u/Economy-Bid1044

I’ve seen many people say that a good EC for college is to cold email a professor from a school and ask to work on research or smth of the sort with them. Is it worth it?? I also don’t understand how someone in high school could help a college professor with college level work, especially because I want to major in astrophysics, and physics is like reallyyyy hard. I’d just like to know the process behind it and other people’s experience.

I really want to major in astrophysics, and I’m a high achiever, and I want to prove my family and other people around me that I’m smart and that I can do whatever I set my mind to. I also want to inspire my sister by showing her anything is possible if you put your mind to it. But there’s just no way I’m getting into NYU or Columbia. Even with top grades, a hopefully amazing essay, and I’m estimating a really good SAT score, my EC’s aren’t good enough. Now I’m feeling like I’m settling or giving up, even though it wasn’t in my reach ever. Most of the reason I want to go to those colleges is because I want to study and live in NYC. I also want to get far away from my hometown. It’s feeling pretty impossible and depressing now. I also want to get a really good education and challenge myself to the highest possible degree. I searched it up and some sources said the education in ivies is much better and more hardcore. I’m just really sad I won’t be able to experience that, so I guess I’d like consolation or smth but idrk.

Im a junior right now and am thinking about what to write about in my common app essay. I really want something unique and insightful about myself. I have a few options:

- being an immigrant, and how it made me who I am. I could talk about my cultural foods, music, rlly anything cultural, or how it made me feel different from my classmates in a bad way at first, but now it’s a good thing

- being raised Christian but then losing my belief in god, and how it’s changed me a lot, especially because my entire family is Christian, and don’t know I’m not.

- my family is very conservative, and for a really long time, their view on women really effected me poorly, even to this day. I feel like because I’m a girl they want me to go to college for smth simple, graduate, then get married and have kids, when I actually want to major in astrophysics, then possibly go to law school. For almost a year, everyday felt impossible to live thru because I’d realised that it’d be really hard for me to leave my hometown and I cried a lot lmao. I just felt like there was no more point to anything because I was stuck and wouldn’t be able to ever get out. It was a really defining year for me basically.

Honestly, I feel like even this isn’t that special. I’m close to scratching it all, and talking about my really long hair lol. I feel like that’s almost too “quirky” tho.

I’m a junior rn, and going to college in NYC and living there has been my dream for a very long time. At first, I was obsessed with NYU, but now that I’m not as naive, I understand that it’s much too expensive. I’m planning on going to another college, then transferring to NYU after two years. The thing is, I don’t want to go to a bad or mediocre college just because it’s in nyc, when I could go somewhere else that’s better. So I really need everyone’s most humble and honest opinion. Is it a big school, what’s the party scene like, is it worth it, is it a good STEM school (u/physics), should I go somewhere better, then transfer, is the food good (not rlly a dealbreaker for me), are the forms good, and how good is financial aid. Thank you. And if anyone knows good colleges for stem in nyc, please lmk!

I’ve wanted to go to NYU for as long as I can remember. But now that I’m not naive, I understand that even if I do get in, I probably won’t be able to attend due to the crazy expensive costs. Besides that, NYC is my dream, I want to live there, and I want to get away from my parents. But I don’t want to go to a bad school, just because it’s NYC. I really want to go to a good one, for STEM. I’m looking at CCNY, it seems great, but I can’t get over how NYU fit my vibe perfectly, and I’d do anything to go there. I also don’t know how good CCNY is, and I feel like a failure if I go to a public school. I sound like a dick, but it’s been engrained in my head for so long, I just don’t know what to do. Please help, and if you have any good recs for good colleges in NYC, please lmk.

I’ve wanted to go to NYU for as long as I can remember. But now that I’m not naive, I understand that even if I do get in, I probably won’t be able to attend due to the crazy expensive costs. Besides that, NYC is my dream, I want to live there, and I want to get away from my parents. But I don’t want to go to a bad school, just because it’s NYC. I really want to go to a good one, for STEM. I’m looking at CCNY, it seems great, but I can’t get over how NYU fit my vibe perfectly, and I’d do anything to go there. I also don’t know how good CCNY is, and I feel like a failure if I go to a public school. I sound like a dick, but it’s been engrained in my head for so long, I just don’t know what to do. Please help, and if you have any good recs for good colleges in NYC, please lmk.