<p>My g.c. says that there is no way I will get accepted by "college x" - so no need to apply.</p>
<p>I replied, "the only way for certain I'm not going to get in to college X, is if I DON'T apply". By just applying, I've increased my chances of getting accepted by 100% !</p>
<p>I am trying to maintain a positive attitude about the whole college admission process and I hope everyone else does as well!</p>
<p>So if this GC can read the future.....which school is going to accept you? That would have been my first question!! Some of the folks who are gatekeepers at High Schools are such difficult persons aren't they. How rude and insensitive you tell you "they won't admit you".....isn't that the decision of the adcoms? Hang in there and don't let her write too much about you.....she probably won't present you in a positive light. You should keep that in mind when you ask teachers for the rec.......get a feel for their positive comments.</p>
<p>Right on hazmat! </p>
<p>Maybe this can be a thread of positive encouragement for other students.</p>
<p>OK - will add one of my favorite quotes here LOL</p>
<p>""I would rather attempt something great and fail - than attempt to do nothing and succeed!!!!""</p>
<p>Hope that is positive for you - but realistically - it really does say it all!!!</p>
<p>Oh, so true! </p>
<p>"Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings"</p>
<pre><code> AND
</code></pre>
<p>"Passion, not pedigree, will win in the end"</p>
<p>Oh and how can I forget this famous quote from Wayne Gretsky:</p>
<p>"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"</p>
<p>another one here:</p>
<p>Try and fail, don't fail to try</p>
<p>Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish. -Ovid</p>
<p>Spread your net wide! You'll catch some really good colleges. :)</p>
<p>OOOO I like how this thread is shaping up - wonderful positive thoughts to live by - and college search by LOL</p>
<p>I like this. Breath of fresh air. Woe to the nay sayers. Reach for the stars.
Be all that you can be (marine?)</p>
<p>You can cast your net wide and yet focus by asking this question.
If I get in here, am I prepared to go here? if the answer is a resounding
no, you can eliminate that one.</p>
<p>Remember to love thy safety! </p>
<p>My friend's son had a GC that told him he wouldn't get into ANY of the schools he applied to. He applied to 12 & got into all but UCLA. He even got substantial merit aid from USC (where he graduated with a degree in chemistry & is now in his 1st year of med school at our state U (his 1st choice). He did apply to some safeties as well, but he got such a good financial aid package at USoCal, he went & loved his time there. (He also got a very generous merit aid package from Ripon, but didn't think he could tolerate the extreme cold.)</p>
<p>Our son's GC recommends students have a few "likely" admit, a few 50/50 & as many reaches as the student & family feel comfortable with. You definitely won't be admitted by anywhere if you don't apply. The GC wants son to find something he loves about each school he applies to.</p>
<p>Yes, I think the safety(-ies) is the school people put the least thought into, which is opposite of how it should be. </p>
<p>I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying.-Michael Jordan</p>
<p>Hope is the companion of power, and mother of success; for who so hopes strongly has within him the gift of miracles.-Samuel Smiles</p>
<p>My H.S. GC said I would likely get into no transfer schools, but wrote the rec anyway . Guess what? Got into Brown, Duke, Harvard, and Dartmouth lol.</p>
<p>Caint git theeea from heeeea!!!!!</p>
<p>Wanna bet!!!!! lol - nothing like a good challange!!!!!</p>
<p>
[quote]
By just applying, I've increased my chances of getting accepted by 100% !
[/quote]
I don't get it.</p>
<p>Technically, wouldn't this be an infinite increase, not 100% (going up from 0)? ;)</p>
<p>This is a nice board - I hope we all continue to post inspirational quotes and real life examples.</p>
<p>My real life example is my cousin who got in to UVA with an SAT score of 1150 (in state). I am sure, had she posted her SAT scores under "What are my chances"; she would have been blasted. By the way, no special hooks - no legacy and no URM. And no, she was not a recruit. Her ECs were good, recs excellent but other than that nothing particularly outstanding. </p>
<p>And my quote: (Can't remember it exactly, but it's really close)</p>
<p>Ambition is the road to success; persistence is the vehicle to get there.</p>
<p>Technically, if you're applying to Harvard, it's a 9% increase. Or whatever their admission rate is. You're increasing your chance of being accepted from 0% to 9%. Increasing your chances by 100% would be saying that, if you apply, you're sure to get in...which is, realistically, not the case. </p>
<p>I guess you would be increasing it infinity times though. </p>
<p>...I hope you're not writing your essay on statistics.</p>
<p>It was not meant to be a techncially correct statement, more of a motivational one and most of us have kept up with that theme. Basically, if you don't apply - you don't have a chance at all, period. </p>
<p>JimmyEatWorld711: Hope you are not writing your essay on statistics either because your chances would NOT go from 0% to 9% by applying. The 9% acceptance rate includes all applicants. Therefore, of those 9% admits; some are early admits, some are legacy or special admits (celebrities), some are URM and some are recruits. Therfore, your ACTUAL chances of getting in are more like 4% -- if you want to get specific.</p>
<p>This goes along with the old saying - "you can't turn down a job that hasn't been offered to you"</p>