<p>I was reading this thread on another student website about where kids were applying, and I was the ONLY one on the entire thread that was applying to an Ivy. </p>
<p>When you're on this site, you get so preoccupied with the competition, but really this site represents SUCH a small percentage of the applicant pool. Most kids in this thread were applying to 3 or 4 schools instead of 10 or 12, and they were their local state schools and maybe a local LAC. </p>
<p>Our priorities are so different than the "average" student. </p>
<p>It just sort of hit me like a wall that most of those kids would never even dream of APPLYING to an Ivy league school.</p>
<p>Yeah...CC is definitely not an accurate representation of the general student population. I feel so stupid whenever I read the chances threads and such, but I suppose most everyone else does too at one point or another.</p>
<p>What I wonder is why all the smart, well-rounded kids seem to congregate here as opposed to other forums.</p>
<p>I don't know, it kind of works two ways: they think it's way beyond a normal person's reach but they assume you'll get in if you're a top student. So when I ask people where they want to go, they say San Diego State, Palomar or Mount San Jacinto Community Colleges, UC Davis if they're lucky, UCSD if they're the gods of campus. Then they ask me, and I say "Bowdoin or Amherst if I can get in" and they say "Why aren't you going to Harvard?" It's a wacked way of thinking.</p>
<p>But on the whole, I think you're right. That's even more insane: these places take 10% of the applicants who are less than 10% of the US student population!</p>
<p>Everybody seems to think "ohh you'll go wherever you want" if you're a top student. It's stressful, because people simply expect you to go somewhere great when in reality you may not get in.</p>
<p>Oh, I know!! Relatives are always asking where I'm applying, I'm like Michigan, Wisconsin, Macalester, Bard, Cornell, maybe Brown and they're like "Why aren't you applying to Harvard??!! We knew all along you were going to go to Harvard!"</p>
<p>We should start a company that makes t-shirts saying "I don't want to go to Harvard! Get out of my face!" or something to that extent. If anyone comes up with something catchy, let me know.</p>
<p>You know, I used to be scared to tell people I want to go to Yale when they asked me because I would come across as arrogant. Now I'm scared to say anything less than that--they think I'm too humble!</p>
<p>Well, I don't have that extreme of a case, as I'm only in the top 20%. </p>
<p>But my favorite T-shirt design by far (though totally having nothing to do with this thread) is: "Harvard: Because not everybody can get into Brown". :D</p>