...if you think you will be working as a software engineer when you graduate.

10-15 years ago Google was asking FizzBuzz and Two Sum questions to candidates, now it's not farfetched to see them toss a new grad a leetcode hard. The rise of continued globalization, remote work, and growth of platforms like leetcode has drastically increased not only the candidate pool but the candidate skill level as well.

Offshoring, globalization, and AI are all destroying the tech industry. In 2024 the US Bureau of labor statistics had a 15% projected 10 year job growth outlook for software engineers. In 2026 it stands at just 10%.

Do not fall for this scam.

(First post on this sub btw)

I have an opinion that I'm pretty sure isn't the full picture, yet I can't really find a reason not to believe it. I'm making this post to see whether my biased opinion is valid or not, as well as if there's any information that I'm not considering.

So many times, colleges ask "Why do you want to go to our college specifically?" I think I'm biased because these types of questions are easily the hardest for me, but I don't think this is a fair question to ask given how students apply to college.

Students who apply to college usually cast a wide net of colleges to apply to, based on the area of study that they're generally interested in. They don't just apply to one college. So I don't really understand why I have to say why I want to go to their college specifically. I don't. I'm casting a wide net and seeing who lets me in based on my grades, transcript and essays.

And while we're on the topic, even if I did care about which college specifically I went to, it'd be stupid. As long as I get a job in the end, I've heard that it doesn't really matter what college you went to unless you went into an Ivy League (and I don't know if I really can or want to go to an Ivy League).

So yeah. What are everyone's thoughts on my opinion?

Edit: Looking back at this post and thinking maybe I should have said "I hate it when..." instead of "It's stupid for..." in the title post, because it's a subjective opinion. I'm sorry for that.

I live pretty close to Wesleyan, we used to do our practices there sometimes. So when I was younger I genuinely thought it was a random community college 😭 Then last year I was researching colleges and I found out it’s actually a really amazing LAC?

Has anyone experienced something similar? I feel like I JUST found out about sooo many elite schools like before this process I didn’t know some national universities like CMU, Northwestern, and Emory!!! And last week I learned about Pomona.

Anyways this is NOT Wesleyan shade at all it’s truly an amazing school and I would never get in but haha this process has really opened my eyes

I had the option of going to McGill, UBC, or U of T for around 6k/yr but chose Tufts despite it costing 100k/yr.

I picked it for the global and domestic prestige and because it’s just a better school in general.

Did I make a mistake?

I have heard that REA might be worse than RD or that it is the same, but you get decisions earlier.

I am not in a hurry to receive decisions and having one less early deadline will give me more time on other supplements. CDS doesn't include data on REA so anyone have insight?

Title. Thinking of putting it relatively low on the common app activity list

For context I’m a high school senior in Ohio taking 3 dual enrollment classes through my local community college. I have a 4.0 UW and 4.370 Weighted Gpa. I have taken dual enrollment classes before and got A’s in them and am going to probably get an A in the two other classes I’m enrolled in.

But I have been super busy lately between college Apps, work, family etc. I bombed by Dual enrollment Spanish 2 midterm. I am at a low B right now and with how the class is going I’m probably gonna get a C. If it matters I got an A in Spanish 1. I was wondering as there is still time for me to withdraw from the class if I should?

I’m not mainly worried about my high school gpa, mostly my college gpa and transcript. When I go to a different 4-year university next year will colleges see that I got a C or if I withdrew? Just looking for advice, thanks!

I feel like no one else talks about these and I’m worried I may have been underestimating their importance

Iowa state!! Just something that made me happy :]

To finish the Common App and see a .pdf spit out of the last four years is really jarring. I've never felt so dehumanized. Where do I talk about all the friends who saved my life and are the spark of my world? Why did my orchestra experience get dumbed down to a handful of words and not the everlasting memories that I made? Why is my SAT score the first time and not the second time I took it? I studied CRAZY amounts just to get a lower score? My firefighting experience is the only thing that gets put into 650 words, but that's still not enough to show the brotherhood and the trauma I experienced. My dream school is far away, but it's the one I want. If I go to my dream school, will I see my brothers and sisters again? Will I step into my firefighting gear again?

I've cried so many times and lost so many hours just thinking. EA is around the corner. I dislike this process. I wish I were good at something. I wish I did something that would show better on a college app. I wish my studying didn't leave me barely short of a 1500 SAT. I wish my parents knew that I'm not built for T20 schools.

:(

So the choice of words that I have chosen for this prompt would instantly be understandable to a younger admissions officer, but if it's an older person, they might not understand it as much. Should I continue with this choice?

I have a 1460 Sat (760 math, 700 English) and a 4.0 weighted gpa. I Have strong course rigor, more concentrated in stem. I want to do engineering in college, but I need some safety schools to apply to. Money is a concern and I live in Virginia. Ideas?

I’ll be attending a T10 as a recruited athlete. Can anyone here speak to their experience and quality of life? I would love any insights or advice as I prepare for my freshman year. I plan on majoring in math or CS.
FWIW, I averaged about 5 hours of sleep during the season in my junior year of high school. As an IB student taking 4 APs, I nearly burned out. Am I cooked in the same way when I start college?

Hello everyone, wondering if anyone can shed light on this comparison. I've visited both, and the jury is still out. I love the promise of learning-for-learning's sake in the U Chicago essays, but I've also heard that Brown's open curriculum promotes learning-for-learning's sake. Corny as it sounds I really want to wind up at a school where people enjoy learning. At the same time, I want college to not feel like that same level of high school stress. I'll be a humanities major.

I'm currently a senior in NorCal planning to apply to apply out of state. I may add a few California state schools but I'm not sure about which ones haha. I'm planning on majoring in history.

My stats:

-Non-Weighted GPA: 3.84

-Weighted GPA: 4.05

9 AP's:

-4's on AP Biology and AP World

-5's on AP US and AP Art History

Extra Curriculars:

-Mock Trial (3 years, 2 years officer)

-2 Years of Golf

-3 years in a children's educational club (sorry kinda hard to explain)

-Job Senior year

-2 Years volunteering at museum

hi everyone! I’m in a really tough situation and resorting to reddit bc anonymous and in case any of you went through something similar and could offer some advice.

I’m a hs senior attempting to apply for the fafsa but finding it incredibly difficult bc of my parents. I’m a california resident, so are my parents. they both attended a small amount of community college and neither graduated. i’m from an incredibly wealthy city though, meaning my parents income is much higher than the national average but we live paycheck to paycheck and they are both VERY financially irresponsible. i have 0 savings and they are optimistic while having absolutely no plan to help me during college.

this is a bad enough situation as is, but to make everything worse, they are very behind on their taxes. i believe they haven’t filed since 2019? and I just pretty much begged them to get 2024 + 2025. so after forcing that through, kicking and screaming, i have their taxes for ‘24 & ‘25.

i have absolutely no idea where to go from here. my counselor told me verbatim i’m screwed. i’m a very decent student, i write fantastic essays, and have had collegiate aspirations my entire life. i’m incredibly resentful & hurt but more than anything, lost. if anyone in here has gone through a similar situation in recent years, please please please let me know how you handled this. thank you so much

Hi everyone, I am looking to ED to a college this fall and I am currently deciding between Vandy and Dartmouth. I am a white, female from the UK so I am an international student.

I'm looking for a school with a good balance between academics and social life, strong STEM programs, good dining halls, and just an overall good student experience. I am not involved in sports at the moment but I would love to get involved at college. I would also love to get involved in research at some point.

Honestly, I am kind of leaning Vandy and I'm not exactly sure why. I like the idea of being close to a city, but then again Dartmouth is only 2-3 hours from NYC, Boston and Montreal. I will be applying test optional at Vanderbilt as i scored a 1440, and test flexible at Dartmouth as I would submit my A-level predicted grades - A*A*A.

I am an extremely indecisive person and I was hoping someone would be able to help me as the ED deadline is literally in 2 weeks.

Hey everyone!

I’m a 17M heading off to Liberty University in Fall 2027 to study either Cybersecurity or Information Technology. I’m super excited, but my main focus right now is connecting with people before move-in day.

A little about me: I’m generally an outgoing person, so I'm not too worried about making friends once I'm on campus. I grew up as a missionary kid on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which gave me a totally unique background and worldview that I'm really proud of.

I wanted to put this post out there to see who else is planning to head to LU for Fall 2027—especially if you're looking at the same majors.

It would be awesome to build a bit of a community before college starts. A lot of people struggle with making friends when they first arrive, so let's use this as a bridge to connect with some awesome people early.

Drop a comment or shoot me a message if you're heading to LU in '27 or sharing a similar major.

God bless!

Hi guys, is it bad to list unregistered clubs that you are interested in? For example, I want to emphasize crocheting and arts for duke, and their clubs for them are named as "not registered yet"

Please note that I've had 2 months of high school since I'm in 9th grade, and I'm only 14, so many medical opportunities are closed off for me. I won't be emphasizing anything, just listing so I don't get hated on for stretching everything out.

In no specific order

-

1. Nationally Certified Tutor -Award: A TUTOR ON UPChieve, non-profit for online tutoring.
2. St Cecilia Philharmonic Orchestra-top group of youth orchestra ensembles
3. Future Medical Leaders Club First Year Member- a medical group that will be HOSA next year, but starting off this year so we do medical projects/volunteer work.
4. USABO Club Leader and Founder, Student Advisor, etc. (one of two in the state)- I founded a Biology Olympiad Club at our high school and gathered around 45 people in the first few weeks, and will lead to prepare for the USABO Test.
5. RHS Rotary Interact Club Member-In a club for community service, working with the community volunteer council.
6. Online Tutor -tutor on Upchieve (as mentioned above)
7. Small Content Creator (around 2.3K subscribers, a good hobby where I explore relatable things (pretty Gen Z)
8. Cello- hobby
9. Piano learning in Korea- hobby

MY PLANS FOR THE REST OF 9th GRADE

start a research project about antibodies and natural antioxidants on the human body at a local college and submit to national publishers

Start a mental health or some health nonprofit

Do the National Math Olympiad test

Job shadowing (I'M TRYING). It's super hard to find an opportunity since I'm 14, let alone a hospital volunteer opportunity! Do volleyball- did it for two years already; hope I make it in the spring!!

Get to state solo and ensemble

Do CPR and first aid certification

i have a 1520 SAT superscore (780 math, 740 reading) and a 35 ACT composite score (5 English, 35 Reading, 34 Math, 34 Science)

I feel like by indicating my interest as computer science, it is expected of my to have very high math ability, espeicially at ivies. I don't know if I should

A: ONLY submit my SAT super score to my universities (some of which are mit, harvard, yale, stanford, upenn), demonstrating strong math ability (but overall "lower" score; it is further from the perfect score of 1600 than the 35 composite is to the 36)

B: ALSO submit my ACT score (demonstrating a higher overall score but lower math ability)

basically, should i just submit SAT or both SAT and ACT

Has anyone done the VIVA assessment before? what kind of questions does it ask? Does it actually get super in depth into the discipline of research/the project you're submitting?

Title.

Context:
International, low income, first gen college
Major: computational linguistics
School offers zero APs, A levels, no IB
One SAT test center for the whole nation with 20 seats
I am the only who actually took the test in my high school

1500 is definitely even below 50th percentile for Yale thus kinda thinking should i even put time applying ? How cooked I am ? Does this score really checks the box for me or raises some questions about academic preparation?

I heard some people saying context matters even in test scores, how true is that and how it effects my case ?