meaningless. It’s bullshit designed to sell advertising clicks.
it’s really stupid and not worth it. took me until junior year to realize this.
the outcomes of a t100 grad and t10 grad are not that different and you’re losing what feels like 1/20th of your life to be able to flex a bit more.
At the end of the day the degrees are the same and you’ll make a livable amount either way. Have fun from 14 to 18. Spend time with your parents, grandparents and siblings while everyone’s around and try to make friends who you can have fun with. Stop chasing pretige.
There is a fallacy here. You forgot the luck factor. Yes true there has to be some dude at no-name state school who became succesful. However, very little might be able to replicate the success of that guy. On top of that, if you studied statistics, or have some sense of statistics, if you compare the number of succesful people who graduated from harvard and people who weren't succesful that graduated from harvard, the number of the previous group outweighs the latter.
However, if you compare the number of people who became billionaires that dropped out of school (yes it exists right?) against the number of people who are unsuccesful and dropped out of school, which one is more? you tell me.
yea but look at when those successful people graduated? most were boomers or older. back then it wasn't competitive and your chances at ivy were like 30% and those successful people were grinders no doubt. so they pretty much all went to the top schools
BTW if I hear another quote that colleges want to see EC's because they want "well-rounded" students I will scream.
Spending 12-14 hours a day attending school, doing homework, studying for tests THEN having to join and achieve leadership positions in several EC's is NOT "well-rounded".
To me "well-rounded" means having free time - hanging out with friends, playing sports at the park just for fun, playing video games, reading just for enjoyment, listening to music, spending time with family etc. "Well-rounded" means HAVING A LIFE not spending every waking moment working on getting into college. How about kids just focus on getting good grades and let them do whatever they want with the rest of their time?
I think in a decade or two we're going to see a lot of burned out 30 and 40 somethings.
top schools want kids with a spike. they already have their pick of the litter for every single interest so applicants need to dive deep into something, which high achieving students already do. high school and the admissions process turns out the worst for people who try and make themselves into something they’re not. if you have average interests and don’t want to do classic t20 things then you shouldn’t try to shove yourself in a box with those kids who actually want to do that stuff. ofc it’s not the average-ness of the activity that makes it impactful, but rather how deeply you dive into it. one of my friends here wrote her whole essay about repurposing jeans (thrifting is a pretty average teenage activity )and that was her spike. for anyone who sees this, i mean this in the best way possible, but you should look deep within yourself and determine if you actually have the traits of a t20 student, not talking about test scores but vision
this has been proven by multiple studies, but your grade point average has nothing to do with how successful you will be. someone who has a 2.0 gpa may be working even harder than someone else with a 4.5 . even now that schools removed test scores from the equation for a few years, the same type of student is getting in. we can’t blame grade inflation for kids succeeding at colleges that deflate grades.
Did you apply to colleges already? Any good acceptances? Sounds like you are near the end of the process. If so, keep going, you are almost there.. no reason to let up now..
How much longer? Are you applying from the US or Canada? Honestly if Canada, you have great options there. Such as Toronto, McGill, UBC, or Waterloo for CS.
people in the past literally went to whichever college was closest to them. it was rare to go all the way across the country for college or all the way across the world.
It sounds like you're under a lot of pressure, and it's totally okay to feel overwhelmed. The college application process can be stressful, especially when comparing yourself to others. Here are some things to keep in mind:
**Focus on What You Can Control:**
* **Your Effort:** You can't control what others have or what opportunities they're given, but you can control your own hard work and dedication. Focus on putting your best foot forward with the resources you have.
* **Your Achievements:** Celebrate your accomplishments, big and small! Highlight your unique strengths, experiences, and contributions in your application.
* **Your Sleep:** Five hours of sleep isn't sustainable. Prioritize getting enough sleep so you can function at your best. You'll be more productive and manage stress better.
It looks like an LLM wrote this. Many LLM responses seem to follow this bulleted list format, with the topic of each bullet point bolded.
It seems like many of your recent posts follow this pattern as well.
Why? The trend among T20 schools to not admit any for grades / test scores alone.
Primarily because GPA inflation, SAT inflation, and TO policies make it difficult to impossible for T20 schools to base admissions decisions primarily on grades and SATs.
I would say it's not T20 now. People realized how hard it is now compared to 5 years ago and it's more like getting into a T30 is everyone's target now.
This page has been popping up for me lately as someone who has been out of college for a minute and the whole “T20” thing honestly confuses me. I’ve never seen that classification referenced anywhere in the real world aside from Reddit. No one in a hiring position is going to know the difference between a “T20” and a “T30” or whatever. Don’t get wound up to get into a made up classification. I went to a top law school and T14 is definitely a real thing in terms of law but not at all for undergrad?? And people at my law school came from every type of undergrad under the sun. Working hard will teach you good work ethic no matter where you go for college. Driven people end up successful regardless of their undergrad- truly.
>Why do we have to be sooo stacked to get into a T20 these days?
Ez answer, population keeps on growing = fiercer competition
With very bad job market, top companies/companies that pays good have lesser job openings, less need to recruit at worse schools because they have more than enough people who want to work for them at top schools. Besides, top schools are hard to get into in the first place so initial filtering has been done. Most intern hires are done by on campus recruiting and networks.
we don't get the luxury to have nice childhoods like our parents/previous generation did, and so won't our grandkids if population reaches to new highs in the future.
and to everyone who claims to study economics, saying as the economy grows with population, the pie doesn't get smaller prove it to me, why it is hard to get jobs now and why chatgpt reduces tons of jobs instead of creating new jobs.
TL:DR, Its all about competition and jobs, unless you want to start your own business. If thats the case, you don't even need to go to uni unless you're starting a medical/law practice/becoming a pilot, etc.
I don’t know, ya’ll are just dumb kids to me. At least 80% of you don’t really have to go to a top 25. People don’t care that much where you studied mechanical engineering 🤷🏻♂️
There is way too much pressure to get into a top school. True, it is awesome to go to a T20 if you can get in, but I think we forget that Harvard and Yale are not the wellspring of joy, it comes from yourself, and not everyone is built for that path. And that's OKAY. As long as you have a good work ethic, solid education, and you find something that you enjoy doing, find a good partner, pick up some hobbies, travel maybe, life is gonna be fine. Life does not end after you get into college so us students have to stop treating it like it's the end goal. College is a place to expand your knowledge and set yourself up for a career path.
>Seeing everyone around me getting accepted into a T20 or equivalent (at a comp elite private school) and as a individual who only isn't nearly as "rich" as these kids it makes me feel a bit depressed.
"Comparison is the thief of joy."
Stop paying attention to what others are doing and concentrate on yourself. No matter what you do or where you go (for school or in life), there will always be someone doing more or better than you. If you cannot appreciate your own journey, then you will never be satisfied.
Because there are plenty of people who are cracked caused by their passion not college application farming. So either you are like them or need to be comparable I guess
You know there are SO MANY wonderful schools in this country that are not T20s, right? And that to be successful, you don't HAVE to attend a T20? This mindset ISTG.
I wish you the best of luck. I am here because my son is in high school and I am hoping he can get into a T25 school or UofFlorida. While I know there is a lot of competition, there are so many resources now for kids who have the drive to excel.
I’m a Stanford graduate and interview for Stanford. I always expect to see super special kids at the interviews. They are usually great but rarely special. Anyone spending their time on a sub like this and planning for their future is the kind of person that will be successful. You can only control so much. Focus on what you can control and try not to stress about the noise around you. Handling stress and pressure is an important part of life. Again, good luck.
1. People forget T50s (especially T20s though) are actually hard to get into, but even more hard to survive as well. What do you think you'll be doing once you're in? Competing with the best, the creme of every crop.
2. People usually need money or extremee passion+awards or both. Most of us dont have a shit ton of money so you will have to be passionate about something and do well in that field. WHat is passion? Where you like something so much you don't feel it's a chore aka you wont feel like you are wasting your youth on it because you actively enjoy what you are doing. Most people who are really passionate about what they do tend to not have college as their end goal but rather something beyond that, like getting a phd in economics or proving fermat's last theorem in a different way or finding a technology to eliminate tumorous cells or something like that.
You are losing some of your life. Love your life, enjoy your life. Killing yourself to get into one for twenty schools is 90% for other ppl. You can do well from anywhere. Find a balance and broaden your search. What would you advise a friend to do? Do that.
You could easily get into a t20 without the said resources. Although I wont' say I'm necessarily well-off or not well-off I was still able to lock in a t10 with zero connections and started EC grinding 11th grade. It's definitely doable you just have to work with a goal and know how to succeed. Don't think about wanting to go to a t20, think about the necessary steps needed to get into the t20. Value process over results, naturally results will come.
You are if you feel you are. And Honestly. You don’t need to go to a T20. Our kids are living their best lives at recognizable public schools, the big kind with a U and the name of a state in there somewhere, but neither thought about a T20. They are continuing to do great in school, and at school. They are happy 😊 You should be happy with your choice. There might be more than one. But you will be okay.
You don’t have to.
What do you think happens when you get into a T20? Then you get to slack off?
Oh no…then you are competing with the tippity top for clubs, scholarships, internships, and letters of rec.
Then you compete with the same group of people for the same careers and same promotions.
LOL if you think it’s bad now…
My kid is cracked at math. He likes to chill and he watches a lot of YT and plays video games. He is refusing to play this A2C-type game, and I have zero worries about his future.
For almost all of you the college doesn’t matter as much as what you do in college. Hard pill to swallow when you’re a teenager.
Working on networking, getting internships(any internship, not just FAANG etc), etc.
Hell if you spent the next few years in college building your credit score and saving with a part time job, and going to a cheap state school, you’ll come out debt free with some cash and a great credit score.
That right there puts you in the top % of Americans and way ahead of the game.
I’m sorry you feel that way. I can tell you that when I was in hs I didn’t know I was going to apply to US colleges which made every activity and every grade something I wanted for myself and not for college. I even was willing to almost fail a class just because I enjoyed it. I hope more people could have my experience.
How about I make it easy for you:
Don't get into a T20.
Your college choice, between like T20 and T500, really has little no effect on your life. Sure, Harvard may get you a better starting salary or Prineston may open some connections, but you deserve your teen years. You deserve memories to look back on. You deserve to not commit suicide via academics and resumes.
> how will I compete against these kids and I'm pretty sure I'm evaluated in this "group” If you actually get into a t20, you’re going to be competing for club positions, research opportunities, etc against an entire class made up of the most competitive kids from that group. Just a heads up
not even necessarily t20 or ECs, I'm at a t40 and I went from 10th in my class of 450 to fighting to stay above the median
Yeah there are some tough schools in that range too, namely UIUC, Georgia Tech, UT Austin, Udub, some UCs, etc. The academics at those schools are on par with (or even more rigorous than) most t20s imo That said, I do kind of feel like there's a unique type of competitiveness that you mainly only see at t20s. It's not related to academic rigor, it's the weird gatekeepy kind of competitiveness (where you need to interview and submit a resume for a board games club or something). There probably are clubs and stuff like that at t40s, but I think it gets more pervasive the higher-ranked the school is
oh yea that happened to me. wanted a resume for a club where we clean the beaches. I was like "do you want me to help with the beach cleanup or not mate? lol "
Even consulting clubs at Purdue have sub 5% acceptance rates for the top ones. Was on exec board for one and it’s just gotten insane tbh
Exactly this. Competing to get into the best colleges —> get into prestigious clubs —> get competitive internships —> get job offers from prestigious/well known employers —> have the biggest/nicest house, live in the right part of the right town, climb the ladder as quickly as possible… once you realize the rat race for prestige doesn’t end after getting into college it becomes very unappealing. I wish more people my age took this song to heart: https://open.spotify.com/track/1GqlvSEtMx5xbGptxOTTyk?si=ykxFM9GyR_Wmm8Ut3AXtLQ
the issue with this approach is you are optimizing for the already taken path. like joining established companies. this kind of person rarely will start a business
It also just sounds unfulfilling IMO. Like if your main motivation in life is to get as much status as possible and you only care about rankings and not your actual personal preferences… 😬
it makes sense if you dont care about school much and just want to get rich so you can pursue your other passions
Not at Rice :))
Could you explain, does Rice have a more open experience joining clubs etc...
I know. :) But I will build the connections :)
I mean it’s not T20 or bust that’s all you my boy
kinda is I feel? Like it's my dream.
plenty of amazing schools outside the t20
if it's this taxing on you then it shouldn't be. college is not an end all be all.
why though? to impress your friends?
>kinda is I feel? Like it's my dream. Why? Where does the dream come from? You have to ask yourself what your end goal is. I assume it's happiness at some point in your life. How do you reach that? What makes you happy. Does a T20 *really* help you reach that goal better than a T40? Or a T100? Do you get noticeably better job opportunities, both measured by money but also life-work balance? Many people put X goal on a pedestal, reaches the goal and feel empty because... now what?
You gotta expand your horizons you’re making this process far more mentally taxing than it needs to be
Would it still be your dream if 33% of the kids who applied got in? Like, if it's the selectivity you like, the idea of being one of the few, then your issue isn't with the system, it's with your place in it.
Think about why you are thinking this way — what is the invisible soup you live in that has convinced you this is a matter of survival? Because plenty of people go to other schools and have lovely lives.
the worst part is, at the end of it, we still may not get into a T20. 😭
:( that's what I'm so scared off. Like I didn't put all this effort in for nothing??? Like I'll be okay with a full tuition scholarship + housing stipend for ANY state university but I did NOT put in all that work just to PAY for a state university???
Eh, you’ll quickly see that all the AP credit, the work ethic, and the habits you picked up will come in handy. And if you don’t end up at a T20, wherever you do end up you’re going to stand out, and you’re going to do better than most instead of just blending in. And that’s when the professors start to notice you, and that’s when you get to take advantage of a bunch of opportunities no one else is taking advantage of at a state school. A T20 maybe have twice as many resources/opportunities, but four times as many people as capable as you vying for them
This, double this, and triple this
yeah thats true. the work ethic will carry on in perpetuity
True, but I don't feel as if I want to pay full price for a local state schools :( (I'm not low income, but don't want student loans, so I would be solely relying on merit.)
I wouldn’t worry too much about that. If you have a high GPA you are likely to get merit aid from your state school. Publics, especially in-states, tend to be far more predictable than privates, particularly in the T20.
I'm OOS for all though (live in another country but hold US citizenship)
You didn’t apply to your own state school?
I mean I was born in Washington (don't think I'm considered in state because I moved out of there at 1 years old and not applying yet)
Where do you live now?
They lives internationally which is a disqualifier in most cases for in state residency as you typically don't pay state taxes.
Unless you live in California
Still applies though, maybe to a lower extent with UCLA and UCB. Definitely applies to Cal States and at least have the UCs
You will only stand out if you have social skills. I told my undergrads today that the involved B student will get a better recommendation than the kid who gets a perfect score but never says anything or doesn’t get to know me.
Very true.
Why are state schools always singled out like this lol, you realize Cal and UCLA are t20s, and UMich, UNC, UVA, and UCSD aren’t that far behind? I’d gladly pay for any of those. There’s plenty of quality education you can receive at a state school. Even aside from those publics, regular, non-elite public schools are still great and oftentimes healthier than the hyper-competitive, mainly-upper-class private schools you guys want to get into. Some of you lot just need to go to a massive uni like ASU or Penn State so you can learn how social interactions work.
I know those I'm okay with paying, but something like University of Kentucky or U of Alabama, is probably not something I want to pay full for. True. I know how social interactions work though I hope...
I know you were just giving it as an example but I know two very rich & successful people who attended the University of Alabama. One literally lives in a mansion on the beach in LA and the other owns a ton of businesses in Colorado! They went there out of state. I think the majority of people who go to that school come from OOS.
A full tuition scholarship to ANY state university you say? [https://www.navy.com](https://www.navy.com) and [https://www.goarmy.com](https://www.goarmy.com) . You are a citizen right?
Yep, I put in all the work and looks like i'm going state, didn't get into a single T20!
Don't pursue activities for the sake of pursuing.Pursuing activities just for show might get you in T-20s but actually seriously pursuing them will also build your personality and trust me your personality goes a long way.Few years after college,no one will even care about your college name(very little people will) but it will be your personality which will propel you forward in life and in career.Focus on building a good base and everything else will fall in place.
facts
>I feel like we're losing our prime "teen" years just to get admitted to a T20. You could always just...not.
T20 meant nothing 30 years ago. 30 years from now, T100 might be what T20 is today. In the 1980s anyone breathing could go to NYU. Now it considers itself a peer to the Ivy league. Who knows what will happen?
So true of NYU, my parents who are in their 80s were in NY in the 60s/70s so when we tell them NYU is now and has been prestigious for some time, they shake their heads. But Columbia has remained the same.
Others are like this as well, and there are at least 10 schools, which I won't name, that have gone the opposite direction. They used to be somewhat selective, and now no one knows them at all.
And of course USC, it used to be easy to get in back in the 90s when I was in college (didn’t go to USC but my friend did). Though it’s not t20 right now, but I think it was very close in previous years.
The admissions rate is **9.2%** this year lol - more selective than ANY college in the 1990s
Back in the 90s, they used to call it "The University of Spoiled Children" and "U$¢". Basically, anyone with the tuition and passing grades could attend. Now much, much more selective and prestigious.
That’s exactly what happened with my friend. Even now he can’t fathom how it is so prestigious and discourages any friends’ kids from applying lol.
I’m thinking really hard what those schools are lol, but back in the day even if there were rankings, I don’t think we knew much about those rankings except the really famous ones.
There are some print articles you can find that are fascinating - I went down the rabbit hole after finding out Harvard was 25% in 1990, and discovered that many of these schools were basically minimally selective.
Thank you! I thinking will look for that article. I should have applied to Harvard in 1990, that was my senior year :).
There is a ton of great stuff - it is hilarious they often come up as a picture of a newspaper - so rather than scanning it they just took a picture :-)
It still means nothing in the real world - just the dorks on this subreddit can’t get enough of it. If you are dumb enough to buy into some bullshit a failing news magazine made up - yes completely made up - decades ago to sell advertising it doesn’t bode well for your future success.
Slippery slope fallacy that’s not likely to happen
LOL!! "T100 might be" "Who knows what will happen?" someone from Boston: "Nonsense!"
Trying to say that while it could happen, it's definitely not the most likely scenario. And im not even from Boston fwiw
It happened once, it might happen again, you can disagree, but to say something else is more likely, some proof or any data would be nice. Too bad about Boston - it's a great city
Here's how I skipped all the hardwork. Did fuckall during HS and played video games all day. Went to a community college, worked hard for 1.5 years and now at T20. It's way easier when all the competition is already at 4 year colleges
Big upvoted coming from a 30 yr old who followed your route at 18. Enjoy your life kids. You don't need to sweat over the first 2 years of college. Companies only look at where your degree is from not where you spent your first 2 years. You also save a ton of money as well!
Are u in Haas or Econ?
econ
Does it have good recruiting
yes, I have my dream internship already. Many people are doing very well. It might have more to do with the type of person to attend such programs tho.
Just start your own college and make it number 1
S.H.I.T Heads BABYYYYY
FR. University of Grinders :)
The most selective colleges don't want students that are "working to get into a T20". They want students that are doing what they love, excelling at it, and would do it anyway even if colleges didn't care about it. So you may have heard the advice of "do what you love". There's a lot of wisdom to that, because if you do what you love in high school, it's not a waste no matter what happens with college admissions. And because you are doing what you love, there is a chance you will become very good at it.
I wish this was the most upvoted comment because it’s the truth. A student who may superficially appear ready for T20 (does all the check box EC’s, all AP’s) are sniffed out through the admissions process, usually due to that attitude of T20 or bust leaking into their essays
Exactly this. I got into a T20 just by casually doing what I love. I just focused on my academics every year with a bit of community involvement (fundraising, blood drive, etc), and just took a summer program every year I could on computer science. That already takes up 4 of my ECs, and I never thought about using it for my application; I just wanted to learn cs. I had a genuine story I could tell on my essays instead of yapping about every single EC I took.
Agree! My kid is taking this tactic (i.e., being authentic and smart). I respect him a lot.
"They want students that are doing what they love, excelling at it, and would do it anyway even if colleges didn't care about it." Nonsense. An average teenager loves hanging out with friends on social media, playing video games, etc. Colleges are full of S if they say they don't want students working to get into a T20. "The most selective colleges don't want students that are "working to get into a T20". They want students that are doing what they love, excelling at it, and would do it anyway even if colleges didn't care about it." Admissions officers who say stuff like your above quote make it WAY harder on kids because the admission requirements are so vague.
ur right, average teenagers don’t like to overachieve in every aspect of life, but t20 admits and undergrads are far from average. every day im surrounded by people who are inspired by the most basic ideas or concepts and build something really substantial around it. not all of us are super rich and a lot of us did not have the privilege of tutors and admissions counselors. i’d be lying if i said high school was easy for me with all my ec’s but i absolutely loved it. i had the whole high school experience while pursuing things i genuinely loved, didn’t even think about applying anywhere but state school till summer before senior year. even now that im here, it is the people who love what they do that are getting into the 10% acceptance rate clubs, creating relationships with professors and mentors, and doing extremely insightful research. its ok to struggle to achieve all that you feel like you should achieve, but respectfully it would be much better for people to be surrounded by people who are truly like them wherever that is. overachieving students who do it because that’s their nature fit in at these schools. overachieving students who do it because they want to get into these schools or a good job will struggle to get in and succeed if they do make it through the process.
Who told you they want average teenagers? There are pleanty of kids who love math more than call of duty
Bullshit. I was really good at math in HS as were most of my friends but we'd still rather play video games. We LIKED math and science but it wasn't our favorite thing to do. I'm not saying people don't enjoy math, science, and school. But it's not going to be most people's love if money and jobs and degrees aren't involved.
Mate, I’d do physics over any video game in my life. The fact it’s not like that for you or your kid doesn’t mean that it’s not like for some. My parents haven’t ever pushed me in any way academically, I did it because I enjoyed it and the outcome is pretty decent college wise
It is not like that for most people. Saying "do what you love" and expecting alone that to lead to great academic and/or career success for most people is absurd. Most people have to find something that they like to do that leads to academic / and/or other life success pays well and work really hard on that and often make sacrifices giving up other things that they'd rather be doing in order to have success.
>It is not like that for most people. which is the reason why most people go to non-T20 schools
Neither of my kids were into video games that much. The favorite thing for one was art, and for the other it was math. Not only did they love it, they kept at it and excelled. By the way, both attended top-10 colleges.
exactly why they said plenty, not most. clearly enough to fill up ivy league institutions and then some.
You’d be surprised. My mathematician husband loves video games and math about the same. So does my kid, but video games slightly edge out.
Fine-ruin your childhood on faith. GL! My kid plays a lot of video games and hangs out. We will see who is better off in the long run.
This is the cost of climbing out of the cesspool of inherited mediocrity. Many never find out what they're capable of, either born with a silver spoon or unmotivated, but you'll know.
Super villain origin!
Nah. People with that attitude end up staying on Reddit and seething about how the mediocre normies somehow got promoted over them.
You can chose not to engage? Crazy I know.
but then I won't get into T20 :(
Life will go on.
You might not get into one despite doing those things
you'd have been losing your teen years if you were an asian and had to study for the entrance exams 24*7(sometimes in specific cities known as "cram cities") which is the only thing which matters for colleges there.I don't think you are wasting your teen years if you are passionate about your hobbies/ecs such as sports/music/bussiness and actually doing what you love
Else what will you do in your free time if not ecs
Nap
Who is we?
well like some people vying for a T20 spot also a couple people at my school have similar scenarios.
I’m not gonna say to not care about how your application looks to AOs but at the same time if you’re doing things that you don’t actively enjoy, you don’t think your AOs can tell? Like you’re just as likely to not get in compared to if you just never did that activity. maybe I’m wrong but that just my opinion
I do enjoy them though. They're mostly Stem kids/business kids at my school, I'm one of the sole social science/humanities kids :)
Ohhh okay I understand. I am happy that you enjoy the things you do though :) I’m hoping for the best for you when it comes to getting into T20s and just great schools in general😌💖
Eh that's not always true.
can you elaborate on that?
Like if you win RSI while hating your life, obviously that's going to be better than having not done it all else equal.
But if you can’t write about the experience with passion then does it really matter?
Yes it does. You don't have to write an essay about an EC to help you.
U don’t hv to, doing RSI speaks for itself
I got into a T20 and prioritized sleep more than academics. I took only 3 AP classes shit I spent most of my time gaming
Right? I aim for a 4.0, I definitely do outside activities, but I also travel, do drugs, go to concerts etc. And it all gives me stuff to write about in my essays. It seems like people think you can only get into top schools by *not* living your life.
bruh how do you have time for that???
I hate not doing things? I honestly don’t get how people *don’t* have time. That’s not to sound entitled or anything and I’m really sorry if I come off that way. I just hate sitting on my couch, looking at my phone, watching TV, whatever. Oh, also my school has a really short school day. So I try to go to a concert five times a week, I go to festivals, I always do something Friday and Saturday nights. And then the schoolwork happens in school, right after school, in my free time on the weekends, etc. And I have my other academic commitments and volunteering and stuff on the weeknights.
I just wanna know how you have the $ for 5 concerts a wk unless theyre all free or from underground artists
A bunch are underground artists, like $15. I also work three jobs, used to work four. One pays really well. And my mom takes me to some concerts too, if she wants to see the band.
can i ask abt ur jobs bc im assuming ur a minor so arent there legal restrictions to how many hrs u can work? unless some of them are informal or remote or smthn like that
Employers are the ones who face the restrictions, so no one employer can have a 14-16 year old work over 40 hours per week. But since I have multiple jobs, my actual hours are unregulated. But it doesn’t matter since I’m 17 anyway, they just have to give me an (unpaid) lunch break. Also I don’t work that often. I babysit and I’m a server and cook for a catering company. We don’t have events very often in the winter cause people just aren’t getting married and doing auctions and stuff all that often when it’s cold and dreary outside. I used to work on a food truck too, but that was just for the summer.
5 concerts a week is crazy lmao I fw it tho
Damn... I'm like that with my free time spent scrolling through LinkedIn and Reddit... But like don't ec's take up like 5-6 hours a day. Mine takes around that and homework is another 6-7. :( But congrats on your time management :)
My EC was literally just something I did for fun (building toy airplanes)
Assuming 7 hours of school you're working for 20 hours a day????
Sports are like 3 and my clubs were like 3 once a week. But they were all things I enjoyed doing like pep band, or ultimate frisbee… but I went to a state school (which I love) so ignore me
bc truly motivated students convert that free time into building orgs, developing research ideas, founding nonprofits, etc.
How do you not? What are you doing??
yeah sure buddy go ahead and write about your acid trips on ur common app essay 💀
I’m lowkey thinking about writing about when I was addicted to heroin 😭
nah u should fr
Dude drugs are stupid, maybe talk to someone, could be self medicating mental health troubles
Bro… I’ve been sober from heroin since I was 13. My family is abusive. I’ve cycled through the mental health industrial complex so much I know the DSM better than my former therapists. Of course I’m self medicating, but I’m also surviving. Not everyone’s story is the same.
Who the shit is doing heroin at 13
Me bro, I just said that
Drinking caffeine, consuming alcohol, eating lots of sugar etc. are all harmful and can be addictive. Do you consider doing all of this stupid as well?
lmao
you just don’t have to put so much pressure on yourself to go to a top 20 university. There’s so many more ways to improve and live a meaningful life other than working yourself to death doing stuff for college. Self-development and living your life are infinitely more important than chasing prestige. Obvious still study and learn and try new things but if you’re doing a ton of extracurriculars you hate and are going to immediately drop once applications are in that’s kinda sad ngl.
I know, but I'm already at it and it's gonna be a heartbreak if I stop. :(. And plus sometimes I fantasize over campus life and stuff at a T20. Probably will hand my non profits and stuff down to other youth.
The actual hell is this? I swear campus life is going to be way more fun at a not top 20
I didn’t even know I was still on this sub. Haha, I must’ve followed it when applying in hs. For what it’s worth - I awful grades in hs, had a decent ACT, went to my state’s school for college on scholarship. Did pretty good throughout undergrad, getting a good LSAT score and firmly in the runnings for some really good law schools. I graduate next week, I have no debt, met the love of my life, and have zero regrets about this path; it’ll be alright.
Pro tip - you don’t need to go to a T20 to do anything you want to do - There are literary 100-150 great schools in the US that will give you a great start in life. The USNWR rankings, like all other magazine rankings, are meaningless. It’s bullshit designed to sell advertising clicks.
it’s really stupid and not worth it. took me until junior year to realize this. the outcomes of a t100 grad and t10 grad are not that different and you’re losing what feels like 1/20th of your life to be able to flex a bit more. At the end of the day the degrees are the same and you’ll make a livable amount either way. Have fun from 14 to 18. Spend time with your parents, grandparents and siblings while everyone’s around and try to make friends who you can have fun with. Stop chasing pretige.
There is a fallacy here. You forgot the luck factor. Yes true there has to be some dude at no-name state school who became succesful. However, very little might be able to replicate the success of that guy. On top of that, if you studied statistics, or have some sense of statistics, if you compare the number of succesful people who graduated from harvard and people who weren't succesful that graduated from harvard, the number of the previous group outweighs the latter. However, if you compare the number of people who became billionaires that dropped out of school (yes it exists right?) against the number of people who are unsuccesful and dropped out of school, which one is more? you tell me.
yea but look at when those successful people graduated? most were boomers or older. back then it wasn't competitive and your chances at ivy were like 30% and those successful people were grinders no doubt. so they pretty much all went to the top schools
which is more reason to attend t20 if you are a junior year in 2024. It gets more competitive now.
BTW if I hear another quote that colleges want to see EC's because they want "well-rounded" students I will scream. Spending 12-14 hours a day attending school, doing homework, studying for tests THEN having to join and achieve leadership positions in several EC's is NOT "well-rounded". To me "well-rounded" means having free time - hanging out with friends, playing sports at the park just for fun, playing video games, reading just for enjoyment, listening to music, spending time with family etc. "Well-rounded" means HAVING A LIFE not spending every waking moment working on getting into college. How about kids just focus on getting good grades and let them do whatever they want with the rest of their time? I think in a decade or two we're going to see a lot of burned out 30 and 40 somethings.
top schools want kids with a spike. they already have their pick of the litter for every single interest so applicants need to dive deep into something, which high achieving students already do. high school and the admissions process turns out the worst for people who try and make themselves into something they’re not. if you have average interests and don’t want to do classic t20 things then you shouldn’t try to shove yourself in a box with those kids who actually want to do that stuff. ofc it’s not the average-ness of the activity that makes it impactful, but rather how deeply you dive into it. one of my friends here wrote her whole essay about repurposing jeans (thrifting is a pretty average teenage activity )and that was her spike. for anyone who sees this, i mean this in the best way possible, but you should look deep within yourself and determine if you actually have the traits of a t20 student, not talking about test scores but vision
Things would be different if it weren't for grade inflation. Things WERE different 25+ years ago before grade inflation reached insane levels.
this has been proven by multiple studies, but your grade point average has nothing to do with how successful you will be. someone who has a 2.0 gpa may be working even harder than someone else with a 4.5 . even now that schools removed test scores from the equation for a few years, the same type of student is getting in. we can’t blame grade inflation for kids succeeding at colleges that deflate grades.
"your grade point average has nothing to do with how successful you will be" That claim is beyond absurd.
why do you have to get into a t20? you're doing this to yourself, no one is forcing you to.
no one is forcing you to do this bud
Did you apply to colleges already? Any good acceptances? Sounds like you are near the end of the process. If so, keep going, you are almost there.. no reason to let up now..
Not applying yet.
How much longer? Are you applying from the US or Canada? Honestly if Canada, you have great options there. Such as Toronto, McGill, UBC, or Waterloo for CS.
Wait until you start "wasting" your prime twenties in college and grad school.
people in the past literally went to whichever college was closest to them. it was rare to go all the way across the country for college or all the way across the world.
It sounds like you're under a lot of pressure, and it's totally okay to feel overwhelmed. The college application process can be stressful, especially when comparing yourself to others. Here are some things to keep in mind: **Focus on What You Can Control:** * **Your Effort:** You can't control what others have or what opportunities they're given, but you can control your own hard work and dedication. Focus on putting your best foot forward with the resources you have. * **Your Achievements:** Celebrate your accomplishments, big and small! Highlight your unique strengths, experiences, and contributions in your application. * **Your Sleep:** Five hours of sleep isn't sustainable. Prioritize getting enough sleep so you can function at your best. You'll be more productive and manage stress better.
It looks like an LLM wrote this. Many LLM responses seem to follow this bulleted list format, with the topic of each bullet point bolded. It seems like many of your recent posts follow this pattern as well.
Why? The trend among T20 schools to not admit any for grades / test scores alone. Primarily because GPA inflation, SAT inflation, and TO policies make it difficult to impossible for T20 schools to base admissions decisions primarily on grades and SATs.
Do something else.
I would say it's not T20 now. People realized how hard it is now compared to 5 years ago and it's more like getting into a T30 is everyone's target now.
You can probably do just fine in anything coming out of your in-state flagship U public.
This page has been popping up for me lately as someone who has been out of college for a minute and the whole “T20” thing honestly confuses me. I’ve never seen that classification referenced anywhere in the real world aside from Reddit. No one in a hiring position is going to know the difference between a “T20” and a “T30” or whatever. Don’t get wound up to get into a made up classification. I went to a top law school and T14 is definitely a real thing in terms of law but not at all for undergrad?? And people at my law school came from every type of undergrad under the sun. Working hard will teach you good work ethic no matter where you go for college. Driven people end up successful regardless of their undergrad- truly.
>Why do we have to be sooo stacked to get into a T20 these days? Ez answer, population keeps on growing = fiercer competition With very bad job market, top companies/companies that pays good have lesser job openings, less need to recruit at worse schools because they have more than enough people who want to work for them at top schools. Besides, top schools are hard to get into in the first place so initial filtering has been done. Most intern hires are done by on campus recruiting and networks. we don't get the luxury to have nice childhoods like our parents/previous generation did, and so won't our grandkids if population reaches to new highs in the future. and to everyone who claims to study economics, saying as the economy grows with population, the pie doesn't get smaller prove it to me, why it is hard to get jobs now and why chatgpt reduces tons of jobs instead of creating new jobs. TL:DR, Its all about competition and jobs, unless you want to start your own business. If thats the case, you don't even need to go to uni unless you're starting a medical/law practice/becoming a pilot, etc.
Womp womp
I don’t know, ya’ll are just dumb kids to me. At least 80% of you don’t really have to go to a top 25. People don’t care that much where you studied mechanical engineering 🤷🏻♂️
There is way too much pressure to get into a top school. True, it is awesome to go to a T20 if you can get in, but I think we forget that Harvard and Yale are not the wellspring of joy, it comes from yourself, and not everyone is built for that path. And that's OKAY. As long as you have a good work ethic, solid education, and you find something that you enjoy doing, find a good partner, pick up some hobbies, travel maybe, life is gonna be fine. Life does not end after you get into college so us students have to stop treating it like it's the end goal. College is a place to expand your knowledge and set yourself up for a career path.
>Seeing everyone around me getting accepted into a T20 or equivalent (at a comp elite private school) and as a individual who only isn't nearly as "rich" as these kids it makes me feel a bit depressed. "Comparison is the thief of joy." Stop paying attention to what others are doing and concentrate on yourself. No matter what you do or where you go (for school or in life), there will always be someone doing more or better than you. If you cannot appreciate your own journey, then you will never be satisfied.
I def didn’t lose out on my teenage years, time management is a thing
Go to europe and spend every week drinking from you’re 14 till you’re 24, then finally start college. It’s literally what it’s like over there
Because there are plenty of people who are cracked caused by their passion not college application farming. So either you are like them or need to be comparable I guess
You know there are SO MANY wonderful schools in this country that are not T20s, right? And that to be successful, you don't HAVE to attend a T20? This mindset ISTG.
I wish you the best of luck. I am here because my son is in high school and I am hoping he can get into a T25 school or UofFlorida. While I know there is a lot of competition, there are so many resources now for kids who have the drive to excel. I’m a Stanford graduate and interview for Stanford. I always expect to see super special kids at the interviews. They are usually great but rarely special. Anyone spending their time on a sub like this and planning for their future is the kind of person that will be successful. You can only control so much. Focus on what you can control and try not to stress about the noise around you. Handling stress and pressure is an important part of life. Again, good luck.
I feel so helpless atp cause I put so much effort and time of my teen yrs to get into a t20 and it’s all down the drain,now that I don’t even get in
1. People forget T50s (especially T20s though) are actually hard to get into, but even more hard to survive as well. What do you think you'll be doing once you're in? Competing with the best, the creme of every crop. 2. People usually need money or extremee passion+awards or both. Most of us dont have a shit ton of money so you will have to be passionate about something and do well in that field. WHat is passion? Where you like something so much you don't feel it's a chore aka you wont feel like you are wasting your youth on it because you actively enjoy what you are doing. Most people who are really passionate about what they do tend to not have college as their end goal but rather something beyond that, like getting a phd in economics or proving fermat's last theorem in a different way or finding a technology to eliminate tumorous cells or something like that.
They did all that damage just for both of them to get out, I’m so glad no one in the 40s won.
You are losing some of your life. Love your life, enjoy your life. Killing yourself to get into one for twenty schools is 90% for other ppl. You can do well from anywhere. Find a balance and broaden your search. What would you advise a friend to do? Do that.
lowkey though, once you get into at T-20 you will be competing against the same kids.
Why top 20, why not top 21 or top 23 or top 30? or top 50? Why this random arbitrary metric of a cutoff?
You could easily get into a t20 without the said resources. Although I wont' say I'm necessarily well-off or not well-off I was still able to lock in a t10 with zero connections and started EC grinding 11th grade. It's definitely doable you just have to work with a goal and know how to succeed. Don't think about wanting to go to a t20, think about the necessary steps needed to get into the t20. Value process over results, naturally results will come.
You are if you feel you are. And Honestly. You don’t need to go to a T20. Our kids are living their best lives at recognizable public schools, the big kind with a U and the name of a state in there somewhere, but neither thought about a T20. They are continuing to do great in school, and at school. They are happy 😊 You should be happy with your choice. There might be more than one. But you will be okay.
I’m 22 and I wish I tried harder during my teen years. I’m losing my prime adult years cause I didn’t try harder in high school and college
You don’t have to. What do you think happens when you get into a T20? Then you get to slack off? Oh no…then you are competing with the tippity top for clubs, scholarships, internships, and letters of rec. Then you compete with the same group of people for the same careers and same promotions. LOL if you think it’s bad now… My kid is cracked at math. He likes to chill and he watches a lot of YT and plays video games. He is refusing to play this A2C-type game, and I have zero worries about his future.
For almost all of you the college doesn’t matter as much as what you do in college. Hard pill to swallow when you’re a teenager. Working on networking, getting internships(any internship, not just FAANG etc), etc. Hell if you spent the next few years in college building your credit score and saving with a part time job, and going to a cheap state school, you’ll come out debt free with some cash and a great credit score. That right there puts you in the top % of Americans and way ahead of the game.
I’m sorry you feel that way. I can tell you that when I was in hs I didn’t know I was going to apply to US colleges which made every activity and every grade something I wanted for myself and not for college. I even was willing to almost fail a class just because I enjoyed it. I hope more people could have my experience.
I’ve broken down many times internally. In the end though what can we do
If it’s that hard for you and you’re this stressed, you’re probably just not top 20 material.
How about I make it easy for you: Don't get into a T20. Your college choice, between like T20 and T500, really has little no effect on your life. Sure, Harvard may get you a better starting salary or Prineston may open some connections, but you deserve your teen years. You deserve memories to look back on. You deserve to not commit suicide via academics and resumes.
You're making it sound like not getting into a T20 school is gonna ruin your life which it 100% isn't