<p>i learned (in my short time here) that there are a lot of juniors very worried about their college admissions prospects next year who are much more interested in critiquing other students’ chances and fretting about their own than they are in improving themselves intellectually and personally by reading and listening to music and pursuing their most genuine, sincere passions. reading through everyone’s lengthy but superficial extracurricular resumes and test scores inflated by countless tries and expensive prep classes only encourages me to be more relaxed about this whole unavoidably stressful process with the knowledge that only a few of those many people desperately trying to make themselves look uniquely accomplished and intelligent will reach their practically unattainable goals, that most will be very disappointed after years of hard but soulless volunteering and resume padding, while all of us able to think out of the constricting Ivy box will be ultimately satisfied by our less prestigious but probably almost equally wonderful and less pressure-filled educations. C’mon guys. Loosen up a little.</p>
<p>^ this is what I wanted say to so many people, both on CC and in my school, this entire year. Well said, AxelNofz.</p>
<p>I’m on CC all the time, but I rarely post. CC has helped me see the caliber of all the competition out there. It has also helped a lot with test prep for SAT/APs. It’s been a really useful tool in learning about colleges, and I know it will help me as I prepare to apply to colleges soon.</p>
<p>I’ve learned from CC, that the chance threads are all a bunch of bullcrap where people try to stack themselves. As someone who got into a “CC top institution” with As and B+'s and a simple 29 ACT with some leadership positions and an interview after being told there was ZERO chance at all, I don’t give CC that much credit as far as viability goes…I learned not to let anything you see on CC discourage you because the “top institutions” look at you as a whole person.</p>
<ol>
<li>Not having all A’s is detrimental to your chances of getting in to top colleges</li>
<li>Having perfect SAT scores are very important </li>
<li>AP and Honors courses are important and not taking them will greatly hurt your admissions chances</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li>I’m not as amazing as I thought I was. Well, I am amazing. But not that amazing.</li>
<li>Personality matters.</li>
<li>It’s better to be original than perfect.</li>
<li>There are a lot more smart teenagers than I thought.</li>
<li>You can’t predict Ivy League/top 20 chances if you’re not on the admissions team.</li>
<li>Internationals have it MUCH harder than others.</li>
<li>Many people admitted to top schools are actually idiots.</li>
<li>I should apply to UChicago.</li>
</ul>
<p>CC made me realize that there is nothing special about the Ivy League.
It also made me realize that a tragic number of people in my age group are egocentric, materialistic, and hysterical.
And that college ambitions make people do the right thing for all the wrong reasons.
And that I am deeply cynical.</p>
<p>I also realize now that I applied to all the wrong colleges (but fortunately got into the right one).</p>
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<p>AxelNofz, you read my mind.</p>
<p>I learned that prestige is not as important as fit, and that personal happiness needs to be one of, if not the, most important factors in picking where to spend the next chapter of one’s life. I came here as a “OMG MY 34 ACT SUCKS HOW CAN I LIVE WITH A 3.8 GPA I’M NEVER GOING TO GET INTO STANFORD I WILL DIE ALONE AND PENNILESS ON THE STREETS” but after a year of lurking and a couple months of posting I’ve grown and learned to seek out those colleges that will make me more excited than stressed about the application process. Am I qualified for HYPS? Yes. Do I care if HYPS adcoms (or, better yet, CCers with 2300+ SATs and 4.0 UW GPAs) agree with me on that statement? Not anymore. Would I be happier and therefore more motivated and successful at a stellar liberal arts college that no one’s heard of? Oh, yes.</p>
<p>It has made me realize how awesome I am because I got into HYPMS.</p>
<p>CC has taught me many things about the college admissions process, the most important being:</p>
<p>1) The power of hooks - My URM status will significantly increase my chances of being accepted to the Ivies I’m applying to, which I wasn’t aware of before I joined CC.
2) The cut-throat competition - CC caused me to grasp the full scope of what I’m up against in the applicant pool: every year, thousands of outstanding applicants are outright rejected by their school(s) of choice.
3) The importance of college essays - Before I joined CC, I believed admissions was almost entirely based upon the academic transcript, with very little emphasis on EC’s and essays/recs. My perceptions have changed dramatically in that respect.</p>
<p>CC has affirmed my opinion that resume-building may help you get into a “good” college, but it will not make you a better or deeper person. I learned that I should pursue activities and subjects that interest me and genuinely try to help people. I don’t think I want to go to an Ivie. I think I would be better suited in a lower-tier, but better-fitting college.</p>
<p>I’ve learned a ton from CC & those who are willing to share their advice and expertise with others:</p>
<ol>
<li> I learned what to expect in the college admissions process, and in particular, with regard to scholarships and financial aid</li>
<li> There are many lovely folks here, several with significant relevant experience, that are willing to share what they know to enrich the lives of others. Thanks to all of you. You know who you are.</li>
<li> Being a URM really does help in admissions and scholarship considerations. Living in an area with many academically-oriented high schools with lots of high-stats students can be a detriment in college admissions.</li>
<li> The whole college application/financial aid process is very complicated. Being in the know about the process gives one a huge advantage.</li>
<li> Taking out huge loans to attend college is a bad idea that will likely stick with you for years and years to come.</li>
<li> Applying to very competitive schools is a crap shoot – it’s often hard to understand why one student was accepted and other denied.</li>
</ol>
<p>I learned that I wasn’t good enough because I didn’t have a 2400 or 10 leadership positions. I learned that I was just another white female applicant among a myriad of better qualified white female applicants. Then, when I was accepted to the schools at which CC had convinced me I had no chance, I learned to throw all of those notions away. And, though I will be attending one of HYPMS, I have learned how little the prestige of one’s college will affect one’s happiness or employability.</p>
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<p>Oh please. Who said that?</p>
<p>Oh, nobody said that. It was my own self-esteem that told me that after seeing so many people with seemingly more impressive stats than my own.</p>
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<p>Yes, this is one of the dangers of CC; understandably, the quantifiably communicable gets disproportionately emphasized.</p>
<p>@Silverturtle.
I noticed you’d responded to one of my messages earlier; sorry for not getting that till now.
Haha I was just being satirical OF that minority on here 
I know that CC can be a really helpful resource.</p>
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<p>Indeed! Good way of phrasing it. Silverturtle, you wan’t to go to Yale, right? Best of luck :)</p>
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<p>It is one of my top choices. I don’t want to narrow down to a single school yet, though; it could lead to disappointment.</p>