D ) You will be exposed to lots and lots of various forms of alcohol and drugs. Don't do anything but alcohol and pot unless you seriously know what to expect and never let it become a habit.

If you are gonna do drugs, at least consult with the fine folks from this thread before you do.

I decided on going with the big school, so I'll be starting college in the summer but I am actually really looking forward to it! The class sizes are going to be a lot smaller and it wont be nearly as chaotic as when the Fall term begins, so its a good way to ease into the college experience. Besides that when everyone else comes along in the Fall I can act like the big man on campus because I will have already had a ton more experience than them.

Weird story:

I got an email from University of Pennsylvania saying that there was something wrong with my application, and that I needed to call during business hours of the admissions office. Seeing as how it was already 6:00PM on a Friday, I had to wait until Monday. I went to my guidance councelor's office to show her my Emory admission letter, and lo and behold, she hands me a note from the University of Pennsylvania: apparently, they felt the need to call my school to. So when I got back home, I called them up to talk about my application.

I applied for to a couple schools for computer science (just to see if I could get in, you know? Some schools have their computer science majors recruited right to consulting jobs, which equals $$$) and the admissions representative says, "I'm looking at your application, and while you applied for computer science/engineering, it really seems like you're more of an English/social sciences major. Why did you decide to pick computer science?"

Of course, I couldn't say "just for kicks", so I told her that I also had some vague interest in computer science, which is why I applied for the major. I told her just to change it to English/Literature if I had a better chance of getting in with it. But, seriously, wtf? I think either my math scores just suck that bad, or apparently I write too well to be an engineering major (less likely).

Even more ridiculous is the fact that I come home today to find a letter from Carnegie Mellon labeled "This is the OFFICIAL FAT LETTER". I was so surprised, because that was another university I applied to for computer science just to see if I could get in. But, lo and behold, I got accepted into the College of Humanities and Social Sciences... I didn't even apply to that one. Seriously, I think God is trying to tell me that math and science are very bad career choices for me.

Man, why do English majors have such sucky career choices.  Why couldn't I be smart at math too? ;____;

I decided on going with the big school, so I'll be starting college in the summer but I am actually really looking forward to it! The class sizes are going to be a lot smaller and it wont be nearly as chaotic as when the Fall term begins, so its a good way to ease into the college experience. Besides that when everyone else comes along in the Fall I can act like the big man on campus because I will have already had a ton more experience than them.

This is a good idea. I'd do the same, but I kind of want to spend this summer hanging with friends before we go off in our separate directions, and get a job and stuff. Jumping right back into school would be too much for me, I think.

Wow, education in the US is hilariously expensive. I mean, I pay 2300 euros (3600 USD) a year for five/six years (not counting the cost of books and stuff) and that's all the way up to when I can call myself MSc.

Yeah, college costs about that much at the state universities here in Florida (and in other places), but some of the private ones rank from  $20,000 to $30,000+. Even though you might get a lot of financial aid, it's still kind of depressing.

did you apply to berkeley

if not you should've because they are ridiculously stringent this year, even compared to last year

words (Click to reveal)

I got rejected from all my first choice schools.

schools are super competitive these days (especially considering I had an 800 on SAT-verbal)

list of schools I got rejected from with 3.58 GPA and SAT (Verbal : 800 , Math : 660 , Writing : 720 ) :

CMU
UNC at Chapel Hill
Penn State Honors College
Swarthmore College (Didn't even bother applying actually since the admissions counselor said 'don't even bother')
NYU

I got into Penn State, New College of Florida (where I am now - apparently in the Florida college system I am a SUPERSTAR [fuck Pennsylvania]), and uh... I don't even remember where else since I had such a shitty admissions record. I hate college admissions they are such competitive bullshit.

When I am making 40k a year because I only got into NCF I will kill all you fucking Harvard flybys with a fucking shotgun. I have seen Harvard/Princeton level courses in action and they are easy as fuck YOU SHITS.

I was also Managing Editor of my school paper and I've been published three times in a national newspaper with a circulation of 2.6 million you shits (I am super bitter at UNC and NYU people)

if I am ever famous and/or rich (unlikely) I will destroy both

Man, that sucks. Your SATs trump mine (1300 - Verbal: 690, Math: 610) and my GPA was hardly better (3.78 unweighted). Sometimes I swear these people throw darts at a board full of applicants, seriously.

College in Florida basically makes you a superstar, I agree, but, for me, there are too many people I know going to all these colleges. I kind of want to get away from the awkwardness I feel around them, even if it means feeling awkward in a completely new environment. I've done too many stupid things to stay here with people who remind me of them, I guess.

Sometimes I swear these people throw darts at a board full of applicants, seriously.

It seems like that but its just that there are a TON of hidden factors. As stated before, I got into the second top rated public university in the nation. My GPA? 3.3, weighted. However, my family had a legacy to the point where all of my grandparents and my parents went there. We're also fairly wealthy (not for long though), I wrote some kickass essays, and I bossed up my standardized testing (33 on the ACT). I'm also taking a fairly rigorous course schedule. So yea, its definitely not just the GPA that gets you into college or not.