<p>I was on the College Confidential tag on Tumblr - the vast majority of posts describe College Confidential as poisonous and should be avoided in most circumstances (stories of anxiety, inferiority complexes, etc.) What are your thoughts? </p>
<p>I sometimes have trouble reconciling the very competitive ivy-league-tunnel visioned nature of some parts of College Confidential with the fact that it is, as NY Times described it, "a wealth of information" that I'd have difficulty accessing without CC.</p>
<p>I think CC is helpful if you use it the right way. I use it as a way to talk to other kids who are like me and are interested in competitive colleges/career paths. It lets me know that I’m not alone in my struggles. I also use it to get some information on things I’m interested in doing, and to get tips/advice on tests I’m taking. </p>
<p>I feel like the people who complain about CC go on solely to look at what other kids are doing and when they see people doing more than them, they feel inferior and start complaining. I don’t think that’s healthy. </p>
<p>College Confidential is a great website and I’m really glad I joined it because it gives me a lot of info and helps me interact with people with similar interests as me. And as long as you use the website responsibly and don’t take anything literally, you will not be affected like all the people out there who hate this website.</p>
<p>“College confidential is the safe for work version of 4chan.”
“From the bowels of arrogance and elitism, you find college confidential.”
“Even after getting accepted to Yale, College Confidential still makes me feel like [expletive]”</p>
<p>It’s not so bad outside the chances forum. I think a lot of people just come on here to make their chances thread and then never visit the site again.</p>
<p>Yes. I know it’s hard for all of you over-achievers to understand, but you all can be a bit condescending. It’s not a good community for closer-to-average students.</p>
<p>I don’t think CC is bad. Quite frankly, it’s at least better than my high school. I mean there’s stuff my GC won’t tell me because she doesn’t want to get sued if she’s wrong. And at my school, it’s worse because it’s like CC to the max irl. It’s absolutely normal to only apply to the top 20… and get into half of them. Which is not happening to me, tbh. </p>
<p>I think part of the reason CC works for me is because I can be honest without strange connotations attached to my face. Also, there’s interesting people. If you’re not an optimist or just don’t give a **** what people think, it can be helpful and even fun. To me, it actually rids me anxiety especially when people are harsh. </p>
<p>Even though I don’t have stats as high as a lot of CC, I do not feel as inferior here as I do irl at my high school.</p>
<p>I don’t know, I think CC is what you make of it. Yes, there are a lot of pretentious, upper-class, overachieving people on this site (and likely equally as many liars) but as a low-income kid who comes from a low-achieving school in a rural state that isn’t used to preparing kids for top-school admissions, CC has been an EXTREMELY valuable resource. </p>
<p>I have been following CC since my 8th grade year, and honestly I am almost completely confident that I would not have gotten into my first choice school (or even be aware of it??) if it weren’t for this site. If you don’t focus on the other people and if you focus on YOURSELF, then CC can be a wonderful site.</p>
<p>EDIT: That being said, the chances forum should be avoided by anyone who wishes to keep their sanity, and the college admissions and parents forum might ostracize some kids because almost all posts are from a white, upper-class, well-educated perspective which I suppose is to be expected, but the test prep, college search, financial aid, and admissions sections are all excellent.</p>
<p>I don’t think so. I’ve learned a lot from here; 75% of my school’s graduates go on to community college and no one ever applies to any T50 schools. Plus most of you all are at least fairly interesting and it’s nice to know there are people who care about their education out there (assuming you all are real…).</p>
<p>I second Rob 1995’s statement about the first choice school-- if not for CC, I never would have even been aware of the school that is currently my first choice (it will take a major miracle to debunk it from this position). I have yet to recieve an admissions decision (or even apply, I’m a junior), but preparation never hurts. I have a well balanced list of colleges to apply to- also something that I never would have been able to put together without CC. Even though there are some people that simply use it as a bragging site or ask for their chances once, as a cooperative community, it is one of the most useful resources for college planning.</p>
<p>Actually, I think the Prep School Admissions forum weirds me out more than anything else on here. There are twelve-year-olds posting chances threads. But other than that CC is okay.</p>
<p>It’s a blog I enjoy reading the posts but anyone that truly thinks they can be chanced with any accuracy is just looking for a confidence builder.</p>
<p>Chances results aren’t really falsifiable, unless you get rejected from a school people said was a safety. You can get accepted to a school even if it was a high reach and rejected from a school even if it was a low match.</p>
<p>While CC has been very helpful in terms of raising SAT scores, college admissions, and just some general advice, I actually think it has contributed to the increased competitiveness in college admissions.</p>
<p>I’ve been a lurker for quite a while before finally jumping in, and thus far, I think it’s been pretty helpful. But I think you have to have a some thick skin to handle everything, because of all the “over-achievers” present here. You have to be confident in your own abilities, but willing to learn at the same time. This place has already really motivated me to become a better student, to take on more challenges, and that a perfect score on the SAT IS possible. It’s motivated me, but that’s not the case for a lot of people. You just have to make sure to understand that the people here, most of the time, are absolutely top-notch. If you fall into the comparing game, then it’s hard to dig yourself out. </p>
<p>It can be poisonous, but it doesn’t have to be. CC is full of a lot of information and helpful people. I think I, myself, fall into the comparison trap occasionally. (I’m only human!) But overall, CC has been incredibly helpful for me because it allows me to connect with kids whose mindset is similar to mine. The kids on CC are very driven. At my school, I would never be able to talk to my guidance counselor or fellow classmates for info/advice about the college process. I’m really grateful that I have people to turn to if I need help. :)</p>