I have a question regarding the waitlist process for college admissions. I’ve heard varying opinions, and I’m wondering if demonstrated interest plays a significant role when you’re on the waitlist.

Is showing that you're still interested in the school (e.g., sending emails, updating with new achievements) crucial for waitlist candidates?

Any insights from those who’ve been through the waitlist process would be really helpful!

Demographics: Gender, race/ethnicity, state, type of school, and hooks (URM, first generation, legacy, athlete, etc.) International requesting full aid : ( Single parent

Intended Major(s): History, Business(depending on the school)

ACT/SAT/SAT II: 36/36

UW/W GPA and Rank: School doesn't rank. IB program - 44/45

Coursework: Full IB program + self studying one AP class(watch me get a 1...)

Awards:

1. NHS + some school award

2. MUN award

3. International writing award(think adroit, foyle etc)

4. International writing award(think adroit, foyle etc)

5. International Math + Science awards(def not Olympiad levels but still pretty competitive)

Extracurriculars: 

1. School club - did international competitions, won awards, leader
2. School club - cultural showcase, organized events + fundraising, leader
3. School club - small impact tbh, but tried to address some niche problems within my school, leader
4. Paid tutor
5. Super competitive summer program - humanities (less than three percent, i think)
6. Thrift business owner
7. Varsity sport, won awards, some international competitions
8. Hosting a reading camp this summer for an organization i volunteer for
9. Editor of an online magazine + school newsletter
10. Smithsonian/Wikipedia volunteer
11. Independent research project, planning on submitting to a hyper competitive journal(ifykyk)

Essays/LORs/Other: One is probably a 9/10 - very close, highest grades consistently, other is probably going to be some basic "good student" stuff so 5-6/10

Essays - no clue

Schools: Planning on applying ED to UPenn, Dartmouth or Brown. Please give me advice on how I can strengthen my application. Thanks!

Title. I just went through a massive failure (in a comp), even though I put in so much work. Please give me more opportunites and motivation, I feel so heartbroken and im crying like every hour. It's actually crazy because I swear the win was out of my hands bc I did my best and the judges said my 'thing' at this comp was the best out of all?? sorry for being vague but yeah. I don't even know how to deal with this.

Any incoming Hobart and William Smith international students? Let’s connect :))

I've been accepted to several universities for the Fall 2025 undergraduate class. While attending university in the U.S. as an international student is definitely expensive, what concerns me—and especially my parents—even more is the current state of U.S. politics. They believe I’d be better off taking a gap year and applying to universities in other countries instead of going to the U.S. What should I do? I’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts and opinions.

I'm an Indian International, and have seen a LOT of 'Indian Males in STEM' get into colleges like Harvard, Princeton, Stanford this year as compared to the previous years. With Trump cutting down the funding of colleges where students might be protesting for anti-american interests, is it a possibility that colleges are starting to prefer STEM majors instead of students applying as a political science, government major?

This is a question because, I'm an active child education activist who has won the Diana Award, been awarded Forbes 30 U30, etc. and am worried.

Thanks!

Pls guys i need help if anyone is studying there is it worth it and what's the advantages and the disadvantages

I have a question regarding Soka University of America. I am an international student from Central Asia, and I’ve been waitlisted there. According to their most recent CDS, they accepted 79% of their waitlist candidates, with only 15 people being rejected. I was in the process of writing my waitlist essay when I started having some doubts.

Originally, I thought this university was a great option—it's in a fantastic location, the financial aid seemed solid, and I was excited about the opportunity.

However, after talking and seeing to several people, including a professor who posted here on Reddit advising against attending Soka, I’ve been rethinking my decision. Some current students and even faculty have also explicitly told me not to come there, which has raised even more questions in my mind. Additionally, after reading numerous reviews on Google and other social media platforms, I’m starting to question whether it’s the right choice for me.

Given all of this, I’m now considering not submitting my waitlist essay and ultimately withdrawing from the waitlist. If even the students and faculty are expressing concerns about the university and advising me not to attend, it’s making me wonder if I should move forward with this option, especially if I were eventually accepted from the waitlist.

I saw a lot of people with insane stats getting rejected by WL.

Guys, as an international student, in which US colleges can I secure a full-ride scholarship/ or at least full tuition plus dorm scholarship with a 1500 SAT and 4.0 GPA plus extracurriculars?

I'm not sure about whether I'm going to attend stout or not but as an international student, will stout be worth it. I come from a middle class family and I'll have to try extremely hard to attend but it's the only school I can go to in the US or stay in my country. I will be doing the Bachelors in Business or finance. I wanted to know how is stout as a school, what are the opportunities after graduation? Will I be able to get a job after graduating from stout considering my major? I'm planning to get into IB. How is the return on investment? Please help a kid out. I'm confused as hell and my life depends on it

So, I have already got my F1 visa for an average university in which I have got a full tuition scholarship for Computer Science.

I had applied to Umich, Texas tech, UT Austin, NYUAD and other good universities but I got rejected from most of them and some of them were expensive even after aid. So that is why I went with my safety choice.

But due to the current risk and chaos under current administration, I am having doubts if I should go to study in the US right now or not.

I was already taking a gap year for my applications, so I had joined a bachelor's degree here in my home country. Till now, I am already through 2 semesters here but I wasn't liking it here because the semester results are published really late. For example, our first semester results came in after our 2nd semester exams were over. So a WHOLE 6 months late.

I shared my concern with my parents but they say that I should not waste this opportunity. Actually, the fault also lies on me too. They have advised me in the past to continue my bachelor's here but back then I was hopeful about my applications and even if I had to go for the safety choice I would make it work by studying hard in the US. And my parents supported me.

That is why my parents are saying to me that you cannot take these decisions on a whim.

So I am really conflicted and don't know what to do. Regret goes both ways. I know that I will regret the decision despite what I choose. But I am really pulling my hair right now because I don't know what decision to make 😭😭

I don't have plans to permanently immigrate to the US but I want to come back to my country after some years of experience.

So any advice people ? Will I be making a rash decision if I decide not to go?

If you experienced both systems I'd like to know about it (specify which European country/es)

Hello! I’m about to start a tech program this fall. My school gave funding, but it wasn’t enough. I’ve searched online, but I’ve not been able to find many scholarships. Please, can anyone guide me in the right direction or give suggestions? Thank you very much!

First, I am extremely grateful to be admitted to have so many options to choose from, and some of them have given me incredible scholarships!

I have made decisions, and now it boils down to just 2: Duke Kushan and the University of Alabama.

Duke Kushan:

• Graduate with a dual degree from DKU and Duke (bonuses like the alumni network, the Duke name)
• Affordable cost of living since it is in China.
• Near Shanghai, city life.
• Close to home (I live in South East Asia, and I can go home during winter break, summer if I want to)
• I have to learn Chinese (though I think it won't be a problem)
• Cost of attendance: 25k/year. ($50,000 Scholarship/year)
• Launch pad for Master's, Doctoral program at Duke or T20s.

University of Alabama:

• Honors (smaller class size and more interaction with professors)
• Cost of attendance: 21k/year ($28,000 Scholarship/year)
• Fair reputation for STEM classes like comp sci, engineering, math,...
• In a small college town

Given the current political climate in the U.S., I'm starting to feel that studying in China might actually be a safer and more stable option. The Trump administration has already made it more difficult for international students to study or find jobs in the U.S., and lately, I’ve been reading a lot about international students having their visas revoked. I'm really torn, where should I commit to school?

I just committed to Temple University as I have just paid the deposit. It is currently 9 am in PA right now so I haven’t heard from them yet. I’m wondering now if I’ll get my I-20 soon and how long the visa process will be. Can I please hear from people’s experiences and how I can make sure I can be successful in achieving this goal.

3.2 GPA on Spanish high school, on the spectrum and learning disabilities. I fckd up biotech major here getting 144 credits out of 240 required with a 2.6 GPA and then dropped out. I'm 25 yo right now and after taking some SAT practice tests I did surprisingly well because it's very logical straight to the point, no need to study stuff. What are my chances of finishing biotech major in the US or maybe start something related to IT or gamedev without going bankrupt? Family income is dad's salary 2600 € a month and we have about 60k € in savings and an apartment worth around 75k €. Can I get aid and otherwise would it make sense financially? It's highly likely I will fail courses and what happens with your tution debts then? Too risky?

Yeah basically the title. My major will be Econ/comp sci or neuroscience.

yea, basically the heading.

I got rejected from every university I applied for the fall 2025 and were only left with some expensive safety schools. Partly, it is my fault for only applying to reach (for international students) colleges.

But I applied to Texas State university on April (recently). If I'm qualified to get the scholarships (automatic and in-state tuition), will I get one even though I've applied late?

Please reply if anyone sees this. It's better if someone has had the similar experience and got the scholarships even when applying in rolling decision.

Looking at how competitive the CS degree is rn, if I apply to good universities like the ivy leagues I will definitely get rejected. My parents wanted me to do CS obviously (cause I belong to an asian house hold) and it's not like I hate CS too. I just want to know if it is even worth it to apply and study Computer Science as an international student looking at the current job market and competition. At this point, I cant differentiate if I actually like CS or have I been forced into it. My activities and application are somewhat related to CS. Can I apply to something else and switch my major there? What should I do???

I thought of doing btech abroad but they dont have many branches of btech . ESpecially not btech in IT . They do have bsc IT . People say that if i do bsc I'll probably wont get a job blah blah and bsc mai dhakke khayegi . Jobs are all matter of skills and luck . Idk what should i do. Pls guide me🙏🏻

Saw numerous news where F-1 visas have be revoked for students currently studying in the US (some with no reason mentioned whatsoever).

How hard is it going to be to get an F-1 visa in this environment? If they are revoking currently enrolled student visas, are they even issuing new ones?

All insights are appreciated (especially for Indian International).

In reference to this situation: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/global/international-students-us/2025/04/03/how-trump-wreaking-havoc-student-visa-system

I received a communication with this: "The only way that students are informed of visa revocations is via an email notification to the address they originally used to apply for their F-1 or other non-immigrant visa. If students worked with an agent or consultant to apply for their visa, it is possible that the agent or consultant’s email address was used. We encourage all students on visas to monitor the email address used to apply for their F-1 or other non-immigrant visa for notifications from the Department of State."

So please make sure you are using an email address you can continue to access during your studies.

Hey, I’m a slavic female coming to Notre Dame Uni this autumn. No idea how to prepare for college, like, what can I do to make my experience/ transition better? everything from learning more about the school in advance to making appointments with doctors in my hometown before leaving. anything will be appreciated!

I ask for general advice too, not connected to ND ;))