<p>I love this web site! But there is one thing that make me very, very mad.</p>
<p>----People that have pefect GPA's 4.2+ and great SAT scores 2250 and up, asking if they are going to get into various schools, I mean Come Onnnn!</p>
<p>_ Hi, I am ranked 1 or 2 in my class of like 500 and I got 800s on all of my SATs, but do YOU think I have a chance in an IVY, yah by the way I have tons of extra curriculars.
- What is that? Are they trying to make everyone else feel bad, or they just want people to tell them how great they are.</p>
<p>I agree. A large amount of people on this site are what I would call, to use the polite term, "studious" They may feel that their academic achievements are not appreciated at their school and so they develop inferiority complexes which cause them to fish for compliments.</p>
<p>omg i totally agree! i feel like **** everytime i see a post like that. at the same time,i wonder if everyone just applies to ivies based on name. i think swarthmore or amherst are just as good. and ivies are better for grad education anyways.</p>
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<p>that's true because after a certain level, admissions are all random.<<</p>
</blockquote>
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<p>It's not actually random. It just seems random to outside observers. Everyone who gets admitted is chosen -- chosen for a reason, or more likely, a combination of reasons. But those reasons are not apparent to those of us who didn't read the full applications and didn't take part in the adcom discussions.</p>
<p>Why? Because so many people with similar stats get rejected from top colleges all the time.</p>
<p>Swat and Amherst are different from the Ivies - it's generally acknowledged that the education you would get there is Ivy-caliber, but delivered in a smaller LAC setting, which is definitely not for everyone.</p>
<p>And college admissions can be random in that you can be rejected for a reason that you can't control. For example, if you're a nationally recognized piano player, but the incoming class already has 10 piano players, you may be out of luck. But if you were a trumpet player in a class lacking such a person, you may be admitted. </p>
<p>To say the process is random is an exaggeration, but there is definitely an unpredictable element to college admissions.</p>
<p>I guess it is just VERY humbling when you log onto a sight like this. I am not the top person at my highschool, and I don't take the toughest classes (or at least not this year), but I really do like to learn and I always thought that if I tried for an ivy, or ivy-ish schools (amherst, johns hopkins, standford, etc.) that I would at least have a CHANCE. Sometimes I feel like I should just try for the local state school and accept my fate, but other times it inspires me to do better.
For example:
Number of clubs in last year? 1
This year? 6
Volunteer work last year? HAHAHHAHAHA
This year? Bigbrothers, and childwatch
Job last year? uhh no
This year? uhh yeah
And finally...Grades last year? 3.3 frosh year, 3.8 last year
This year? I refuse to settle for anything OTHER then a 4.0, and I am looking into taking community college classes because my lack of interest in school during my frosh and sophomore year has prevented me from taking difficult tasks. </p>
<p>A sight like this gives people drive to beat out their competition. Everyone on this sight is around the same age, and are all looking for tips on how to get into that super-impossible-dream-college that they have been dreaming about forever. </p>
<p>I do get tired of the occasional person who lists their incredible stats just to make lesser contenders like myself feel horribly inadequate, but most of the time, these people are just as insecure and nervous about the college application process as I am....which is somewhat comforting. :)</p>
<p>This website has lots of people who make up their stats. I mean, I can assume half or more of the stats posted are fake. They are just too good to be true. WAY too good. I agree, there are people who have these stellar stats, but some of these stats are just unbelieveable.</p>
<p>people just come here to look for re-assurance, b/c they feel insecure(such as myself, over 1000posts lol, but i got a reason to be insecure, b/c i am mediocre) but other ppl, just like to gloat!
well, i think they deserve to gloat, i mean.. after all that time spent in the basement or somewhere memorizing textbooks and studying in other ways, they deserve to get some satisfaction on this site, so just let it be :) don't hate lol</p>
<p>wow i cannot agree more..i always feel like i am the dumbest person on this site..my SAT scores are always wayyy below everyone else's and i get the feeling that the majority of the ppl on this site have absolutely no life and all they do is study</p>
<p>I think that, if a person has truly earned good scores/rank/ECs, they have every right to post them and try and get advice from their peers.</p>
<p>There's this pervasive stigma to success that makes it very uncomfortable to be talented. I remember hiding the covers of the books I was reading, so that fellow middle schoolers wouldn't see that I was reading Jane Eyre or Emma, because I didn't want to be labeled a brain. I just thought the books were interesting; I didn't want to impress a teacher or increase my vocab. People can be so mean when they're jealous.</p>
<p>I enjoy coming to this site BECAUSE it's OK to say, "I'm so frustrated that I can't get above a 680 on the math!" without people saying stuff like, "Wow, you're so smart!" or "I was really proud of my 560; is that a bad score?" Everyone needs to feel normal sometimes, even those who aren't.</p>
<p>Alright, that's my rant. Sorry. </p>
<p>I do agree that it is wrong for people to gloat and to make up scores, but the sad thing about man is that he's human.</p>
<p>I agree with the OP, though, that some people probably just post their near perfection (sometimes over and over) to garner praise. I don't believe that all of them are sincere in their "chances" queries.</p>