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I absolutely hate college applications

fireshot91

fireshot91

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 31, 2008
4,721
1
Northern VA
Just thought I'd take a little break from college applications, and then vent about it :p.


I've basically finished my application for Virginia Tech, and mostly done with UVA. Although still have to write a lot of essays for UVA. And get them edited/reviewed/etc. For UVA everything is due November 1st, for Virginia Tech, I think it's around January, but I'm pretty much done, so I'm just going to submit it sometime soon.


Anybody else in the process of writing apps? And if so, what schools are you/did you apply to?


And for those that are already past this stage, how was it?
 
My college application was all online and took about five minutes, The University of Utah.
 
From my experience, unless your GPA or SAT/ACT scores are not up to par, college essays don't really mean anything unless you're trying to get into a prestigious school.
 
wordoflife said:
How many universities are you applying to?
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3-4, so not that many..but still, enough to make me want to not go to college :p
sumone said:
Are you first time or transfer?
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First time, freshman application.

Abyssgh0st said:
From my experience, unless your GPA or SAT/ACT scores are not up to par, college essays don't really mean anything unless you're trying to get into a prestigious school.
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My GPA/SAT are borderline/a little under average for UVA. But for VTech, it's around average. But regardless, I'd still try for my essays even if I was 'guaranteed'.


leftywamumonkey said:
I'm on the same boat as you. I'm applying to 6 University of California schools.

Oh and nice LRG logo.
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It really sucks, doesn't it?
And yeah, I've had that for the past 3 years..I should change it..
 
You know what? In Australia and New Zealand its as easy as handing in your Academic Record and Justify your course of study.

You should come over here if it pisses you off so much. Got an empty room in my flat. :rolleyes:

Sad thing is the fees are probably cheaper as well.
 
leftywamumonkey said:
I'm thankful for the common app. :D

Oh, and what's your intended major?
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Yeah, only one of my top 3 schools uses it...:rolleyes:
Computer Science. But for most of my schools I'm putting Business Undecided, since it's easier to get into, and then I'll transfer.

waloshin said:
Why are you applying now college started a month ago.
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For the next fall term. I'm a senior in high school. My application is due November 1st (Early Admission), and I hear back around April if I got accepted or not.

That's why I'm applying now. It takes a while for the universities to sort through the applications and pick who they want.




And yeah, but where I go to college (Country) is a direct decision of my parents :p. And even if I could, I probably wouldn't want to, either.
 
fireshot91 said:
Yeah, only one of my top 3 schools uses it...:rolleyes:
Computer Science. But for most of my schools I'm putting Business Undecided, since it's easier to get into, and then I'll transfer.
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I figured that generally applied only to transfer students not to freshman. They do the weed out year 2.

That being said essay can suck but wait until you have to run around and round out transcripts from 4 different schools to apply to one. Royal pain in the rear to collect them all and I mean ROYAL pain in the rear. I think I spent several afternoons running around getting them and turning them in mind you I could drive the the 3 community colleges and I have a rather large stack of the ones from TTU.
 
Rodimus Prime said:
I figured that generally applied only to transfer students not to freshman. They do the weed out year 2.

That being said essay can suck but wait until you have to run around and round out transcripts from 4 different schools to apply to one. Royal pain in the rear to collect them all and I mean ROYAL pain in the rear. I think I spent several afternoons running around getting them and turning them in mind you I could drive the the 3 community colleges and I have a rather large stack of the ones from TTU.
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Yeah, that really sucks.


And I was under the impression that I could change my intended major whenever I wanted? No matter if I'm a freshman or transfer student - everybody goes through changes, what happens if I decide I don't want to do XX major, and instead want to do YY major instead?

----------
Daffodil said:
Do grad school apps count too? I promise you they're just as terrible... :eek:

Best of luck though, fireshot! Hope you get in where you want to go. :)
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Of course they count.
And thanks, I'm pretty sure I'll get into Virginia Tech, but I'm doubtful about UVA (My top choice).
 
fireshot91 said:
Yeah, that really sucks.


And I was under the impression that I could change my intended major whenever I wanted? No matter if I'm a freshman or transfer student - everybody goes through changes, what happens if I decide I don't want to do XX major, and instead want to do YY major instead?
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depends on the University what the rules are.

I know when you transfer between colleges (like College of Business to College of Engineering) it is a lot more paper work involved and a lot more of you running around.
I do know a lot of University in their popular majors have a limit on what they will accept into their Sophomore or Jr and above classes. That being GPA requirement or just a set limit on that group allowed in.

I do not know the rules of the ones you are going to. All I know is it got sticker and I know at TTU some of the engineering majors started locking down while I was there and I know it has to of gotten worse since then.
I know Texas A&M is pretty rough as well for engineers in the cutting they do.

I want to say at A&M the most common college for transfer students was the College of Education and then they quickly transferred out once they were accepted.
 
After having gone through the process last year, I know exactly where you are coming from.

Try to have some fun with it, writing the essays can really become a rewarding experience if you dig deep into yourself and write something truly passionate. Not only is it more fun to write, but it is also exactly what admissions officers would like to see.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it is a far more common problem then one would think. Make sure that your essays are about YOU. That they say something about YOU. THe admissions officers are not interested in your pet, your parents, your grandparents. Sure, they can be included but ultimately the goal is to give them a flavor of who you really are.

Don't cater your essay to the school if it is not who you really are. If you are applying to MIT, don't write about the one time you wrote a mathematica program that modeled a random walk for a science fair if your true passion is painting. An essay is a tool for an officer to see if you are a good fit for the school, make sure the essay is really you so that they can do their job.

Relax and have fun, you're almost done. In a few months you'll be a college student!

Good luck and congratulations! Keep us updated.
 
fireshot91 said:
Just thought I'd take a little break from college applications, and then vent about it :p.


I've basically finished my application for Virginia Tech, and mostly done with UVA. Although still have to write a lot of essays for UVA. And get them edited/reviewed/etc. For UVA everything is due November 1st, for Virginia Tech, I think it's around January, but I'm pretty much done, so I'm just going to submit it sometime soon.


Anybody else in the process of writing apps? And if so, what schools are you/did you apply to?


And for those that are already past this stage, how was it?
Click to expand...
Eh college applications aren't nearly as bad as scholarship, fellowship and even grad school applications imo.

I remember applying for:
University of Colorado
University of Kansas
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Colorado State University
Duke University
Georgia Tech University

Fun times for sure lol


waloshin said:
Why are you applying now college started a month ago.
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Really? You apply well in advance bud. Didn't you just start school? You should know this if you did.
 
Last edited:
fireshot91 said:
First time, freshman application.
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Why are you trying to get into a state school when your a freshmen? You will pay so much money for taking basic classes. Why not wait until you have decided on a major and are in your 4th semester before you think about state schools? Get all your B.S. classes out of the way for cheap at a local college for cheap then pay the big bucks for the final year or two for your degree.

Thats my advice being a sophomore and being 24 going on 25, not trying to be rude just giving honest advice. Good luck!


toxictrix said:
Try med school. Those are fun apps.
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Did you apply to Wash-U? I heard they are impossible to get into.
 
cantthinkofone said:
Why are you trying to get into a state school when your a freshmen? You will pay so much money for taking basic classes. Why not wait until you have decided on a major and are in your 4th semester before you think about state schools? Get all your B.S. classes out of the way for cheap at a local college for cheap then pay the big bucks for the final year or two for your degree.

Thats my advice being a sophomore and being 24 going on 25, not trying to be rude just giving honest advice. Good luck!




Did you apply to Wash-U? I heard they are impossible to get into.
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Because Freshmen and sophomore year are awesome. And if you're school has a summer session before your freshmen year starts that's even better; living in a dorm with tons of other kids your age away from home for the first time, being 17 years old and having 40 (very hot) girls, on your floor alone maybe 10 feet down the hall, who want the same thing you do with no one to impose any rules about anything. Then there was rush/pledging; getting rushed equaled walking onto campus being a 17 year old kid and already having more connections and hookups than every gdi's on campus combined; we went out 7 nights a week, skipped every line(because brothers were bartenders, door guys, and bouncers), didn't pay to get in, got into any bar or club, being 17, and got 21'wristbands w/o any id, blacked out every night, ended the night with a tab of less than $5, and would wake up somewhere more often than not next to a girl(s) you didn't know the name of (and only learned her name when you met her again once she had rushed a sorority). And that's just the boring stuff.
Then there was pledging, which are the most amazing, terrible memories I have. So yeah, rush and go Greek; you'll have more fun in one night than every gdi on your campus combined (assuming you pledge a top-tier, if you rush a bottom tier you might as well be a gdi, it will be easy to tell who is who).
 
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