u/94917

I'm gonna provide a bit of context. I'm 18 and recently made a binding commitment to college that required me to withdraw my other applications. I withdrew all except one out of laziness/avoidance.

Now, the thing about this is mainly moral identity. I can neither say that I was an honest person who upheld a promise (even though that was my intent) nor could I say I was an opportunist who just wanted more acceptances (10+ applications withdrawn). I was in a grey area, and it honestly troubles me because I can't find a moral "label" for my action.

So my question is, how do you define a moral person? Is there a point in acting morally if you can't do so perfectly? If so, where's the line that distinguishes a moral action from an immoral action?

This is my personal anecdote. I'm 18 and recently made a binding college commitment to a very strong university that gave me generous financial aid. However, I applied through a process called Early Decision, meaning that once accepted, a student must withdraw all other applications. I was tempted to keep some applications to simply see what my efforts over the years would have gotten, but in the end, I still withdrew my 10+ applications, all except one, because it simply didn't have a withdrawal option. I felt too lazy to send an extra email, or maybe I was avoidant. It was a college I put the least effort into applying to, yet it sent me an acceptance.

Now, I'm stuck between two images of myself, and my mind can't help but be stuck in a loop of overthinking. Whenever I'm curious about how those other colleges would've turned out, I'm reminded of the fact that I made a binding promise, and I need to honor that. But then, the one exception makes me feel like I didn't fully keep the promise in the first place, so what's the point of withdrawing the other 10+ applications? I gained neither integrity nor benefit; I proved neither my character nor my academic abilities. I used to cheat to get good grades. I hated myself for doing that, and I changed, but I feel like the one imperfection in this major life decision just ruined my entire perception of myself that I tried to build. And I'm lost now.

Feel free to treat this as a teenager complaining about some first-world problem. I honestly think it is too. I think there's a broader implication, though. Like, how do you define a moral person? Is there a point in acting morally if you can't do so perfectly? If so, where's the line that distinguishes a moral action from an immoral action?

Hey y'all, I'm a high school senior, and I'm currently committed to a college. While I am looking for clubs and labs to join, I'm also considering potential colleges to transfer to, as I have heard some negative comments on the undergrad life there. I've decided to give it my best try in my freshman year, but if I truly find it socially depressing, I don't want to waste four years there. The potential colleges that I'm considering are UPenn and Northwestern; though, I'm worried that my grade in senior year will hurt my chances if I do decide to transfer, because I'm having one or two Bs and some low As. For context, I worked my ass off sophomore and junior year and was accepted to my top choice through Early Decision, so during the entire second semester of senior year, I just wanted to give myself a break and not obsess over grades.

For y'all who know much more about transferring than I do, do you think a drop in senior year grades will be a major red flag when transferring to T15? Or do they care more about your performance in your freshman year of college? What are these T15 really looking for when admitting transfer students?