<p>Well, a journey of 2 years is all over for me, and for most of us that in the (high school) graduating class of 2007. I was accepted at every college I applied to: Harvard, Yale, UChicago, and Georgetown. After some financial aid haggling (suggested by CCers) I am headed to New Haven, CT next year, and I couldn't be more excited to attend Yale. But let's get to the point: up to literally the last hour before I finally made my decision, I was getting help from CCers. I absolutely could NOT have done any it without help from the many knowledgable people here.
There are certainly people in this forum from all walks of life: former admissions counselors, undergarduate students, and many scared high schoolers around the globe. Then there was me. I go to a public school in rural Illinois that has, to my knowledge, NEVER sent a student to an Ivy League school as an undergad. Our town has crime and major drug issues, and the guidance counselors have to deal with social and emotional issues in students more than college. The school was on the state academic watch list due to low test scores (we had an ACT average of about 19). We also have money issues; our textbooks are falling apart and teachers that retire are often not replaced. There were threats about the state government taking over our school if our class did not do better on the Prairie State exam. Occasionally someone would sneak into Northwestern or Notre Dame, but quite frankly my guidance department had no idea what was going on when it came to admissions at this level. Community college, if any college at all, is the most popular path here.
I began my college search mostly unguided, but happened to stumble upon collegeconfidential.com. I had never even considered Ivy caliber schools as an option. I didn't know the first thing about financial aid, and I was slow to become the 3rd person in the entire school who knew what an SAT II was. I read thread after thread here, slowly gaining knowledge about the dos and don'ts of the search process, the application, and interviews. Because I had the luck to happen upon this forum early, I was able to discern the best way to prepare for tests, especially the "Ziggy method" for the SAT and ACT, and most importantly which practice tests were the best preparation. After getting the best test scores my school had seen in a long time due in large part to this forum, I knew I had a chance to break into the most elite schools in the country. With help from CCers, I planned a summer road trip to visit schools on the East Coast that appealed to me, and interviewed on-campus at each stop.
It was CollegeConfidential that first put the idea of self-studying an AP test in my head, and I used CCers advice on what study books to use on my way to a 5 on the AP U.S. Government and Politics exam. My school only offers 6 AP classes, and before CC, I did not know that there were more than that, or the standards for what constitutes a good score in the admissions world. My classmates thought I was crazy, but that test would play a big part in bringing out my academic interests on the application.
On the application itself, I know I would have absolutely bombed the essays without the help I got from both CC and the Harry Bauld book on college essays, which was of course recommended by CCers. Without them, I would have never thought of adding a sheet of more in-depth extracurricular information, I would have never contemplated whether to put down a prospective major or not, and I would have never questioned the minute implications of every piece of information you provide the college.
In the elite college admissions world, people talk a lot about getting kids from diverse backgrounds, whether that be racially, regionally, or socioeconomically. Whether you agree with it or not, it is in search of these types of kids that Harvard and other schools scrapped Early Action and Early Decision, two terms I had never heard before I first logged on here.<br>
Nobody from any of these schools makes a recruiting trip to my high school or any school like it, and often the guidance departments at schools such as mine do more harm than good as far as informing the kids who could make it. One of the smartest kids in my class thought he was going to apply to Berkeley, JHU, and other top schools. Until he found out that SAT IIs were required, and it was too late to take them. Other kids missed the EA date for UChicago because they didn't even know about Early Action or its potential benefits. Others in the class below mine visited Northwestern, then immediately rejected the idea of even applying because they "couldn't afford $45,000 a year", knowing nothing of financial aid. Even the kids who do "research" colleges here simply pick up a USNews at Wal-Mart and take it as the word of God.
In short, I never would have been able to apply or attend an elite college without the help of the College Confidential community. CCers don't know everything or get everything right, but for those in the ghetto, the boondocks, in towns small enough to have more dogs than people, or kids anywhere with inept guidance counselors, College Confidential can be an instrumental source in overcoming disadvantages and increasing opportunities. I want to say, in all seriousness, that much more than anyone else, the vigilant commenters of CC have helped me realize my wildest dreams. </p>
<p>Thanks, College Confidential!</p>