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Maximize AP classes

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I haven't seen this covered yet so I'm asking - my son has/is taking several AP classes as well as being dual enrolled his senior year at University of Wisconsin. I went though the Purdue info (one of the schools he's accepted at) and it appears he will enter with 31 credits. My question is - what is the best way to really get the most out of these AP classes in terms of both time and cost savings in colleges? FYI - also accepted at Tulane (honors),University of MN (honors), waiting to hear from Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Harvard.

Just failed my first semester. I don't know where to go from here.

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Title more-or-less sums it up, but I need a little more advice as my situation is a unique one. I'm a minor; I don't hit eighteen until the middle of next year. I graduated high school in 2016 with a cumulative GPA of 2.7, so I'm already not the best student. I attended a film school that ran through a community college system with my parents paying for two-thirds of the total cost of classes so long as I didn't fail anything. However, as I don't have a car of my own, and the school is in a different city altogether, I spend anywhere from 6 to 8 hours a week on the bus and train back and froth from class to home and so on. Combined with needing to be on film shoots that sometimes were nowhere near the school, working a 20-hour work week to be able to pay my part of college/save up for a car AND my own bad time management skills, this semester did not go well for me. I just got an email from them stating that my GPA was less than a 2.0 and that I have been placed on academic probation for the upcoming Spring term. I'm now, most likely, going to have to fork over the rest of the money I had been saving for a car to my parents as per the deal we agreed upon, but if that's the case, my commute is going to be the death of me before classes do that. At this point, I am strongly considering taking a break from school to focus on working more hours so I can start recouping my losses, while taking time to get my life back in order and figure out how the hell to "adult." But I don't know. I'm just so beaten down that this point I can't figure out in which direction I need to go. Any advice would be more than appreciated.

Additional writing sample?

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My daughter's first choice school, on their application portal, has a place to upload optional supplemental material, including writing samples. If a school has this as an option, do most people send something? I'm thinking it might help her application. My daughter has written many good essays analyzing literature that are no longer than a page or two at most. Is it bad to send nothing, though? TBH she is so sick of this stuff, I can see her saying no...

Villanova vs. Providence Liberal Arts and Sciences

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So my D was accepted to both Villanova and Providence EA undecided Liberal Arts and Sciences. Villanova is her top choice however they offered no Merit scholarship. Providence did offer her a 40% off tuition and the Honors Program. Does anyone have any advice on which way to go from past experience ? I would love for her to attend her #1 but the difference in tuition is a major factor. Thanks.

University of California freshmen applications hit new high

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http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/12/19/uc-freshmen-applications-hit-new-high/ freshman hopefuls at one campus — UCLA — topped six figures, to 102,177 Freshman applications at four schools — Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego and Irvine — topped 85,000

Need advice on Spring Break College Tour

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I’m working on a 2017 Spring Break tour for my junior D and I, and am considering hitting two colleges on some of the days because they seem close, and time is tight. We live in CA, so going back for a second visit won't happen until after acceptance in 2018, if at all. We plan to arrive in each town the night before, so we are ready to go in the morning. Also, I’m guessing there won’t be time to sit in on a class or interview — I’m also not sure interviewing is appropriate as a Junior. I’m guessing these visits will be just info sessions and/or tours. My current plan has us visiting 16 schools in 14 days (it's a long spring break). Five of those days would have two schools/day. Are we going to be fried by the end? This is the only chance to see schools with students on campus. Have any of you done a trip this long? We might visit the schools we miss on this trip in early June. These are some of the pairs I’m considering (obviously we can’t do them all): 1. Bryn Mawr - Haverford 2. Smith - Mount Holyoke 3. Clark - Smith or Wellesley 4. Wellesley - Northeastern or Tufts 5. Bowdoin - Bates and/or Colby 6. American - U Maryland 7. U Chicago - Northwestern 8. Scripps - Pitzer and/or Claremont McKenna 9. Lawrence - Beloit 10. Carleton - Macalester Specifically: Have you toured any of these pairs on the same day? How did it go? Did you feel rushed at the first school? Was the afternoon school a blur? Do you recommend visiting the top choice in the morning? Is the distance between them reasonable to comfortably make an afternoon tour, fitting in lunch at either schools’ cafeteria? Did you ever stay for dinner at the second school? Has your child ever done the “Lunch with a student” visit option at Mt Holyoke, Wellesley or Clark? How was it? Is there enough time to get the “vibe” of a place? (Also, What tips do you have on getting the “vibe”?) Did your junior interview during Spring Break at colleges he/she was touring for the first time? What would you have done differently? At what point do you burn out of info sessions? What am I not thinking about? I’d love to hear your experience and advice!

Similar Prestigious College vs Honors Public

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This discussion was created from comments split from: High end college vs. honors program at state college?.

How Wealthy Families Manipulate Admissions at Elite Universities

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http://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/news/a8718/daniel-golden-college-admission/?src=nl&mag=tnc&list=nl_toc_news&date=110116 The University of Pennsylvania, for example, admitted 38 percent of alumni children in 2005, as against 21 percent of all applicants. This year it took 22 percent of legacies, versus 9 percent overall. So legacies were accepted at more than twice the average rate this year, a bigger proportional advantage than in 2005. The percentage of alumni donating to the country's top 20 universities dropped over the last 10 years, but the average alumni contribution nearly doubled—meaning that this crucial source of support is coming from large checks written by a relative few

How competitive is an ROTC scholarship?

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Hello, I was recently accepted to Cornell University ED. It has always been a goal of mine to join the military after college, West Point being my second option, however, I am a bit curious on how hard it is to receive a national ROTC scholarship. My interview with the PMS is coming up and they make it sound extremely competitive, however, I do know people who were awarded ROTC scholarships with scores around the minimum requirement (19-24 ACT). Is being awarded an ROTC scholarship just as hard as getting into Cornell? Thanks!

Academic Dismissal

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If your on academic dismissal and your final grades are A, B, C, D, and F. Would the college dismiss you?

What is the success rate of academic dismissal appeals?

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I have been stressing out about mine and I am curious if I still have a strong chance of being readmitted. My email has no extenuating reasons (relative died, illness, etc.), but I take responsibility for my grades and explain the reasons why i know I screwed (time management, priorities messed up). I also outline a number of steps that I plan to take if I am readmitted. Any thoughts?

dealing with plagiarism in CHICO STATE. Help!!!

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Hello, I am currently a freshman in college in Chico, CA. I just had finals and I had a mistake on one of them and its the worst thing of my life. I didn't delete some of the code that I had from another website. 2 days later after i turned in the final. I get a mail saying I need to meet with Student Judicial Affairs. I have no idea what is going to happen. I agree to what I did was wrong and I have learned my lesson. Anyone know whats going to happen to me? Are they gonna take away my financial aid? Are they going to place me under disciplinary probation? Anyone please let me know, if you have some info on this matter just in general or, if you have info from chico about this stuff. This is the mail i received from my college's Student Judicial Affairs: NOTICE OF CONFERENCE December 16 The Student Judicial Affairs office has received information from Computer Science Department concerning your involvement in an incident referred on December 12 Standards of Student Conduct Violation(s): Your misconduct violates CSU Executive Order 1098 and California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Article 2, Section 41301 (b) (Student Conduct Code): Title 5, California Code of Regulations/(1) Dishonesty, including:/(1A) Dishonesty, including: Cheating, plagiarism, or other forms of academic dishonesty that are intended to gain unfair academic advantage. Factual Description of Alleged Conduct: Plagiarism on project for class. Range of Sanctions: Violation(s) of the Student Conduct Code subjects you to a range of sanctions from educational remedial sanction to expulsion (see attached CSU Executive Order 1098). The severity of the sanction(s) depends on the particular facts and circumstances of your case. Meeting Time/Location: Please contact our office by Thursday, December 22 to arrange for a conference. The Conference will take place in the Student Services Center, Room 190. Failure to Respond To This Notice: If your appointment is not scheduled by the date specified above, you will forfeit your right to this meeting and a hearing on the charges will be scheduled. Please note that failure to respond to this notice may result on a registration hold on your record which may prevent you from registering for classes or obtaining transcripts until this matter is resolved. What to Expect at This Conference: This is an informal meeting with a Student Conduct Coordinator/Administrator. It is your opportunity to respond to the charges of misconduct and to discuss possible resolutions to this matter. The meeting is meant to be non-confrontational and educational. The goal of our office is to educate students and to reinforce and uphold campus and community values. Know Your Rights: You have the right to bring an Advisor to any meetings, conferences, interviews or hearings. An Advisor may serve as an observer and support you during the process but may not speak for you or on your behalf. You have the right to view your disciplinary file prior to the conference. If you wish to view your disciplinary file, please call the office at 9830983457, and will have the information ready within five (5) working days. You may view your file in the Office of Student Judicial Affairs located in the Student Services Building, Room 190. If you would like to request a copy of your file, you must submit a request in writing (email is appropriate) and a copy will be prepared within fifteen (15) working days. There may be a fee assessed for copying. Sincerely, Student Conduct Coordinator/Administrator

Moved: Is this SSAT score a big worry??

Should I change my major?

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Hello, I go to Texas A&M University and am at a current debate with myself whether or not I should still continue pursuing my Biochemistry degree, or if I should change into something "easier" for me. I am at my third year and and inevitably going to graduate a year late. My degree requires engineering calculus III, engineering physics 1 and 2, and Physical chemistry 1 and 2. All of this is EXTREMELY math intensive, and math is by far my weakest link. I want to say lack of skills in math and lack of maturity caused me to make my first C's in both general chemistry 1 and 2. I have held back on all of my math classes as long as I could but now is the time I need to take it. The biochemistry degree at Texas A&M is apparently ranked highly and is very well respected, but I do not know if I should put my GPA at risk considering I would like to have med school as an option (although I heard they care tons more about your MCAT scores than your GPA). If I were to change majors, it would be either to public health or genetics which require much of the same coursework and are able to be carried from one to the other easily, meaning I will not lose credits or have to take any extra and still graduate in the same amount of time. I like all three of these degrees, so it would not be like I would just be choosing one on the whim just so I can get out of biochemistry if need be. I have consulted my parents and siblings and they all say that I should make the decision that I won't regret and that they will be happy with whatever I choose to do. It's a very open-ended answer but I do not know what I should do and I cannot really access the pros and cons of either. I truly think the rigor of the course load will make me a better person. I also think that it will help sharpen my focus. I also think it is important to be challenged, as I do not think I have been challenged mentally like this before. If I am able to sit down and really understand calculus and physics, I think that will be one of the most rewarding feelings I will have in a very long time. People say that the genetics degree at Texas A&M is "basically a Biochemistry degree without physical chemistry", which is true, and that job prospects are pretty much the same. I find it truly sad sometimes when some people come to college aspiring to be, say an engineer, but they fail their first calculus class and change their entire career and life goals because of it. I don't think it should be that way. I think in order to succeed, one must experience failure. (Sometimes not like that). -A friend of mine is a computer science major and has a ~2.6 overall GPA. He managed to pick up a full time job a semester before graduation which pays rather decent for being right out of college. I know the two degrees and job prospects are probably not comparable, but I am a firm believer in that nothing is guaranteed no matter how "qualified" you are. I do not know if I am being too idealistic or I just need to be realistic with myself and accept that I have limits when it comes to math or if I can truly put hardcore determination to it and learn it in and out. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences. Thank you.

My Son's Journey through Mental Illness, in His Words

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My 24-year-old son was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder (combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, in his case) in 2011. He has decided he wants to start sharing his story publicly, so he will be speaking for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) this Monday. He asked me to share his story with as many people as possible, so that's why I'm posting it here. I am so very proud of him. He is a warrior. NAMI Speech Presentation December 5, 2016 Hello everyone, my name is_____, and I am here to give a short presentation on my experiences with mental illness and their ramifications in my life. I have lived in Texas and Maine, and I have seen mental illness face-to-face from month to month and on everyday encounters. I have motivation to speak from several sources, the best of whom is my psychiatrist, among others including friends and family. Good common sense from my doctor inspires me to maintain healthy well-being with respect to managing my symptoms and also take my medication as prescribed. Friends and family have often supported me in my trials and have always been there when I have needed a helping hand. My life has been rigorous at times, and my support network has been invaluable in encouraging me in my worst moments. In the early fall of 2010, my collegiate career began on a promising note. I started well enough at the University of Texas at Austin, but soon began to decline mentally. My roommate stayed up late at night playing online games, I had a hard time sleeping, and in classroom settings, I had an odd tendency to think that people were tapping their feet because of the intensity of my gaze. I didn’t think that it was odd in those moments, however, but as the months dragged on, my mind was wearing down and causing me to doubt my reality. Eventually, at the end of the first semester, I expressed my voice to a woman, my grandmother who lived nearby, and said, “I think something is wrong with me,” and trembling, I said, “I think I need help.” My granddad, my grandmother and I were able to find a psychiatrist nearby, a respectable woman, who quickly analyzed my situation to be an example of a delusion of reference, the idea that in my own mind mere coincidences lined up with strong perceptions of personal meaning. Basically, I had experienced my first known mental illness outbreak, and I needed medication to quiet the thoughts that were practically exploding in my mind—the foot tapping wasn’t caused by me, I tried to think, but part of me still believed that all of the weirdness of the situation was my fault. Now I know that I was experiencing mental illness. I was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder type II bipolar type, a name that seemed foreign and strange to me. As far as I understood, it was a variety of schizophrenia that accounted for mood changes—anyway, I didn’t know how to take care of myself, so it sort of made sense. I wanted to change for the better, but my symptoms of bizarre thoughts, sleeping too much because of my medication, and headaches because of my classes bothered me to the core. I managed to make a 3+ GPA in that first year of college, but the mental hospital visit at the end of the second semester definitely highlighted the realness of my mental condition. My medication that I took was causing me to miss classes regularly, so I would end up isolating in my room frequently, and my mind weakened as a result. I ended up expressing my emotions surrounding these events by drawing explosions on a notepad, and when the obviousness of the racing thoughts quickly revealed itself, my exact statement was, “The sh-- has hit the fan. So this is why I have a safety plan.” A few weeks later, thinking back on the episode, I thought, “Good riddance. Thank the establishment for the hospital visit.” At the end of the summer following my freshman year of college, I went back to Maine to live at my parents’ house as my permanent residence. I found a new doctor, and I was all set to keep living a good life. I was too psychologically unstable to stay at Texas, so I had the option to either go to the hospital for sanity or go back home, so I went home. I took the fall 2011 semester off to collect my thoughts and take a break, but I was back at school, the University of Southern Maine at Portland, in the spring of 2012. At the end of 2012, I began to hear from things I didn’t understand. I even remember the date—this kind of experience has been going on and off since that time, and did not become significantly better until the end of 2015. I do remember the day. I was lying on my bed thinking about something, maybe dinner, when all of a sudden, I heard this loud voice say in my mind, “No,” and I didn’t think it came from me. I was frightened after this event and I didn’t know what to say. I was a little bit unconfident speaking my own voice then, so the idea of saying something about what I felt happened was unnerving to me. I decided to play it cool and brush it aside like it didn’t happen, but that’s the thing about my experience: It was not good. The problem, the voices, was integrated slowly into my thoughts, and eventually after a few weeks I just accepted them in a deluded kind of way. This went on. I went to the mental hospital again that spring and again soon after because my thinking was not in alignment with reality. I thought that the voices were real and that they were coming from heaven to save me, and the deceit from the words I heard lasted for years.

HYP students in the eyes of parents

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It seems the three schools attract a lot of attention here. However, many on CC would argue that neither the schools nor their students are more special than the next x number of schools. What would parents of HYP students say, not their stats or ECs but their characteristics that non-parents don't see? Share if you know some kids as well as their parents do. They must be a group of wonderful young people.

Second Academic Dismissal

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At my college I was told that I was academic dismissed because of my low GPA. I wrote an appeal and what I talked about how skipped class to much, my focus wasn't on school, and I wasn't doing all of my work. I then told them the things I would do like go to my academic advisor, go to the learning commons, etc. I did not go to my academic advisor but I did go to the library to study more. My college said I could only take 5 classes and the final grades I received were an A, B, D, D, and an F. One of my Ds is suppose to be a C because in canvas my final letter grade is a C but the student center says it is a D. So I've emailed my professor asking if it is a C or a D. If it is a C and my final grades should be A, B, C, D, and F. Would I still be academically dismissed? Also, since this is my second time being academically dismissed I can write another appeal letter. What should I put in my appeal and what are my chances of this being to stay in college? Please help.

UCI Academic Dismissal Chance?

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Hello everyone, I just received an email saying "Your academic record has been carefully reviewed. I am sorry to inform you that you have not met minimum academic standards for the University of California, Irvine. You may be disqualified from further attendance at the University of California, Irvine, effective the end of Fall 2016, unless you submit an acceptable appeal letter as detailed in the enclosed guidelines. Your appeal and any supporting evidence must be submitted in writing by Monday, January 9, 2017, to me at:" I'm currently a sophomore and I did really well on my first 3 quarters of my freshman year (almost all A's) and this quarter I failed 2 classes (2 Fs) and got one C+. My GPA dropped from 3.8 to 2.9. The reason for this is because I signed a housing contract back in my freshman year which was a BIG mistake that required me to pay housing during the summer and my mom was unemployed so the financial stress took hold of me for the whole summer to the point I was maximizing my credit and my mom's credit. Now this affected my fall quarter because I was too stressed out about paying my mom back since she has to pay her credit cards as well as her rent that I was only eating 1-2 meals a day because I used some of the financial aid money to pay her back and since the transition for this year is way different than it was last year, I didn't really have time to get a job or to even work a job so I resorted to making money online to the point that I was staying up late just to do them. Anyways, when I didn't do well on all my midterms, I realized I had to change which I did by doing the things I did my freshman year so I can be successful again but by this time, it was too late. The lectures were more difficult to understand because they required knowledge of early chapters and the time it took to learn these from the start were so time consuming that I was just sleeping for 2-5hours a day. Because of this, I was just fatigued by the time finals arrived that I missed two finals because my lack of sleep finally caught up to me. This is not the appeal I will submit but the problem will look something like this but more polished, so I was wondering if I have any chances of requesting for them to reconsider my dismissal? I really feel like I can still do well since I have gotten more used to my transition as a sophomore year and still have a 2.9 GPA and retaking the courses I failed replaces the Fs I got on them so I can just get back to the 3.5+ GPA really quickly.

At Least Some Faculty Have a Sense of Hunor!

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People who fell asleep reading my book https://storify.com/EcoEvoEvoEco/peoplewhofellasleepreadingmybook

Schools known for good merit aid

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On a couple of other threads, the question of which schools give good merit aid is being discussed. This comes up often, but the combined knowledge of all those here on cc tends to be buried among many posts on many related topics. I thought I'd start a thread here. I have only a little knowledge, but will start with a few that I know of/recall being mentioned. Hope this will be an efficient repository of the info that so many can use. Tulane Vanderbilt Case Western Reserve Santa Clara (?- offered S about half of what Tulane did, but still over $10K)
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