Anonymous: That was quick (about the sqeaky clean/slightly dirty tumblr). Thank you for all the work you do!

no problem! best of luck

Anonymous: do you think if colleges find my tumblr it'll prevent them from accepting me? It's nothing extreme, I'm just a little sassy like most of tumblr. I'm not spreading my full name around either, but I also heard that they're kind of weary about kids who are squeaky clean on the net.

no

Anonymous: have you used college prowler before? if so, what is it exactly? it asks me some personal information that i'm hesitant to give out. will colleges see this? thanks!

i think i did? i don’t remember following up on it or getting invested if i did. colleges won’t see your info, but if you’re uncomf, ditch it

Anonymous: So! What do you have to say about "grade deflation"?

adcom is familiar with your school situation so you’ll be put in context with your peers. as for undergrad? um, boss that out?

Anonymous: which state schools do you think are the best? (uva, umd, umich, etc)

i ain’t no college rankings blog

Anonymous: does harvard make you happy? does harvard help you make yourself happy?

harvard doesn’t help me make myself happy; as in, harvard is no indicator of my happiness (it’s just another variable in this fucked up correlational study), but i certainly do think it’s a good place to be. i detest this question of status markers as symbols of self-worth. you can change the scenery, but you can’t change the fucking situation

Anonymous: how did you know Harvard was "the one"?

i didn’t and i still don’t. it’s the safest bet, though. no one comes out of harvard with regrets

Anonymous: like, should I apply to other colleges and go to their visiting weekends to make sure that my college (MIT) is "the one" or?

no college will be “the one”. imho, always be safe than sorry

Anonymous: How am I supposed to pay for college? LOL

bug financial aid, get on fafsa, hound your college dept for scholarship deets/opportunities, lots of research/googling. it’s hard work, but there’s easy money out there

Anonymous: how much did your rank affect college acceptance? i'm a plano kid too, represent, but my rank is in top 2% whereas you're kind of amazing.

first of all: ty, bb. second of all: i think ranking is a general thumb-over when compared to the rest of your app. adcom just wants to eyeball your academic rigor and success to dog-ear how “well” and how much you can participate in their intellectual/academic campus life, because think of college apps as a job interview. you are bringing yourself to the table and showing to your potential employer how qualified you are: what makes you unique, why they should invest in you. consistency is king in this case

so, rank 1-10 is the same cluster for them (altho i guess 1-3 get a special priority), and percentages from 1-5% are still safe bets. lord, i haven’t looked at statistics in a while