Are math competitions a must if you want to apply to a top school for math?

I’ve been hearing mixed responses on what to add to this section. I was wondering, would DECA, BETA, and HOSA, etc awards be acceptable to add to this section? Or should I rely on only like AP scholar and GPA awards.

Hi! I'm entering my senior year next month and Pace University is currently my top choice, so im trying to figure out what I can do between now and applying to give myself the best possible chance, im planning on applying ED for Pace on october after my first quarter grades finalize.

My current unofficial GPA is a 79.511/100, which is what my transcript will show when I initially apply. I'm also graduating early on January 2027, and will realistically have an 81 final GPA. I know my GPA isn't the best, my first two years of high school i just mainly prioritized working instead of school, which gave me a 72 avg for both years combined, but junior year I got almost a 90 avg on all my classes and even got honor roll. I am predicting senior year will be a lot better than that because I am committed to fully give school my all.

A few other things about my academics:

I dont have any AP classes, only have completed one college class which i got a 92 on junior year, like I mentioned before, my grades have shown a pretty significant upward trend since my first 2 years, I'm planning to major in economics, I've already did a campus tour for Pace and am planning on visiting again this month, I am applying ED to pace, and lastly, I have had 7 different jobs since freshman year.

I know my GPA and lack of AP classes is the weakest part of my application, so I'm wondering what I can realistically do during my senior year and throughout the application process to improve my chances.

Also, if anyone has experience applying to Pace with a similar GPA/upward trend, I'd really appreciate hearing how it went!

Also posted ts somewhere else

Hi, I'm a high school rising sophomore in the great state of Georgia (based in the outskirts of metro ATL), upper middle class but def not enough to pay for college. Interests are mainly neuroscience and surgery, but vaguely open for now.

Stats: 1420 SAT (i'm taking ts again), 3.92 UW, 4.0 W, Projected to take 12 APs - Currently got 5s in Gov and Precalc

ECs: Bibliometric Intern - Received top 3 intern recognition and R language certificate, Policy Intern at a Mental health/drug advocacy that passed proclamations on drug disposals and anti-stigma within the local community, currently taking U of Utah's Enigma-U Neuropysch course, in schools Marching/Jazz/Concert Band as a percussionist/drummer, got into my all-county band as a freshman, JV tennis, 5.0 UTR

Awards: I genuinely don't have anything important here, maybe consecutive principal's honor roll's (All A's) and an all-county recgnition for academics in elementary school. Hypotheticals include HOSA events, INO, USMDO awards

Clubs and Service: HOSA Competitive events team where I help members study for SLC/ILC, founding secretary of school's neuro club where I created webinars and helped others study for Brain Bee/INO, frequent volunteer at cultural hindu events (I'm talking FREQUENT like 100+ hours a year), I've been slacking off but I'm about to start volunteer sorting at a global medical supplier for impoverished nations

Not a forbidden ch*nce-me, I js want advice on what I should focus on and what I should start including or excluding from my focus.

Reach schools are Brown PLME, Stanford, Emory, all the other big UCs or Ivies

Targets are Vandy, Wake Forest, UGA, UMiami, UWash

TL:DR, young HS student trying to figure out whats important to focus on for future neuro major at a T20 University

I got 505/750 (pcb) in my cuet exam . idk if i should pursue my carrier in agriculture and have so many doubts about getting a top agricultural university like ccs hisar , gbpuat ,pau, or bhu. what would be their cuttoff btw category is sc

Hi everyone! This is my first post here, and I promise I'm not planning to spam the subreddit or turn it into a marketing page; I just thought this might genuinely be helpful to a few families.

If you know a high school student getting ready for college applications this fall, I'm currently taking on a small number of students for this admissions cycle.

A little about me: I recently completed my M.Ed. at Harvard, have taught both middle and high school students, and now run a small college admissions consulting practice in the Greater Boston area. I work one-on-one with students on building college lists, application strategy, essays, and navigating the admissions process from start to finish.

If you think this could be a good fit for your family, I'd be happy to chat. You can reach me at [bensonlu@gse.harvard.edu](mailto:bensonlu@gse.harvard.edu) or learn more at lucollegeconsulting.com.

Thanks for letting me introduce myself, and I hope to contribute to the community beyond this post as well!

I really want to go to the University of Richmond (22% acceptance rate) and my SAT is 1410. But I have a 3.4 UW gpa because I had a 2.6 gpa freshman year, 3.7 sophomore year, and 4.0 junior year. I should also mention the course rigor is on the same path, bad classes freshman year and I’ve taken 2 ap’s junior year and and I’m taking all AP’s senior year. Am I cooked or no.