I am 24, and I wish I did high school and college differently

[Anonymous]

I have so many regrets, especially with what I know about college admissions now. If I knew these things much earlier, I could have become a much more competitive applicant. But it’s too late now, and I have to live with it

[Anonymous]

Are you a college admission consultant?

[Anonymous]

My advice is to put that behind you.

If you haven't gone to grad school yet, you can use some of the same tactics to get into a "better" grad school.

But you'd be best served by figuring out how to optimize your career. It lasts a lot longer than undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you a college admission consultant?

No

[Anonymous]

ok- ill bite. what exactly would you do differently but also I really hope you are a troll b/c being a 24 year old posting this here on sat. night is sad.

[Anonymous]

You need to let it go. The time has passed. Everyone would do some parts of their past differently with current knowledge. Move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have so many regrets, especially with what I know about college admissions now. If I knew these things much earlier, I could have become a much more competitive applicant. But it’s too late now, and I have to live with it

You can become competitive from now on if you know what you want _for the right reason_

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to let it go. The time has passed. Everyone would do some parts of their past differently with current knowledge. Move on.

Not true. Many people have zero regrets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My advice is to put that behind you.

If you haven't gone to grad school yet, you can use some of the same tactics to get into a "better" grad school.

But you'd be best served by figuring out how to optimize your career. It lasts a lot longer than undergrad.

[Anonymous]

Grad admissions is nothing like undergrad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have so many regrets, especially with what I know about college admissions now. If I knew these things much earlier, I could have become a much more competitive applicant. But it’s too late now, and I have to live with it

That’s life. On the other hand, even if you could time travel back, the outcome would still be unknowable!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ok- ill bite. what exactly would you do differently but also I really hope you are a troll b/c being a 24 year old posting this here on sat. night is sad.

+1. Your biggest regret should be that you're posting on DCUM on a Saturday night. 24 is too young to die like this. Get out and live.

[Anonymous]

Competitive people are born competitive; they are that type pf person. You are fine not being over aggressive type, just be diligent and efficient at whatever you are doing.

[Anonymous]

You and mostly everyone, OP. The ultra-packaged applicants are very rare, actually. DCUM is a rarified atmosphere. Most people don't live like this.

You'll have to get over yourself, because it won't be the only thing you regret in life. All this is part of growing up and maturing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have so many regrets, especially with what I know about college admissions now. If I knew these things much earlier, I could have become a much more competitive applicant. But it’s too late now, and I have to live with it

You are TWENTY-FOUR. An INFANT basically. It's not too late for a damn thing, and this attitude can follow you your whole life until you're 80 and it actually is too late.

So - what you learned is, 1) Set goals in advance. 2) Do your legwork ahead of time. What's going to matter? What's going to be important? Knowledge about the system you're in is valuable. 3) Hard work pays off! The world is a competitive place. If you want to achieve your goals, it's going to take action.

Sounds like four VERY valuable lessons that apply right now, in your present and future. So, what do you want next? (lesson #1, above) You want to go to a really great graduate school? Well, start doing your research (lesson #2) - what do you need to do to get there? Then start cracking (lesson #3).

Or maybe you just want a better job. Okay. Doing what? What experience do you need to get it? How can you get that? Better getting going.

If you're using these lessons to look back, not forward, then you didn't learn anything and you're just a whiny baby.