<p>For a while now, I've noticed something funny about the "What are my chances thread?" here at CC. </p>
<p>If the student is "under-qualified" he gets: </p>
<ul>
<li>"Your stats are too lowwwwww" or</li>
<li>"Those ECs are common and don't show any passion" or</li>
<li>"This is a very, very high reach for you. I'd say no."</li>
</ul>
<p>Which makes some sense, but look what happens when the student is qualified:</p>
<ul>
<li>"Your scores are great, but remember kids like you get rejected all the time."</li>
<li>"You are applying to HYPS. You are the typical applicant" or the even more popular</li>
<li>"You have a very strong profile but you really don't stand out."</li>
</ul>
<p>Which makes you think: If non-qualified students don't get in, and if qualified students don't get in either, who has been going to these colleges all this time???</p>
<p>XD</p>
<p>This doesn't apply to all posts, but certainly a majority. I understand why: no one wants to give falso hopes to anyone. The only "I'd say you are in!" posts happen in non-top (for lack of a better word) colleges.</p>
<p>Anyway yah... we are kinda negative here at CC... lol. </p>
<p>I think it's just that people on CC are generally well above average, stat wise and what not.</p>
<p>Like the OVERALL acceptance rate to say, Harvard, is <10%.
But if you go to a CC thread on people that made it in to Harvard, you'll probably see an acceptance rate much higher.</p>
<p>So, basically people are being compared to themselves or each other on here, which may be their basis for analyzing chances. I know I'm definitely one of those people who says all the time for HYPS that your "ECs are too standard and don't show passion" but I also <em>try</em> to add a blurb about how people with "low" stats* get accepted to top university's ALL the time due to good essays, and rest of apps.</p>
<p>*Pointing "low" stats in comparison to a university average, however, is NOT a negative opinion. It's an objective fact, and one that should be taken into consideration.</p>
<p>Ultimately, you have to realize we are bunch of high school kids who are attempting to play the intricate role of an admissions official by looking at a list of numbers and some bulleted points. How accurate can this possibly be?</p>
<p>It's hard for most kids to understand how competitive these schools truly are because most applicants to them have been the best in their community all of their lives. If anything I think CC can be unrealistic, with kids thinking anyone with a 2100 will get into the ivies.</p>