<p>I have been visiting this website for about a week. I've read many posts and replies. I am starting to think I'm crazy because I've always considered myself a pretty good student and active. I get As and Bs, a couple of Cs. I play a varsity sport and I'm invoved in speech and debate. I got 1990 on the SAT. Honestly I feel like I do better than most kids. But when I visit this website I feel like crap. Are you guys robots or something? I'm not even sure I believe some of you. How can you get a 4.5, play multiple varsity sports, and then spend the weekend feeing the hungry?! Do I REALLY need to do all of this to get into a good school? I don't even know people like you! Am I crazy or what? Do you ever have any fun or do you work all of the time?</p>
<p>lol i am basically like you, don't worry! I think the kids with high stats are a lot more liberal in sharing their info on the boards, so that is why you see so many high numbers. Also, high achievers are more likely to be reading a board like this one anyway, so it is not at all a full portrayal of everyone who applies to colleges.<br>
My friend is a stat-bot and she sleeps maybe 3 hours a night. I could never do that!</p>
<p>Welcome to CollegeConfidential, where the overachievers reveal their true selves! XD</p>
<p>You definitely do NOT need a 4.5, 23094230498 EC's, curing cancer, a 2800 on your SAT's, USAMO, USAPHO, USABO, NCHO, USACO, and a nobel peace prize to get into a good college. (Unless your definition of good is exclusively CHYMPS). Tens of thousands of people across the country lead normal lives, go to good schools, and are happy with themselves. Don't believe everything you see on these boards in terms of stats anyways. Just two weeks ago (I think..maybe have been 1-3) a person came out with a confession saying he lied about his stats. Take everything with a grain of salt, and watch out for CC Vision. =)</p>
<p>CollegeBoundSoon, story of my life.
I thought I was pretty awesome, still do, but after reading what most people write on here it makes me feel like such an idiot for applying to Princeton and Stanford. I'm definitely not like any of the others on here who've applied there and I can't even begin to imagine what the adcom must've thought when comparing my applications to half of the stuff I've seen here thusfar. But whatever...I'll find out come April 1st.</p>
<p>It's okay College, I've already gotten into several really good schools so maybe people like us are refreshing to adcoms?</p>
<p>Where did you think the other 50% who get rejected come from? ;)</p>
<p>Just kidding, but honestly, this forum is just pretty much suited for overachievers who are so worried, etc. etc. etc.</p>
<p>In other words, don't worry about it too much :)</p>
<p>We're mostly crazy on here. A few of us stretch our numbers a bit. I'm part of the former.</p>
<p>An actual conversation:
Senior girl at my school w/ good grades, even by CC standards (Sees me on CC):Are you on College Confidential?
Me (surprised she has noticed): Yeah, why?
Girl (angrily): I HATE that site!
Me: Why?
Girl: Everyone on that site is insane, mean, overconfident, and pessimistic! If you get below a 2100 <a href="On%20the%20SAT">i</a>* people ask you which Burger King you're applying to!</p>
<p>i have to agree with the girl in your converstaion, coopjust. I HATE this site.</p>
<p>but i cant help myself :)</p>
<p>It all started with one post. Just one post. But</a> then I was addicted to the stuff for good! :D</p>
<p>I LOVE this site. It makes me feel worried enough to motivate me to do stuff, but not worried enough that I freak out :)</p>
<p>Honestly man. As a student who got into Stanford with a 2010 SAT, just do what you love to do. Don't do anything that will make a college "Like" you more. Follow your passion. I love playing electric guitar. I only listed 4 EC's on my application, 1 was guitar, 1 was chess club, 1 was a political group, and the other was a writing club. I love all that stuff. Just make sure to show what u love and don't be fake. Oh yeah, and I had 0 community hours. Tutoring kids who don't want to learn, or stacking books on a library shelf helps no one, so I refuse to do it. One day I will find some way to positively contribute, but until then I will just do what I want to do. Cause most of the people who volunteer don't care anyways, they are just using it to get into college. A truly good deed is never revealed to anyone. </p>
<p>Colleges want people who are REAL. Most kids on CC make lists for their EC's just to look better. When in reality u dont need more than 4 EC's to impress great colleges.</p>
<p>^Thank you. So much. I listed 4 ECs only, and I was thinking that compared to all of the kids on CC, the adcom would probably laugh hysterically at how pathetic I am. I don't understand how people do it - even with my relatively small number of activities, I'm constantly working at them...</p>
<p>Seriously, it's great that there are people as talented and capable as CCers in the world, but not everyone can be like that. OP, don't have a heart attack over it or anything, you seem to be doing a fine job in life.</p>
<p>MetFan2289, I congratulate you in your success, but we have to keep in mind that your case is rather rare. The admissions office probably saw something in your app that stood out from the rest of the applicants. For the rest of us, we might not have that something that stands out one in a thousand, so when it all comes down to it, it's all brains and ec's. </p>
<p>CollegeBoundSoon, I agree with you that some of the people you read about on this forum does seem insane. Perhaps it has to do with the region you're from because believe it or not, these types of insane people are pretty common at my hs, which of course forces the rest of us to work even harder, and thus the vicious cycle.<br>
Much of the college admission process is about who can out shine the other, whether it's in academics, ec's, or that special something that metfan has, especially for top schools like HYPSM.<br>
It's a tough system, especially with this year being the largest applicant pool ever....
Personally, I think it's good to have a realistic view of what you're up against. If anything, it'll make the let downs a lot easier to handle
but hey, if you have good news, it will never be too late to celebrate :)</p>
<p>To CollegeBoundSoon :</p>
<p>Life is not simple! =] There are people always better than you and me. Don't freak out! Just do your best because going to a college is not your entire life. I believe you'll find your way to the road of success...</p>
<p>By the way, this site actually keeps me being motivate!! =]</p>
<p>ummmm do freak out, i have a 3.8 with 1940 sats, thought i had very good scores, and im gettin denied from everywhere.</p>
<p>oh yea ive played 4 varsity sports too</p>
<p>@razzlegrl, yeah maybe you are right. Cause I heard that only the "super unique" people got into Stanford EA. I guess listening to Heavy Metal and also being serious about academics is pretty unique, but yeah. However, I do believe that everyone has their own unique qualities to them. You just have to find them. People shouldn't be trying to be like the "model student" or the "great athlete". They should be trying to find out who they are, and what they want to bring to the big picture. </p>
<p>For this reason, I am against stereotypes, because they are misleading. So, I wouldn't categorize "the rest of us" as being "all brains and EC's." That makes everyone sound so dull. Some of the best students are probably more unique then me, they just don't know how to put it down on paper, or they have found what makes them unique yet. Stop living on a test score or a GPA or an award. All that is temporary. Character and integrity are forever. </p>
<p>For example, if you looked at me, for the first time, you would honestly think I dropped out of high school and that I probably smoke illegal substances. Obviously one of those can't be true, I am still in high school. lol. j/k. </p>
<p>But seriously, I just think that people should find what makes them different. Don't be a statistic. There are 6.5+ billion people on this planet. Can you say that there is nobody like you in the world? I can. I guarantee it.</p>
<p>I guess what I wonder is how can a person get mostly A's and a SAT score over 2100 and honestly be super-involved in so many EC's PLUS do a lot of volunteer work. I play a varsity sport and I have been involved on a speech team. I know how much time it can take to do these things well. So I wonder if a lot of you put your toes into a lot of things but you don't do any of them really well. And frankly I think the whole volunteer work thing is idiotic. I'm a kid for heaven's sake. What happened to old-fashion WORK!? I suspect the Ivy's are full of rich kids who'v never worked a day in their lives - totally supported by daddy. So they decided to make the kids volunteer in lieu of work. Well what about those of us who need to work? Seems to me this whole thing is wacked-out.</p>
<p>CollegeBoundSoon, I personally don't consider myself one to do things just for college. I didn't even think about college until this past summer, right before applying, but I managed to get a great resume of extracurriculars by just doing what I loved.</p>
<p>I think a big part of what allows people to balance ECs and academics is the fact that some of us simply don't put too much time into getting mostly A's and an SAT score over 2100. Either it comes naturally or we experience grade inflation. Either way, people aren't necessarily studying 24/7.</p>
<p>I put a larger emphasis on extracurriculars than grades during my high school career because I've always been of the mindset that what I actually do is more important than what grades I earn. I still managed to just hang on to a mix of As and Bs. Every day for most of the year, I stay at school until 7 or 8 for drama rehearsals, but when I get home, I don't hit the books. I never do any work or studying until the last minute. </p>
<p>About the volunteer work, the colleges understand that many students need to work. In fact, it is oftentimes just as valuable or even more valuable to have work experience on your application than volunteer work. Do what you can do, and if that happens to overlap with what you need to do, more power to you.</p>
<p>Sorry if this was kind of nonsensical/obvious/pointless. I am having trouble articulating what I'm trying to say.</p>
<p>I think you are saying: Just be you.</p>
<p>Very eloquently put. God, my last post was terrible.</p>