Still, the core remained. In one late-night thread, a first-generation student confessed she had never seen anyone from her neighborhood on a campus tour and wondered aloud whether college was truly for people like her. Responses flooded the chat — admissions walkthroughs, scholarship strategies, even an offer from someone who worked at a local nonprofit to set up a campus-visit fund. The checkmark had opened a door that led to community action, not just recognition.

(testing yourself) feels hard because it actually forces your brain to work.