<p>...who feels like everyone has impossibly good stats? I'm sure that as I type this, a handful of you must be smiling to yourselves in a reserved sense of superiority, and that's fine - that's how you've been conditioned your entire lives.</p>
<p>I'm sure there must be one or two kids at Yale or Harvard or somewhere else in the League that must not be URM and have sub-par stats...</p>
<p>Does anyone here know any SUCCESS STORIES about these sorts of people? You know, the underdogs? People who clearly are top school material, but just don't have the ECs or grades or whatever else to show for it?</p>
<p>I must not be the only one who feels this way...</p>
<p>inb4troll
inb4pitiful
inb4insecurekid</p>
<p>And if it hasn't been made clear so far, yes I'm on a rant.</p>
<p>I'm not dumb or anything (yea, sure) - I just can't believe how everyone here's just directed their entire lives into getting a single acceptance letter.</p>
<p>I just need some reassurance. Sorry if I (blatantly) offended anyone.</p>
<p>ITT: I know that feel, bro.</p>
<p>I know how you feel OP… Every time I look at results threads, I just HOPE that I see someone with a low rank like mine, but I never get to… 
(By low though, I mean juuust above the top 10%)</p>
<p>Yup.</p>
<p>It’s official: CC is full of narrow-minded but intelligent individuals that will squander away their lives trying to attain nothing but a vain letter.</p>
<p>But then again, what else did I expect?</p>
<p>Oh well, might as well go do a chance thread… (sarcasm)</p>
<p>I agree there are a lot of impressive stats on CC – many of which far surpass my own. But I also feel that I have traits outside of grades and test scores that can be beneficial in getting into a good college. And by good I don’t necessarily mean ONLY Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc. I only plan on applying to one Ivy League school next year, and that’s Columbia. </p>
<p>Good for me is much more than acceptance rates. I want to go somewhere near a large city because I really enjoy the atmosphere and want to have fun during my four years of real college life. I also want to go to a school that offers programs that will benefit me when pursuing a career. So I focus my time on schools that will offer many opportunities that are easily accessible, and not on the prestige of a name. </p>
<p>Also keep in mind that CC represents a very small population of all the students in high schools across the country. I doubt most of your friends post on forums asking for chances and obsessing about how many Ivy League schools they are going to apply to.</p>
<p>And I guess I really didn’t answer your question. Many of the most notable people in academics don’t necessarily go to prestigious universities for their undergraduate studies. I think one could go to a state university and easily take advantage of all the opportunities, do very well for the standards of the school, and go on to be successful people in life. Even if you’re a white male from the Midwest from a middle class family whose parents both went to college.</p>