For many of the high school students (or their parents) here on A2C interested in a top US school like Yale, today the "Inside the Yale Admissions Office" podcast released possibly the most useful episode over the past few years.

It is titled 'what Yale looks for (part 1): academic strength' and it covers easily 80% of the questions frequently asked on this subreddit about getting into the very top colleges.
- how important are recommendation letters really?
- what do interviewers (if you get an interview) listen for?
- would a very high standardized test score offset weaker grades?
- what stands out academically?
- do having a few B's on my transcript kill my chances?
- what % of applicants pass the academic screening portion of holistic admissions?

I recommend taking a listen to it, as it echoes a lot of the very best advice on A2C as well.

https://yalepodcasts.blubrry.net/2026/09/01/what-yale-looks-for-part-1-academic-strength/

Quick Caveat: Always look at a school's specific definition for this question, because schools ask about your parents' educational background differently. For example, I believe some of the UCs ask specifically if anyone in your family obtained a bachelor's degree from a school in the United States.

For the VAST MAJORITY of other institutions, you do not qualify as a first generation student if your parents did their undergrad abroad. This applies equally to international students and to US Citizens whose parents did their undergrad abroad.

Apparently this needs some rehashing after a Harvard Tiktoker, Olivia Zhang, made many videos implying that she is first gen, despite having parents who completed undergrad, masters, and PHDs abroad (and even an MBA in the United States).

Can we please take a moment to understand why those who have parents with bachelor equivalent degrees abroad do not qualify as First Gen. "First Generation" is a status designated to recognize the unique challenges that students who are the first in their family to go to college face. These students are unable to rely on parental advice for navigating seminars, academic advising, office hours, and many other elements that are crucial for college success. It is not a coincidence that the First Generation community overlaps significantly with those from blue collar, working class, and low income backgrounds.

Students with college educated parents are advantaged in this respect. They are not complete outsiders to the realm of higher education and its practices. Their families are more apt to recognize and emphsize the importance of education, and to thus better prepare and equip their children for the higher education landscape.

Obviously, foreign schools have their differences from American universities. If your parents received their education in China, or Brazil, or England, your experiences in college in the US will look different than theirs. But to equate these differences to a First Generation experience is improper and frankly insulting.

Especially for someone like Olivia, her parents' 15+ combined years spent in higher education will no doubt equip them with wisdom to share and privilege to pass on to their children. She will not be the first in her family to author a research paper, receive advising from a professor, or work in a white collar career because of the privilege her college degree will bestow upon her. Furthermore, she grew up with parents who emphasize the value of education, good grades, and hard work, because they first hand have been able to experience the upward mobility that graduate and professional degrees from top universities can bring.

I understand that the nature of social media and college admissions encourages students to market and sell themselves with compelling stories. While being the first in one's family to attend a university in this country comes with its unique challenges, it is not comparable to the first gen struggle. If it were, then plenty of wealthy, international students would fall into this category.

It really does hurt to see someone distort their story and obscure their privileged background so blatantly to build a following. It hurts more to see people defend this behavior, say that "its not that deep," and to empower someone to build a platform off of the false suggestion that she is first generation. It is always a shame when creators who build accounts to bring transparency to the admissions process are the opposite of transparent when it comes to representing their backgrounds.

How early is too early to submit a college application? Or, if you’re genuinely finished with it…is it ok to just hit “submit?”
It’s just a regular decision application, but is there any benefit of submitting it earlier this fall versus before the deadlines and early January? Are there any merit scholarships that may be available if I submit earlier?

I don't think I'll get accepted, i gave it my all during the last year, trying to manage full time work and studying and practicing, barely getting out to spend free time...

I waited 8 hours sitting on the floor outside the room with other applicants with 4 hours of sleep since i quit my job yesterday and i finished late, and then I walked in the room and they said this wasn't exactly what they were looking for... I couldn't even reply or debate since i was so out of words.

I'm losing my mind, it's like I've wasted an entire year of my life... I'm feeling angry, sad and ashamed that i couldn't do better.

I’ve been hearing mixed responses on what to add to this section. I was wondering, would DECA, BETA, and HOSA, etc awards be acceptable to add to this section? Or should I rely on only like AP scholar and GPA awards.

help it won't let me put in an act date taken in 2026? is anyone else experiencing the same issue

I took into account USNWR ranking, Niche ranking, acceptance rates, graduation rates, test scores, and overall prestige/program strength.

1. Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
2. Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
3. University of the South (Sewanee, TN)
4. Southwestern University (Georgetown, TX)
5. Northwestern College (Orange City, IA)
6. Southern University (Baton Rouge, LA)
7. Southeastern University (Lakeland, FL)
8. Northwest University (Kirkland, WA)
9. Eastern University (St. Davis, PA)
10. Southwestern College (Winfield, KS)
11. South College (Knoxville, TN)
12. University of the Southwest (Hobbs, NM)
13. University of the West (Rosemead, CA)

Should I make any changes, and am I missing any schools?

I am not sure if many people will be familiar with both schools. I also applied to Cal State Fullerton, and Cal State Long Beach, but I am unsure if I would get into them. I already got accepted into Cal State LA, and Cal State Dominguez. The truth is that Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez would be much more convenient due to my work/home location.

Unfortunately, there is a little bit of a stigma with CSULA and CSUDH, especially CSUDH. I am worried about graduating from a school that is seen as a "joke", and being unemployed/underemployed.

The UIUC application has this

"The University of Illinois is committed to maintaining a safe and ethical environment for all members of the university community. A disciplinary history does not automatically bar admission to the university but does require review. You may be asked for additional information and/or to sign releases if you answer yes to any of the following questions. If you need to submit more than one incident for either of the categories, email the information to our office at [admissions@illinois.edu](mailto:admissions@illinois.edu). "

This is just high school right? I had a few incidents when I was in middle-school and don't want to withhold information/lie if they want it

The hardest part of school apps for me is finding info. Scrolling through a million different pages for different info. Where you can apply with your GPA, what requirements are needed for each program, a million other bs criteria you can’t be bothered to filter through.

Tell me the subject, your GPA, location and I’ll show you a list of programs with all their info in one snapshot.

I’m testing a university search tool I built. It’s an AI powered tool that searches through websites and pages of universities and their programs to bring all the information you need in one place. 

And if you want to try yourself, it’s: enrolledhq.ca

Aiming for ivies/t20s and majoring in engineering/cs. Linear algebra is a 4.5 on our gpa scale (considered as an honors class) and apes is a 5.0 cuz its an AP. Ik linear algebra is college level, but most colleges wont even accept the class for credit cuz its not even a dual enrollment class, it’s taught by the school math teacher.

Since its not DE, considered an honors class and is a 4.5 on our gpa scale, and i wont get college credit for it, should i take APES instead?

APES will boost my gpa and is much much easier. The only thing is is since im an engineering major ik colleges want to see more math classes on my schedule, but linear alg will actually bring my gpa down.

Linear algebra honors or APES? Ty for help

I’m planning on applying for CS major, aiming for ivies/t20s and i’ve ALREADY taken 4 years of science btw:
Freshman yr: honors physics(required)
Sophomore year(doubled up): Honors chem + honors bio (both required)
Junior year: ap physics 1

Now im a senior and deciding if i should take AP physics CEM or AP cybersecurity. If i take cybersecurity then i wont have a science class in my schedule at all for senior year.

I’ve already taken 4 yrs of science cuz i doubled up sophomore year. But my guidance counselor is saying colleges like to see 4 yrs of science distributed, and that i should do AP physics C over ap cybersecurity. I want to take cybersecurity cuz it aligns with my major and is WAY easier than physics 😭

Should i take ap cybersec over ap physics? Is it bad if i dont have a science class senior year if ive already taken 4 yrs of science?

Would it be a bad idea to have my personal statement be about why I want to pursue medicine because I know it might overlap with a why this major essay, or does it really not matter?

what are the best schools I should apply to in nola?

i have no money for school I get straight Bs

I ran it for a year before Xbox their club platform down. I was the founder as well. I also was the one who recruited people and moderated the club. I gained a 120 members and had 10-15 active members per day. Probably spent an hour a week doing work related to it.

I just feel like that since it was an Xbox club it sounds more...weird ig? I dunno.

What are ur thoughts?

1560 SAT and 3.7 UW, 4.15 weighted. I got a C in APUSH. I just meet the California NMSQT cutoff. Will I be rejected from National Merit semi finalist to finalist? Anybody with a single C rejected?

Ended up switching my major in the end so all is well but could've been so much easier if I just did what I wanted. My mom was very righteous and thought she was doing the right thing for me but I could've saved my sanity and happiness. She basically just asked to see what I was applying for for every college and I couldn't submit my college apps without her approval and if she didn't like my major she would pick what she thought I should do. If you're applying, please just do what you want, do what's right for you, it's your college life and what you might end up doing for the rest of your life. Parents might think they know better than you but you need to start making decisions for yourself and I regret not doing that.

edit: I feel like some of u guys are intentionally missing the point. I wanted to double major in data science and public policy (or something in relation to that). I really like working in the civic space but also being able to use technology. My mom wanted me to be a comp sci/ computer eng major because she was a software engineer. Sure she can give me advice on what to do but she also literally went out of her way to search up every single school I was applying to and then select the specific major she wanted me to enroll as. Decided that it really wasn't for me the end of my freshman year after and decided to declare environmental engineering as my major with a public policy minor (something that would have been VERY hard to do as a computer engineering major) because it aligned with my future goals. No I do not hate my mom she was fine with my decision bc she saw how much I wanted to switch. Yes, its fine for parents to give advice but I KNEW that I did not want to do comp sci or computer engineering anything related to that for the rest of my life and did not get any say.

I'm slightly confused on whether when we fill the CSS profile and send it to colleges, do we ourselves choose an EFC, or does the school calculate, or both?
Does this policy change per school, can i provide a different EFC to different schools? Do schools take it into account?

Net Price Calculators will likely give me a lower EFC than what I'm willing to put, and i can realistically afford more, and am willing to put a number higher than that to increase my chances at need aware schools.

How does this work? Please someone shed some light

Thank yew

So on common app it says personal statement optional, and I went and wrote one out for them, it’s curated towards my experiences with the area, my interest and focuses, basically what was asked on the prompt. So now out of curiosity is this the same as an essay, if so do I put it on both my writing and my personal statement, or do I put it on my personally statement only and they ignore the writing, or what I’m just very I’m confused honestly😭

Should a student submit a 1470 SAT with 800 math and 670 verbal when applying to test optional schools for comp sci or engineering if the middle 50% is 1500+?

I’m an 18 year old going into my senior year. I already have a really solid essay draft at around 600 words that I’ve spent a few weeks on. I’m starting to wonder whether the topic is solid enough though after reading how abstract others essays are. It’s about my eating disorder and opens with my diagnosis as an 8th grade boy. Could someone read it and give me notes please?

I am a junior who is on their second week of school. I heard that I should begin to start applying for my scholarship, but there is one problem. I suck at writting. So my question is how should I apply and write a scholarship essay? I am a low income student so I need this badly.

hey everyone ! i’m 18 & currently pursuing my be. I have always wanted to do Masters/phD from a top college, so i am building my ecas from freshman year. Was wondering, is event management a good skill/ something that stands out in applications ? Cause I know that give a year or two, I will probably be director or co director of that domain.

Should I give it my all or should I pivot out and go towards a more technical/ IT oriented role instead? I know programming but it isn’t what I want to “do” in societies.

As for event management, I love networking and solicing problems and have experience as well. The only thing making me hesitant is the classes I will be missing. Just wanted to ask if it is worth it.

Thank you <3

I'm 18 and I have to choose my college and I'm honestly so confused 😭 I'm already pretty late because I only properly decided what I wanted to study in August, and now I feel like I'm running out of options.

I'm planning to do BSc Biotechnology and right now I'm stuck between a few colleges. Some of them are in my state and some are around 800 km away. I genuinely want to go to the one that's far away because I like the campus, location and overall college life there, and honestly I also really want the experience of living away from home.

The problem is my family thinks I should choose one of the colleges closer to home because they're saying there are good options here too. And then when I search online, I keep seeing people saying that another university is "better" better labs, academics, placements etc.

I completely understand that those things matter, and I'm trying to compare them properly. But I'm confused about how much I should actually rely on rankings, Google results and other people's opinions when I personally feel much more excited about another college.

I'm also scared that if I choose the college I actually want and something goes wrong, my family will say "we told you so" and I'll keep thinking I made the wrong decision. But if I choose the one everyone else prefers and end up unhappy, I'll probably keep wondering what would've happened if I'd just listened to myself.

So how do you actually make a decision like this? Do you choose the college that looks better on paper, or the one that you genuinely feel more excited about?

If anyone has been in a similar situation, especially while choosing between colleges in different cities, I'd really appreciate some outside perspective. I genuinely don't know what to do 😭