Why You SHOULDN'T Apply to an Ivy League School | What Nobody Will Tell You (2019)
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- Опубліковано 22 бер 2019
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It's time for me to share with you the #1 reason why you shouldn't an Ivy League school! Because I didn't follow this advice, I applied to Princeton, UPenn, Georgetown, and several other top-25 universities. This college admissions life hack will teach you why you SHOULDN'T apply to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Stanford, MIT, UChicago, or pretty much any other top school. Watch the whole video to find out why you shouldn't apply to an Ivy League college.
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In case you want to get into an Ivy League anyway:
- I discovered this crucial information halfway through sophomore year. And without it, I don't think I would've been accepted to my dream school, Princeton.
- Now, if you're at all like me, you've spent hours on the College Confidential forum, watching UA-cam videos like this one, and spamming your college guidance counselors, teachers, and parents with questions about college admissions and things like that.
-This year, there were 31,056 people who applied to Princeton. Of those, 12,435 had a perfect GPA, and 13,800 of them had a 1400 or above on the SAT. That means that roughly 45% of Princeton's applicant pool was completely qualified to get in. Yet, only 6.1% got the golden ticket. So how do admissions officers determine which 14% of awesome applicants to let in, and which 86% to reject?
- You're probably thinking "Do as many extracurriculars as you can, sign up for all of that volunteer work, you know you can do it." And honestly, I can't blame you. I'm sure that's the advice your guidance counselors, parents, younger sisters, and goldfish have been telling you all this time.
- Well... colleges don't care how many random activities you can slap on your application. When going through their applicant pools, admissions officers at top colleges don't really look for well-rounded students; they look more for a well-rounded class. That means x-many jazz musicians, x-many lacrosse players, x-many public speakers, you get it.
- How do you develop a passion? Let me take you back to sophomore year. I was involved in theatre, my school's a capella group, mock trial, track, I was volunteering in a soup kitchen, I was part of China club, and I was studying both Spanish and Chinese. I wrote down all of my extracurriculars on a piece of paper and tried to divide them into two distinct passions. The two that I came up with were performance and study of Chinese culture.
- I completely dropped track and I stopped volunteering at the soup kitchen. I dropped track junior year and instead became more heavily involved in theatre, and I even joined the school's theater board. Instead of volunteering at the soup kitchen, I actually started my own community service club at my school, where student musicians could go out to our local city and perform on the street to raise awareness and funds for a local charity. I dropped Spanish and focused fully on my study of Mandarin Chinese. With the help of my Mandarin teacher, I was able to study abroad in China for a month. In the summer after junior year, I got an internship at a translation and globalization company with a lot of clients in China, and I was able to talk about that in my essays as well.
- You have to take an honest look at what you're doing and how you're spending your time, and then cut down certain things, so you're only focusing on one or two specific areas.
- Because I took the time to do that, the admissions officer who was reading my application didn't just see a kid with great scores that was signing up for a bunch of clubs simply to get into x, y, or z school. What they saw was a student who had multiple interests and was willing to pursue them at a very deep level.
- Come up with one or two things that you actually really do enjoy. And brainstorm extracurricular activities based on those interests. Literally anything can be a passion-- you just have to be creative.
Alright, fine. Me and my 0.1 gpa will take your word for it.
same lol
How bout... work harder??
justdarylyeung take a joke
justdarylyeung I was joking but thanks for the tip.
justdarylyeung Yo chill he was joking lol
The Asian parents are not having it.
Dead
First thought 😔
Andres Porras Asians are prideful. You wouldn’t know. My comment was just a joke 😂
Andres Porras dude wtf
Shlaghya Chaturvedi I’m 12 years old too 😂 happy to know that a disgusting older man could say that to us 🙊 us twelve year olds are even more educated than that bitch
I’m a second-year at UChicago and this video is really really really really on point. The toxic competitive culture and investment bank funnel are also in my eyes the dark side of these kinds of schools. I do love UChicago, but ivies and other elite schools aren’t all sunshine and rainbows. This is a video that needed to be made.
Thanks for the words of encouragement, Joe!
Would you be open to sharing the stats that got you into UChi?
Joe Gill They are not meant to be sunshine and rainbows, they are meant to be rigorous.
Damn, this gets me down about UChicago and dampers my hopes for good college vibes
Wait until post-graduation. This prepare students for the competitive and cut-throat environment in corporate America esp if you climb that ladder to the more leadership roles .
I think something people forget is that non-ivy league schools also can have very difficult workloads. For example, I attend a pretty low ranked liberal arts college which is made up mostly of local students. And yeah, our workload is seriously tough. Just be aware that college can be difficult wherever you go.
Seth Machakos exactly what I was thinking. I’m a Junior @ my local University and I’m in an accelerated degree program and the homework is insane. I do homework everyday and I also work full time. Very glad my school is 4 hours once a week but the homework makes up for the time we don’t spend in class everyday. I live on my own & make it work. My internship starts mid 2020 and I’ll be working/interning 7days a week for 6 months straight. It’s doable... you just have to sacrifice, which many people aren’t willing to do. But with my $50K student loan debt, I’m very much willing to sacrifice a social life for working my ass off in school. Lol
At y tf did u major in libral arts???
@@sphporsche355 Do you know what liberal arts is???
@@choerrim7745 yea
@@sphporsche355 for law school
I applied to Harvard on a lark, just to see if I could get accepted - denied.
Eric Erickson how’d it go
abhitastic7 read the last word of his sentence.
@@dynasty33677 oh I thought he was saying he saw if he could get accepted or denied.
From an interviewer's perspective, I've found "on a lark" applicants sometimes make themselves easy to spot. The first words out of their mouth will something like "What city is it in?" or even "What state is it in?"... which would be especially funny if I interviewed for Penn ; )
🤣🤣
Is this to reduce the competition at Princeton? Joking lol, nice videos.
Astra hahaha😂
Astra You are joking but it’s true.
😂
Philoctetes 82 No it is not
Philoctetes 82 Naw
I'm still in high school and I'm crying already.
Workload I guess?😢
Workload starts beung painful in high school and college it honestly depends on how you approach things
@@MustacheDLuffy what how om college?
Mood
Same :(
One way to get noticed by ivy league. Be honest in your essay, be yourself, don't try to impress them, choose activities you are genuinely interested in, not a lots of useless stuff, if you have a real desire to succeed, it shows and that's attracts the selection panel
what if what you're interested in is a bunch of useless stuff?
Theo Wild it's not about what you're into, but how you demonstrate your passion for it
Also make enormous donations
Firstly, have excellent grades, and have a trillion hobbies, then donate 1 million dollars to charity, and go on daily adventures. And last but not least, be rich.
Then you can maybe think about your passions.
@@theowild2524spikes actually help……. A language which you’re an expert in, and if you have a translator’s internship it’s going to increase your chance.
if u go into stem where ever, prepare to do a lot of work.
STEM
Economics, management,medical, finance, law, linguistics
- am i a joke to you
Arts have way more workload....and I study Engineering
Brian Mwaura what college
@@bikeshike medicine is stem
I didn’t apply to any Ivys...why am I watching this?
Oh yeah because i’m in quarantine and I’m bored
Same 🤣
Same
Same
You watch this when you are bored. !! ?? Classy even when bored !!
Every college is craptons of work. Math is still math at a state school and at Princeton.
siwueofk exactly.
As I like to put it, "There are no Secret Ivy League Textbooks." You either do craptons of work (wherever) and master the material however well you can, or you don't. The two years of community college Calculus I took while in high school substituted just fine for what I would have otherwise taken in my Ivy's engineering program, so I was able to skip their frosh/soph math sequence and load up on additional geek electives as a freshman.
Where you will definitely see some differences is in upper-level coursework, especially for a technical major. An Ivy or similar will often include material along the lines of what might be seen in a first-year graduate program elsewhere, along with the corresponding rigor. Good if you are planning on a career in academia or research, but a lot of pointless effort for many others. Another example of why there's no such thing as the "best" undergraduate college -- just the one(s) which would be best for you. For most people, that's not an Ivy. You are always better off at a school where you can thrive instead of just survive.
Sorry but it's not true , the quality teachers that you get at an ivy league school (like Princeton) will probably be better than the teachers you'll get in a state school. People who have discovered and created stuff teach there . Not that state schools don't have them , it's just that they're less in no.
Well that's my opinion
> the quality teachers that you get at an ivy league school (like Princeton) will probably be better than the teachers you'll get in a state school < That was usually the case in my experience, which included several public college courses while in high school followed by Ivy undergrad. But for the sort of basic material taught during the first two years, it tends not to matter. An extreme example: My Ivy prof in an introductory lunar geology course had helped NASA pick landing sites for the Apollo missions. Then he taught geology to the Apollo astronauts before they explored the Moon. Then he was in Mission Control during the Moonwalks to help direct their activities in real time. Then later on he taught lunar geology to me... which was really cool, but I have nothing more to show for it than if it had been a community college teacher covering the same material. Whatever brilliant insights Mr Apollo might have to impart weren't anything relevant to our basic course, though presumably his grad students counted themselves as very lucky.
At least as important as teacher "quality" are the huge differences between institutions in terms of willingness of the faculty to instruct undergrads. Brown is well-known as undergrad-friendly, with senior faculty teaching and engaging with even first-semester students. At another Ivy, the president was forced out after losing a fight with powerful department heads who didn't want their profs having to bother with teaching undergrads (no, you won't find that tidbit in their glossy tri-fold brochure at your local college fair ; ). Then there's the engineering prof at a well-regarded UC who never shows up for class, instead having a grad student play recordings of his lectures ("My job is to grade papers -- not to teach!").
So do yourselves a favor and heavily research any schools you are admitted to, because the Ivys aren't some monolithic commodity, and being admitted to one isn't some sort of prize -- maybe more like a marriage proposal. In either case, choose based on substance and a good personal fit, rather than perceived reputation and the notion that there can be a singular "best" for something so personal.
@@marcmcreynolds2827 thank you for this. You have no idea how much it helped me
Negatives of Ivy: Google will try to give you a six figure income
Me: Confused
If you want to be the best, you will be putting an insane amount of hours studying no matter what school you go to. Perhaps the professors at Large State University won't be assigning as much, but you will be doing additional work on your own initiative anyway. So counting the hours of homework at Princeton is not relevant for one's choice of school.
That's fair. I guess the difference is, at the state school, you are CHOOSING to put those extra hours in and you are studying things you are interested in and delving deep into specific topics, whereas at Princeton that kind of individual exploration and self-studying is near impossible due to the full workload you're already given. Hope this makes sense!
I would kindly disagree, any worthwhile college education is hard. The workload you described is pretty typical
Greg Smith I would fully disagree. I am in no way choosing to put in tons of work, I love my degree so in a way I do choose to but I am still tired a lot of the time, I am often very overworked. I go to a Dutch uni, so I don’t know what the us college system is like, but I would still contest that on a large scale! My uni for example is place 67 worldwide on the times higher education ranking and Dartmouth is 94. Just because a school is harder to get into doesn’t necessarily mean the academics are worse or easier! Which I think your video is kind of saying.
Keifer Weiland fr. I would rather have 1 assignment every week and a half that takes 12 hours to complete than have 5 assignments in a week that each take 2+ hours to do (which is what I have at a state school)
@@AmbitiousNoodle Your so dam right. Any elite College you will have to work hard. I'm in high school and have a 90 hour work week combining everything like you did. School is for work, to get a degree so you gotta work.
I attend Berkeley and I can agree with a lot of points you made! I’m about to graduate in about a month and I also feel like elite colleges isn’t the “real world” and oftentimes don’t adequately prepare you for life after college.
Nadia Saleh hey what’s your thoughts on berkeley? I plan on attending either there or ucla after graduating cc
Ahh sorry I’m just seeing these comments!! UCLA is a wonderful school but I ended up going to Berkeley because I felt more at home there and I believe anyone can transfer here as long as you set your mind
To it :)
Fellow Berkeley student here 🙋♂️
Berkeley is [NOT] one of Ivy league universities!!
@@2008IRAQ2008 Neither is Staford or MIT. But they are much better than the Ivies bar Harvard
“Don’t go to an Ivy League school for any reason! But also they’re great! But they also suck”
They all suck.
I studied at a public state university and we still had that amount of homework. Plus, taking bus rides to get back home, so it really is time consuming, but I loved most of my university years anyway.
Glad you enjoyed, Clau!
I mean... u got into Princeton and now u r trying to tell the students who hope to get into an Ivy League not to do so. I know the work load is heavy but that shouldn't be the reason to stop letting people applying to an Ivy League
Thanks for the comment Suqin! If you watch until the end, I say that you should still apply to an Ivy League school but just to be aware of the downsides :)
Greg Smith OOF
@@CollegeAdvisor But the title says Why you SHOULDN'T
@@guilleacq He also said WATCH TO THE END
@@xdrone8669 I'm just stating the clickbait
Thanks for being so authentic and genuine.
Thanks for the lovely comment!
I dual enroll at a community college and my schedule is exactly the same lol, 3 -4 classes each day no school on fridays. That’s just college in general
GlamBarbie I agree but at first it seemed like he was just complaining about when he had classes
Lawrence L. I’m a dual enrolled student. I’m a high school student dual enrolled at a community college through a collegiate high school, so I will graduate from high school with an associates degree. I have a 4.0 gpa, and I’m about 125 pounds, so I really don’t know where your getting “chubby” from. Also, I’m so sorry you have such a poor image of yourself. Maybe if you stopped watching videos that are meant for high schoolers, you would feel a little bit better. Just a suggestion :)
@@oliviacloud4815 Weird flex but ok chubby
Lawrence L. I hope it takes off, oh wait, it didn’t
Olivia, you may be missing the point of the video, I talk about many things other than class schedule (in fact, I point out that my class schedule itself is less than that of a high school student) -- make sure you watch the whole thing!
I was honestly expecting a lot worse, but good to know so I prepare myself better for college.
Great!
I'm a CS major at a public University and the workload for your systems class seems to be on par or even slightly less than my classes. It's not just the Ivy league
Good to know!
Computer science everywhere is about the same id say. Im not saying the quality of education is the same but CS major at the U of A or ASU is about the same amount of work. CS is a time consuming major.
@@lolunderstated533 lol I go to ASU not sure why people think it's an easy school
Mhm. I’m looking at Princeton and Cornell and their workload looks a lot like mine at CC and workloads from those I know that went to public uni👀
@@FernandoRobles7 everyone that knows asu knows their engineering school is no joke and we’ll respected.
my son goes to an elite high school and his workload and competition sound a lot worse than what you mention here at Princeton. He's basically working from the time he gets up until midnight. Everyday. For 3 years now, including summer and breaks. I think it's insane, not healthy, not needed, toxic, sad and unnecessary.
I’m not at an Ivy League and I have 20 hours a week that I spend in class, and approximately 6 hours a week as a research assistant. Plus extracurricular activities, workshops and homework. College is hard, not just at an Ivy League.
I completed my course while working full time, and I can concur. Even those that had far more free time than I did still struggled.
I think people forget how hard a workload can be at any university if you are aiming for all A's. While the workload at a school like Harvard would obviously be a little more difficult, I do think that much of the perceived increase in difficulty is from the raised average student level.
For example, at least 90% of the people that get into an ivy (other than the rich legacies) are students that are aiming to get all A's so of course the outward perception is that the work is rough. At my school for example, I am getting mostly A's as well and so my experience is very similar to your even though I am going to a "lesser" university. However the average student at my university is not trying to get all A's and such their workload will seem much less. The main difference is this community; at a "normal" university you would have to go out of your way to surround yourself with other students that are working as hard as you if you are this A student.
While at an ivy, they are everywhere you look. This gives off the confirmation bias. When you think 'my work is really hard' and all of your classmates agree with you and have a similar work load, you may start to think that it is 100% the nature of your college rather than the nature of the students you are talking too.
Hm
@@Mohammed-cv6rr Somewhat ironicly, I actually did end up going to an ivy for my MS. My undergrad was at Buffalo, and my master's is at Columbia. And I can tell you that my original message is quite accurate. At least in my experience.
But isn't the overworking environment a college construct at these elite colleges? Like I don't go to an Ivy League but I am studying in one of the top colleges of my country and in my experience ,it's the college that has incurred competition in majority of the students. Sure some are inherently workaholic but for most of them and me,it's the environment that sucked us all in cause we think 'we are not making enough out of the opportunities and resources available to us' and oh 'we are also falling behind others.' And also don't colleges and corporates feed on this insecurity of young confused minds?
@@autumn99312 I guess, but I don't think that is unique to elite schools. People have to do a lot of work and get overworked at every school. The difference at elite schools is that a larger portion of the students is going to commit to this heavy workload lifestyle, so when you look around you will see more people doing it. At an average school, there will be many students who are content not working as hard to get worse grades, but at elite schools the students are more competitive. The work itself isn't more competitive, its the people that are. If anything, I worked harder and did much more work in my 'average' undergrad university than I did in my 'elite' grad school program.
@@trumpetperson11 the students are more competitive because it's an elite school. Like,I have this friend from an average college and when I talk to her about college stress,angst and competition,she tells me that 'hey,maybe it's your college cause here in mine,we are pretty clueless about stuff and all". I get your point about students in an elite school taking on that workload,but this environment of workaholic students in elite school has been very organically created. Take for eg their hectic admission processes and low acceptance rates. Then inside there you are made to work your arse off academically and in co curricular activities. The confused mind of a student is taken advantage of by college authorities to fuel and boost their co curriculars and hence their reputation,sure they are a great space to learn but in my experience,I have seen ppl joining them mainly for things like CVs and just insecurity of not being or learning enough.Also,this is what I feel,I by no means want to impose my opinion on you,lol,I m happy we are having a discussion on this :)
Thank you for making this video. I go to a very competitive high school, and it’s really turned me off to schools with ultra competitive, toxic environments. I think that competition is important, as well as hard work, but not to the point where you’re just suffering and hating yourself.
i feel you there. all my friends at my old, highly-ranked highschool are obsessed with getting into ivy league, but people in my new public school are different. they're healthy and happy, which is all i can ask for in life. my last school almost killed me and my friends from overkworking us and im not willing to suffer like that again.
Collaboration is more important than competition
I went to community college straight out of high school. Best decision that I ever made.
@Rohan Rajan Google says, the main difference between a community college and a university is that most degrees at a community college only take two years to complete, while degrees at a four year university take four years to complete.
What did you end up making?
@@greenlemonboy9762 he made two babies and $20k in debt
@@juhi_ghosh Yeah but bigger and well-known universities will give you more opportunities. Penn State has the largest alumni network and job fairs there are amazing.
@@emjay2045 community is free smart one
Thank you for your video. There's one thing I think is worth mentioning. I currently attend community college part time and spend more hours doing homework than I do in the classroom. That's normal in college. I found your video informative towards the end of it when you mentioned that these large companies will use your brain and work you to your limit. Great video! Good luck to you!
The last point is a really important discussion we need to be having. This video needs to go viral.
Crazy how the University of Illinois - Urbana- Champaign has a better CS program than Princeton yet they are public
tough girl, No really search it up on US News Ranks you’ll see UIUC (University of Illinois Urbana Champaign) it’s ranked at #5 while Princeton is at #8. www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings
@@davidsngr5363 It's because schools like Carnegie Mellon and UIUC have many more CS subfields, who do research in all the different subfields of CS. Ivies like Princeton, Columbia, or Harvard have good programs but do not cover all the subfields. UIUC and Carnegie Mellon also have more graduates and so are better known in the field while the Ivies don't produce as many CS graduates. But it's harder to get a job as a CS professor at Princeton or Harvard and the average CS student at Princeton or Harvard is better than a student at UIUC or Carnegie Mellon. They looked at where the computer science professors at top 50 programs went to college, and UIUC had 18 graduates, while Princeton had 32 graduates. Harvard had 66 bachelors degree graduates who became computer science professors, and they are second only to MIT.
I'm a college student, and honestly, this went right along with the assumption I had about Ivy leagues...tbh, my high school was one of the best in the entire country, and the workload pretty much mimicked that of a top college. I already felt imposter syndrome, exhausted, clueless about who I truly was, and had my esteem shattered in that kind of environment in HIGH SCHOOL. I couldn't imagine going another 4 years doing that...so I'm quite happy with my tiny liberal arts school, even if I was certain I would've been accepted into an Ivy, but no debt and I'm a big fish in a small pond, so woo hoo!! :) This is a wonderful video and I'm glad you gave your candid opinion, I can't imagine how helpful this will be for students who are applying.
I know for me personally, the amazing financial aid is also a great reason to apply to an ivy. Students who can't afford many top private institutions will probably get quite a decent financial package if lucky enough to be admitted into one of these amazing institutions. Also aspiring computer science major at Princeton here! We'll see on Thursday if that hope comes to fruition!
So how did that go🏃♀️🏃♀️
I’m applying to the United States Military Academy and I’ve heard the work load is similar on top of all the strict rules of the academy. Great video fitting it all into under 9 minutes
Greg,
Really good analysis of how this system works. You have tremendous insight.
Thank you!
Surgery resident passing by here. Our "restricted" work hours are 80 hours a week. That's 80 hours physically inside the hospital on clinical duty.
Thanks for all your hard work, Dr. Ahn!
Thank you for this video !! 🤗I am in a high-ranked university in France and your experience resonated with mine. So thank you to put into words this reality and to show the negative feelings some students have in this top university.
thanks for sharing Greg, in High School, I wanted to enjoy High School, but didn't, turned down activities, I realized if I am struggling to put all this together and I'm not happy to get into a great school, I need to step back
Your video is so important and the only one out there like this, thank u!
This is great. Thank you for being so honest!
Yalie here, and I absolutely agree with everything you said. First of all, my mental health was at its WORST in undergrad. Secondly, while I am grateful for my undergrad education, and I didn’t go into the most demoralizing job after college (I became a TV reporter) I watched a lot of my friends go into the high paying, yet draining, jobs and then kind of have to figure out what they really were passionate about later on in their careers. Many had to pivot. Also if you’re not careful the Ivy league can separate you from your authentic self, and check your confidence. I became a full-time entrepreneur about three years ago, but It took a while to give myself permission to pursue my calling because it wasn’t the traditional post ivy pursuit. Nonetheless, if you can make the most of the education and friendships while you are there while staying true to your self it’s definitely worth it.
This is amazing... thank you! I appreciate the transparency!
Couldn't agree with you more. The amount of work my son has to do at another Ivy is just insane. And on top of that he is an athlete, which adds another 20+ hours per week (during season). First semester was brutal, second is a lot better. We will see what next year brings. Classes are not getting any easier, so ...
I am an athlete and went part time to college. Sometimes school has to give. IMO, an Ivy League wants you to be all about academics, not have other interests. For some people this may be what’s best if school is their only “thing”.
You look sorta like a young Conan O'Brien. Must be the eyes.
the lizard eyes ya mean.
Hair, eyes, and facial structure
Conan did go to harvard
Brilliant discussion! I am a graduate from Ivy league school and totally agree with your perspective.
This is an incredibly insightful video, I am so glad I found it! Thank you for your honesty.
Really helpful video! Princeton ‘23 here🐯🧡
Thanks! Welcome to Princeton :)
Honestly my parents wanted me to go to Harvard but I wanted to go to Howard University and I'm in Howard now and I'm as happy as I could be there
Omg, thank you so much Greg for this video. I honestly had the same problems.during my college years and yes, you suffer from born out and depression. You sometimes forget why.you actually apllied for that college.and your dreams
Thank you for sharing your story. Great story.
Don't I hate the fast-paced environment in colleges? And hate the tight deadlines for completion of assignments? I am now self-studying from books and videos, while I am not in college. I enjoy studying of my own pace, no stress of worries. I do so at home and in my mother's shop. I won't attend college, until I am good and ready, and if I really need degrees for careers.
In terms of workload, that matches up pretty well with even non-ivy league schools. I was basically doing stuff for school from 10-7 M-Th and probably did about 4-5 hours of homework on the weekend each day.
I’d like to add that it’s not only the Ivy League that this pertains to. Swarthmore, UChicago, and Johns Hopkins are a few elite schools that deflate grades and are more than rigorous. My son attends one of these so I should know. Even amongst the ivies not all area equal as you mentioned Harvard inflates their grades and yes, Princeton is known for grade deflation
I’m a mom trying to help my kids navigate college applications. I find your channel super helpful... especially this video. Thx so much.
Hi Justine! Thanks for the support :)
Greg Smith Grey, did you went to a private prep. high school?
Thanks for this video, It has made me to realize the years of hardship ahead
I read the description so basically your telling us to be versatile within the 4 year tenure of our high school career
In a nutshell, yes-- I have a ton of other videos on this though
That's hardd
Mechanical engineering major at a state school and.... I’m in the same boat, but I enjoy my field so it’s no big deal.
I really needed to hear this thank you for your absolute honesty🙏
Your videos are so honest and helpful. Thank thank you thank you
For your Q and A:
1) How do you study?
2) How do you manage your time?
3) How do you heal yourself after stressful times in college?
4) How do you pay for college?
5) Where do you go to get help on work and keeping up grades?
Don't worry, this is the last one....
6) How do you make friends???? (this is extremely hard for me rn)
So... If I generally have 7 hours of homework a night, I should be fine? 🤷
I think you should get far less than that, 7 hours is way too much still
Sameeeee
Is it the actual workload or just how long it takes YOU? If you take a long time on homework then that 5 hours is going to be a lot more...
Mustache D. Luffy the pirate king of mustaches
Yeah when he said 5 hours of homework a night I was like “dang that sounds nice”
This video has so much resonance with me, developing ourselves and school works are different things, school work is not that useful for future development of individuals. Self developments such as reading in depth and social and most importantly keeping your curiosity and dream alive is far more important than school work
I was going to like anyway, but the fact that you said to like it cause it took you a lot of work to make it made me do so immediately. Thanks for this video. It's good to hear an alternative opinion for once
hey, just watched the video and it's just too true. I go to UPenn, have a lab job, am librarian for the radio station, and am in Girl Scouts. It may not sound like a lot, but just work and activities leave me with only a couple hours on the weekends for free time. My friends and I LIVE in a study room, and spend at least 5 hours a night (not including daytime work/ homework in your own rooms or libraries and class time) sitting in the same room, just doing homework. I am not complaining, this is exactly what I signed. up for, and I found a family and home away from home. However, if this isn't the "college experience" students want, then don't sign up.
I’m hoping to get into UPenn
Ikr. Like I love to go to a private college cause I love studies and homework
Thats just college man, especially CS
Ignacio del Peso Sanchez +
Thank you for the advice and for what you wrote in the description box
You’re a wonderful person! :) thanks for making this video
What are some factors that you wished you researched before applying to a college? I love your videos, they are very helpful!
Went to a really great state school... majored in biology.. graduated with honors... graduated with absolutely zero debt... No regrets!
HELL
TO
THE
YES!
You go, my dude! 🤟🥳
Hi 👋 sorry if this is late but I was wondering how you managed to graduate with zero debt? I’m curious because I am also trying minimize the amount of student loans and debt. Any advice would be helpful😄
@@lauren7006 I’m guessing he was on a strict budget and probably had scholarships to back him.
@lauren7006 go to community college and then to a state school. Big one is rent and food. If you can live at home or relative for free...there ya go. You now have reduced your costs. Also, eat cheaply. I ate a lot of spaghetti in college. Also worked as a server, and would get meals for 1/2 costs. And that would take me 2 days to finish. Food costs, fuel, rent can eat away at your budget. It can be done. must be mindful, and very proactive with how you are spending.
Awesome video! Thanks for sharing your perspective 👍🏿
Thank you for your honest advice. I have 2 high school kid. Thank you again.
Grade inflation is a problem at a lot of top schools. I got into grad school at Michigan, and their attitude is that if you were worthy of getting accepted, everything else is a mere formality. I can't speak for all academic programs at Michigan, but for the one I entered, getting above a 30% was all you needed to pass each course. This only applies to grad school though, not undergraduate.
What grad school and undergraduate?
Not sure if they do it in other states, but in VA if you go to community college for your freshman and sophomore years basically, and carry a GPA of 2.5 (3.0 for UVA and maybe a few others, not sure off the top of my head), you are guaranteed acceptance into any state owned university. So JMU, CNU, VT, VCU, ODU, UVA, William & Mary, and any of the other 32 public universities. Also, you pay by the class, and they usually have options for no material classes (don't have to buy textbooks). So if your looking to save a few grand, it's not a bad option. Plus, if you decide college isn't for you, you've only lost a few hundred to a thousand rather than tens of thousands. Also, community colleges often offer trade training, so if you decide to learn a trade instead that is an option as well.
For computer science, engineering and other STEM majors, things are tough all over. It's no easier at a state school, and often tougher. At a state school, often times you're basically teaching yourself. Some of the the "professors" are just teaching assistants. Research is their primary focus, and teaching is just a side hustle. At least at an Ivy, you can get the quality teaching and personal attention you expect. But those points aside, it's your major that determines your college experience. STEM majors have less free time. And I totally agree that sometimes you do so much work that you don't even get a chance to determine if your chosen major is right for you. That's why internships are important. Unfortunately, by the time you get an internship, if you realize you don't like your chosen field, it's really too late to switch majors, at least without adding time and money to your college journey.
i go to a college-prep high school and even though this vid is directed toward actual college , and the ivys at that , i feel like this holds true to my school too . the amount of homework given is insane . they expect us to be “well-rounded ppl” , but the only way for a person to get outstanding grades at my school is to work 24/7 and have no hobbies or social life . im unhappy here bc school consumes most of my life . you forget that you’re a person with your own dreams/ambitions and not some robot . but i’d like to thank you for this video and for being honest . it helped me put some things into perspective , especially the last part :)
Black people be like.
I'm a Japanese and I'm going to apply Japanese university and never been planning to go to US or Ivy League school or whatever. why am I watching this
I’m in high school and I have an 8-5:30 school day with 11 midterms and finals and I also live in New York which means I have regents.
Thank you for the awesome content that you bring!!! :) keep it up you will reach 1 million
Thanks Phillia! 1% of the way there...
Maybe in your Q&A, you could talk about whether it’s important to cook for yourself in college or how you stay on a healthy diet? Maybe how living away from home was really like? I would enjoy listening to what your actual experiences were aside from work and academics.
This will really depend on the college you're attending but I can certainly share my personal experiences. This summer I'll be living in NYC and cooking for myself for the first time so that will be interesting...
Greg Smith I mean like how your diet was as an Ivy League student based on how much time you had and stuff like that
I studied Mechanical Engineering at a state school and it was the hardest time period of my life to date. I went to a private law school after Engineering school and it was easier.
Hi Greg,
If you don’t mind me asking, what was the “Translation and Globalization Firm that had many consumers in China” that you got an internship with? I am studying abroad in Spain and learning about Spanish language and culture is my passion, and I would greatly appreciate even an opportunity to apply for an internship with a similar firm or organization.
Loved the insight I think that is one of the reasons why I decided I wanted to go to a non- Ivy school. The pressure that it has and plus I didn't want to add that and study medicine which is already stressful at times. Then add that ya no I will stick to where I go and earn my medical degree on day.
I went to high school in my country and it was the best within a fair distance. In the first year there I felt a difficulty spike and momentarily had to adjust my phase in learning. After that I went to an university which was an alright reputable one in my field, second or third from the top. Although for sure they are no Ivy league, barely making to top 200 where the US populates top 10 on international listings.
Still I felt like the difficult parts were actually behind me and that my high school had been the more demanding period. The assignments were indeed estimated to take double-digit workhours but they just weren't that hard or time-consuming, instead concerning things I had already learned. It just said on paper they were. However, there was a LOT of variance. When a thing said it would take such as such time it actually could take very little or greatly more to learn properly. Bottom line still being, I feel I learned more during my years in high school than in university.
"Learning" at that pace basically ensures you won't remember most of it, but academic credentials prove compliance, indicate knowledge, and say nothing of understanding.
Hey Greg! I just wanted to ask one question: in general, do you think that losing out on sleep (i.e. not more than 6 hours a night) is necessary to be really successful in high school? Thanks
Dude thanks a lot for every advice video you made About ivy league colleges
I guess this makes me feel better... I super scored 1410 on the SAT (which as you probably know, isn't very high comparatively), but I felt like such a failure when I couldn't get into any scholarships for any ivies. I just couldn't raise my SAT because I was taking college classes at that time as well, and I was unmotivated. I still regret that I couldn't get into any of them, but I'm not giving up. I have dreams that I can chase with or without ivy leagues. It's their loss. 🤷🏻♀️
I love this video so much. Thank you so much for this! I've always been a huge supporter of doing things you love that fulfill your own purpose, and this completely summed up my thoughts. Thank you!
Do you wish you would’ve gone to a different school? Regret the decision?
That's a tough one... I'm not really sure. To be honest, I wouldn't have started this channel if it weren't for Princeton, and this is something I love to do. Also, I met my girlfriend of over a year here, and I love her dearly. But, the pressure to go into a high-paying field like investment banking is super high, especially because of the difficulty my parents are going through in paying for my education. So, it's really difficult to say.
damn. My friend is a freshman at Princeton this year and is on the women’s lightweight woman team. She always tells me how much she is struggling with the workload and how unhappy she is. This video REALLLLY showed that
Great video. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like my homeschooling schedule/hw (I’m taking 8 classes) & I want to attend Yale💙
It’s not just Ivies with insane workloads! Any sort of engineering degree at most universities is a 50-80 hour per week commitment, and that’s without additional clubs, sports, etc.
Wow.
You should be proud of making this video. Thank you. 😭
I'm glad you made this video.
Hey Greg,
Love this video - super down-to-earth and honest, awesome. Is it true that recruiters from top companies offer internships and offer you jobs out of college right away? The reason I want to go to a top school to study CS is SO I can get a good job and do something I love: helping the future of technology with working with these companies. Can you maybe talk about the reality of the job availabilities and how the recruiters are like? Thank you :)
Hi Snigdha! Great question. I will try to answer that in my next video (q&a!)
Thanks a lot for your video! I just wonder how you guys study at Princeton, I mean, how the professors teach their students, the teaching methods there and the way a lecture is usually given.
Great q! I'm sure I could talk about that in the q&a.
Thank you for this video!
Luv u bro, keep up the great content!!
Thanks RJ!
My 12th great grandfather was the grandfather of Dartmouth College's founder Eleazer Wheelock. Found this out recently in ancestry research.
Fantastic!
Unfortunately a lot of people think once I’ve worked really hard in high school and get into a great university that that is the hardest part of life. In truth, college is just the beginning and you will have to hustle hard for the rest of your life if ur trying to make it to the top. Hopefully you can find a field that you are at least somewhat passionate about so that it’s not a drugery for the next 30 years. Also if ur going to be an engineer the ivys are a complete waste of money. Very rare to see engineers from elite schools in the real world. They all go to the banks and consultants and hate their lives.
I am going to 10th grade and this is going to make me appreciate high school more. Thank You!!
This is so helpful 😭 . not goin to a Ivy League , THANKS MAN