Bdo ap brackets

Hello,
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Photos: https://imgur.com/a/ApCnLRh
These are made by Intel for Dell. Dell P/N: 942V6
They will work in non dell machines normally.
They all have low profile brackets!
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The cards and the modules both have a 90 day warranty to protect against DOA or failure.

I started playing bdo 5 years ago, there was a lot of problems with my region server (SA) so I started on p servers and NA servers, and even on those servers my luck was really bad. One year ago I started on SA server again, and in the first 3 months I got the 270AP, very fast with my knowledge and experience playing.
But the problem is now, there is a lot of spots that people say "I was doing 1B/h here", or "you can do a lot of money here" but with my luck on those spots I can do only 400M each hour. Elvia calpheon with 281 (woosa succ) and elixir rotation I did 600kk, Kratuga I'm doing 500kk, while some guildmates are doing 1B or 1.5 in just one hour, only with artifact drops and tungrad earrings. Some people that started playing 4 months ago have 50 or 60 more GS than I have. Enchant? I've failed 5 disto with 90% in a single row for PRI, without talking about failed DUO or TRI accessories. And I see them grinding 2 or 3 accessories/h while I got only one after 3h. And I don't have that much time to play anymore. I'm really frustrated and thinking about quit of bdo, since I don't want to spend 300h to have something that most people have in just 30.
I was really fine until some days ago, since there are only 2 spots that I can make money, Yeti and Gyffin upper. But after 4 months without leaving the spot I'm sick of it already. What can I do to progress in the game without rng? DP and fingers isn't a problem, I was on Olun and Gyffin underground with 350DP with my Woosa, and now I have 380+. The problem is my AP, only 281 but I don't have any problem in using elixir rotations.

Demographics:** White male, private school, top 1% income bracket
Intended Major(s): Economics and Statistics
ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1540
UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.9 (two B+)
Coursework: 5 on Macro, Micro, Calc BC, no AP classes at school, most rigorous coursework available.
Awards: 2x state champion in NHD paper category, honorable mention nationally, two historical conference papers at an academic conference in my state, 3rd prize in a historical writing competition (name withheld, but ~ 500 participants), gold medal in National Latin Exam
Extracurriculars:
Historical research - published papers and did archival research on topics in economic history which won essay prizes Student Gov Vice President Captain of XC and Track teams, all conference runner and team is 5th place in state Economics Bowl Team Captain- ran a team that went to economics bowl contests at various colleges Intern at local historical society Job as a prep worker in a kitchen Editor of School Newspaper The rest are just minor clubs.
Essays/LORs/Other: N/A hard to judge these without bias
Schools: I like both schools a lot, and think both will help me pursue my goals as an economics major. Which should I use my early bullet on? At this point, I just want to get into one.

Demographics

• Gender: Female
• Race/Ethnicity: South asian
• Residence: Southwest
• Income Bracket: Upper middle class (no aid)
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None
• Type of school: Competitive charter

Intended Major(s): Biology (Engineering & humanities for MIT, Bioengineering for NEU)
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 3.9/4.8
• Rank (or percentile): Unranked
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 14 AP classes

Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

• ACT: 35 (36E, 33M, 36R, 36S)
• APs: 5 (5s), 8 (4s), 1 (3)

Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.
A little vague since I don’t want to be doxxed!

• Captain of speech and debate team
• Biology research intern at local state university
• Environment club co-president
• [redacted service org] club vice president
• Piano
• Summer Science Program
• Leadership committee at religious service organization
• Mandarin tutor
• [redacted advocacy org] communications lead

Awards/Honors
List all awards and honors submitted on your application.

• Top 60 at National Speech and Debate Tournament
• NSDA point record holder for my S&D event in my state
• National Merit
• AP Environmental Science most improved student
• Mandarin student of the year

Letters of Recommendation
I got rec letters from my Mandarin teacher, math teacher, school counselor, and research mentor. I never read any of them so I’m unsure how I’d rate them, but I’d say they were pretty decent since I was a fairly involved student.
Interviews
Yale (0/10): Got into an argument about politics and young people being involved in advocacy :((
Princeton (10/10): Coming off of my Yale interview I was super nervous for this one, but it actually went really well! He had a couple of out-of-the-box questions but based on his responses to my answers I think I was able to handle them well. We exchanged a couple of emails after the interview and he wished me luck!
MIT (10000000000/10): I loved this interview so much! We had so many common interests and our interview lasted for over an hour. As someone who wasn’t the biggest MIT fan before, this interview made me want to attend so bad.
Cornell (7/10): Not sure if this counts since Cornell’s interviews aren't evaluative - but this was a pretty basic interview! Nothing too special, but nothing went wrong either.
Duke (6/10): My interviewer seemed very busy and was lowkey preoccupied with work. He was super sweet, but I wasn’t really able to develop a strong connection with him.
Harvard (8/10): We met in person so I was slightly nervous, but we had common interests and I thought that the conversation we had was pretty good!
Essays
Looking back, my common app essay was super basic – and it’s a major part of my application that I wish I could change. I’d say my supplementals were much better in quality.
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)

• State school #1: Accepted, honors college
• State school #2: Accepted, honors college -> Attending
• Yale (SCEA): Rejected! (this hurt so bad)
• UW Seattle: Accepted
• UC Davis: Accepted
• UC San Diego: Accepted
• Northeastern: Waitlisted
• MIT: Rejected
• UC Berkeley: Rejected
• Harvard: Rejected
• Cornell: Waitlisted -> Rejected
• Columbia: Rejected
• Princeton: Rejected
• Duke: Rejected
• Stanford: Rejected

Reflection/Additional thoughts:
There is honestly so much I wish I could change about my application cycle. Although I did have the few oos acceptances that I would’ve loved to attend - my family did not feel that it was financially worth it to go to any of them (even though they had originally encouraged me to apply to some of these schools!). Everyone says that it's important to find targets/safeties that you'd be happy at - but please make sure that your family is absolutely on board with these schools as well. Ultimately, I wish I had been more clear with my parents about the finances that came with each school on my college list, and crafted my college list to reflect schools that they would be willing to financially support me for. I also don’t really have a clear spike in my activities, and while I don’t regret any of what I did throughout high school, I can see how my application lacked a compelling storyline. Additionally, I really wish I had worked to develop my common app essay more. Getting rejected from Yale in the early round should have clued me in, but I ultimately decided to stick with my essay - and it's something I really regret.
While I'm not exactly going to college where I had hoped, I'm extremely grateful that my state school is offering me a full ride. Although this process didn't turn out the way I had wanted, I'm honestly just excited that it's over!

Demographics

• Gender: male
• Race/Ethnicity: white
• Residence: NY
• Income Bracket: middle class (area I live in is VERY wealthy)
• Type of School: public
• Hooks: divorced parents, leader ships roles

Intended Major(s): mechanical engineering/ CS
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 93/105 9th: 90/91 (1 honors) 10th: 93/93 (no honors) 11th: 96/104.6 (all IB classes) 12th: idk (all IB classes)
• Rank (or percentile): in the top 15/170
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 1 Honors 10 IBs 1 AP

junior year course selection IB English IB history IB physics HL 1 Pre calc IB french SL IB economics
senior year IB English IB history IB physics HL 2 AP calculus IB french SL 2 elective undecided
Standardized Testing

• SAT: 1500
• AP/IB: APWH 3 , IBs🤷‍♂️

Extracurriculars/Activities

1. Internship at NASA summer 2023
   
2. Robotics-2 years won multiple competitions
   
3. Deca 3 years president
   

4.Started problem solving club foundepresident 2 years

1. Created landscaping products/solutions that are being used by multiple companies one of them is patent pending
   
2. Jujitsu 3 years purple belt (won numerous county competitions)
   
3. Volleyball 3 years
   
4. Independent research project on machine learning, published
   
5. Developed multiple apps, my best is an app to prevent distracted driving, 10k+ downloads over all 4 apps
   
6. Started charity with friends to offset damage done to environment by crypto
   

Awards/Honors

1. IB diploma
2. NHS
3. published for making a system to prevent school sh.oot.ings
4. engineering competition 2nd place

please chance me for
CMU northwestern MIT cornell Purdue ivies
any school reccomendations are appreciated
thanks for the help 😀
Ps. I took algebra 2 over the summer, and I took the AP world test without being in the class

Demographics
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Residence: Brazil 🇧🇷
Income Bracket: >600k
Type of School: Private Catholic
Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None
Intended Major(s): Economics
Academics
GPA/Rank (or percentile): ~90/100 (no weights), school doesn't rank
# of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: None
Senior Year Course Load: Standard Brazilian courseload I guess
Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.
SAT/ACT: 1460 (730RW, 730M)
TOEFL: 112/120 (29R, 28L, 29S, 26W)
Extracurriculars/Activities:
Varsity 5-a-side soccer (4 years, team captain for 2)
Varsity Volleyball (1 year, team captain)
Math tutor at my school (1 year)
Class president and Vice-president (2 years, 1 year each)
Organized a fundraiser in 12th grade to help an NGO
Awards/Honors:
Nothing of notice tbh, didn't have a lot of opportunity to even earn any in the first place.
Essays/LORs/Interviews:
Personal Essay Common App: Overall good, wrote about losing a friend and how that helped me mature my overview of relationships in general. 8/10
LORs: All three (Counselor, Philosophy/History teacher, and Portuguese teacher) were very good. Have close relationships with all of them, with really helped my case. 9/10
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
Acceptances:
THE Ohio State University (EA) - Committed (GO BUCKEYES!)
Indiana University (EA)
UM Twin Cities (EA)
UC San Diego (RD)
UW Madison (RD)
NC State (RD)
CWRU (RD)
​
Waitlists:
UIUC (RD)
​
Rejections:
UF (EA)
Georgia Tech (EA)
UNC (RD)
Emory (RD)
​
Takeaways and Conclusion:
From the very start of the app process, I knew that I didn't want to be one of those people who put major emphasis on where they'll end up going (not that it's wrong, it just isn't my path). Especially as an international, most, if not all of the unis above are miles better than anything I'd find in my home country. And, most important of all, I stayed true to what I thought was important. I had a blast in my senior year, did everything I wanted to do (while staying on a good trajectory academically), and still got amazing results. At the end of the day, I ended up in the place I thought would fit me the best, where I could truly find a second home. And for that I couldn't be more thankful.
I just wanted to post this to leave a message to everyone who will apply to college in the future, especially the class of 2024: ALWAYS stay true to yourself. Don't do something or apply/attend somewhere just because of its status or because your family wants you to go there. Do what YOU feel is the best for yourself, and never look back. Everyone has a different life story, and the best thing you can do for yours is to be happy while you can.

Demographics
Gender: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Residence: Arizona
Income Bracket: Upper Class (Don't qualify for aid
)Type of School: Public
Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): N/A
Intended Major(s): Neuroscience (but applied as Public Policy/Political Science)
Academics
GPA (UW/W): 4.0/4.424 (only APs are weighted)
Rank (or percentile): N/A# of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 13 AP, 3 DE, everything else was honors (except for classes like PE or theater lol)
Senior Year Course Load: AP US GOV, AP BIO, AP Art History, AP Calc AB, AP English Lit, Engineering Design
Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.
SAT: 1440 (didn't submit anywhere)
ACT: 36 (36E, 35M, 35R, 36S, 9W) (I honestly don't know how this happened since I didn't study for the ACT (but I did study for the SAT lol). I submitted everywhere that accepted it for obvious reasons)
AP/IB: Didn't take my freshman AP tests (AP Enviro and AP Human Geo), got 4s on all sophmore APs (AP Chemistry and AP European History), got 5s on all junior APs (AP Physics 1, APUSH, AP English Lang, AP Psych), expecting 5s on senior APs
​
Extracurriculars/ActivitiesList all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.
#1 Vague since I don't want to dox, but was on a state's council that designed, promoted, and reviewed a grant that distributed over $20,000 to youth throughout the state. (11th and 12th; 1 hour per week)
#2 Piano. I have been playing for the last 10 years. Sent in a music portfolio to every school that accepted it (9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th; 6 hours per week)
#3 Commissioner representing youth on my county's education commission. Was a co-lead in designing an event where students could discuss, create action plans, and talk to local leaders about their education. Also helped plan an event where youth go to the capital and talk to legislatures (12th; 4 hours per week)
#4 Personal mentor (10th) and group leader (12th) of school mentoring program. I helped to plan events, fundraise and overlooked the mentorship of several freshman (10th and 12th; 3 hours per week)
#5 Piano Teacher (10th and 12th; 2 hours per week)
#6 International Humanitarian Law campaign member (10th and 11th) and Secretary (12th). Worked with the Red Cross to educate people about the rules of armed conflict and that years specific topic (10th, 11th, and 12th; 1 hour a week)
#7 Human Rights Club Member (10th and 11th; 1 hour every other week)
#8 American Sign Language Meet up. Went to a Deaf meet up in my city to get better at my foreign language (12th; 3 hours a week)
#9 Science Olympiad Member. I only did this sophmore year (which was online) and I know I placed in my city competition for fossils and chiropterology; but, since I never got any phsyical award (because it was online), I couldn't remember what I won. I tried looking at the website and could have talked to the clubs sponser but I got too anxious, so I didn't mention winning anything. (10th; 3 hours a week)
#10 Film Club Member. Basically just watched movies and talked about them lmao (9th and 10th; 1 hour a week)
​
Awards/Honors
List all awards and honors submitted on your application.
#1 AP Scholar with Distinction.
...yes, that is it. I couldn't find what awards I won in Science Olympiad and otherwise did not compete
Letters of Recommendation(
Briefly describe relationships with your recommenders and estimated rating.)
Physics and Biotechnology teacher (yes, you heard right, I submitted two STEM teachers while applying for a humanities major):
ngl these were probably both pretty average. I struggled with pretty bad anxiety (which I talk about more in the additional information section), so talking to teachers was extremely scary to me. I did good in both their classes and was a good group leader, but I didn't do anything outstanding (6/10)
Additional Recommendor-Piano Teacher: I read this and it was short but sweet (9/10)
Interviews(Briefly reflect on interview experiences, if applicable.)
Stanford (6/10): This was my first interview and therefore, it was pretty mid. I was super nervous and I think that was very clear when I anwsered the question. But the interviewer was very nice and I think she genuinaly liked the questions I asked.
Duke (9/10): This went much better. She clearly liked my anwsers and gave me frequent compliments. We talked a lot more about personal stories.
Cornell (1000/10): The interviewer was a ball of sunshine. She was so vibrant and really seemed to like me. I could definetely feel that the interview was non-evaluative because she was clearly trying to persuade me to go to Cornell (and it def worked). She wanted me to email her if I got accepted and she would invite me to Cornell alumni parties and things.
Essays(Briefly reflect on the quality of your writing, time spent, and topic of main personal statement.)
Personal essay -- Talked about learning ASL and the Deaf meetups. Discussed how it helped me come out of my shell and realize that fear is not something to fight; rather, it is better to acknowledge it and continue despite it. Writing my personal statement was the hardest essay I had to write and it casued me a lot of stress and anxiety, so I didn't think it was that good. But everyone else that read it loved it so idk. (8/10)
**Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)**Acceptances:
EA:
University of Maryland w/ CIVIC Program (I was disappoined I didn't get into the honors program, but got into a community service based community) (4.5k/year)
RD:
ASU w/ honors (8k/year)
U of A (didn't apply to honors) (also got highest merit based scholarship, but I don't remember how much)NAU (didn't apply to honors) (got higest merit-based scholarship, but I don't remember how much)
University of California Riverside w/ honors (13.5k/year)
University of California San Diego
University of Washington w/ Honors (7.2k/year) - ATTENDING!!!
​
Waitlists:
None
​
Rejections:
REA:
Stanford
RD:
Duke
Brown
Cornell
University of California Berkeley
Additional Information:None of my middle school friends went to the high school that I did, and I started experiencing extreme anxiety about making friends. I had already previously dealt with depression, and with the added stress I experienced frequent panic attacks. It got so bad that I wasn't able to leave my house without having an anxiety attack and I accrued many absences in freshman year. COVID and online school honestly saved me (who knew taking a person afraid of people away from the people would ease their anxiety lol). I was diagnosed with a Social Anxiety Disorder and was privledged enough to get therapy and medication during sophmore year, I started making friends in junior year, and by senior year I was functioning as a relatively normal human being.
However, due to my mental health issues, my extra curriculars and letters of recommendations definitely lacked. I didn't talk about what I went through in my application because, one, I was worried about bias and, two, it's none of their business. Due to my disorder, rejections already cause a lot of anxiety (because I worry that other people don't like me like the admission officers) and I knew that if I put something that personal in my application and then got rejected (which was likely because I was applying to highly rejective schools), I would likely freak out. I was originally disappointed with my results (although they were expected), however no tears were shed. After visiting, UCSD and University of Washington (I had already visited the other schools), the choice was obvious to me. The University of Washington felt so right to me and I'm so excited to attend there in the fall. I also have won two scholarships (one national and one local) since my decision, and gotten a high paying summer internship that I'm really excited about! Go huskies!

Demographics
- Gender: Male
- Race/Ethnicity: White
- Residence: Upstate NY
- Income Bracket: 16k efc
- Type of School: Large, public
- Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): none
- Intended Major(s): Philosophy, Mathematics, or Econ
Academics
- GPA (UW/W): 3.97/4.5
- Rank (or percentile): Top 5%
- # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 8 AP, all honors
Standardized Testing
List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.
- SAT: 1480 (720RW, 760M)
Extracurriculars/Activities
#1 Law firm internship
#2 Founder of School club
#3 Varsity/Club Athletics
#4 Volunteer Tutoring Service
The rest are not very noteworthy and I don't feel like typing them out
Awards/Honors
#1 Global Seal of Biliteracy in Latin
#2 National Latin Exam -- Magna Cum Laude
#3 AP Scholar With Honor
#4 Book Award
Letters of Recommendation
English Teacher: 6/10; She knows me decently well and is a good writer.
Latin Teacher: 9/10; Had him for the first three years of high school and really connected.
Essays
Common App: I don't want to go into detail but I am really proud of my essay -- 9/10.
Supplements: Most of my supplemental essays were written a few days before the deadline and were just ok for the most part -- ~6.5/10
Decisions: (All RD unless noted otherwise)
Acceptances:
State Flagship
William & Mary (OOS)
University of Rochester
Oberlin College
Hamilton College (committed!)
Dickinson College
Denison University
Occidental College
Waitlists:
Kenyon College
Northeastern (EA deferred)
Grinnell College
Rejections:
Claremont McKenna College
University of Notre Dame

Demographics
• Gender: AFAB nonbinary (didn't directly mention the latter)
• Race/Ethnicity: SE Asian
• Residence: Socal
• Income Bracket: Lower-middle class
• Type of School: CCC
• Hooks: none
Intended Major(s)
Applied for Japanese, but switching to cognitive science when I transfer (didn't realize I wanted to study this until I was well into sophomore year 💀)
Academics
• GPA: 3.93
• Rank (or percentile): Top 10% (CC doesn't rank, but emails from an honors society there that keeps emailing me says that I'm in that percentile)
Standardized Testing
• SAT/ACT: lmao nope 🗿
• AP: AP Japanese - 5, AP Psych - 3 (💀)
Extracurriculars/Activities
Being a bit vague for obvious reasons
• Volunteered at a library
• Volunteered at a community table
• Personal translation "project"
• Transfer prep program
Awards/Honors
• Presidential Honor's List (wow! so original!)
Letters of Recommendation
N/A
Interviews
N/A
Essays
UC essays - 7/10
Started working on them back in late June, had my English professor from last spring help me edit. He thought they were solid, but I thought they were mid because I'm not the best at writing and I had no formal ECs to back them up (also one of my essays was about just my neurodivergence which might've been a red flag)
USC essays - 4/10
Transfer supplement was kinda alright, I guess? Supplemental essays were trash though, put them off and barely edited/got feedback. Short questions were meh then also ended up trash when I found out last minute the character limit was 50 instead of 100 💀
Decisions
Acceptances: (in chronological order)
• CSUF
• UCI -> [committed!]
• UC Berkeley
• UCSB (via TAG)
• UCLA
• USC
Waitlists:
• N/A
Rejections:
• N/A
Additional Comments
Was pretty shocked with my results, especially considering how ridiculously competitive UC admissions are and how weak my essays/extracurriculars were. But I guess the fact that I'm a CCC transfer who applied for a non-competitive major gave me the upper hand? Either way, I still feel kinda guilty considering that there were more qualified applicants than me who took more Ls, but I guess I just have to take my Ws when I can.
(PS: If you recognize me from this post, no you don't)

Demographics

• Gender: female
• Race/Ethnicity: Asian-American (Chinese)
• Residence: DMV area
• Income Bracket: ~100k?
• Type of School: public, mid overall in county but top quartile in state maybe?
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): none lol

Intended Major(s): Chemical Engineering/Chemistry (basically applied ChemE to colleges with strong engineering schools and Chem to the rest)
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 4.0/4.93
• Rank (or percentile): N/A (confirmed that I was part of the top 5% but didn't put it in my app since my school doesn't rank)
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 13 AP classes, 3 honors (French)
• Senior Year Course Load: Wind Ensemble (band), AP Eng Lit, Science Lab Assistant, AP Bio, AP Psych, Linear Algebra (online), AP Physics C: E&M

Standardized Testing

• SAT (took once): 1560 (790 RW, 770 M)
• ACT (took once): 35 (36E, 33M, 35R, 34S)
• AP scores:
  • 10th grade: AP Gov (4), AP Chinese (5), AP Calc AB (4), AP Stats (5)
  • 11th grade: AP Chem (4), AP Physics C: Mech (4), AP English Lang (5), AP World History: Modern (5), AP Calc BC (5; AB subscore 5)
  • 12th grade (pending): AP Eng Lit, AP Bio, AP Psych, AP Physics C: E&M

Extracurriculars/Activities

1. Science Olympiad (9th-12th, officer since 11th) - spent an insane number of hours a week even though I only put 5 hwk on the Common App; led meetings, made presentations on upcoming comps and how to prepare for them (i.e. how to take notes), chose comps to compete at, placed top 6 at regionals and states individually and as a team
2. School Marching Band (9th-12th, section leader since 11th) - mentored new members, instructed on marching basics and led sectionals, also organized section bonding time (like we painted our nails and stuff hehe); played piccolo for the season
3. Intern @ CUA (summer 2022) - fabricated polymer membranes on microfluidics device via flow-assembly, conducted membrane strength testing, analyzed data for strength enhancement
4. Tutor for various honor societies and music (10th-12th) - tutored everything from high-school level math to AP Chem to flute, most of it was basically getting hours for different honor societies but I think it was pretty productive and meaningful
5. Cross country (9th-11th) - quit before senior year to focus on college apps ;-; I wasn't that fast, just average, but I led a small running group and ran 300+ miles each summer to prepare for the season
6. Various community service projects (10th-12th) - made face shields for healthcare workers (was reported by a local news network so I linked that in the Additional Info section of my Common App), crocheted/knitted rectangles to assemble into a blanket for the homeless
7. Policy Review Committee Chair (12th) - basically 2 or 3 other high schoolers and I (along with other adults) reviewed some curriculum policy that needed to be updated in terms of language and terms, didn't really do much but it was cool seeing the process of how it actually worked
8. Teen Leader for Christian youth fellowship (11th/12th) - kinda fell off of it senior year but I led meetings along with a couple other peers, I created slides and we facilitated intergenerational discussion
9. First Chair in Wind Ensemble (11th/12th) - yeah that's basically it T_T I played solos and stuff
10. Household Obligations (9th-12th) - cared for siblings, helped with their school assignments, did chores, translated for parents from English to Mandarin

Awards/Honors

1. State Science Olympiad Competition (1st - Ornithology, 8th - Environmental Chemistry) - 11th grade
2. Regional Science Olympiad Competition (2nd: Chemistry Lab, 2nd: Ornithology, 3rd: Environmental Chemistry) - 11th grade
3. County STEM Award - 11th grade (idrk how significant this was tbh it seemed like a throwaway kinda thing; it was for my performance in Science Olympiad but they got the competition name wrong on my certificate T_T)
4. Governor's Volunteer Service Award - 10th grade
5. State Seal of Biliteracy Recipient in English and Chinese - 11th grade

Essays

1. Common App essay - had 2 versions, one for EA and another for RD. I would rate my first version (basically I compared my identity to a sandwich and made it a love story it was kinda weird T_T) like a 7/10 if I'm being generous and a solid 9/10 for my second version (I talked about how my being officer of Science Olympiad challenged me and made me grow as a person; it sounds cliche but I used a unique format that I'm pretty proud of)
2. Supplemental essays - my EA supps were probably on average like a 6 or 7 out of 10, and my RD supps were an 8 to a 9. I tried to make them more creative/unique since I knew my ECs were on the weaker side when it came to the higher ranked schools and I knew that I was going to get in, my essays would play a major role in my acceptance. I spent so much time and so many rounds of editing with my dad asdfkljasd;lfkj

Letters of Recommendation

1. AP Chem teacheScience Olympiad coach (11/10) - She really liked me and she's honestly my mom atp... I'm also an aide for her this year so I help set up labs for her and the entire science dept. She also assigns me other labs to prepare just for funsies and bc she trusts me apparently ???? Hopefully she can speak to the diligence and time I put in as a Scioly officer and my performance in the AP Chem class. Might also be worth mentioning that I tutored one of her current AP Chem kids?
2. Wind Ensemble/Marching Band director (7.5/10) - I didn't have other STEM teachers as strong as my AP Chem teacher but my logic was that I would ask teachers who knew what I was like outside of school past the academic/stats/grades kind of thing; hopefully they could give some insight into my personality (ig that logic worked? idk) Since I was a section leader in marching band for 2 years I had some leadership in terms of that but I would often come in a couple minutes late to class tired asf cause we had band first period... Overall I still think he has a decent impression of me
3. Internship advisoprof (9/10) - He is a family friend of my parents and that's honestly how I got the internship T_T But he has a pretty good impression of me during the time I was there; I picked up things pretty quickly so I think that helped. Only submitted this to some schools I was applying to RD and some schools late in the EA cycle
4. (only submitted after waitlist) Science Lab Assistant Manager (8.5/10) - Set up labs for the science department, had an overall good impression of me since I volunteered to complete other tasks and extra things outside of the labs I had to set up
5. (only submitted after waitlist) School Principal (6.5/10) - Our class is ~650 people and he only became the principal my sophomore year so I doubt he knew me that well; I sent my resume to him so hopefully he did something with that T_T

Results (woohooo!!)
EA Catholic University of America (accepted)
RD CMU (accepted!!!)
RD Cornell (waitlisted -> accepted -> committed!!!!)
EA CWRU (waitlisted)
RD Duke (rejected rip)
RD Duke Kunshan (accepted somehow???)
RD Northwestern (rejected, lol this one kinda made me a bit sad)
RD Rice (waitlisted)
EA UD (accepted)
RD UIUC (accepted)
EA UMBC (accepted)
EA UMD (accepted)
EA UNC Chapel Hill (rejected ;-;)
RD UT Austin (accepted)
EA UVA (accepted)
RD Vandy (waitlisted)
Takeaways

• Start your essays early (preferably before senior year!) It helps to get ahead of the game and brainstorm, plus I find that I am dissatisfied with some part of an essay that i think needs editing a week or two after I finish
• Familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of the Common App layout, like what each section entails (you might be surprised to find that it's a lot of info to fill out)
• Look at examples of everything related to your application, whether it be the Common App, supplemental essays, and how to word your activities list
• Don't downplay your achievements, but don't overly embellish them, either!
• Think about your application as a whole. I cannot stress this enough! Is there an activity that is overly mentioned in your application? Try to balance your application out. Is there an aspect of yourself that you want to include but haven't yet? Try to touch on it in your supplemental essays. I go more in depth in this post here
• Apply to scholarships and treat them as you would your college apps! Also consider the finances and affordability of a school before totally committing to it and putting it on your list

Demographics Gender: Male Race/Ethnicity: South Asian Residence: South Asia Income Bracket: Less than $20,000 (technically zero and living off the loan money after dad lost job) Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None
Intended Major(s): Computer Science
Academics Rank (or percentile): 1/109 Senior Year Course Load: 3 AP courses and 2 Honors courses Standardized Testing List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported. SAT I: 1530 (730 RW, 800 M) ACT: 34 A Level : 4 A*s in Physics, Chemistry, Computer, Mathematics "a" in AS Level English Language Extracurriculars/Activities List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc. #1 President of Science club in senior year of HS. Conducted multiple programs. #2 House Captain (9-10) Won Best House award multiple times under my captaincy. #3 National Level Robotics Competition Winner Once #4 Multiple Paid Internships at Overseas companies #5 Built website for a Australian Football Club
#6 Build a GPS tracker for Airports in the rural parts of the country Awards/Honors List all awards and honors submitted on your application. #1 National Chemistry Olympiad Gold Medalist #2 National Informatic Olympiad: National Dynamite #4 Some regional robotics prize Letters of Recommendation (Briefly describe relationships with your recommenders and estimated rating.) English teacher: 10/10. Was one of her favorite students and only student in her class to get an "a" in the AS Level English Exam.
Physics teacher: 10/10. He was the coordinator of my Science Club. Knows me and my family very well.
​
What kind of colleges should I apply with these stats? Where do I have my best shot? A Financial Aid is a must. Also, I'm on a gap year, so what sort of ECs I should go for?

hi guys! as much as i tried to not have a dream college, i fell in love with USC. I would appreciate some tips for getting accepted. i have attached my stats/ecs for reference.
I know these usc may be a long shot but any advice helps!
Demographics: African American, female, Junior, public high school (unsure if competitive but having 4.0 GPA gives ranks you in the 100s)
income bracket $280k
Major: Neuroscience, psych minor (premed track)
SAT/ACT: plan to go test optional(final).
UW/W GPA & rank: 3.94 UW, 4.5 W, ranked 19/357 (5.32%)
Coursework: APUSH, AP bio, AP world, AP lang, AP lit(4), AP physics, AP psych (4)
Awards:

1. principal's honors (4.0 or higher)
   
2. academic letter
   
3. Artistic excellence award (my artwork was displayed in an art gallery)
   
4. 2020- student of the month in technology course
   
5. April 2020- student of the month
   
6. 2022- departmental achievement award in business and computer science
   
7. 2022- academic achievement in mathematics
   
8. 2022- academic achievement award in English
   
9. 2022- academic achievement award in business management and computer science
   

Extracurriculars (i need ideas on passion projects!!):
DC health and academic health and preparational paid internship 1 summer
Naval research lab research-1 summer
NHS- 2 years (vp)
Varsity volleyball
Model UN-2 years
envirothon- 1 year
Psychology tik tok account
Student government association- 2 years (Secretary & VP)
Key club- 2 years (secretary & Pres)
shadowed & interviewed physicians
Community service:
Hospital volunteer at local hospital - 1 summer
Humane society volunteer- 1 years
soup kitchen volunteer- 2 years
Youth tutor- 2 years
Please chance me on getting a generous/ full ride scholarship to UMD.

Hi all,
I want to get an in case dispaly for my build and I'm sturggling to figure out how to mount it.
I want to mount it to the bottom fan of the case so it displayed against the glass but I have no idea how to mount that because the displays don't look like they screw in like that.
I've looked for brackets and I can't seem to find any.
Can anyone offer some guidance?
This is the display I'm thinking of using: https://www.amazon.com/Ingcool-Resolution-Capacitive-Compatible-Raspberry/dp/B08RHXP9J4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1X4YF0BFTPQ33&keywords=7in%2Blcd%2Bscreen%2Bstandoff&qid=1685455952&sprefix=7in%2Blcd%2Bscreen%2Bstandoff%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18630bbb-fcbb-42f8-9767-857e17e03685&th=1
And I am trying to do a mount like this except landscape: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61c+cIFuHiL.jpg

Backstory: Apparently my wife has had some issues with our relationship for some time. Looking back she thought she made her concerns known, but I've told her how she wasn't clear and never made it known these were big problems that we needed to work on. She bottled all this up, then went away on a yoga retreat for a week. She was so at peace there she thought she could stay there forever and never come home. When she returned she said she wanted some space to explore yoga, meditating, make friends, etc. I said of course, I want her to be happy and don't expect her to be tied at my hip 24/7.
It quickly became apparent that I was being replaced. She was doing all those things she said, but there was one male friend who she was doing everything we used to do with him now. I brought up my concerns and that eventually she'll realize all we have left is physical, and why get that from me when you can get it from him. She said that's not what was happening, etc etc. This was back in mid march. Over the next month things seemed fine. She was a bit happier. Yoga, meditating, and journaling seemed to be helping her a lot. Randomly one weekend while she and this male friend went photography shooting, coming back each night, she was visibly upset and didn't want to talk. The next morning I asked what happened and she said I wasn't giving her the space she wanted. She asked me to go away for 2 weeks and I never did. This being one of the problems with her communication skills. I very calmly and politely asked her not to stack the dirty dishes right up to the faucet and to put them off to the side if there were so many. She narrowed her eyes playfully and jokingly made a comment that maybe I should go away for 2 weeks. I made a joke back and we both laughed and moved on. Cut to that discussion where apparently she said she was serious. Wanted 2 weeks of space to think about what she wants and to declutter the apartment. I agree.
A week and a half later I go away for 2 weeks. A week in our dog got sick and she called to give me an update and I could tell something was wrong so I asked her. She said she didn't feel any different, didn't miss me, and like she had the week leading up to me leaving she said she didn't think we should be together. I'd been saying let's see how you feel after the 2 weeks, then if you still don't feel any different we'll go to counseling and then at that point if things didn't change we would separate. For me counseling was a must before I could throw in the towel. We'd been legally married less than 2 years, and because of covid just had our big wedding with friends and family back in late October 2022. I couldn't just call it quits right away. Anyway, when I return she is very distant, even more so than before. An old friend of hers whose basically a member of the family was having his birthday this past wednesday, the day after I returned from my 2 weeks away, so she went up to see him for the day and would be coming back the next morning. When she was gone things were just feeling really off, something was wrong. So, for the first time I snooped. Unfortunately within probably 3-5 minutes I found pretty damning proof she was cheating. A short text exchange. With more snooping I found emails, and then photo proof. The real proof was all from my time away those 2 weeks. She cheated on me with this "friend" I initially said would eventually replace me. I knew there was emotional cheating going on. I even told her before I left for the 2 weeks that she may not see it but he is driving a wedge between us. Anwyay...
She was gone for the day hang out with the family friend for his birthday and didn't know that I knew. Given how over the relationship she seemed, and discovering her cheating, I was done. I contacted a lawyer and scheduled to meet with them the following day. She returned from her trip, and later that day I met with a lawyer who informed me I did not have to remain in the state to proceed with the divorce. I contacted and schedule movers to come pick up my stuff saturday. We were supposed to head up to the city the following day, friday-sun, to see a show friday night then just hang out in the city for the weekend. Her, myself, the "friend," and another friend were going to stay at an airbnb for 3 nights. I made up an excuse not to go. As soon as she left I started packing. Packed all friday night and all day saturday, and by 9Pm all my stuff was gone from the apartment.
Sunday morning she called because she saw the moving charges and asked what was going on. I told her I knew, and we talked for about 2 hours. She wanted to come back home, I told her not to I didn't want to see her right now. So sunday afternoon I got on a plane and flew back across country to california, my original home and where we met before moving across country for her job. Early this morning she asked to talk, I said later, and we talked for a while on the phone. She owned up to what she did. During both phone calls, the sunday one and the one this morning, she never really mad eexcuses. She tried to explain why it happened/led to what happened but all the while saying it's not an excuse and that she was totally in the wrong and the one to blame.
So now all day I'm wondering, maybe there is a way for me to get over her cheating. Obviously it would take a lot of work, obviously we have other issues to work through as well, and she obviously has a lot of issues she herself needs to work through. Anyway, I'm thinking up all these scenarios, well maybe if X and Y happens, then we could do counseling for several months and see how things are going, and see if there's a way for me to forgive her and move passed it as a couple still.
I'll probably ask her to talk tomorrow because there are a couple other details about the affair that I would probably need to now that will factor into me actually considering giving her a chance. All that said, I feel really stupid for even considering it. Like I was so strong when I found out, I was done. I packed my shit and moved across country. Didn't need to see her or confront her, I know I'm worth more than that and left a bad situation. There was no way I could stay in that apartment any longer. And yet, here I am like 12 hours later considering potentially taking her back. Am I that weak? Am I that desperate for her love that as soon as she tells me what I want to hear and realizes that our problems weren't all my fault and that she should have tried and put in some effort I jump at the idea of us getting back together?
I'm having my first real meeting with the divorce lawyer over zoom wednesday, and am already considering asking them to put a pause on the divorce proceedings. I've already paid a retainer, so I don't think it would be a problem for the time being. I don't know, I just feel ridiculous.
During out talk today I asked her what she wanted. I said obviously it's too soon for us to know, and yes she misses me now but that could just be the guilt, the somewhat empty apartment, the memories she's reflecting on now that she sees some of the stuff I had to leave behind. She may want us to be together right now, but will she in 6 months when the sting and guilt has gone away? She had already mentioned coming back to California in late june, so I think for now that is going to happen. I know I'd probably need to see her to finally move on if that's where we are at that point, but also if by late june she is committed to working on the relationship and is still just as sorry as she is now, I don't know. I guess I'm thinking of maybe trying to make it work? I never thought I'd be in this scenario because 6 months before we met she had been cheated on by her boyfriend of 5 years who was cheating with her best friend. When I found that out I always said to myself, "Oh she'll never cheat on me. She knows how much that sucks she would never do that to me." So, here I am. Heading toward divorce, partially wanting to try and work it out, and hating myself for it because I shouldn't be in this position and was so strong just 24 hours ago. Anyone have advice or experience they could lend?
Edit: This "friend" was a new work colleague not someone from the yoga retreat. We were scheduled for marriage counseling this wednesday and during out first conversation she said that she was planning on telling me about what happened those 2 weeks during that session. Of course that session won't be happening now
Edit: She is a specialty doctor which is why we moved from CA to PA. Emergency physician with a specialty. When we did move I quit my job and was a stay at home dog day to an elderly dog while I continued my hobby/passion of writing. I should note several times I didn’t really make financial sense for me to get a job. Making what I was in Ca, about 50k, 37/38 after taxes, subtract dog daycare fees for 2 dogs, which may not have even been possible for our older dog who was starting to have issues at the dog daycare in California, then think about how I handled everything and was not tied to a desk for 40 hours a week. Factor in taxes to, like just this past year because my income was 0, when we filed together I brought our tax bracket down an we got 25k back. So really is me being at a full-time job worth, maybe 10k more a year while she then has to pick up all the chores as she would work far less than I would. Anyway ~
Her mother was diagnosed with cancer 6 months into us dating, and by the time we moved to PA she and her husband had moved to nj for specialty treatment. When we arrived she was in the hospital and a month later she passed away. My wife was devastated, and in a very bad place for a long time. This was late 2019. We had to take care of her moms dog after that, her father is not capable of doing it. So I took care of 2 dogs, one senior sick dog, and everything in the apartment and our lives. I made she my then fiancé did not have to lift a finger outside of work. Dishes, laundry, cleaning, walking dogs 4-6 times a day because sick dog needed it, unpacking our stuff, decorating the apartment, groceries, cooking, anything and everything I took care of for her during that impossible time.
2020 covid. Terrible time for an ER doc. Very scary. I would I literally have her take her clothes off as soon as she got home and wash them while she showered.
June 2021 we had to put down our sweet angel of a dog which was just another devastating blow.
“Eloped” and had a solo marriage ceremony for ourselves in Dec 2021. Oct 2022 we have big wedding with family and friends.
So that’s a timeline of pretty unfortunate events. One thing to really note is that her parents always told her to get a prenup since she was younger. I said I would sign one, but she never went out and got one, so we don’t have one. Part of me does wonder about that and how much of a factor that is playing in all this.
Edit 3: We had gone away to nyc for a show a long time ago, January or February maybe, I forget. Could’ve have been earlier. The 3 of us stayed at a friends house while they were away. The trip this past weekend was planned months ago, so I don’t think way back then this was a premeditated thing so she could enjoy the risk of flirting/hooking up with me there. I’m not an idiot I would’ve for sure caught on. One of the weird things was the night before I found out we were sleeping on a mattress topper and 2 sleeping bags in the living room. Our bed hurts her back, and the couches were gross because one of our dogs has dog ibs and had shit and peed all over the couches while I was away, he had to go to the vet and there was obvious pooo and pee spots on the couches that I had to use our specialty vacuum on the next day, anyway so that’s where we planned to sleep. When I laid down she laid above me on the couch and I asked why? I said she could lay down here I wasn’t going to touch her, so she came down to the little makeshift bed. I asked her, “what was your plan this weekend?” She said that the other friend, not the one she cheated with, and I would sleep in the bed and she would sleep on the floor. I said that’s ridiculous obviously I can sleep next to her and not touch her. So, I don’t know what she thought was going to happen this past weekend.
Edit 4: The "friend" is a first year resident so it definitely wouldn't be great if her work found out what was going on. Nothing happened this weekend is was pretty odd. She explained why which I won't go into detail about but I don't think anything did happen this weekend.
Edit 5: We spoke this morning after I asked. I asked a lot of logistical questions. She was hesitant to answer them. Says a little hesitant seeing/hearing that I got all the financial information per the lawyer's request before I left. She eventually answered my questions though and regardless of her answers afterward I told her I was going to need some space. Of course I'll respond to any logistical questions, account info, dog info, stuff like that, but otherwise I would need space at least until she potentially comes to CA to see one another. She would not be staying with me her father lives nearby. Anyway, apparently the cheating only turned physical when I was away in DC. She says it wasn't planned. Like they didn't plan to cheat the moment the trip was scheduled.
She has a lot of problems and unfortunately when I was away it was her late mother's birthday, then soon after mother's day so it was obviously a very vulnerable time for her. She said and I know it doesn't excuse what she did. She says it happened a few times while I was gone, and unfortunately because she was on her period they did not use a condom. Shouldn't really shouldn't make a difference but that did to me. That really sucked to hear. Anyway I think over the next month before she potentially comes to CA for a visit I will probably come to the same conclusion I am coming to now, that we will not be getting back together. I told her i cannot promise anything, but obviously if there's even a chance at all of us working through this I need to see actions. Like quitting the job as she mentioned, moving to CA, seeing a counselor herself. Etc. As of right now I'd say there's a 2% chance we eventually attempt to reconcile, but 98% I don't attempt it. I will probably ask the lawyer to pause/slow the divorce, but I think ultimately I will go through with it no matter what. That way I know if she does want to try and work things out it's not just as a means of avoiding a divorce.
Edit 6: Regardless of what happens in the long run, I know I need to focus on myself once again. I've been working toward and plan to turn into an absolute physical beast asap. Workout pretty regularly and before I found out about the physical cheating I was doing calisthetics every day. On the fourth draft of my second novel that I think has a chance of being picked up as well. So I'm going to focus on that for the next month or so. Goals: Finish novel and send out to a few readers I have lined up for feedback; Be able to do a handstand pushup; Be able to planche, and be able to do muscle ups
​
Edit 7: Just because several people mentioned it. The AP is not in a relationship. Right after she and I spoke on sunday when she found out, I quickly wrote and sent him a text message before I blocked him. As someone who considers themselves decent with words and trying to go from amateur writer to pro, I think it must have been pretty well worded because she says he was very quiet after he got a text and they didn't really speak at all on the drive back from the city.
​

Backstory: Apparently my wife has had some issues with our relationship for some time. Looking back she thought she made her concerns known, but I've told her how she wasn't clear and never made it known these were big problems that we needed to work on. She bottled all this up, then went away on a yoga retreat for a week. She was so at peace there she thought she could stay there forever and never come home. When she returned she said she wanted some space to explore yoga, meditating, make friends, etc. I said of course, I want her to be happy and don't expect her to be tied at my hip 24/7.
It quickly became apparent that I was being replaced. She was doing all those things she said, but there was one male friend who she was doing everything we used to do with him now. I brought up my concerns and that eventually she'll realize all we have left is physical, and why get that from me when you can get it from him. She said that's not what was happening, etc etc. This was back in mid march. Over the next month things seemed fine. She was a bit happier. Yoga, meditating, and journaling seemed to be helping her a lot. Randomly one weekend while she and this male friend went photography shooting, coming back each night, she was visibly upset and didn't want to talk. The next morning I asked what happened and she said I wasn't giving her the space she wanted. She asked me to go away for 2 weeks and I never did. This being one of the problems with her communication skills. I very calmly and politely asked her not to stack the dirty dishes right up to the faucet and to put them off to the side if there were so many. She narrowed her eyes playfully and jokingly made a comment that maybe I should go away for 2 weeks. I made a joke back and we both laughed and moved on. Cut to that discussion where apparently she said she was serious. Wanted 2 weeks of space to think about what she wants and to declutter the apartment. I agree.
A week and a half later I go away for 2 weeks. A week in our dog got sick and she called to give me an update and I could tell something was wrong so I asked her. She said she didn't feel any different, didn't miss me, and like she had the week leading up to me leaving she said she didn't think we should be together. I'd been saying let's see how you feel after the 2 weeks, then if you still don't feel any different we'll go to counseling and then at that point if things didn't change we would separate. For me counseling was a must before I could throw in the towel. We'd been legally married less than 2 years, and because of covid just had our big wedding with friends and family back in late October 2022. I couldn't just call it quits right away. Anyway, when I return she is very distant, even more so than before. An old friend of hers whose basically a member of the family was having his birthday this past wednesday, the day after I returned from my 2 weeks away, so she went up to see him for the day and would be coming back the next morning. When she was gone things were just feeling really off, something was wrong. So, for the first time I snooped. Unfortunately within probably 3-5 minutes I found pretty damning proof she was cheating. A short text exchange. With more snooping I found emails, and then photo proof. The real proof was all from my time away those 2 weeks. She cheated on me with this "friend" I initially said would eventually replace me. I knew there was emotional cheating going on. I even told her before I left for the 2 weeks that she may not see it but he is driving a wedge between us. Anwyay...
She was gone for the day hang out with the family friend for his birthday and didn't know that I knew. Given how over the relationship she seemed, and discovering her cheating, I was done. I contacted a lawyer and scheduled to meet with them the following day. She returned from her trip, and later that day I met with a lawyer who informed me I did not have to remain in the state to proceed with the divorce. I contacted and schedule movers to come pick up my stuff saturday. We were supposed to head up to the city the following day, friday-sun, to see a show friday night then just hang out in the city for the weekend. Her, myself, the "friend," and another friend were going to stay at an airbnb for 3 nights. I made up an excuse not to go. As soon as she left I started packing. Packed all friday night and all day saturday, and by 9Pm all my stuff was gone from the apartment.
Sunday morning she called because she saw the moving charges and asked what was going on. I told her I knew, and we talked for about 2 hours. She wanted to come back home, I told her not to I didn't want to see her right now. So sunday afternoon I got on a plane and flew back across country to california, my original home and where we met before moving across country for her job. Early this morning she asked to talk, I said later, and we talked for a while on the phone. She owned up to what she did. During both phone calls, the sunday one and the one this morning, she never really mad eexcuses. She tried to explain why it happened/led to what happened but all the while saying it's not an excuse and that she was totally in the wrong and the one to blame.
So now all day I'm wondering, maybe there is a way for me to get over her cheating. Obviously it would take a lot of work, obviously we have other issues to work through as well, and she obviously has a lot of issues she herself needs to work through. Anyway, I'm thinking up all these scenarios, well maybe if X and Y happens, then we could do counseling for several months and see how things are going, and see if there's a way for me to forgive her and move passed it as a couple still.
I'll probably ask her to talk tomorrow because there are a couple other details about the affair that I would probably need to now that will factor into me actually considering giving her a chance. All that said, I feel really stupid for even considering it. Like I was so strong when I found out, I was done. I packed my shit and moved across country. Didn't need to see her or confront her, I know I'm worth more than that and left a bad situation. There was no way I could stay in that apartment any longer. And yet, here I am like 12 hours later considering potentially taking her back. Am I that weak? Am I that desperate for her love that as soon as she tells me what I want to hear and realizes that our problems weren't all my fault and that she should have tried and put in some effort I jump at the idea of us getting back together?
I'm having my first real meeting with the divorce lawyer over zoom wednesday, and am already considering asking them to put a pause on the divorce proceedings. I've already paid a retainer, so I don't think it would be a problem for the time being. I don't know, I just feel ridiculous.
During out talk today I asked her what she wanted. I said obviously it's too soon for us to know, and yes she misses me now but that could just be the guilt, the somewhat empty apartment, the memories she's reflecting on now that she sees some of the stuff I had to leave behind. She may want us to be together right now, but will she in 6 months when the sting and guilt has gone away? She had already mentioned coming back to California in late june, so I think for now that is going to happen. I know I'd probably need to see her to finally move on if that's where we are at that point, but also if by late june she is committed to working on the relationship and is still just as sorry as she is now, I don't know. I guess I'm thinking of maybe trying to make it work? I never thought I'd be in this scenario because 6 months before we met she had been cheated on by her boyfriend of 5 years who was cheating with her best friend. When I found that out I always said to myself, "Oh she'll never cheat on me. She knows how much that sucks she would never do that to me." So, here I am. Heading toward divorce, partially wanting to try and work it out, and hating myself for it because I shouldn't be in this position and was so strong just 24 hours ago. Anyone have advice or experience they could lend?
Edit: She is a specialty doctor which is why we moved from CA to PA. Emergency physician with a specialty. When we did move I quit my job and was a stay at home dog day to an elderly dog while I continued my hobby/passion of writing. I should note several times I didn’t really make financial sense for me to get a job. Making what I was in Ca, about 50k, 37/38 after taxes, subtract dog daycare fees for 2 dogs, which may not have even been possible for our older dog who was starting to have issues at the dog daycare in California, then think about how I handled everything and was not tied to a desk for 40 hours a week. Factor in taxes to, like just this past year because my income was 0, when we filed together I brought our tax bracket down an we got 25k back. So really is me being at a full-time job worth, maybe 10k more a year while she then has to pick up all the chores as she would work far less than I would. Anyway ~
Her mother was diagnosed with cancer 6 months into us dating, and by the time we moved to PA she and her husband had moved to nj for specialty treatment. When we arrived she was in the hospital and a month later she passed away. My wife was devastated, and in a very bad place for a long time. This was late 2019. We had to take care of her moms dog after that, her father is not capable of doing it. So I took care of 2 dogs, one senior sick dog, and everything in the apartment and our lives. I made she my then fiancé did not have to lift a finger outside of work. Dishes, laundry, cleaning, walking dogs 4-6 times a day because sick dog needed it, unpacking our stuff, decorating the apartment, groceries, cooking, anything and everything I took care of for her during that impossible time.
2020 covid. Terrible time for an ER doc. Very scary. I would I literally have her take her clothes off as soon as she got home and wash them while she showered.
June 2021 we had to put down our sweet angel of a dog which was just another devastating blow.
“Eloped” and had a solo marriage ceremony for ourselves in Dec 2021. Oct 2022 we have big wedding with family and friends.
So that’s a timeline of pretty unfortunate events. One thing to really note is that her parents always told her to get a prenup since she was younger. I said I would sign one, but she never went out and got one, so we don’t have one. Part of me does wonder about that and how much of a factor that is playing in all this.
Edit 3: We had gone away to nyc for a show a long time ago, January or February maybe, I forget. Could’ve have been earlier. The 3 of us stayed at a friends house while they were away. The trip this past weekend was planned months ago, so I don’t think way back then this was a premeditated thing so she could enjoy the risk of flirting/hooking up with me there. I’m not an idiot I would’ve for sure caught on. One of the weird things was the night before I found out we were sleeping on a mattress topper and 2 sleeping bags in the living room. Our bed hurts her back, and the couches were gross because one of our dogs has dog ibs and had shit and peed all over the couches while I was away, he had to go to the vet and there was obvious pooo and pee spots on the couches that I had to use our specialty vacuum on the next day, anyway so that’s where we planned to sleep. When I laid down she laid above me on the couch and I asked why? I said she could lay down here I wasn’t going to touch her, so she came down to the little makeshift bed. I asked her, “what was your plan this weekend?” She said that the other friend, not the one she cheated with, and I would sleep in the bed and she would sleep on the floor. I said that’s ridiculous obviously I can sleep next to her and not touch her. So, I don’t know what she thought was going to happen this past weekend.
​
Edit 4: The "friend" is a first year resident so it definitely wouldn't be great if her work found out what was going on. Nothing happened this weekend is was pretty odd. She explained why which I won't go into detail about but I don't think anything did happen this weekend.
Edit 5: We spoke this morning after I asked. I asked a lot of logistical questions. She was hesitant to answer them. Says a little hesitant seeing/hearing that I got all the financial information per the lawyer's request before I left. She eventually answered my questions though and regardless of her answers afterward I told her I was going to need some space. Of course I'll respond to any logistical questions, account info, dog info, stuff like that, but otherwise I would need space at least until she potentially comes to CA to see one another. She would not be staying with me her father lives nearby. Anyway, apparently the cheating only turned physical when I was away in DC. She says it wasn't planned. Like they didn't plan to cheat the moment the trip was scheduled.
She has a lot of problems and unfortunately when I was away it was her late mother's birthday, then soon after mother's day so it was obviously a very vulnerable time for her. She said and I know it doesn't excuse what she did. She says it happened a few times while I was gone, and unfortunately because she was on her period they did not use a condom. Shouldn't really shouldn't make a difference but that did to me. That really sucked to hear. Anyway I think over the next month before she potentially comes to CA for a visit I will probably come to the same conclusion I am coming to now, that we will not be getting back together. I told her i cannot promise anything, but obviously if there's even a chance at all of us working through this I need to see actions. Like quitting the job as she mentioned, moving to CA, seeing a counselor herself. Etc. As of right now I'd say there's a 2% chance we eventually attempt to reconcile, but 98% I don't attempt it. I will probably ask the lawyer to pause/slow the divorce, but I think ultimately I will go through with it no matter what. That way I know if she does want to try and work things out it's not just as a means of avoiding a divorce.
Edit 6: Regardless of what happens in the long run, I know I need to focus on myself once again. I've been working toward and plan to turn into an absolute physical beast asap. Workout pretty regularly and before I found out about the physical cheating I was doing calisthetics every day. On the fourth draft of my second novel that I think has a chance of being picked up as well. So I'm going to focus on that for the next month or so. Goals: Finish novel and send out to a few readers I have lined up for feedback; Be able to do a handstand pushup; Be able to planche, and be able to do muscle ups
​
Edit 7: Just because several people mentioned it. The AP is not in a relationship. Right after she and I spoke on sunday when she found out, I quickly wrote and sent him a text message before I blocked him. As someone who considers themselves decent with words and trying to go from amateur writer to pro, I think it must have been pretty well worded because she says he was very quiet after he got a text and they didn't really speak at all on the drive back from the city.
​

Demographics:
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Residence: VA
Income Bracket: Upper Middle Class
Type of School: Completed two years at VCU
Hooks: Sister currently attending VT
Intended Major(s): Mechanical engineering
Academics:
High School GPA (Not submitted) : 3.2 W (HS doesn’t do UW)
VCU GPA : 2.6
Transfer Credits: 47 VCU, 22 AP
Standardized Testing:
SAT (Not reported) : 1380
AP’s:
Microeconomics : 4
Macroeconomics : 3
AB Calc : 4
AP Physics Level C, Mechanics : 4
Statistics : 4
BC Calc : 3 (no credit earned)
AP US History : 2 (no credit earned)
Extracurriculars/Activities:
First Robotics Competition, 3 years, 1 World Championship appearance
Mountain Biking, non-competitive
Building model roller coasters using K’nex
Volunteer at the Science Museum of Virginia
Worked seasonally in food service for two summers and winters
Captain of VCU Esports Splatoon team
High School Tech Theater, ran lightboard, soundboard, stage crew, and spotlights
Helped build sets for theater after school
Awards/Honors:
lol
Letters of Recommendation:
I asked for two letters of recommendation, both from engineering professors at VCU. I felt that I had made a good impression on each of them in their classes as both had lab components where I was able to work with them personally. One of them was an introductory lab class that was more about writing reports than anything else, and the other was a Solidworks/MatLab/Excel class.
Essays:
I didn’t spend much time writing or editing my essays and personal statements, but I have a knack for writing so I believe my essays were what contributed the most to my success with applications. My main essay in the Common App was about my disability and how it’s both hindered and helped me grow as a person. I have a mobility issue that I’ve had over 20 surgeries and countless days of physical therapy to correct. I didn’t linger on that much though, and spent most of my essays talking about how it helped me gain a passion for robotics and engineering as well as how I still worked hard to keep up athletically with my classmates despite my disability. VT notoriously requires 4 more “quick fire” essays. For these I talked about volunteering at my local Science Museum, winning a gold medal at a swim team tournament when I was 12, a more specific narrative regarding my disability, and leading a final project for one of my freshman engineering classes. Main essay was a 9/10, VT personal essays were all 8/10’s imo.
Original Decisions
Acceptances:
VCU (committed)
UMD College Park
Clemson
Syracuse
Rejections:
VT (ED)
University of Delaware
NC State
Transfer Decisions
Acceptances:
VT (committed)
GMU
Rejections:
None
Additional Information:
Couldn’t be happier about my transfer application results! In high school I was forced to commit to VCU due to circumstances outside of my control instead of my #1 choice of UMD. I was never really a fan of urban campuses so I always felt out of place at VCU and didn’t enjoy my time there. I’ve struggled academically the past two years because of my gripes with the environment there leading to me having a pretty bad gpa and needing to retake several courses (hence why I only have 44 transfer credits). To be honest I went into transfer applications with the expectation that I only really had a chance at George Mason (Which I would have still been extremely happy with), and only threw in Virginia Tech for fun. I’m ecstatic about being accepted into VT since I love their rural campus and their undergraduate engineering is excellent. The mountain biking in Blacksburg is also amazing according to my sister there. Unfortunately I’m almost certainly not going to be graduating on time due to VT having stricter requirements than VCU as well as me already having retaken multiple classes at VCU, but I’m not especially concerned about that.

Demographics: Male, white, gay, rural Pennsylvania, small uncompetitive high school (No big hooks other than location and sexuality?)
Income Bracket: 70K-110K
Intended Major(s): Psychology (intent to declare pre-med for psychiatry)
ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1450 (760 EBRW, 690 Math) -- Retaking in June after intensive Math study -- hoping for at least a 740 Math for 1500 superscore at least
UW/W GPA and Rank: 4.0 UW, 4.44 W
Coursework: 16 Honors Classes, AP Lang (expect to get a 5 in July) There are only 8 APs offered in my school, and only two are offered prior to senior year.
Senior Year Courseload: AP Lit, AP Euro, DE Statistics (uPitt), Honors German 3, several other low-level classes related to my major where AP isn't offered + Media and Chambers (Which is honors credit --- see ECs) Could not do AP Calc due to schedule conflicts
Awards:
Eagle Scout with two Eagle Palms
Regional Musical Theater Award (nominated and won) -- first individual winner in school history
PMEA All-State Musician (Choir) -- First to make it from my school in 8 years
PSPA Student Journalism State Champion -- again, first ever from my school
College Board Rural and Small Town Recognition
National Commended Scholar (only one in my class to be commended)
​
Extracurriculars: Leader of Boy Scout Troop, one year; president of my school's chamber singers, two years; president of my school's media team, two years; member of NHS, two years; member of Tri-M honor society, two years; varsity cross country runner, 3 years; musical cast member (principal roles), 3 years; choir, 7 years; Week-long scholarship and leadership camp by invitation, gardening, novel writing, music production (song on spotify)
Essays/LORs/Other: My personal essay isn't going to be formatted very traditionally, but it comes straight from the heart, discussing why my intended major doesn't correlate to my ECs. I will emphasize the opportunities my area gives and what I made of it. My long-time desire to solve the mental health crisis in our country will also be discussed, seeing how I've witnessed its effects on my friends, family, and myself. I'll also touch on community impact through boy scouts, working with only partially supportive family and friends, and staying humble even though I was being put on a pedestal.
LORs are going to be 9/10. Deep connections to all three, including my guidance counselor.
Additional Question: Should I try self-studying for AP Psych?
Schools:
Bowdoin (ED)
Northwestern
Amherst College
Case Western
Syracuse
Westminster College (safety in PA)
Johns Hopkins
Ithaca College
Stanford
Tufts
Brown
Dartmouth
UMiami
Colorado College
Cornell
Penn State
Vandy
Bucknell
Yale
Bates
Colby

Demographics
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Latino (Peruvian Descant)
Residence: Northern California (but not the bay area, its the Sacramento area)
Income Bracket: >50k
Type of School: very average public school (only a few [around 10-15] go to top schools like ucla, uc san diego, uc berkeley)
Hooks: First-Gen, Low income LOL
Intended Major(s): Computer Science/Data Science for UC schools; sociology for most of the private schools on the Common Application
Academics
GPA (UW/W): 3.84 UW and 4.19 W at the end of my junior year (this was the GPA I applied as to the UC schools). 3.78 and a 4.16W on my mid-year report sent to the private schools.
Rank (or percentile): 49/585 (although I lost my rank in the second semester of my senior year to a 65/601 and didn't even make the top 10%).
# of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 4 Honors, 11 AP courses, 7 Dual Enrollment courses.
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish Literature, AP English Literature, Computer Programming, AP Microeconomics, AP Government, AP Physics 2, Pre-Calculus Honors (I know, its bad) and Art 1.
Standardized Testing
SAT I: Didn't take the SAT Or the ACT test; Applied test-optional.
AP/IB: 3's on four AP Exams and 4's on two AP Exams. Failed AP Physics 1.
Extracurriculars/Activities
List all extracurricular involvements, including leadership roles, time commitments, major achievements, etc.
#1 National History Day Competition (State Competitor, 11th-12th grade, 4 hours a week, 23 weeks, won local county competition).
#2 City Hall Internship (intern, 10th grade, 23 hours a week, 4 weeks a year, made changes to city website)
#3 Elementary School Internship (Teacher's Assistant/Intern, 11th grade, 20 hours a week during the summer, helped support first-grade students with learning curriculum.
#4 Family Housekeeping Assistant (helper, 8 hours per week for around 34 weeks a year from 9th-12th grade, helped clean homes).
#5 Academic Decathlon Co-Founder (team member, 11th grade, 3 hours per week for 21 weeks, helped initiate after covid-19.
#6 Web Developer for my school's technology academy (11th to 12th grade, 2 hours a week for 20 weeks, informed 100+ people of club and community events & info).
#7 Robotics Team (coder, 2 hours a week for 20 weeks, 9th to 12th grade, made state competitions for the first time ye)
#8 MESA team (9th to 12th grade, 1 hour per week for 30 weeks, learned useful technical skills like python, inventor, fusion 360 and more).
#9 Web Developer for Key Club (11th to 12th grade, 2 hours a week for 15 weeks, no major accomplishments)
#10 Cashier and fast food worker (11th grade, 10 hours a week for 8 weeks, understaffed in many case).
Awards/Honors
List all awards and honors submitted on your application.
#1 History Day Special Award for Chinese American History (State Level Recognition)
#2 Sacramento County History Day (Local, regional recognition).
#3 School's Technology Academy Leadership Service Award
#4 AP Scholar (LOL)
#5 Honor Roll with Distinction (school recognition).
Letters of Recommendation
APUSH teacher recommendation (8/10): I think I got to know her pretty well and that she was really able to get to know me as a student. She told me she tried to really showcase the strong qualities of myself that really shined through and would serve me best. She also told me she liked how I overcame challenges on the history day competition and how I was persistent/a grit student. I also did try my best in APUSH class and i feel like she probably wrote a lot about that, including about my character.
​
AP Psychology teacher (6/10): Wrote it in a couple of days, so not sure how strong it was. I feel like she somewhat got to know me in AP Psych class but nothing outside of the classroom. She also didn't know what COMMON APP when I asked her so this was probably a first for her, which is kinda a red flag lol but not anything bad. I feel like it was probably average to above average, but who knows it could have been well-written.
City employee internship advisor (5/10): I got the letter of recommendation after my internship and it was very generic, but i still asked her to fill it out for the community recommender part of the Common app recommendation section. I think she wrote like an extra sentence or two but people have told me it was very generic and didn't really demonstrate extra qualities about myself.
Interviews
Had 1 alumni interview with Dartmouth College. I would rate it a 7/10. I got along with her pretty well but I did have some hick ups but I really was able to express myself well. I did prepare for it but it wasn't anything extraordinary.
Essays
UC PIQ Essays (8.5/10): I spent a lot of time writing/editing my UC personal insight questions. I went to both my AP English literature and AP English language teachers, my counselor, one of my close friends, my APUSH teacher, and online "advisors" who somewhat helped although I did pay them upwards of $400 in total to review/edit. I started writing them on November 1st, but I went through so many drafts. I had like 40 pages of just drafts on the google doc. I did have lots of people go over it (which may have been a bad thing due to an overwhelming amount of different advice/feedback/edits they had). I also did pay for online college advisory services to look over my essays, which wasn't too helpful because they gave very minimal edits/feedback. I think three of my PIQ essays were pretty strong at the point . The fourth PIQ essay I started writing the week of the deadline and it turned out pretty good, but not super strong. I feel like one of my UC essays was especially strong for how well-written it was, how unique it was, and how much it demonstrated my personal values/challenges. I truly do feel like my essays on leadership, overcoming a challenge, favorite academic subject, and community essay shined through on me as an applicant and demonstrated who I was as well as my potential.
Common APP PS essay (7/10): As for my Common App Personal Statement Essay, I started on December 16th (one day after my birthday LOL). I tried being different and writing about an inanimate object I've had since I was young. I wrote about this and basically mixed in one of my strongest UC Essays from above into one really well-written essay. I think it was an alright essay but now looking back on it, it wasn't that well-written LOL. I didn't have a winter break and I remember editing one of my supplemental essays like 10 minutes before New Years LOL. I had like 20 supplemental essays to write and I think some of them were really well-written and insightful, while some were written as if it was written last-minute (because it was). But I really liked my community essay, at that point, it was really polished and well-written so I had that as my basis for all the community supplemental essays. For my common app personal statement and supplemental essays, i spent upwards of $600 for online college essay editing services, which was absolutely not worth it because I feel like i could just relied on my personal feedback and not others. However, I did spend all my winter break applying to like 16 private schools, including writing the supplemental essays and common app personal statement that winter break. The topic of my PS statement was more of a grit story and what I learned after working with my mom a lot with house cleaning and how it has changed my outlook on life.
​
Decisions: I only applied Regular Decision for all of them.
Rejections:
Amherst College (social sciences major).
Bowdoin College (social sciences major).
Brown University (social sciences major).
Colby College (social sciences major).
Dartmouth College (social sciences major).
Duke University (cs major)
Northwestern University (social sciences major).
Pomona College (social sciences major).
California State University - San Diego (cs major)
Swarthmore College (social sciences major).
UC Santa Barbara (cs major)
University of Southern California (cs major)
Washington University in St. Louis (cs major)
Yale University. (cs major).
Waitlists:
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (SWE major, still waiting to hear back although I don't think i want to commit there ).
Grinnell College (humanities major) declined waitlist offer
Middlebury College (humanities major) declined waitlist offer
UC Davis (cs major) declined waitlist offer
UC Santa Cruz (cs major) declined waitlist offer
UCLA (cs + engineering major) I'm still waiting to hear back; might commit if i get admitted).
Acceptances:
California State University - Sacramento (computer science major)
California State University - Long Beach (computer science major)
Pepperdine University (computer science major)
UC Irvine (software engineering major)!
UC San Diego (data science major)!
Vanderbilt University (College of arts and sciences)!!!!
UC Berkeley (Committed!!!) Although I am a data science major and not comp sci, I really do feel like I can learn a lot at Cal!!
​
Additional Information: Although I only got I would get into mid-tier schools like UC Irvine or something, I am really happy about my results! Despite being rejected from almost all the private schools besides Vanderbilt and Pepperdine, I really did like how Vanderbilt chose me. It was a super difficult decision picking between Vanderbilt CS (intention to switch to college of engineering) and Berkeley Data Science, I ultimately chose Berkeley because of how prestigious it was for the technology sector and how close it was from home (around 2 hour drive). Although Vanderbilt truly did appeal to me with its student social life scene, academic and social life balance, good food, new location, happy student body, and rigorous academics, it was a bit too far from home. However, although I only got into 7 out of 27 colleges I applied for, I am happy that top universities did pick me and that I was able to choose from such excellent universities. Cal is where my next four years will be! Now, that's only if UCLA doesn't get me off their waitlist, but even then I might still choose Cal if I get off the waitlist. go bears!

Demographics
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Asian
Residence: Texas
Income Bracket: Upper middle class
Type of School: Large, relatively non-competitive high school. Sends 2-5 kids to Ivies each year (out of 1000+ students).
Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None
Intended Major(s): Business/econ as first choice, environmental science/engineering/policy as second choice where available
Academics
GPA (UW/W): 4.0 UW. 5.6ish Weighted
Rank (or percentile): 1/1000+ students
# of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 16 AP courses.
Senior Year Course Load: AP bio, AP Calc BC, AP Euro, AP Lit, AP Macro, AP Gov, Public speaking/debate course, AP Psych, APES
Standardized Testing
SAT: 1560 (780RW, 780M)
ACT: 35
AP/IB: All 5s except one 4 and one 3 in Covid year
Extracurriculars/Activities
#1 Taking care of ill sibling for several years, 10 hours weekly, all 4 years
#2 Paid internship over summer working on ESG/data science, 40 hours/week, 2 years
#3 President and founder of cultural org at school, 2 years
#4 Vice president of school DECA chapter, 4 years
#5 President/treasurer of school honor society, 3 years
#6 Captain of humanities academic competition team, 2 years (we were never good enough to make it past regionals as a team)
#7 Volunteering with local food bank, led a several-thousand dollar donation drive
#8 Volunteering with local cancer prevention charity
#9 Working at fast food restaurant throughout pandemic as shift lead, 2 years
#10 Relatively selective local leadership org with city government
Awards/Honors
#1 1st at national business competition (DECA)
#2 Admitted to and participated in selective, all-expenses-paid, summer business program at a T20
#3 National competitor 1x and state competitor 4x for DECA
#4 Qualified for state 4x for another business competition (FBLA)
#5 Won regions 1x for previously mentioned humanities competition
Letters of Recommendation
Internship manager - 8/10, knew me fairly well, and I think it gave my business app a unique edge because I already had real corporate experience
History teacher - 7/10, known for writing good rec letters, but he probably writes 30-50 each year so I doubt mine was that incredible
Club sponsor - 4/10, knew me decently, but probably not the strongest writer
Languages teacher - 6/10, probably decent, but coming from a large public school probably meant the rec letters were overall not as strong as private feeder letters
Counselor - 5/10, explained my family situation, but overall probably very generic
Interviews
Georgetown, Yale: Felt like I connected on a personal level with both of my interviewers. Neither of us seemed to want to end the conversation, and I think I left an overall very positive impression while expressing my true self. 9/10
Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard: All in one week, back to back, so it was stressful. However, the constant practice made it so that these were all pretty good. 7/10
UPenn ED: First interview so I was really nervous, but he kind of dominated and guided the conversation. Overall did decent. 7/10
UT Austin Business Honors, MIT, Rice: Plain old generic college interviews. 5/10
Princeton: Was my first in-person interview, so I was super nervous. Lasted only 20 minutes, and I really felt like I put on a fake personality that def hurt my chances. 1/10
Essays
Personal statement - 6/10. Generic essay about how a generic hobby taught me to learn from others. Spent maybe 8-10 hours on it? Really felt nervous about this tanking my application because a few friends said it was really really bad (not to be mean, they were genuinely trying to help). However, this was cancelled out by a few adults and college students saying it was really good, so idk. Overall was probably decent, and appealed to more serious readers.
Supplementals: A majority were good, probably around 7-8/10. A few were super cringe looking back, so like 3/10, while a couple were genuinely 10/10. Even got a note from my Stanford AO saying she loved my essays. Lots of research and time put into the "Why Us?" essays. Took a huge risk on my why major essay, and it ended up leading to mixed results. The community essay was probably my weakest, while the essays in which I got to explain my family situation, express my passion for econ, and the 50ish-word short responses were my best. As a whole, I think my supplements and how I approached them through expressing my personality and passions rather than flexing my accomplishments really helped me stand out.
Just a note on the essays: the amount of time you spend on an essay has no correlation to how good it is. It's perfectly fine to finish one quickly and use a first or second draft. Some of my best essays were written like this when I was just in a good mood and trying to finish quickly to go hang out - while the ones I grinded on for days (looking at you Princeton) ended up being fake and cringey.
​
Decisions:
Acceptances:
UPenn Wharton ED Deferral - Acceptance
UMich Ross EA
IU Kelley EA
UT Austin Business Honors EA
Texas A&M EA
Stanford RD (committed!!)
Dartmouth RD
Carnegie Mellon Tepper RD
Vanderbilt RD
Notre Dame RD
Georgetown McDonough RD
Rice Business School RD
Waitlists:
Harvard RD -- waitlisted then rejected
Cornell RD - opted out
Columbia RD - opted out
Brown RD - opted out
Duke RD - opted out
Rejections:
MIT RD
Princeton RD
Yale RD
NYU Stern RD
Additional Information/final reflections:
I think the biggest, biggest thing that I regret, and am still trying to overcome, is the glorification of Ivy students. What I mean by this is the echo chamber prevalent on this sub, and A2C and even among the students I met at the various competitions I participated in, that believes that anyone who gets into a school like Harvard or Stanford or any Ivy for that matter is somehow smarter or better than kids who get rejected. This belief led me to believe that only those with super stacked god-tier resumes get in, leading me to be completely shocked by my results. Looking back, even though I'm not a perfect applicant, I should've been a lot more confident and realized that I was definitely "average" for an Ivy applicant. I have a deleted post on an alt asking where I'd get in, and most people said Kelley and Ross at best. I think people as a whole need to realize that although college admissions is super selective and complete BS, the reason you won't get in is NOT because you didn't do enough, or because your resume is weak - it's because of factors like luck and institutional priorities. If I applied again, I could see myself getting into Harvard and Stanford again, or ending up at A&M or UT. It's literally all luck once you're past a certain point. I hope all applicants in the future are more optimistic (without being unrealistic), while taking the admissions process a little more lightheartedly.
​
One final thing: if you're a prestige whore. Stop it now. It never ends. This is going to sound so fucking dumb, but until like last week, while I was waiting for Harvard waitlist results to come out, I genuinely had the thought that I wasn't "good enough" because I got into Stanford and not Harvard. WTF. I can't believe I genuinely thought something like that. Objectively I know it's false because I can see people on this sub with similar applications to me get into Harvard and not Stanford, and even without that, it's just so dumb to place my value on an admissions decision. I've really sat and thought about it for a while, and I think being a prestige whore comes from a mix of needing validation and also feeling insecure. I've been working towards addressing both, and hope in the future I won't give a shit what people think and will stop being in my own head.
Anyways, sorry for the rambling at the end of this post! Good luck to the class of 2024 and all future classes applying! I hope everything works out amazing for you all, and dm or comment if you have any questions. Hopefully this post helped just a little.

This information is unspecific for anonymity purposes
Demographics

• Gender: Male (lol)
• Race/Ethnicity: Asian (lol)
• Residence: California (lol)
• Income Bracket: 80k
• Type of School: Public
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): None (lol)

Intended Major(s): CS (lol)
Academics

• GPA (UW/W): 4.78 W (no UW at my school)
• Rank: 1
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: 20 AP/college classes (lol)
• Senior Year Course Load: Linear Algebra (at local college), Differential Equations (at local college), AP Physics C, AP English 4, AP Gov + Micro (1 per semester at my school), AP Biology, AP ES, AP Statistics

Standardized Testing

• SAT I: 1590 (790RW, 800M)
• AP/IB (get ready for this lol): AP Human Geography (5), AP Psychology (5), AP Physics I (5), AP Physics II (5), AP Calculus BC (5), AP World History (5), AP US History (5), AP CS (5), AP CSP (5), AP English 3 (4)

Extracurriculars/Activities (kept broad on here)

1. Cofounder of an AI startup (12). I did this with a couple graduate students I knew and we've raised a decent amount in early funding. Dropped all other ECs senior year to focus on this.
2. AI research at a T5 over the summer (11). I was accepted into a very selective program. Didn't publish anything but it was a good experience for college apps
3. AI research at another T5 (10). Published a paper into a fairly reputable journal (not lead author though)
4. CS research at my local college (9). Published paper as lead author, presented at a conference
5. President of my school's peer-tutoring program (Member 9, President 10-12). I mostly help with Math and Physics (about 2 hrs/week)
6. President of my school's CS club (Member 9, President 10-12). tbh we never do anything so I can still join and focus on EC #1
7. Physics club vice president (member 9-11, President 12). Also do pretty much nothing.
8. Volunteer at my local Buddhist temple (9-11). I work with new converts/people interested to help teach them more about the faith main Buddhist texts.

Awards/Honors

1. 3x USACO plat (9,10,11) EDIT: For those curious about how 3x plat is possible, I qualified in 9th which meant I would stay in plat for future competitions (so I wrote 3x on apps)
2. Winner of a prestigious national coding comp (11)
3. Finalist in another prestigious tech comp (10)
4. National Merit Semifinalist (11)

Letters of Recommendation
Math Teacher (9/10): I knew him super well and we work together for the peer-tutoring program. We often talk during lunch.
English Teacher (7/10): I'm a good student but I don't know her as well as the math. I'm active in her class though and she seemed excited when I asked if she would write me a letter.
Professor at T5 (7/10): I worked with this guy everyday. Our relationship was pretty much limited to only technical stuff, but I think he had a lot to say.
Interviews
MIT (first interview, dream school): Went really well and I clicked with the interviewer. She asked a lot of technical questions about my research, but I answered them well and she seemed impressed. I tried to act a lil "quirky" during the interview (since MIT's culture is like that) and she mentioned I'd be a good fit.
Princeton: Went well. Mostly talked about ECs and why I want to go.
Cornell: This was non evaluative. Consisted mostly of my interviewer talking about how the school was
Columbia: No interview :(
Harvard: Went well. The interviewer seemed impressed over how I name dropped certain professors and research groups I want to join.
Stanford: Nothing special. Mostly talked about why I wanted to go to the school. The interview ended in like 30 minutes :(.
Essays
Common App Essay (10/10): I spent 3 months pouring over this and it is honestly the best thing I have ever written. I spent like a month just outlining literary techniques and stuff I would use and it helped a ton. I had an English professor at my local college read it and say that it was "one of the better" student-written works they've seen. Lowkey trauma dumping (my hs english teacher cried when she read it) but I guess it worked
Supplemental (7/10): Half of these were done like a week before the deadline. They related to my ECs pretty well though and I was able to elaborate on my research experiences.
Decisions (indicate ED/EA/REA/SCEA/RD)
EA (0 safeties baby)

• MIT (dream school frfr): Deferred 😭 (I was expecting this but it still hurt)
• Georgia Tech OOS: Accepted
• UT Austin OOS: Accepted
• UC Berkeley IS: Accepted in an early wave

RD

• Caltech (first decision): Rejected (This coupled with the MIT deferral crushed my hopes over the next couple weeks)
• MIT: ACCEPTED (WTF. Was 100% expecting a rejection)
• Cornell: Accepted
• Columbia: Accepted
• Princeton: Accepted (full ride)
• Harvard: Accepted (almost a full ride)
• Stanford: Rejected
• CMU: Waitlisted

Additional Information
MIT has always been my dream school and I was ecstatic when I got in, but the FA was TRASH. I adored the school when I visited. As I began to visit the other schools, I also really enjoyed Princeton. Cornell felt too isolated and Columbia was too urban, but Princeton fell right in the middle. I was still dead set on MIT though.
It was an incredibly difficult decision, but I chose Princeton. As much as I loved MIT, the tuition was too much for my family, and I couldn't pass up on the full ride. Go tigers!