u/Much-Map3150

Hi!

I’m a rising senior from NYC and believe that I am a very competitive applicant for my niche. I’m currently looking into schools and made a list, but I know that it is not balanced AT ALL. A huge factor for me is money. I am middle class and my family makes ~140k a year. When looking at a school such as Barnard, i’m pretty sure it can be semi-affordable for my family. But I am looking for more schools with merit opportunities!!

These are some of my favorites: Cornell (land grant), BC, Binghamton, Lehigh, Villanova, Barnard, Tulane, JHU, Emory, GWU, Northeastern, Rutgers, UMiami, & UVA.

Hi!

I’m a rising senior and was so set on applying to unc. I have a cousin who goes there and loves it!

I heard that the funding for OOS students was cut and I know that there is no way I can attend while paying anywhere close to sticker price.

I just want to confirm if this is true or not and wondering if this is happening with aid for any colleges (including private or just in general)? Thanks!

Hi!

I’m a rising senior. I went to a good catholic school freshman/sophomore year in NYC but ended up moving boroughs and ended up at a higher ranked school but it is not Catholic. Also all the Catholic schools in my area stopped accepting new students prior to junior year. I know that BC typically favors students that attended a Catholic school so I’m just wondering if it counts for me or not?

I also do have a story built around service and helping others based off of what I learned in school. I may be able to talk about that in a supplemental.

But lmk!

Hi! Rising senior here.

I’m genuinely curious whether an applicant’s faith has any impact on admissions outcomes at schools like BC and Villanova.

I have two close friends who are best friends. One is Catholic and the other is Muslim. They do pretty much everything together—they work together, participate in many of the same extracurriculars, and have very similar EC lists overall. None of their extracurriculars are religion related either. I also believe they’re both applying for the same major (either biology or biochemistry).

They’re both planning to apply to BC and Villanova, and since I don’t know much about admissions at religious universities (and don’t personally plan on applying), I was wondering: does a student’s religion play any role in admissions decisions at schools like these? Or is it essentially treated the same as any other part of an application?

Hi! Rising senior here.

I’m genuinely curious whether an applicant’s faith has any impact on admissions outcomes at schools like BC and Villanova.

I have two close friends who are best friends. One is Catholic and the other is Muslim. They do pretty much everything together—they work together, participate in many of the same extracurriculars, and have very similar EC lists overall. None of their extracurriculars are religion related either. I also believe they’re both applying for the same major (either biology or biochemistry).

They’re both planning to apply to BC and Villanova, and since I don’t know much about admissions at religious universities (and don’t personally plan on applying), I was wondering: does a student’s religion play any role in admissions decisions at schools like these? Or is it essentially treated the same as any other part of an application?

Hi! Rising senior here.

I’m genuinely curious whether an applicant’s faith has any impact on admissions outcomes at schools like BC and Villanova.

I have two close friends who are best friends. One is Catholic and the other is Muslim. They do pretty much everything together—they work together, participate in many of the same extracurriculars, and have very similar EC lists overall. None of their extracurriculars are religion related either. I also believe they’re both applying for the same major (either biology or biochemistry).

They’re both planning to apply to BC and Villanova, and since I don’t know much about admissions at religious universities (and don’t personally plan on applying), I was wondering: does a student’s religion play any role in admissions decisions at schools like these? Or is it essentially treated the same as any other part of an application?

Hi!

I’m a recent college grad and living with my parents in Manalapan/Marlboro. Recently got an amazing job offer in the Flatiron area of Manhattan and am planning to commute.

I should be at work by ~8:30 or ~9:00 depending on the day. I’m planning to take the 132/139 on the Gordon’s Corner stop. Just wondering how reliable the commute is and if it is usually an hour to Port Authority?

I would take the bus at 6:50-7:05 and also wondering if there are usually seats available? And also should I take an earlier bus?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated since I know relatively nothing about how people commute to the city. Thank you!

Hi!

I’m a rising senior who is very interested in studying population health (pre-med) at Lehigh! I have my interview next week and I’m just wondering if anyone can give me tips or any niche things to say about the school. I don’t have to have generic why Lehigh or why major responses.

Thank you so much!!!!

Hi!

I’m a rising senior and I am looking into colleges. I have finalized 15/16 i plan to apply to and wanted to add one more LAC to my list. A huge factor is affordability and I was just wondering which school is known for giving “better” aid than the other.

Thank you!

Hi!

I’m a mom of a 4 year old boy and looking for a great pre school for him. We just moved and have no idea about the area. I am looking for a nice outdoor space and a very friendly environment! I’m a little lost and we did look into “A Step Ahead” in Marlboro and we’re not impressed in the slightest.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

I’m a high school junior at a very competitive all honors program in nyc. My teachers are pressuring me to take one last regent in math to get my advanced diploma but the issue is that I don’t care to relearn a whole year of math and my teacher is literally on maternity leave. We still didn’t fully learn the last two units.

I am a very strong student with upwards to a 97 average and passed and got above an 85 on every single regents so far. I am planning to mostly apply to private universities such as Lehigh or BC and oos public universities like UNC or UF. I am just wondering if AOs, especially the regional ones for ny, care about seeing the “advanced” over the regular “regents diploma”.

If it is beneficial I would have to cram and stress myself out for two days and I would really rather not do that unless not getting this diploma will hurt my application.

Thanks!!!!

I’m a rising senior from NYC interested in Public Health. My parents want me to keep costs as low as possible if I go away for college (ideally around $30k/year or less), so I’m trying to figure out which schools would be best for merit aid.

**Academics**
96 UW GPA
1390 SAT (may apply test-optional)
Took 4 of the 5 AP classes offered at my school
All other classes Honors
3 Dual Enrollment courses (Epidemiology, Biology, and one more senior year)
No class rank

**Awards**
National Honor Society
NYS Seal of Service
NYS Seal of Civic Readiness
NYS Seal of Biliteracy (Albanian)
$2,000 Health Essay Competition Winner

**Extracurriculars**
Founder & Director, Healthcare Explorers NY — Founded a healthcare career exploration organization that reached 350+ students across NYC, Long Island, and Montenegro through healthcare panels and educational programming.

Research Lead, Healthcare Quality — Led research across two hospital systems and developed interventions that improved care quality metrics by 9%; findings were later expanded across a hospital branch.

Intern, Director of Patient Experience — Interning since sophomore year, working on patient experience projects, healthcare data analysis, and staff training initiatives.

Program Developer, Hospital Volunteer Initiative — Created and helped launch a patient-centered volunteer program in partnership with hospital leadership.

Emergency Department Volunteer — 400+ hours volunteering in a hospital ER since sophomore year.
Co-Founder & Treasurer, Medical Alliance Club — Lead meetings, organize events, coordinate guest speakers, and manage club finances.

Family Medical Translator (Albanian-English) — Translate during grandparents’ medical appointments to help patient and provider communication.

Part-Time Employment — Worked 8–12 hours/week since freshman year as both a daycare assistant and barista.

Varsity Basketball Manager — Managed logistics, equipment, and statistics for two seasons.

STEM Tutor — Tutor four elementary students in math and science.

**Schools I’m Interested In**
Stony Brook
Binghamton
Villanova
Barnard
NYU
Boston University
Rutgers (Honors?)
Boston College
University of Florida
Tufts
Northeastern
Lehigh
Wake Forest
George Washington
American
University of Maryland
University of Delaware
Johns Hopkins
Tulane
University of Miami

Which of these schools are known for giving strong merit aid, and where would I have the best chance of getting significant scholarships?

**Are there any schools I’m overlooking** that would fit my interests and be generous with merit aid?
Thanks!

For a reference, I transferred into a very rigorous and known all-honors school in the Northeast with 7 available AP courses for juniors/seniors only (capped at 3/year). At my old school I was on track to take AP Seminar, AP Psych, and APUSH for junior year. Because I transferred and the course selections were already done, there was no room in the AP courses regardless of my perfect grades. If I had been here earlier I would have taken AP Lang, APUSH, and AP Psych but they were only able to fit me into AP Psych. It is also extremely hard to get these courses since there is 1-2 sections per course leaving over half of the grade (regardless of grades) without any core subject AP, especially English. So my schedule this year was all honors classes and one AP elective: Algebra 2, Physics, History, Literature, Spanish 3, and AP Psych.

The courses came out for next year as well. I got AP Calc, AP Gov, AP/DE Science Course, and a college partnership elective. I did not get AP Lit. I told my counselor I would drop college science for it but she won’t help. I have a 97 average in my current English class and there were people with ~80 averages placed in it. I’m so scared that not taking any AP English class will ruin my chances at my top schools. I am also planning to drop college science regardless and do a DE science course after school since it interests me more on top of my anatomy honors class. (someone tell me if this is stupid because i would rather not take college science in my school)

My top schools include: UMiami, Lehigh, Villanova, UF, Boston College, UMich, NYU, Cornell, etc.