<p>Ok so every time I log on CC I am affronted with all these people who seem superhuman. It makes me feel like Penn is a pipedream. Any "normal" people with good (but not great) stats/stories/hooks want to post like "I got a 2070 or 31 and I think I have a GREAT shot!" lol. Anyway, it would be great if people found direct quotes from past years about people who were "underachieving" (lol) and got in! :)</p>
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<p>yes. every time</p>
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Haha me too. Not necessarily for Penn (my supplemental essay was really good), but I’m almost positive I’ll be rejected from my top choice school. :(</p>
<p>CC always makes me think that I must be really stupid. That being said, I applied ED this year and was accepted to the CAS. I earned a 31 on the ACT (superscore; 30 in one sitting), a 2030 (one sitting), and a 3.9 unweighted GPA. My main selling points (that probably helped) were: my passion, my community service (500+ hours tutoring high school students), being a first generation college student (dad didn’t even finish high school), my essay (my common app essay rocked!), my transcript (8 AP, three of which involved self-study; 14 honors classes; 7 total independent studies; B in Hon Geo, B+ in Hon Alg 2, B+ in Hon Physics, A- Hon Precalculus), and my demographic (familial income ~ 60K and I live in a “non-high achieving” area of CT). Applying ED makes a difference, but I had to compete with a stronger application pool, in addition to legacy and athletic recruit admits. Best luck! Show passion and that you really took charge of your time in high school. I feel that students on CC are highly motivated, ambitious, and bright, so to feel belittled is foolish when you truly think about your accomplishments. That’s what I tell myself, anyways :)</p>
<p>yah I feel this overwhelming sense of doom whenever I’m no here… I mean, I have a 33 ACT and a 3.79 GPA, yet I feel like I’m going to be rejected everywhere I applied…</p>
<p>You have to remember that many of the people on CC are the cream of the crop. CCers do not represent the majority of the people who apply to the top colleges. Also I have heard that there are sometimes ■■■■■■ on CC who like to discourage others for their own benefit. Just be confident in your abilities and don’t worry about anyone else.</p>
<p>How does the old saying go?
“You always miss if you never aim?”</p>
<p>As a response to your question, I must say, “YES!” I have a 31 ACT, good GPA and low-modest community service. I’m valedictorian, yet I feel like I’m about three-feet tall when I log onto CC.</p>
<p>That’s the most common reaction to CC in general, especially with the standing stereotype of the 4.0 GPA, Native American, Siemens Regional Finalist, who wonders if they should retake the SAT since they only got a 2380. </p>
<p>CC is a distillation of highly motivated students who are obviously committed to the college admissions process so the students here are often on the higher end of the applicant pool spectrum.</p>
<p>yeah, definitely CC is the best of the best. If you look on the ED results thread for this year, the overall CC acceptance rate for Penn was like 60% or something, pretty ridiculous. But in one sense, just being on this site and having that mindset probably puts you up there with the more competitive applicants.</p>
<p>There was a thread a while ago about the different stages a person goes through when they first come to CC. I don’t remember exactly how they described it, but it was something like inferiority/self-doubting -> annoyance with CC -> acceptance of what you are capable of and your chances -> addiction to CC</p>
<p>EDIT: Found it <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/828321-stages-newbie-cc-goes-through.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/high-school-life/828321-stages-newbie-cc-goes-through.html</a></p>
<p>Look up College Confidential on urbandictionary…</p>
<p>[Urban</a> Dictionary: college confidential](<a href=“http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=college+confidential]Urban”>Urban Dictionary: College Confidential)</p>
<p>I’m obviously somewhat of a hypocrite for agreeing with that and also being on this website… but it’s pretty much true. There are so many overachievers here, it’s intimidating.</p>
<p>^ HAHAHA that urban dictionary example was very funny, it gave me a good laugh and is quite true! Anyway, I’m definitely not one of those super-achievers but I’m still proud of what I have done and where I stand right now, so if a top school doesn’t want me, so be it. Life moves on and there are plenty of other great schools and opportunities out there. I’m glad to see others have had similar experiences on this site but, I tried my best so whatever happens, be proud of what you’ve accomplished, even if its not as much as what others have done.</p>
<p>I’m definitely not your typical applicant and I got in. I’m Asian, with a 34 ACT and a 3.93 or something not that high unweighted, we rank by weight and I’m just barely in the top 10% I think (we rank by decile) and I’m definitely not valedictorian. I’m not one of those people who got a 36 on math everytime–math’s actually one of my lower scores. And my extra-curriculars are just average. I sometimes wonder if they made a mistake in admitting me because I feel so "un-Penn"ish all the time! My school literally has never had anyone get accepted to Penn, so it goes to show that it’s not a great school.</p>
<p>You might not think you can get in–but honestly, you never know. There’s no point in freaking out. I was CONVINCED I’d be rejected. Someone on CC even told me that Penn wouldn’t be accepting ANYONE ED to my major–they were planning on deferring all and then waiting until RD to “sort them out”. I cried the day decisions came because I was so upset, I was a complete stresscase. Guys don’t be me. And don’t sell yourself short, because you don’t have to be 800 across the board to get in. And to be honest, if you are 800 across the board, don’t think you’re 100% in.</p>
<p>Me too 
There are all these people who have aced all tests, have participated in all the extra-curriculars possible, write insane essays, AND THEN ARE ANXIOUS ABOUT NOT GETTING IN!!
Makes me feel that I should withdraw my application lol.</p>
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Awwww… I’m glad that you got in :)</p>
<p>This is a collection of great responses. Especially Urban Dictionary and CC Newbie…made me smile. 
Gosh I want April to come!</p>
<p>Only every time I sign on. Haha. Sometimes, I try to do everything in my power to NOT get on this site because every time I do I feel as though my hopes of getting into one of these colleges is completely crushed. But then, I realize that this website has helped me through many problems and that I probably wouldn’t haven’t taken as much initiative to do the things I’ve done had I not found it. In the end, I actually have to say that I’m really grateful for all the elite posters who make me feel inferior, because they’ve only encouraged me to work harder.</p>
<p>ANYWAY! That urban dictionary definition was hilarious - it’s a perfect exaggeration of this website (:</p>
<p>Thanks to CC I really am able to look at myself objectively and say that I don’t have much chance at my top schools…</p>
<p>I mean i haven’t seen a single person with worse EC’s than me! Even those with half my SAT scores have twice the EC’s (in terms of EC’s)… I mean do you guys ever see a person whose best EC is being a member of the school NHS? (me)</p>
<p>Oh well I’m still a good person so who knows…</p>
<p>Well, when I first log on, I feel okay.
Once I start looking at asians’ stats, I feel like I won’t get in ._.
And yes, I do have to compare myself to them because they’re the ones I’m up against. Hooray reverse affirmative action!</p>
<p>Glad I’m not the only one who appreciated it :)</p>