r/CollegeAppsAdvice

Hi y'all. Over the past couple of months, my family and I have been trying to solve an issue with an online high school credit. Basically, my online teacher neglected a couple of things, and my final was impacted by the Canvas outage, so it was never turned in. The final grade that was put in the transcript was a 75. It tanked my GPA to a 4.1.

I've been fighting with the online school's admin, but he's saying that the grade is essentially final. I'm also trying to talk to my school to get it dropped from my transcript. Overall, will this affect my chances of getting into college? I've been extremely worried about it, and I haven't really seen anyone with this problem. If you've ever had to dispute a grade, please let me know. Thank you!

i’m stuck between duke and columbia for ed, and i feel like i’m choosing between the school that makes more sense strategically and the school whose location fits the life i’ve always wanted.

academically, i’m interested in both economics/business and biology, probably somewhere in healthcare strategy/management or medicine. but outside of school, i’ve also done acting classes and some modeling-related work throughout high school. i’m from a small town in eastern nc, so actually pursuing either has been almost impossible unless my parents and i drive hours during the school year.

that’s the biggest pull toward columbia. nyc would give me access to agencies, auditions, creative work, and internships in business/healthcare all in one place. i feel like i could finally explore all sides of myself instead of having to pick one.

duke, though, feels like the stronger ed fit for my actual application. i spent 200+ hours this summer doing molecular genetics/microbiology research in a duke lab, am continuing with the lab during the school year, and my pi is writing me a supplemental rec. i’ve also visited duke since i was little and know i genuinely love it. durham is still much bigger than where i live now, so it’s not like i’d have zero opportunities outside academics.

there’s also the money/family factor: my parents are comfortable paying ~90k/year for duke and feel good about me living in durham. they’d be much more hesitant to pay the same for columbia because they’re uncomfortable with me living in nyc.

my fear is basically:

duke ed: maybe i’m making the smarter choice and leaning into an application that has a very natural duke connection — but i might always wonder what would’ve happened if i took the bigger risk on nyc.

columbia ed: i’d be choosing the environment that excites me more and gives me opportunities i can’t really get at home — but i’d be giving up what might be a slightly stronger ed angle at duke and could end up with neither.

very condensed profile:

• asian female, small-town public school in eastern nc + ncssm courses
• 4.0 uw / 4.67 w, top 5% of ~350
• ~14 aps + 10 de courses
• 34 act, retaking
• 200+ hr duke research internship + independent project + continued lab involvement + pi rec
• yearlong ecu medical-school research program
• statewide red cross youth leadership
• founded cancer nonprofit/social platform, 1m+ likes
• school-wide science tutoring leadership
• health sciences/business leadership + healthcare/community outreach

i know neither is remotely guaranteed, and i’m not treating the duke connection like some admissions cheat code. i’m just wondering: if you were in my position, would you use ed on the school where your application seems to fit more naturally, or on the school whose environment might fit the person you want to become more?

Is this a good hook for my essay? I hate it but I have nothing else.

For most of my life, family game nights were less of a bonding experience and more of a crisis situation. There were only two possible outcomes when I played a round of Monopoly: total victory, or absolute, tearful, devastation.

I keep hearing that colleges want to see a singular spike or hook in something - I had a really bad eating disorder in middle school from social media and I see it become very prevalent especially with younger kids now - I guess I based many of my extracurriculars off of it because it is an issue I really care about and don't want to become widespread

I made like a medical website course used in a couple schools teaching kids how to spot misinformation online and stuff - I did some research based on that and furthermore independent research between the link of social media and perception etc and a deca state top five placer about a children's mental health intiative... I also have some more medically stuff, like lots of pediatric shadowing and hospital volunteering

just wondering is this a safe hook? or does it look bad...it Is just something I am very passionate about changing

not sure if its worth mentioning but I have good academics like a 3.97 uw and a 36 act compared to these meh extracurriculars - any chances at like a t30? thanks

hello reddit community!

ive currently been working on my common app essay & supplementals for the school i plan on applying early to. i was wondering if anyone could read my essays & offer some critiques or opinions. it would be greatly appreciate!!

On common app can it hurt me to put my parents occupations (engineer+doctor) and give other optional details that allude to me being wealthy and asian? This might be a stretch but won’t they expect me to have better stats if coming from a better background