How legit is Cappex? I tried doing it and it told I wouldn’t get into virtually any school. I know my stats are a bit lower but I have decent ec’s
Hi! Cappex was the first college-finding site I used, and it’s pretty great. However, there are some downsides, mainly the “Chance barometer.” I wouldn’t pay any attention to it! It said I had an above average chance of getting into some really selective schools, but virtually no chance of getting into other, much much less selective schools (like 45% points in difference).
Also, there is a bit of discrepancy with acceptance rates between cappex, CB, and USWNR.
Personally, I love cappex because of the student reviews. They have given me more insight that any other college finding site, and are typically very honest. However, you can always find a few disgruntled students who bash everything about a school.
And the fact that you can get scholarship updates and little memos from schools you might have otherwise never heard of is a big plus.
Also, Cappex has a nice “Advanced Search,” which can help you find more colleges to fit your criteria, so I recommend that as well!
From personal experience I’d say it’s a very helpful site with mostly good information, however I wouldn’t pay too much attention to the barometer, and always double check the selectivity of the school. And remember to look at other sites too! Like CC and CB! The more tools you use, the better informed you will be, and it’ll be easier to decide which colleges to visit!
The only fault I have with any other the websites mentioned above is the lack of pictures from each school! For that I always just use the school’s site or Google! 
Anyways, hoped that helped!
A lot of people seem to have issues with Cappex chancing them, but it was fairly accurate for me. In general though it’s a pretty cool tool.
Okay! Thanks
Capped was pretty good for my D. It might have overestimated her chances a few places that had specific very competitive programs (for instance, film school at USC vs USC overall). However, overall it was pretty close.
I found Parchment to be a bit better (although still not perfect).
Okay. I think I may need to go back and fix my SAT! Thank you
It depends on what colleges you are trying to get into. The “higher up”/more prestigious/lower acceptance rate a college has, the more importance it will put into things that can’t be calculated: EC’s, personal essays, possibly need, etc. Cappex doesn’t calculate anything like that, it just takes into account your stats (GPA, SAT, etc.)
However, if you are looking mostly at “lower rank” colleges that focus more on stats, then Cappex will be more accurate.
Oh okay. I’m kind of looking at all types of schools, I just hope a least a decent one would accept me I’ve heard takes in account only the unweighted GPA
Again, what they consider depends on where you apply (I know, it sucks and it’s confusing.) For example, when you apply to a UC or a CSU, you have what people usually refer to as your UC/CSU GPA, which is a weighted GPA but also capped; you can only count 8 AP semesters. Other colleges may ask for your unweighted GPA but also look at your schedule to see if you challenged yourself by taking some AP classes.
And don’t worry, there are plenty of really good colleges where people can get into and do well at! And if you were having trouble finding colleges, I would suggest using a tool like College Board’s College Search or CC’s own SuperMatch to find some good colleges for you that you may not have been considering at first.
Okay! I think I really just need to look around You’re so helpful!
I have to take back what I said the other day about Cappex, it’s seems to have gone a bit wonky… Given a 25 ACT and 3.52 GPA it now shows a better chance of getting into NYU than York College of PA, William Patterson or Ithaca.
Those other colleges are all fine but NYU is much, much tougher to get in.
Lol yeah I’ve heard it’s quite tough. Cappex told me I wouldn’t even get into what I considered safe schools. But perhaps I didn’t enter all my information or I’m not looking around, or I have to accept the fact that I don’t have good statistics. Oh well…it will be alright eventually.
@Troyus William Paterson is not at all a “fine” school. It’s actually terrible lol
Cappex tells me I have a good chance for Georgia Tech and UIUC but my SAT/ACT scores are LOW.
The chance meter is not reliable.
Hmm that’s what I’ve been hearing as well…