Hi everyone!
I’ll be applying to college in 2028, I was wondering if (after reading a bunch of posts) do I need a counsellor? I see many parents hiring an external counsellor, but I’m low income from India, and I’m up to researching on the internet about the process. But should we hire a counsellor?
Hello everyone!
I want to learn c++ for competitive programming, but I can’t seem to find a good enough place to start. Can you recommend me some websites/books/yt channels etc to learn it?
Chance Me: Low-Income Indian Male, Rank 1, CS Major
Demographics
• Gender/Race: Male, Indian (International)
• Residence: Outskirts of a tier 2 city, Madhya Pradesh (Non-Metro)
• Income: Low-income (< 10k/year; requesting full financial aid)
• School Type: Non-feeder, local school (Classes 1–10); recently transitioned to a very competitive school for Grade 11/12
• Hooks: First-generation style context, Geographical?? IDK
Academics
• Rank: 1/40 (Maintained for 10 consecutive years; Classes 1–10)
• Note: Currently top ~4% at the other school (highly competitive environment).
• Grades: Consistently 90%+ in every major exam; set school history records for highest marks.
BUT! much lower than typical Indian applicant, i.e. 98%; compared to mine which are 91.8% in class 10th.
• Standardized Testing:
• IOQM: Score of 10 (highest in school’s history)
• Writing Olympiad: Gold Medal (Class 6).
(SAT or ACT not taken yet)
Extracurriculars
1. Founder & Lead Developer — Vaani (ISL Recognition)
Built a real-time Indian Sign Language (ISL) system using TensorFlow, MediaPipe, and OpenCV. Innovated using a 30-frame temporal buffer to capture hand-motion nuances instead of static frames, solving for the "low-quality data" constraints of local hardware.
2. Lead Performer — Community & School Theatre (4 Years)
Principal speaking role in annual Ramayana production for audiences of 600+. Performed comedic skits and mimes for school annual days (400+ audience).
4. Student Leadership— Vice Captain & Selected Head Boy
Elected Vice Captain in Grade 9; led house assemblies and sports competitions. Selected as Head Boy in Grade 10 but declined the role due to temporary speech limitations from medical treatment—sparking the obsession with "giving others a voice" through tech.
5. Founder & Frontend Developer — Themed Productivity Web App
Developed a Harry Potter themed Pomodoro site used by a community of 1,000+ members. Managed UI/UX, debugging, and deployment.
6. Varsity Athlete — Handball & Thai Boxing
3 years of varsity handball. Bronze Medalist in an intercity Thai Boxing championship.
Honors & Awards
• Academic Excellence: 10 consecutive years of Rank 1 distinction.
• Literary Awards: Multiple school-level awards in English/Hindi poetry, essay writing, and speech.
• Olympiads: Participation in IOQM and various subject-level Olympiads.
Personal Narrative
The transition from being the "Voice of the School" (Main Anchor) to being "Silent" (due to orthodontic speech limitations). This vulnerability led to the creation of Vaani, turning a personal struggle into a technical solution for the deaf community in local community.
My junior year’s summer just started, I have approximately 17 months before applying to colleges, what can I improve? And am I competitive enough for the t10 and t20, or just too delusional? Are my marks a letdown?