my alumni interview went terribly
i blanked on why this school and talked about minecraft for like 10 minutes. please tell me it's not over
Loading the forum
This is an unfiltered place. Ask the question you would not ask your school counselor, share what worked, share what did not. You can talk about whatever you would like in the admissions process.
Disagree as hard as you want, but no attacks on anyone for their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, disability or where they are from.
No repeated posts, link dumps, bots or anything posted only to sell.
If you would like to solicit, you must make an account with Aristo first, and you may only post your own booking link. Everyone else: no selling services, essays, tutoring or referral links.
Posting means you agree to the forum terms and our privacy policy. Badges show who is an Aristo counselor or on the Aristo team.
Early decision, waitlists, deferrals, how schools actually read a file. Ask anything about getting in.
i blanked on why this school and talked about minecraft for like 10 minutes. please tell me it's not over
Starting at a CCC next fall instead of a four-year to save money. The goal is to transfer to a UC. I keep hearing about TAG but don't really get how it works. Is it actually guaranteed? Does it work for UCLA or Berkeley? I want to do CS or maybe data science. And what should I be doing my first semester so I don't mess it up? My high school GPA was 3.4 so I didn't really have a shot at UCs as a freshman. This feels like my second chance and I don't want to waste it. Nobody in my family has done the transfer thing so I'm figuring it out alone.
I have an A+ in AP Bio but the teacher barely knows me. I sat in the back, did well on tests, never talked much. I have a B+ in AP Lang but that teacher loves me. I went to her office hours like every week, my essays went from C's to A's, and she told me I was one of the most improved students she's had. I want to major in biology so I feel like I'm supposed to ask the Bio teacher. But the Lang letter would probably be way better? Who should I ask? Can I ask both? Deadlines are in about 5 weeks so I need to ask this week.
Throwaway-ish. Senior in Illinois, applying for fall 2027. I've gone back and forth for like a month and I need outside opinions. **Stats:** 3.85 UW / 4.3 W, 1490 (760M, 730RW), 9 APs by graduation **Intended major:** Economics, maybe econ + data science **ECs:** 1. Varsity debate captain, state quarterfinalist junior year 2. Treasurer of our school's investment club, run the fake portfolio competition 3. Part-time at a bakery, ~12 hrs/week since sophomore year 4. Tutor middle schoolers in math through a local library program 5. Summer research-ish thing with a local econ professor (helped clean data, no paper) **The two schools:** - **Northwestern:** dream school, visited twice, I love the vibe and the econ program. Obviously a reach. - **Wake Forest:** I'd be genuinely happy there. Smaller, I like the business school and the campus. My parents said they can afford either if the net price calculators are right (we ran them, both came out roughly similar). The thing that makes it hard: when I visited Wake I could actually picture myself there. At Northwestern I mostly pictured how proud my parents would be. I don't know if that means something or if I'm overthinking it. Everyone at my school says "never waste ED on a reach," but my counselor said ED at Northwestern is the only way I have a real shot. I don't want to waste it, but I also don't want to wonder forever. Other things I'm applying to EA: Illinois, Michigan, Georgetown (EA, non-binding), and Indiana as a safety. RD would be Notre Dame, WashU, Vanderbilt, Emory and Boston College. Edit: forgot to say Wake also has ED 2, if that matters Edit 2: thanks for the replies so far, reading all of them
AP Physics C is destroying me. title. please help
Took Calc 2 at the community college this past summer through dual enrollment and got a C (the prof was brutal but whatever, that's on me). It is NOT on my high school transcript, I checked with the registrar. I'm applying to the UCs plus like 8 Common App schools. Both apps have a section for college classes. If I just leave it off, would anyone know? The CC would have to send its own transcript right? I really don't want a C sitting next to a 4.0. For context I'm applying as a math major so this is literally the one class that matters most for my major. Which is why I'm panicking.
ok so i submitted usc EA last week and was rereading my app tonight and i put A for AP chem and precalc sem 1. they were a B+ and a B. i did the grades part at like 1am on oct 31 and i honestly don't know if i did it on purpose or just autopiloted from my sem 2 grades is it a big deal for 2 classes? will they even see it before my transcript? i feel sick
Junior here. Basically my whole app is business: DECA (state qualifier twice), finance club treasurer, I run a small sneaker resale thing on the side, and I did a stock pitch competition last spring. Saw a TikTok saying business is the most competitive major everywhere and the trick is to put something like philosophy or classics and then switch once you're in. Is this actually a thing people do or does it backfire? 3.9 UW, 1500. Looking at USC, NYU, Michigan, Cornell, maybe Emory. I don't even dislike philosophy, I took an ethics elective and it was fine. I just don't want to lose a spot because I picked the "wrong" box.
Posting means you agree to the forum terms and our privacy policy. Badges show who is an Aristo counselor or on the Aristo team.