<p>Does it bug you when people tell you their application essays and recs were "amazing" compared to others? This just really annoys me. I don't think you are a good judge of how good your essays were compared to other people's who applied. </p>
<p>I also think chance boards are pointless. haha :)</p>
<p>8 times out of 10 the essays that their writers thought to be "amazing" are mediocre at best so i won't pay much attention to that. If you notice, the students who got admitted into top schools seldom refer to their essays as "amazing", and gave a short description of them instead. </p>
<p>It's like watching American Idol auditions. People thought they're like Freddie Mercury reincarnated when they actually have voices that sound like a tortured cat and can't tell the difference between notes. So, yeah. It's like the Age of Delusion.</p>
<p>I like how you compared it to American Idol. Thanks for your imput cunfused_vnese!</p>
<p>I think about this all the time on these boards but have never really commented. I totally agree.</p>
<p>Yeah it has always annoyed me. When I was applying, I thought my essays were hot ****, if not "amazing". Looking back at them now I cringe in embarassment at how cliche and banal they were.</p>
<p>Even more ironic to me are the "Can you chance me? I'll chance you back" offers. You can't tell if you yourself are a viable candidate for school X but you'll give me your half-arsed opinion of MY chances? </p>
<p>LOL</p>
<p>Yeah, it has always annoyed me too. Good call.</p>
<p>I love that. On chance boards you'll see kids who describe thier essays as "outstanding" or "perfect". I am proud to say that not once have I ever made a chance thread. :D</p>
<p>Well essays are subjective but recs are usually always good or else you wouldn't even ask the teacher for recs to begin with. But yeah it's annoying.</p>
<p>It bugs me. Because I've seen essays written by people who think they can write, and they are as far from amazing as London is far from Los Angeles.</p>
<p>It also bugs me somewhat when people say "my _________ thought my essays were the best they'd ever read", as if they need that kind of validation. You go to school for 12 years where, presumably, you were taught what a good essay looks like. You're going to college. Would it not be best if you knew what makes a good essay and what does not, instead of relying on other people to tell you?</p>
<p>It sounds really amature. I just leave the Essays part to, "Whoever has read them, really liked 'em!" and as for Recs, "Can't judge for obvious reasons!"</p>
<p>The Chance Me is the most hopeless thing I've seen here on College Confidential. You post your stats, and then people come and literally, rape you! :D</p>
<p>@talha_adnan:</p>
<p>What an awful thing to say. How dare you trivialize such a serious subject? Do you have any idea how offensive that is to people who've gone through something like that? Next time, think before you post.</p>
<p>Its just reality. We've had numerous threads on how awfully people rate others' chances. I read a post saying 700 CR for a mediocre Liberal Arts College is too low! That's just insane. We all know that...</p>
<p>I'm sorry if you found that offensive, but it was just an opinion.</p>
<p>Look. I have no objection to people cracking jokes about the "What Are My Chances" threads, and I appreciate that, sometimes, others' predictions of their chances are way off. If you want to use humour, that's fine, use humour.</p>
<p>The problem, though, comes when we start using words like the R word in jokes. In real life, things like that are not jokes. Far from it. But if we associate words like that with humour, we're less likely to take things like that seriously - more likely to treat them as jokes. Things like that could happen to someone you know - could even happen to you. Would you like it if, afterwards, someone else started using the R word lightly and inappropriately? If you heard someone making a joke about it?</p>
<p>HAHAHA i agree with all of you, it annoys me sooo sooo much..</p>
<p>It doesn't bug me. I just assume that the posters have large egos and are naive, and I have the feeling that many such posters will be getting disappointing news April 1.</p>
<p>I don't think that high school students can judge their own essays/recommendations. What students think are "amazing" may be what admissions officers think are trite, cliched or mediocre.</p>
<p>My comments come from having been in a position to judge and read students' essays and recommendations.</p>
<p>I was looking back at my essay and common app and thinking that my essay was especially silly in retrospect. I felt better after I got my likely from dartmouth the next day. :-)</p>
<p>If people think their own essays are amazing, then so be it. Some people think the earth was created 6,000 years ago. Just nod your head and move on.</p>
<p>The 'chance me' threads range from ridiculous to annoying. I ignore them. Unfortunately, sometimes they're hidden under a false subject heading. I'll open the thread, see all these yawning stats, and immediately hit the "x" in the upper right-hand corner.</p>
<p>python, I'm with you. There are many word choices, talha selected one in particular, and placed it in an inappropriate context. There are several words which, when inappropriately used, really push my buttons, and I completely understand your position on it.</p>
<p>The English language is a beautiful thing, but when the least common denominator gets hold of it, it can get ugly.</p>
<p>python38 - Oh my GOD! Sorry... Didn't see it that way! =/</p>
<p>When someone posts harsh comments your chances, it feels crap. We all have aspirations, but getting mocked simply because people here are so cynical, and believe that anything below an impeccable academic record leaves you with no chance in any college, can be a big turn-off. Its so common that we see brilliant students disheartened to apply to top-tier universities just because someone thought they would have absolutely no chance making it there. Now, who gives these people the right to do this!?</p>
<p>While perhaps not appropriate to use, I think the poster meant that chance threads end up being akin to feeling stripped of all dignity. However, in the dictionary, the word is defined traditionally as WELL AS figuratively. We rape the rain forest, for example. While I understand the sensitivity, do not assume the use was intended in any way offensively. My problem in this case is the person who wants to be chanced is putting themselves out there, and THIS is why the word doesn't apply. They ask for the critique. The land, a woman.. it is a violent unwanted attack.</p>
<p>Back to the subject:
It drives me nuts, to be exact, to read, perfect board scores, 7.0 GPA, every single AP or IB class offered and president of every club or started an African villiage asking if he/she has a chance. It's a joke. But I figure the is a piece missing if you need that kind of assurance.</p>
<p>BUT..If you can't stand the heat, don't go into the kitchen. If you're ONLY looking to be affirmed, talk to your mother. Then again, I am the mother who thinks her son's essay is a little cliche, despite his counselor thinking it was solid. But then I thought... I only think it's cliche because I have lived about 30 years longer. As it pertains to his life, the subject was revelation. 18 is so not 46. So who am I to judge?</p>
<p>Lastly, why ask for your chances? Unless it's admissions talking, anyone else's opinion -- including the beforementioned Mother - doesn't count worth a hill of beans.</p>