<p>I just want to know what you guys think. </p>
<p>Has this site helped you in any way do the following:<br>
-gain confidence
-learn new info
-get into your dream school
-or any way it helped you </p>
<p>Come on, don't just view and leave, post something!</p>
<p>If I have a question related to the SAT (prep stuff) or school (scheduling etc. NOT homework), I usually come here. If anything, this site kills confidence. Everyone seems so much better than you, that you feel like you are just lesser than them, when in reality that is not the case at all.</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>Although, it has shown me that a number of teenagers are superhuman.</p>
<p>In all seriousness, this site has helped me learn about the admissions process, and shown me that if I want to get into my dream college, I need to actually put some effort into school. I’m doing this “college search thing” all by myself, more or less. Parents aren’t helping, 99% of the kids in my school go to UConn, a community college, or URhode Island (uninterested), guidance is unhelpful, etc. I also wouldn’t have known about the SAT without it and how important the test is: I scored a 169 on my soph. PSAT (mostly due to the fact that I didn’t even break 500 in math). Between now and then I’ve:</p>
<p>*Actually been through the majority of Algebra II
*Memorized some vocab
*Taken 4 practice tests</p>
<p>& now I have a 2010 (actually broke 500 in math this time…) super scored.</p>
<p>Now I also now know how to choose my schedule (based on weightings, time sucks, if I have a genuine interest)… I really shouldn’t have taken art freshman year <_<.</p>
<p>On the flip side, I’m more obsessed with my grades than I’ve ever been before, and the site has re-instilled my tendency to be a perfectionist, which I’d actually gotten rid of upon entering middle school. I’m also less inclined to allow myself to fall in love with “lower” schools (hope this changes between now and senior year).</p>
<p>But no, I think for the most part, my gains and losses from discovering this site are about equal…</p>
<p>Yea I know, a bunch of people on here have A-mazing stats! But 99% of the time I really wonder if its real…I mean who has time to be president of 8 clubs, get straight A’s, and do 300 hours of service. I mean really…</p>
<p>Instead of applying to a diverse range of universities that I could have gotten into, this site convinced me through feelings of inferiority that I should invest my time in applying to top-tier universities that, in reality, I had virtually no chance at admittance. Now, I’m stuck having to choose between two schools that I do not want to attend because I was rejected/waitlisted from the rest. So no, this site has yet to provide me with actual help.</p>
<p>Yes. I have never heard of summer programs, internships, AMC, chemistry competition, and stellar high ECs before I came here. Seems like I was living in a cave. However, I don’t think this info will help me anyway since I either don’t know how to participate in them or I simply can’t cuz my school doesn’t have them. A very remarkable forum this is, with a bunch of superman and superwoman.</p>
<p>@Samonuh- I’m sorry this site made you feel inferior! </p>
<p>I don’t know guys, I mean I agree that I found about a lot of cool stuff but at the same time after reading all the Chance posts and stats of people who get rejected, I am like in shock and feel like I will never get in anywhere!!!</p>
<p>mockingjay0714: I feel the same. I feel like I won’t stand a chance comparing to most CCers.</p>
<p>When I was waiting for decisions to come out, seeing everyone’s stats stressed me out. I would open the site and start getting nervous when I read about how everyone was freaking out as March 29th was approaching. </p>
<p>That being said, CC can be a support group and there are some knowledgable people that are willing to answer your question. On here, I read about college interviews and other things. Being a first gen. student, I used it as a tool to find out more details about applying to college.</p>
<p>@mockingjay0714</p>
<p>If you feel pressured by this site that you must attend a top-tier university, I advise you to take the users’ opinions with a grain of salt. Honestly, you could fair just as well at a regular university as opposed to an Ivy League school. You will get into good schools; you just need to thoroughly investigate which schools meet your academic and social interests instead of superficially assuming the best schools are the best fit for you…</p>
<p>I always avoid the What are my Chances? section.
WORST place on this forum for 2 reasons.
<p>@cchanged,</p>
<p>You do have to remember that the most dedicated, determined students tend to be the ones that find resources like CC. The students that don’t care don’t spend time looking at ways to get into college or seeking advice.</p>
<p>imliz123: thank you. Although I can’t be count as first gen since my dad has masters from one of US university, I still can’t get much help from my parents since they weren’t native to US and are unfamiliar with US educational system. So basically I have to figure out the details myself. My older sibling can help me, but she’s just not the type of students that I am. I have a bigger heart. So now I am stuck with reality and my dream, on CC. “Whoa, the world is much bigger than I thought” was the first thought that went through my mind when I first came here.</p>
<p>I met my first boyfriend on this site</p>
<p>College Confidential helped me find programs I haven’t heard of and sweet tips and all that</p>
<p>But by all means avoid the chances section; many posting aren’t familiarized with the admissions office. And in the end I can only find it to be a bragging session for the elite with their nose up in the air (“president of 242342 clubs 5.242342 gpa and I cured cancer and am extensively researching diabetes cures PLEASE TELL ME I’M NOT GOING TO COMMUNITY COLLEGE”) LOL. </p>
<p>Yeah. In general CC is the go to place for procrastination for me. Except I feel productive 'cause it’s academically geared. love ittttt</p>
<p>I agree with a lot of the posts above. Especially soksabai’s “In general CC is the go to place for procrastination for me. Except I feel productive 'cause it’s academically geared.” I waste so much time on CC, even reading threads that will probably never relate to me or that I have no real interest in except that I don’t want to do homework or something. xD</p>
<p>Some of the threads give really good advice, especially from the senior members. So far, I’ve mainly been in the Summer Programs thread; it can be useful to read people’s comments on applications/decisions from past years.</p>
<p>However, like mockingjay and cchanged said, sometimes, reading other people’s stats is quite depressing.</p>
<p>It’s funny because when I first log on, I’m excited. But by the end I either feel bad or I feel that I learned new stuff. So not really sure if I should continue visiting or just stop…although reading about the super students is added pro :p</p>
<p>Immensely. I can’t rave enough about CC - the information regarding colleges, competitions, programs and internships, classes - everything has been really helpful to me. The results threads are always interesting; as an underclassmen, I didn’t read them profusely but looking at them from time to time helped me to get a better idea of what kinds of applicants colleges are looking for. And the “awkward college interviews” thread is an absolute gem!</p>
<p>CC’s just been a great resource for me, and I recommend it to people - though, as with everything online, people should always read it with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>I think my favorite part about CC is the community, however. When everyone’s as college-anxious as you are in March senior year, it’s good to have a support group and vent/cry/laugh/wait together. 
There are some genuinely friendly, helpful people who will guide you in the right direction and offer you wisdom when you’re unfamiliar with the whole college admissions process - and I can’t think of anything better.</p>
<p>This site has helped me gain alot of confidence and has provided me with new information about my dream school which I did not know.
I truly thank CC for all the guidance its users has provided me and I hope they continue like this.</p>
<p>I first used this site’s SAT thread, and now I’ve explored other areas as well! It really helped me self-study for the SAT and communicate with other people who need help or are in the same dilemma as me.
As for confidence, as an Asian, I hear gossip from the azn mom circle about kids with 23-whatevers getting accepted to some ivy league but going to state school b/c fin aid. and those kids with 21-blahs that don’t do anything significant. So, reading about all these CCers with 123456790 club presidencies does not really affect me, especially since the forums provide a pretense of anonymity and thus room for inflating the truth (I do not do this! it’s hard to prove, though, without revealing exactly who I am…)
Benefits > Problems, so keep using CC!</p>