Hello, A2C. Long time lurker here and finally get to post. Apologies for the long post.

I recently came across a post by a desperate mother whose son was sad that he only got into Vassar instead of the Ivies. I also came across the subsequent post in which the OP questioned the entitlement of some international students, specifically the mother and son, in the Vassar post. Many misconceptions based on cultural differences came across in the comments sections, and I think it is critical to clear this up.

First of all, in response to the question regarding the entitlement post, yes, your place of birth played an enormous role in your admission to colleges. If you are an intl student, you are already disadvantaged. Even if you qualify, many factors can hinder your acceptance, with language being one of them. Other basic examples could be that American colleges distrust/misunderstand the grading system of your high school (speaking of IB, haha), or you cannot get the same level of ECs as other top college applicants because your country does not have that sort of institution. Sometimes colleges just don't have that much space for intl ppl. Let's not even mention the issue of disinformation and misinformation online and how application agents, instead of helping students, sold information for a living.

It is not entitlement or delusion that led the Vassar mother to post on A2C; it is the unfamiliarity of a systematic difference in evaluating applicants (or in an American context, inequality) that led her to post on A2C. This systematic difference is rooted in culture, hard to grasp for many ppl. Her posting does not undermine the effort that US home students put into getting into top colleges, as they put in HUGE work, but I just cannot get rid of the idea in my brain that some American home applicants cannot confront their privilege of cultural familiarity and citizenship and believe that the Vassar mother and son are entitled and delusional.

There is nothing wrong with this privilege! We are all humans living on planet Earth with different nationalities; each has its privileges, and it is only correct to know what privileges exist and recognize them. The United States is not the only civilized country in the world, and it is reasonable to assume that people from other places have different education systems and cultures that set their expectations differently. Of course, this is not to ask you to understand the culture of every country but to think from different perspectives before you try to comment.

Anyway, yes, there are always entitled students, as there are entitled students in any culture. But thanks for listening to my rant.

Which school should I go to and why if I care about prestige?

COST ISNT A CONSIDERATION

i want to work in nyc ib after grad or consulting or smth connecting healthcare and consulting or product management and maybe some tech things prob not quant

prestige matters a good ammt for me but also i want good location, rly good campus and food, and decent dorms

In posts like Imperial College vs Purdue for engineering, I always see people saying pick Purdue over Imperial. This really makes me sad as an Imperial and wonder why there is so much dislike against universities like Imperial, UCL or St Andrews in this subreddit?

As an international student applying next year, I heard from my friends that it is much harder to get into top universities without a US citizenship, reasons being having to compete in a much more intense pool of competition and students, admission officers' natural preference of wanting to accept more american students into an american university or whatever. Is this true? If it is, to what length?

Based on many sources including the Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and Georgetown, and even my own experiences, MCPHS (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences) is the most underrated school in America and should receive more attention as it is a hidden gem and it promises a very lucrative future.

l attended Northeastern between 1999 and 2000 as a Chinese international student before transferring to WPI after realizing that Boston sucks and Worcester is better while my wife attended MCPHS Boston between 1999 and 2000, also as a Chinese international student where she then transferred to MCPHS Worcester. Even though Harvard, MIT, and Stanford (schools my 13 year old son is obsessed at) are the most well known colleges, in my opinion, they aren't the best colleges in America and they are overrated. You essentially pay like hundreds of thousands of dollars and thousands of your high school hours for a piece of paper when you could have been laid back and just attended MCPHS. Even a state school wouldn't cut it because many are mediocre at their premed and predental courses and instead, make you take redundant courses and then, have essentially O internship opportunities. Instead, MCPHS (where my wife studied, short for Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences) is the most underrated university in America, especially if you are into Pharmacy, Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Optometry, or even plainly, Biology, Chemistry, or even Data science or Business.

Even though there might be some haters of MCPHS (who also happen to be fanboys of Harvard and MIT or even BU/NEU), MCPHS is still the best and most underrated college in America as it doesn't get the respect it deserves.

My wife went there between 1999 and 2003 as an international student (first in Boston and then in Worcester since 2000), became a nurse, then a nurse manager, and now she is further promoted. She makes 6 figures while I had to suffocate with a master's at University of Houston just to make several times more than her as l am a C-suite at a Houston based biotech company.

According to MCPHS website, it said it is the highest paying and the most transformative school in all of America (according to Money and Georgetown) and the best value and mobility as well but people keep on complaining and hating it. Case in point, many international students and people all the way out to California as well as many Vietnamese people (I know a few coworkers who went there and is highly successful) chose MCPHS over supposed "good" schools like BU, Northeastern, NYU, Rice, and UHouston. If MCPHS wasn't good, then people wouldn't go there, but many people go there and are relatively successful, especially in Massachusetts because a lot of my coworkers went to MCPHS and are either managers or directors at my biotech company.

I do believe that MCPHS is not only easy to get into compared with other universities with lower social mobility like BU, Northeastern, UHouston, Rice, and of course, Harvard and MIT, they are also very diverse, have a lot of great alumni, is a feeder to many medical and dental schools because I knew of a former MCPHS Boston student (one of my wife's colleagues) who went on to become a director of a medical department at Mass General, has good mentoring opportunities, the best professors, and high graduation rate.

https://www.mcphs.edu/academics/schools/arts-and-sciences/public-health-field

https://www.mcphs.edu/news/meet-the-young-leader-driving-innovation-at-cvs-pharmacy

https://www.mcphs.edu/news/routine-eye-exam-helped-lilly-phan-see-her-future

https://www.mcphs.edu/news/dentist-from-nepal-pursues-public-health-to-address-inequalities

After grouping the two cheapest colleges(even though it isn't...😍): ASU Barrett (in state)- biomedical engineering, scholarship: 16k/yr; estimated cost without scholarship: $38k, estimated cost w/ scholarship: $22.5k (included dorms and such)

NYU Tandon- chem and bioengineering, tandon scholarship: $38.2k/yr; estimated cost without scholarship: $96k, estimated cost w/ scholarship: $57k (includes dorms and such)

I still can't seem to choose which one to go to after asking like a million people, it's always 50/50! I need actual advice like if NYU's extra $33k is justified, and please not just "choose NYU for rankings/prestige, choose NYU bc it's NYU". I am wanting to do pre med (might switch majors since I’ve heard it’s difficult balancing BME with ECs…) and want to know if NYU is really worth the extra $33k+ compared to ASU, since NYU isn't the most known for its STEM. I will be debt from NYU and maybe a bit from ASU, but I'm wondering if it is worth it for NYU's undergrad debt when I want to pursue med school in the future. NYU will probably have more resources and ecs available for their students, but is ASU Barrett's relationship with Mayo Clinic and HonorHealth comparable to NYU, and if there are more opportunities available in AZ that most don't know of? If anyone have any advice about either school's ecs or programs I can look into, please let me know! Thanks! 🙏🙏🙏

^^ thanks!

Title

likely premed, would pick UCLA on a slight margin except for the quarter system vs UMich being semester (sounds rly stressful and everyone is telling me quarter isn't worth it)

edit: they cost about the same so that's not my priority

I am not sure where to commit too. I am either pre-law or pre-business don’t know yet. I am going to grad school after. I feel like all my schools have cons and I cannot decide. My intended major is public policy/ psychology. I am def more humanities person. I get financial aid from private schools. I swear I was rejected from all the schools that are more humanities based.

Tufts - Don’t like the vibe, don’t like campus, Boston is cold, 20k a year, lacks name recognition, ppl are not my type

CMU - extremely rigorous, too CS/stem focused, no school spirit, don’t like campus, never heard of people going to law school after, 40k a year

UNC Honors - 85% of ppl from North Carolina, ik in state folks who got like 1300 on their SAT’s and got in and just ppl who didn’t work as hard in hs and they have to pay 6k while I have to pay 60k. What sense does that even make.

UMich - 80k a year. Too cold. Huge. Far from home.

UC Berkeley- 90k a year. Huge. Going to grad school after. Very far from home.

UGA - in state but was waitlisted for the honors college, so not going there after I worked my a** off in hs.

‘I was waitlisted at WashU and Stanford so praying I get into one of those. But out of the choices I do have, where should I go?

Hi everyone,

I'm a parent of a 11th grader in New Jersey who's showing a strong interest in pursuing a career in medicine. They’ve taken both the SAT and ACT early and scored in the mid-1400s on the SAT and a 33 on the ACT, also science/math APs.

We're just starting the college search process and trying to build a list of schools with strong pre-med support. As many of you know, “pre-med” isn’t a major, which makes it tricky to figure out what to actually look for. Unlike fields like Computer Science, where US News and other sites have rankings and filters to find top programs, there’s no clear ranking or list for pre-med tracks.

We’ve been browsing US News and various other websites, but we’re struggling to define meaningful criteria for identifying colleges that are genuinely supportive for pre-med students — things like advising, research opportunities, clinical access, committee letters, etc.

If you’ve gone through this process or have experience building a solid pre-med college list, I’d love to hear your advice.

1. What factors did you prioritize?
2. How did you narrow down options?
3. Is the SAT/ACT score good enough to get into a decent pre-med program.

Any tips or resources would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I just committed to Berkeley, a school I never thought i would go to. All of high school I had my heart set on UCLA, and whenever Berkeley came up my first thought would be "whatever, im NEVER going there. I'm going to UCLA".

Now, the thought of going to Berkeley creates a pit in my stomach. I worked so hard all of high school and have finally run out of steam and motivation- i dont see a world in which i make it through college. I feel no excitement about college, and i'm homesick already. I already miss the things im leaving behind, and the thought of having to start over, having to pay for EVERYTHING myself, having to compete for internships and jobs, and just having to be an adult makes me want to cry.

please give me some advice if you've ever felt this way.

I heard some T20's have insane ED acceptance rates (20-40%) with low RD acceptance rates (2-5%) and fill up most of their class (60-80%) early, so does applying early really help?

Argument A: Applying RD is okay.
- Early pool is stronger; that's why the acceptance rate is higher.
- Getting deferred early is worse than applying rd.

Argument B: Apply Early.
- Doesn't matter what the school says-- with RD, there are just fewer seats available, so it must be more difficult to get in.

Asking this because there is one weak spot on my application, so I really cannot fight the RD pool with HYPSM rejects and fewer seats.

How can I make my odds of getting into an Ivy League as high as possible? I’m currently a sophomore and my gpa freshman year was 3.75 and this year it was bad because I had a lot of medical issues so it will be a 3.6. I have done football and track both years but plan on discontinuing football and been in fbla but wasn’t able to compete this year and I have 40 total hours community service hours.

I am taking a bunch of honors and a couple college classes next year so that will help I will also be joining a few more clubs like deca student athlete leadership team and possibly a few more. I’m also in the midst of learning Spanish and plan on being able to say I’m fluent on my application.

I plan on starting a non profit for research on neuro degenerative diseases. But what else can I do I have an incredibly strong interest in studying neuroscience.

Also I come from a rough background as both my parents were arrested for having a drug business and I was adopted by my grandparents. And I was diagnosed with JME(Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy) this year which has made school more of a struggle but I’m getting through it

Any tips or advice would be greatly greatly appreciated I want to go to either UPenn or Harvard

Just for some context, I'm interested in medicine, tech, and bio, but not sure as to what I'll end up in so I'm planning to major in biomedical engineering. However, at hopkins I didn't get into bme (can only do bme there if you get into it specifically) and at gt I can do any engineering really.

I'm also interested in research which I realize I would have more opportunities with at Hopkins, especially with the joint hospital. Another pro abt hopkins is the flexibility it would provide in terms of switching majors/minors or even doing a masters degree. The biggest thing about hopkins is the name, but I'm curious if that even makes much off a difference in my future career? My biggest fear abt hopkins is the small campus/class size, the lac kof things to do, and the idea that it would make me depressed.

At gt, the school appeared livelier, but I've heard bad things abt it as well. Both schools are ranked great so I think it comes down to how beneficial a smaller school with more prestige could be. Also, I'm kind of worried about being OOS at gt since a majority of kids are from around the area there.

In terms of cost, my parents are ok with either and are pushing for hopkins, but I honestly would feel pretty bad about the price of hopkins. Any help would be appreciated!

Princeton is cheaper for me ngl but Stanford was the og dream but I’m having soooo much trouble choosing. Anything helps!!

used this subreddit a lot back in hs and it was crazy seeing everyone being like oh low income people have it so easy they get college for super cheap and its a hook while they can't even imagine ever being poor and struggling. it also gets way harder being one in college. im really sorry you're middle class.

actually im gonna make so many rant posts on this subreddit because I have too much schoolwork and realize im never going to be above my peers who grew up with money and connections

Edit: my title is gonna stay as it is but I don’t mean that schools like UMich and Northwestern were my targets, it’s just to add on to the title.

On every ounce of every thing I’ve ever loved, not only have I never been this infuriated in my life, but I have to constantly hear “who cares?” and “your undergrad doesn’t matter” from my friends and family. My stats were mediocre for Ivy League schools (4.36, 1480 SAT, 4 leadership positions, multiple MUN awards, 200+ hours of community service, teaching voluntarily), and I didn’t expect much from any of them. Seeing waitlists from schools like UIUC, UMich, and NYU, were chill because I thought I had more options, but after my Northwestern rejection I started panicking. I know I probably wasn’t going to get into an Ivy, but seeing 4 rejections in a row just put me off the edge. I had worked for 4 years, losing friends, not being able to hang out with anyone until the end of my junior year, and then applying to colleges with the idea that I was gonna get in to at LEAST one target school. I can say goodbye to that now.

Everyone told me that I shouldn’t worry about it, and I probably shouldn’t. None of those people are currently dealing with that right now. I applied for Neuroscience to every school (idk what I was thinking) and so everyone started telling me that my undergrad didn’t matter. It’s so easy to tell when someone wants to make you feel better and it just makes you feel worse. Obviously your undergrad matters. I don’t care what anyone says, the connections and opportunities you find at certain schools are nonexistent at other schools. The people that said that to me also did not know what it meant to be known as the “smart guy.” It’s not fun to be labeled as some prodigy and then underperform and be “consoled.” You look back at your entire life of trying so hard and then you look at the other guys who maintained a B/C average getting into the schools you got waitlisted at. Seeing the smile and happiness of the other person getting into a school I thought I was going to immediately accept floods my being with cortisol and makes me want to look back at my rejections to see if they made a mistake “just in case.” I can say I don’t care and that there is always next time. But I really do care and I hate waiting. Waiting another year to apply really pisses me off more than anything, and then building off of nothing will also piss me off.

Waitlists also put you at such a disadvantage. You have less priority for aid, housing, and classes. You watch everyone accept their offers and then when someone asks you, “did you decide where you’re going?” You just tell them that you’re still waiting. My teachers told me that I’d be successful during parent-teacher conferences, I was told I was the gifted kid in school, I was told that I was MIT and Stanford material. How much of a detriment is it to be a glass half empty person? Let’s say it’s intense. Now when you look at a glass totally empty you just say screw it. I did not work hard to go to community college because I got rejected everywhere else. If I go to community college I want it to be because it was the logical thing to do, not because I didn’t get in anywhere.

Rejection is redirection, yes, but I’m not meant to use that as a cope or as a way to give others advice. I want to say “rejection is redirection” by getting into at least one of my target schools and maybe not the other.

I know many people can relate so I also just wanted to let those who experienced the misfortune I did to understand that they aren’t alone.

Sorry if I made any grammatical or spelling mistakes I’m tired and I don’t care anymore.

This annoying kid did his ECs and projects to my music and wrote his essays in the background, and I thought I might have leveraged his chances with my pure talent. But this shorty only got into UC Berkeley. Which is amazing, don't get me wrong, but I was honestly expecting Harvard. Now I am genuinely shocked at how competitive college admissions have gotten.

For context, I was recently admitted to both and am having an incredibly difficult time picking between them. They both gave me really good financial aid and they’re obviously two of the best schools, so I’m just looking to see what differentiated them for other people. Any advice would help 😭😭😭🙏

These are top schools I've been admitted to as an international student and I'm really trying to narrow down my choices.
My aspiration has always been to create a startup, possibly in FinTech (pursue entrepreneurship - not study it), but I could also see myself going into Quant and I want to also keep the doors to high Consulting or Investment Banking, on either coast, open.
I applied and was admited for Economics at the Colleges of Arts & Sciences at both but am 99% sure I want to double major in Comp Sci or Data Sci or maybe even Engineering - and perhaps this becomes my main major over Econ as I've heard it is very different at uni.

Worries about Berkeley: Major Flexibility across their colleges (Idk if I will be allowed to major in Data Science or CS at Berkeley's CDSS), Public School Stigma, Stress

I would really appreciate your input, especially if you are a student at any of these or had to make a similar decision.

I recently got accepted into UCSD's Eight College for a major in AI and USC Viterbi for CS and was having a tough time deciding between the two universities. According to rankings on USNews and CSRankings, UCSD seems like the better choice, but a lot of sources say USC has better opportunities and a more extensive alumni network.

The difference in majors also complicated the decision making process a bit. UCSD's AI curriculum is being rolled out this year so there's really not much information available online.

I plan to go for a job directly after undergrad so I'm not quite sure which institution would be a better fit for me. I'm also a bit confused about the campus life and culture at both universities since USC seems to have a more sociable and friendly reputation compared to UCSD.

Thanks in advance for your advice and input!

I got into Upenn, USC, UCSD, UCI, UC berk, UCLA, pomona and I can not decide where to go!

For context I am low income and have a full ride everywhere but I have trouble deciding whats best for me. My major is psych but I realized I don’t really know what I want to do anymore. I know nobody can pick for me but heres a couple pros and cons.

Ucsd

I want to go somewhere more prestigious and I dont wanna be close to home. I get $$$ from scholarships.

Ucla I dont really have much desire to go here although its a great school.

Upenn I can leave my hometown. I cant stand the cold and I like a sunny environment. I heard the food isnt good and I just don’t know if the environment is great for me. The name however is big.

UC Berkeley Great and rigorous courses Its in bay area I heard it is hard!

I will be touring campuses but I just hope the process of picking schools gets easier!

I got rejected from all my reaches in the US but I can easily get into the top university in my country NTNU and probably NUS in Singapore. I have good enough grades to go to American top universties (43/45 IB) but I have mediocre ECs due to my family situation preventing me from studying untill I was halfway through highschool (Amnesty international school chapter leader and 4. place in a national reaserch competition (not related to my major) but thats it). I still really want to go to one of the top universities in the US and I am confident that I can get a 4.0 if I get into a state university but is it worth the risk? Is it much harder to transfer from my national top university or NUS than from an american state university like Penn state for example? My local university is free and NUS is better than Penn state if I'm unable to transfer. I want to long term emigrate to the US, and while I am aware that I could do a master there, I think the undergraduate connections are invaluable.

If you are wondering why I didnt apply to any targets in the US, it is because my financial situation has changed since then.