I’m a little bit more ambivalent about some of these science searches. On the one hand, these are no-doubt top students. Their research experiences will be helpful in their future endeavors. On the other hand, there’re questions about the ideas and originalities of many of their researches.
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Just did a simple search and found this.
https://www.fastcompany.com/1766596/girls-dominate-googles-science-fair-projects-cancer-and-asthma-treatment
We know a girl from my D’s high school a couple of years ago. Her dad is post-doc of a state university. Even with years research, he did not publish a paper. Instead, this girl won a national science competition with something definitely related to his research, and she was admitted by Harvard with full-ride because post-doc is not rich. A dad sacrificed his career for his daughter’s better future, a fair trade? It is hard for others to judge.
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I believe that there are always going to be outliers, those who actually earned their awards as well as those frauds on CC who outright fabricate awards. The anonymity of CC can certainly be used as a test of embellishment of accomplishments but I have seen the resumes of our son and most of his contemporaries and they are honest about what they did but also try to put the absolute best face on their accomplishments. It sometimes leads to over embellishment but is generally reflective of them. Anyone who knows what they are putting forth is fraudulent are only fooling themselves.
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I worry about the embellishments and misleading stats that prospective students use on their actual applications to these elite colleges. It’s one thing to exaggerate on CC, but when it’s done to the admissions officers, that’s what irks me.
Of course, GPAs and test scores can be verified, but all of those extracurriculars, awards, research, etc. could be fabricated or embellished. Not all admission officers double check these.
My hope is that it catches up to them one day, but sadly it may not. Look at professional adults who exaggerate their resumes.
So true and the colors most discussions on CC.
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Agree. Many top STEM awards have panels where they ask questions on the research including how the student came up with the idea, developed it, what issues came up etc.
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This is what I see too. Most of the obvious fabrications are in the “Chance me” threads, which I avoid completely. I think the rest are mostly honest, if slightly exaggerated. But then, sometimes it is done as a bit of shorthand without giving the entire backstory as to why this activity is actually probably considered x, even if it is technically y.
Generally when I ask for help, my initial post is annoyingly long. But that is because I have asked many times, and I know that if it isn’t, the first 10 posts will just be questions.
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I think that CC does tend to attract the more serious student and their parents. I suspect that the number of 4.0 students posting on CC is in fact higher than the population at large. I also think CC students are more likely to have more activities than average. I remember when I first discovered CC. My oldest DD was a sophomore in HS and was doing work I didn’t do until college. I was amazed at her grades, her dedication to her ECs, her ability to communicate etc. By any standard that I had experienced she was a candidate for any university. CC made me realized that yes my D was excellent but there were 10s even 100s of thousands of excellent students and that being able to attend and afford college wasn’t going to as simple as applying.
Back to the topic. Some of the students (and parents) here are likely exaggerating, some are fishing for what ifs, and some are making fun of the site. Most, however, are just very good students seeking affirmation and assurance that frankly it’s impossible for even the most experienced poster to give.
In the end I did learn a lot here. I learned about the application process and the importance of understanding and communicating what we were willing and able to contribute to our D’s education. It all worked out. She has now graduated, is working and is debt free.
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Just as with most things in life, family support helps. That is true whether a child’s talent is in sports, art, or STEM. With my children, I instilled a love of learning and made them aware of the opportunities that were out there. I also taught them how to create compelling cover letters when seeking mentors. Beyond that, they were on their own.
However, there is no requirement that science winners come from rich families, and many do not.
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I think what my D has discovered in her honors classes at her public HS is that there are a lot of high stat kids. I think some things can also be made to sound more impressive than they are if one doesn’t know the context.
Definitely true. My son participated in math competitions in middle school and received a silver medal. At the time, I assumed this meant that he had come in second place (after the one student who won the gold). Turned out that it was more of a leveling system, with many students at each level. Perfect example of something appearing to be more impressive than it really is.
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My favorite exaggeration came from a student who claimed to have won gold medals in both theInternational Math Olympiad and the International Physics Olympiad. It is fairly easy to establish that there was only one such person in recent years, and he’s been an MIT student for a while. When I pointed out this fact, the poster responded along the lines “well, obviously, I had to change a little in order to protect my anonymity.” 
But I think the larger point is that CC, as any anonymous forum, creates some habits, addictions, and even borderline pathologies. Very frequent and/or long-time posters giving cookie-cutter rigid advice, in my opinion, can do more harm than exaggerated stats. For example, replying to that “double-Olympian” post regarding college selection, some old sages took it at the face value and then suggested places like University of Alabama “because the admission process is so unpredictable.” Right.
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Great question. After being on here awhile it’s really obvious and easy to spot the fakes. Parents acting as kids and even vice versa. I take “most” posts as truthful until proven otherwise… I mean, only so many students can cure cancer, right? 
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I have been enjoying the time spent here no matter the post is fake or not… 
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First - yes, people on here lie about their stats. When you’re anonymous, it’s easy to do so. I’ve seen the same person in different threads, post different stats. First rule anyone should learn, if you tell the truth, you don’t have to keep track of the lies you tell.
Secondly - a 4.0 at one school may not be the same as a 4.0 at a different school. A kid can get a 4.0 at a high school yet have no rigor. No school is created equal. This is why I don’t bother with chance me’s. Unless you live near me, you have no idea how good or not my kid’s high school is and what a 4.0 means. There will be tons of kids with 4.0s that can’t get into many top schools just because of the schools they’re coming out of. All things are not created equal. So often when you see someone with great stats and they don’t get into a school that it seems like they should get into, there’s something else going on there IMO.
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There is probably some embellishment but there are many accomplished students in my area so I know what is possible. In the past couple of years, a student discovered a new compound. He’s now at Harvard. Another used machine learning to help surgeons perform spinal reconstruction. He will likely attend a top college too. These are just two examples. Globally, there are thousands of kids like them.
Agree with this statement as this has been our experience. Professionals from the state flagship and global tech companies with local offices (e.g. IBM, Google, Cisco) judge our science fairs. Students who impress the judges may then be invited to intern thus receiving mentoring and access to resources to elevate their research to the next level.
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Again, these stories make me think those things are not toys for poor families.
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While not grade or “discovering a new compound” level, sometimes you even have to take athletics with a grain of salt. 3 sport varsity athlete (or four year varsity athlete) at a school that is so small it only has one team in each sport is different than a large school where more kids are cut from every team than make it and some seniors never even make it to varsity.
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Lol. My D’s HS softball program was one of the best in our state in the big school division. We were usually ranked within the top 5-10 in the state and T20 nationally and made it to the state championships her junior year. It was the same year that the team from a local private school won the private school state championship for their class size. The papers in town wanted the 2 teams to play. Both coaches declined knowing how bad of an outcome that would be. Several of the “stars” of the private school team had been cut or were benchwarmers from our HS or other publics in town.
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