u/thetime2strikeis_l8r

I have an empty fifth slot on my honor section and I’m deciding between this and AP scholar with distinction

Title

You are made in Gods image
You are commanded to love and be loved
You are not commanded to hate yourself
You are not commanded to deny yourself love

I understand why there is so much pain on this sub, but remember that there can also be joy. You can love being queer and love Christ in the same vein. You will find happiness one day. Have a great day everyone ❤️❤️

Are most people actually good at writing college essays? I know this probably isn’t the best place to ask but fuck it

I’m overall a pretty great writer but I feel like I’m comparing myself to perfection rn and just want to know from people who maybe are college advisors or have read a lot of college essays— are they usually good? What is the average quality? if mine is good but not perfect, does that put me at above average?

Idk if that even made sense but I feel like giving up atp lwk

Chance me for In-State Wake Forest University ED political science application with a minor in Studio Arts

\\\*\\\*Demographics\\\*\\\*:
Transgender male, white, North Carolina, early college magnet high school, middle class (qualifying for free tuition at WFU)

\\\*\\\*Intended Major\\\*\\\*: Politics & International Affairs
(WFU: Intended Minor: Studio Arts.
NC State & UNCCH Intended Minor: Communications)

Applying test optional, requesting virtual interview

\\\*\\\*UW/W GPA\\\*\\\*: 3.79/4.26
(taking summer college classes, this is an estimate)
\\\*\\\*Rank\\\*\\\*: Above 18/76, not sure exact
(**My school is running rank/GPA again next week**)

\\\*\\\*Coursework\\\*\\\*:
\\\\- duel enrolled, will graduate with \\\\\\\~10 classes complete, 8 of which are in a Bioprocess Manufacturing Technology program
\\\\- 5 AP classes by graduation, two 3’s, two 4’s, one 5

\\\*\\\*Awards\\\*\\\*:
\\\\- SkillsUSA Regional 3rd Place Job Interview
\\\\- Local LGBTQ+ Scholarship Recipient 
\\\\- National Technical Honors Society member
\\\\-Town Hall honoree / teen representative

\\\*\\\*Certifications\\\*\\\*:
(Haven’t decided how to work these in yet?)
\\\\- Marketing Essentials I Certification: May 2025
\\\\- Occupational Health and Safety Administration 10 certification

\\\*\\\*Extracurriculars\\\*\\\*:

\\\\- Student Council (2023-2027)
• 2025-2027 Council Secretary, 2026-2027 Student Body Vice President

\\\\- Local Teen Council (2023-2027)
• 2023-2027 Executive Board Member

\\\\- North Carolina State Youth Council (2024-2027)
• Chartered town into state council in 2024

\\\\- Part Time Jobs (2024-2027)
• 1000+ hours worked. Most jobs related to service industry/ education/ recreation, people-facing jobs

\\\\- National Honor Society (2024-2026)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, 2026-2027 President

\\\\- Future Business Leaders of America (2024-2027)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, 2026-2027 Vice President
• Competed in Job Interview and placed 2nd Regionals, Top 15 State

\\\\- Chess Club (2025-2027)
• Founder & President, \\\\\\\~20-30 regular members in a school of 350 students

\\\\- Town Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (2025-2026)
• Appointed by mayor in 2024, the only teenager to ever join the board

\\\\- Political Activism / Canvassing
• informal internship with two state-congress campaigns (deciding language TBD). Made informative zines to help community (Ice awareness, food insecurity resources, voter registration guides).

\\\\- Amateur Acting
• Two musicals, three commercials, and one acting class in the last 3 years. 2-3 different acting companies

\\\*\\\*Common app essay\\\*\\\*:
Challenging an idea: learning that leadership/skills aren’t innate but built through effort and community

\\\*\\\*Letters of Recommendation\\\*\\\*:
\\\\- Councilor knows me very well, will give a good recommendation
\\\\- Business Essentials and Marketing teacher, STUCO advisor, knows me best in the whole school and I trust her to give me a glowing recommendation focused on my character and drive
\\\\- AP Lang & AP Lit teacher, writing about in-class behavior and how my creativity has positively affected my academic performance
\\\\- Town Parks and Recreation Director, my personal mentor, will give me a great recommendation based on my impact and character

WFU ONLY: Studio Arts Portfolio:
\- 2-3 examples of Zines
\- 1-2 previous art projects
\- Short explanation of ongoing art projects, including interactive sculpture related to voter registration (will mention how this relates specifically to WFU Art 218 class, why I want to take that class) as well as a portrait series of elder/older community service volunteers.
\- Explanation of pending Visual Arts Transcript Endorsement to be awarded in January of 2027

\\\*\\\*Schools\\\*\\\*:
Wake Forest University, Early Decision with requested interview
UNC Chapel Hill, Early Action
NC State, Early Action
App State, Regular Decision (backup)

Fall of my junior year, I was employed part-time in this really demanding job. I wouldn’t work week nights, but weekends would be 4pm-12am right after school (usually 25hrs in three days) and combined with other activities (especially theatre, when I would be rehearsing week nights til 9pm or 10:30pm for two months) I was physically exhausted. I ended up doing poorly in my first period, AP Pre-Calc, that semester and it’s the only C I’ve ever gotten.
I did use some of the money from my part-time job to contribute in small ways to my household income, and I’ve marked that on my application. However, I don’t know if it still qualifies as an extenuating circumstance because it was lwk not 1000% necessary for me to be working, it was just such a toxic work environment that I felt stuck there. I don’t want to sound like I’m just trying to make an excuse for bad grades. My family isn’t in financial hardship, but my money was mostly spent rebuilding my college fund that was being spent on gas to-from school (I live 40 min away from my high school) as well as other teenager-related expenses. Anything not spent on that was my own personal income.
If I DID list this, I would probably word it in a way slightly more forgiving to me, but I just don’t know if it qualifies to begin with. If it sounds like an excuse, it would hurt my application I think.

Chance me for In-State Wake Forest University ED political science application with a minor in Studio Arts

\*\*Demographics\*\*:
Transgender male, white, North Carolina, early college magnet high school, middle class (qualifying for free tuition at WFU)

\*\*Intended Major\*\*: Politics & International Affairs
(WFU: Intended Minor: Studio Arts.
NC State & UNCCH Intended Minor: Communications)

Applying test optional, requesting virtual interview

\*\*UW/W GPA\*\*: 3.79/4.26
(taking summer college classes, this is an estimate)
\*\*Rank\*\*: Above 18/76, not sure exact
(My school is running rank/GPA again next week)

\*\*Coursework\*\*:
\\- duel enrolled, will graduate with \\\~10 classes complete, 8 of which are in a Bioprocess Manufacturing Technology program
\\- 5 AP classes by graduation, two 3’s, two 4’s, one 5

\*\*Awards\*\*:
\\- SkillsUSA Regional 3rd Place Job Interview
\\- Local LGBTQ+ Scholarship Recipient 
\\- National Technical Honors Society member
\\-Town Hall honoree / teen representative

\*\*Certifications\*\*:
(Haven’t decided how to work these in yet?)
\\- Marketing Essentials I Certification: May 2025
\\- Occupational Health and Safety Administration 10 certification

\*\*Extracurriculars\*\*:

\\- Student Council (2023-2027)
• 2025-2027 Council Secretary, 2026-2027 Student Body Vice President

\\- Local Teen Council (2023-2027)
• 2023-2027 Executive Board Member

\\- North Carolina State Youth Council (2024-2027)
• Chartered town into state council in 2024

\\- Part Time Jobs (2024-2027)
• 1000+ hours worked. Most jobs related to service industry/ education/ recreation, people-facing jobs

\\- National Honor Society (2024-2026)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, 2026-2027 President

\\- Future Business Leaders of America (2024-2027)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, 2026-2027 Vice President
• Competed in Job Interview and placed 2nd Regionals, Top 15 State

\\- Chess Club (2025-2027)
• Founder & President, \\\~20-30 regular members in a school of 350 students

\\- Town Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (2025-2026)
• Appointed by mayor in 2024, the only teenager to ever join the board

\\- Political Activism / Canvassing
• informal internship with two state-congress campaigns (deciding language TBD). Made informative zines to help community (Ice awareness, food insecurity resources, voter registration guides).

\\- Amateur Acting
• Two musicals, three commercials, and one acting class in the last 3 years. 2-3 different acting companies

\*\*Common app essay\*\*:
Challenging an idea: learning that leadership/skills aren’t innate but built through effort and community

\*\*Letters of Recommendation\*\*:
\\- Councilor knows me very well, will give a good recommendation
\\- Business Essentials and Marketing teacher, STUCO advisor, knows me best in the whole school and I trust her to give me a glowing recommendation focused on my character and drive
\\- AP Lang & AP Lit teacher, writing about in-class behavior and how my creativity has positively affected my academic performance
\\- Town Parks and Recreation Director, my personal mentor, will give me a great recommendation based on my impact and character

WFU ONLY: Studio Arts Portfolio:
- 2-3 examples of Zines
- 1-2 previous art projects
- Short explanation of ongoing art projects, including interactive sculpture related to voter registration (will mention how this relates specifically to WFU Art 218 class, why I want to take that class) as well as a portrait series of elder/older community service volunteers.
- Explanation of pending Visual Arts Transcript Endorsement to be awarded in January of 2027

\*\*Schools\*\*:
Wake Forest University, Early Decision with requested interview
UNC Chapel Hill, Early Action
NC State, Early Action
App State, Regular Decision (backup)

When I go to upload one of my recommenders information, I ALWAYS type “Leslie” and then it generates as “Leslee”. Even when I delete the contact and retype it.
I’ve already contacted the website support but if anyone knows how to fix this, please lmk. Would it matter to the college? I think worst case scenario, it appears as a typo on my end, which isn’t ideal.

Edit: recommenders can fix this on their side

This is kind of just question spam, feel free to ignore but I just don’t know where else to ask:

Politics students, do you enjoy the major? Is it mostly as expected or very different? Is there a very specific culture or dynamic among Politics students that affects academics or social settings? What are common double majors/minors?

(Non politics students, what do yall think about the major or students within Politics?)

Asking as a prospective student currently planning on applying for the Politics major

This next year, you can only submit one of the four supplemental prompts!!!!! I am so devastated, I have three written right now and I was really focused on getting kind of a good mix going on between the three, but now I think I’m gonna redo them.

Hey yall! If anyone wants to, I just wrote an essay and need to submit it by midnight tn (EST). I’ve been awake for 30 hours now and have lost my sense of sanity and am about to take a nap, but if there is any major bullshit in my writing or something I can improve, I would love a beta reader.
It’s for an English 111 class, so not super high standards but I’ve gotten a 94 on all my other essays so far, and for this essay I just had to pick a claim and defend it using specific types of sources. I chose to write about Star Trek fan culture partly because I love the show and also because my prof is a fanfiction writer so I thought this may interest the both of us and be a fun break from “oh healthcare good, minimum wage low, etc etc” that I saw my classmates writing about. The minimum is 5 pages (which I’ve passed) and I have a works cited page made that I won’t attach as to not bore yall.
My biggest worry is that it’s not cohesive, I guess? I had a lot of different, smaller points I wanted to make because this is something I kind of have been accumulating knowledge about for a few years now. I haven’t written the conclusion yet, but I’m hoping that’ll improve cohesion too. Like I said, just read it if yall want to and lmk y’all’s thoughts, thank you guys so much. I’m going to take a nap now

Edit: removed essay so the plagiarism detector doesn’t flag my essay now that I’ve turned it in lol

Just wanted to tell someone cause I’m a blab but no one in my life knows enough about fanfic to care or not judge haha. This is for a freshman-level writing course, the only reason I feel comfortable writing this is because my prof is a fanfiction writer.
Still, I’m nervous to submit a whole paragraph dedicated to basically just amok time lol. Here’s a blurb:

“This creative freedom among the Star Trek fandom also led to new tropes and sub-cultures entering fanfiction culture, many of which were created or inspired by episodes within Star Trek: The Original Series. One episode* *in particular has inspired numerous tropes; Season two episode one of the original series, titled ‘Amok Time’, follows the Vulcan Commander Spock as he experiences a biological sex cycle known as Pon Farr that requires a mating ceremony on his home planet, along with some shenanigans, in order to recover from. While the episode was unconventional for its time in terms of its topic, it sparked fan curiosity and waves of fanfiction. Many writers took the nature of Pon Farr and transplanted that onto other characters or medias, while others took inspiration from the episode to create tropes such as ‘Sex Pollen’ and the Omegaverse, which is a genre of fanfiction involving a sexual dominance hierarchy among humans inspired by myths associated with canine mating. These tropes are among the most popular fanfiction tags today, with over 54,000 fanfictions currently tagged by those combined tropes on Archive of Our Own. impacting the dynamic of explicit fanfiction among almost every fandom today. Star Trek inspired many non-explicit tropes as well…”

“Along with some shenanigans” is code for “mating with your boss in front of everyone you know”

It’s a record shop / coffee shop / bar in downtown Fuquay, I just checked it out a few days ago but it is SO COOL! So much good music and the owners were very friendly. Just wanted to give my recommendation, I think everyone should go visit at least once. Will definitely be back!

It’s for WFU “top 10 list” essay. If anyone can, I’ll DM them a photo of it!! Thank yall so much

\- 1k Regional LGBTQ scholarship (won by essay submission)
\- National Technical Honors Society
\- SkillsUSA Regional Award Spring 2026
\- Microsoft Excel Expert Certification
\- Marketing I Essentials Certification

The only one I’m thinking about switching is the honor roll, but I’m not exactly sure what I’ll switch it with yet. In the next month or two I should receive an arts transcript endorsement, should I add that as an honors? But I’m applying ED to Wake Forest university so I won’t get that on time and probably will email that to admissions unless I get my results back before.
I have Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 FBLA, but I was going to list them in my activities section. Should I put them here?

Edited to add awards I forgot about

Chance me for In-State Wake Forest University ED political science application

**Demographics**:
Transgender male, white, North Carolina, early college magnet high school, middle class (qualifying for free tuition at WFU)

**Intended Major**: Politics & International Affairs

Applying test optional, requesting virtual interview

**UW/W GPA**: 3.79/4.26
(taking summer college classes, this is an estimate)
**Rank**: 20/78
(will rise in the next month)

**Coursework**:
\- duel enrolled, will graduate with \~10 classes complete, 8 of which are in a Bioprocess Manufacturing Technology program
\- 5 AP classes by graduation, two 3’s, two 4’s, one 5

**Awards**:
\- SkillsUSA Regional 3rd Place Job Interview
\- Visual Arts Transcript Endorsement (won’t be awarded until September, I’ll probably send this in an email after I apply once I receive it)
\- Local LGBTQ+ Scholarship Recipient 
\- National Technical Honors Society member
\- Microsoft Excel Expert Certification
\- FBLA Regional 2nd Place Job Interview

**Certifications**:
(Haven’t decided how to work these in yet?)
\- Marketing Essentials I Certification: May 2025
\- Occupational Health and Safety Administration 10 certification

**Extracurriculars**:

\- Student Council (2023-2027)
• 2025-2027 Council Secretary

\- Local Teen Council (2023-2027)
• 2023-2024 Secretary, 2024-2025 VP, 2025-2026 Sgt At Arms, 2026-2027 Committee Chairman

\- North Carolina State Youth Council (2024-2027)
• Chartered town into state council in 2024

\- Part Time Jobs (2024-2027)
• 1000+ hours worked. Most jobs related to service industry/ education/ recreation, people-facing jobs

\- National Honor Society (2024-2026)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, likely 2026-2027 Vice President

\- Future Business Leaders of America (2024-2027)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, likely leadership role 2026-2027
• Competed in Job Interview and placed 2nd Regionals, Top 15 State

\- Chess Club (2025-2027)
• Founder & President, \~20-30 regular members in a school of 350 students

\- Town Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (2025-2026)
• Appointed by mayor in 2024, the only teenager to ever join the board

\- Political Activism / Canvassing
• informal internship with two state-congress campaigns (deciding language TBD). Made informative zines to help community (Ice awareness, food insecurity resources). Protested

\- Amateur Acting
• Two musicals, three commercials, and one acting class in the last 3 years. 2-3 different acting companies

**Common app essay**:
I want to write about how I use cubism to understand people around me and how it’s gotten me to connect with my community and how art is so closely related to data and culture

**Letters of Recommendation**:
\- Councilor knows me very well, will probably give a good recommendation (all schools)
\- Business Essentials and Marketing teacher, STUCO advisor, knows me best in the whole school and I trust her to give me a glowing recommendation focused on my character and drive (all schools)
\- Civics and Economics teacher, respects me a lot and will likely focus his recommendation on my career interests and passion as well as professionalism, that type of stuff (UNCCH, NC State)
\- Town Parks and Recreation Director, my personal mentor, will give me a great recommendation based on my impact and character (UNCCH, NC State)

**Schools**:
Wake Forest University, Early Decision with requested interview
UNC Chapel Hill, Early Action
NC State, Early Action
App State, Regular Decision (backup)

- 1k Regional LGBTQ scholarship (won by essay submission)
- National Technical Honors Society
- SkillsUSA Regional Award Spring 2026
- Microsoft Excel Expert Certification
- Marketing I Essentials Certification

The only one I’m thinking about switching is the honor roll, but I’m not exactly sure what I’ll switch it with yet. In the next month or two I should receive an arts transcript endorsement, should I add that as an honors? But I’m applying ED to Wake Forest university so I won’t get that on time and probably will email that to admissions unless I get my results back before.
I have Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 FBLA, but I was going to list them in my activities section. Should I put them here?

Edited to add awards I forgot about

- 1k Regional LGBTQ scholarship (won by essay submission)
- National Technical Honors Society
- Honor Roll (all semesters)
- Microsoft Excel Expert Certification
- Marketing Essentials Certification

The only one I’m thinking about switching is the honor roll, but I’m not exactly sure what I’ll switch it with yet. In the next month or two I should receive an arts transcript endorsement, should I add that as an honors? But I’m applying ED to Wake Forest university so I won’t get that on time and probably will email that to admissions unless I get my results back before.

**Demographics**:
Transgender male, white, North Carolina, early college magnet high school, middle class (qualifying for free tuition at WFU)

**Intended Major**: Politics & International Affairs
Intended Minor: Economics OR Religion

Applying test optional, requesting virtual interview

**UW/W GPA**: 3.79/4.26
(taking summer college classes, this is an estimate)
**Rank**: 20/78
(will rise in the next month)

**Coursework**:
\- duel enrolled, will graduate with \~10 classes complete, 8 of which are in a Bioprocess Manufacturing Technology program
\- 5 AP classes by graduation, two 3’s, two 4’s, one 5

**Awards**:
\- Honor Roll: 6 semesters
\- Visual Arts Transcript Endorsement
\- Local LGBTQ+ Scholarship Recipient 
\- National Technical Honors Society member
\- National Honors Society member (Chapter PTSA Representative, Rising Vice President)
\- AP Scholar with Distinction

**Certifications**:
\- Microsoft Excel Expert Certification: April 2025
\- Marketing Essentials I Certification: May 2025
\- Occupational Health and Safety Administration 10 certification

**Extracurriculars**:

\- Student Council (2023-2027)
• 2025-2027 Council Secretary

\- Local Teen Council (2023-2027)
• 2023-2024 Secretary, 2024-2025 VP, 2025-2026 Sgt At Arms, 2026-2027 Committee Chairman

\- North Carolina State Youth Council (2024-2027)
• Chartered town into state council in 2024

\- Part Time Jobs (2024-2027)
• 1000+ hours worked. Most jobs related to service industry/ education/ recreation, people-facing jobs

\- National Honor Society (2024-2026)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, likely 2026-2027 Vice President

\- Future Business Leaders of America (2024-2027)
• 2025-2026 PTSA Representative, likely leadership role 2026-2027
• Competed in Job Interview and placed 2nd Regionals, Top 15 State

\- Chess Club (2025-2027)
• Founder & President, \~20-30 regular members in a school of 350 students

\- Town Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (2025-2026)
• Appointed by mayor in 2024, the only teenager to ever join the board

\- SkillsUSA (2026-2027)
• Placed 3rd for Job Interview at regionals

**Common app essay**:
I want to write about how I use cubism to understand people around me and how it’s gotten me to connect with my community and how art is so closely related to data and culture

**Letters of Recommendation**:
\- Councilor knows me very well, will probably give a good recommendation (all schools)
\- Business Essentials and Marketing teacher, STUCO advisor, knows me best in the whole school and I trust her to give me a glowing recommendation focused on my character and drive (all schools)
\- Civics and Economics teacher, respects me a lot and will likely focus his recommendation on my career interests and passion as well as professionalism, that type of stuff (UNCCH, NC State)
\- Town Parks and Recreation Director, my personal mentor, will give me a great recommendation based on my impact and character (UNCCH, NC State)

**Schools**:
Wake Forest University, Early Decision with requested interview
UNC Chapel Hill, Early Action
NC State, Early Action
App State, Regular Decision (backup)