How hard did you work to get into college?

I goofed off through freshman year of high school (although I did like the Spanish, science and English classes that year and did okay in those). In high school I worked a little harder, taking college prep-type classes (we didn't have much AP back then) and had about 3.6 over my final two years. Test scores were decent but nothing great. I applied to five or six DI schools (Big 10, Big 12, Mountain West) and got into all of them, but decided to go to one of the best academic DIII schools in our region--not really known for its running but I did run there. The cost was about the same as if I had gone out of state and I graduated in four years.

I worked hard athletically and moderately hard schoolastically.

The ones trying to get accepted at the more selective schools have to be accomplished before college and that means a lot work outside of class. These driven kids have resumes listing multiple awards, clubs, causes and charities, internships, sports, etc. Not just cross country. It has to be even more challenging for home schooled kids and poor kids whose parents can't pay for their extracurriculars.

I didn't. All I had to do was list my pronouns and colleges were all tripping over themselves to accept me.

Partially correct.

I was #5 in my graduating class, but got accepted to my school of choice early senior year, so I dropped to 9 or 10, since I basically coasted through my last semester of high school. I had 5 AP courses in the mid 90s, when there were not that many AP classes to take.

I didn’t work that hard, but was naturally good at math and had a good memory for test taking. Never read a novel and was not very good at writing essays.

More of the same in college, until I got to specific classes for my major. It’s much easier to study something you actually care about.

I didn’t pay much attention to college until it was time to apply. By then I was a top student, all state runner, strong test scores, plus had to overcome some stuff from my childhood like disabled siblings and some periods of light homelessness (never slept on the streets, lived with friends’ families).

I’m thinking it was the adversity that pushed me over the top.

This was also 20 years ago so I’m sure less competitive than today.

I worked very hard. Trained full throttle and studied a ton. I was very disciplined because I was motivated to get out of my situation and improve myself. Results can be flukey, but what I’m proud of is my effort.

Probably should add that I was a West Coast kid, mostly, and except for an Ivy only applied to schools in the West: Stanford, U-Dub, Caltech, one or two others.

And also should add that the high school I attended for the last two years was taught in English, while the majority of my classmates had English as a second, third, or (for a few) fourth language, so ending up toward the top of the class was pretty much a given.

I read a sh*t ton when I was a little kid - I taught myself how at 4 and my nose was in a book through about age 12. From there on, I coasted. In college, I choose my professors carefully and I read next to nothing. I may have missed some good books, but I had a relaxing time and I graduated with an English degree.

I did nothing in high school. I had friends stealing exam questions from the teacher and I wasn’t even motivated enough to do that. Went to a top 50 University (per US News and World Report, though it’s fallen several places since I attended). I now do nothing at work, but manage to earn $180k a year. I’d likely be a billionaire if I applied myself to anything.

As far as how hard I had to work. Junior High 0-1 hour a week and I didn't do a lot of the homework when it was assigned. Soph year maybe 2-3 hours a week. Junior and Senior 3-5, usually during an open period, not at home unless I had a big paper or something. Didn't put in a lot of effort studying for tests.

College was a lot different! Probably 25-30 hours a week studying, 15 in class and labs, and 15 for XC practices, plus travel to away meets.

Extremely hard. I did not graduate from high school nor did I take the GED. I talked my way into a small college*, got good grades, and transferred to a slightly better school once I was a sophomore and the transfer college did not require high school transcripts. Essentially I laundered my education.

*This is a long story, but the key points are: I am a good test-taker, I interview well, and I applied to many colleges that rejected me. The one that accepted me put me immediately on academic probation until the end of my freshman year.

I did not drop out of high school; I never went. My parents are strange people.

Graduated from HS in 1970. I didn't work very hard in HS, but did enough to get decent grades and I tested well (especially on the SAT verbal section). I played a couple of sports and acted in school plays. I was admitted to a highly selective private university (currently ranked in the US News top 20).

1999. Very little sweating beyond basic diligence. I don’t remember ever doing homework for more than 30-60 minutes on a weeknight, often zero, and never “studied” until cramming the night before a test. This was good enough for 20th rank in my senior class of 750 in a 3000 student public SoCal HS.

A memorable highlight was not studying at all for the AP Euro history test taking place at 1pm. At 9am, I checked out some study guide for world history, read the Europe section until noon, and passed with a 4.

Took the SAT only once, no prep, and scored 800V/ 630M.

Unlike my academic slacking, I was absolutely dedicated to my running and trained as hard and as best as I knew how. This effort took me to CA state finals in my event.

Level 2 effort for school, level 10 effort for track.
My recruiting trips included an Ivy and UCLA, but with no guidance from my HS-grad single mom, I chose to attend a lower-tier state school because they gave me the biggest athletic scholarship and had the best running program. In hindsight, not a wise way to choose an undergrad, but it has all worked out in a way that I continually express gratitude for in my nightly prayers.

Ten years earlier, swap the math and English scores, and this is eerily similar to my story. I chose Ivy because it was paid for by divorce agreement and my mother pushed it.

Guess 1. Asian American

Guess 2. Middle Eastern American

FWIW I have issues with these groupings/how they are classified.