<p>I'm going to be a senior in high school. I've been browsing cc just because I wanted to see what the competition is looking like. I've come to the conclusion that a vast majority of the stats, chances, course loads, extracurriculars, etc. have to be fake. There are not this many students of that kind of caliber. I've always considered myself a really great student, but nobody can compete with this stuff.</p>
<p>Anyone else finding it hard to believe anything you see on this site?</p>
<p>I’m just going to say yes most of the thigns on this are true. I know in real life a few students who are like this and thats in my highschool alone, aroudn the country these types of kids fill up the super academic highschools. </p>
<p>Just think, there are 1.5million kids who take the PSAT, thats alot of students.</p>
<p>But not every single student who goes to an Ivy is on this website, and when you see huge numbers of people claiming to have gotten these unbelievable scores and whatnot… it’s impossible.</p>
<p>I’m sorry if I’m offending anyone. I go to the number one high school in my state, and I know very few who meet these unbelievable standards.</p>
<p>Some of this is fake (it’s hilarious when you catch a junior who lists awards that are only open to seniors), but most of these are true. In any case, does it matter? There are actually people with this kind of incredible achievements you know, even if you don’t happen to know them yourself.</p>
<p>Oh I completely agree that there are, but I think that first off, it’s the internet. Logically, anybody can post whatever they want, and you can’t verify any of it, so why believe it?</p>
<p>I just think it’s ridiculous that so many people take the posts of random people who easily could be lying as complete truth. This just makes applying seem more difficult and more overwhelming than it needs to be.</p>
<p>when you see huge numbers of people claiming to have gotten these unbelievable scores and whatnot… it’s impossible.</p>
<p>Actually, there are easily couple thousands of students a year who score 2300+ on the SAT and perhaps even more with perfect scorers on the SATIIs (I’m not sure about the exact figures), so it’s not that hard to believe that a couple of them would be on this website.</p>
<p>Logically, anybody can post whatever they want, and you can’t verify any of it, so why believe it?</p>
<p>Because it may be better to have a full appreciation for the achievements of your peers who will be applying to the same schools you’re interested in than to underestimate the competition that certainly exists.</p>
<p>look at it this way, 1. why does this matter that much to you? 2. It may just be I take these things on trust but the ivies combined accept around 10 thousand kids a year or so and theres many more w/ similar stats that get rejected, then you have the pretty much Ivies which round out the top 25 schools…that adds up to a lot of pretty amazing people, 3. people whgo use CC are self-selecting so only the ones who care somewhat about college will use it, this also skews the accomplishments to above average</p>
<p>If you do some calculations (total number of Ivy League undergraduates, total number of 2400 SAT score, etc.), it’s very possible that most of what’s posted on this site is true. Sure there’s the occasional ■■■■■, but there’s lots of Ivy-caliber students on here. The percentage of Ivy-caliber students on this site is actually quite small considering there’s probably tens of thousands of them out there.</p>
<p>And yes, getting into a top school IS as difficult as it seems on this site. IMO, it’s not that hard (except maybe the Extracurricular department) to achieve most of what you see people post on here. I know it’s hard for someone who has never been exposed to how competitive it is to get in a top school to believe what’s on this site, but for people who have, it’s not that surprising. I, for example, was a little shocked when I first came to this time. But since I already know, to a degree, how selective the top colleges are, I expected some of those amazing stats/extracurriculars.</p>
<p>Most of what you see is true, without a doubt. Sorry but this is reality. But as other posters said, you shouldn’t care, assuming you’re not applying to the top schools. And has the above poster mentioned, this site attracts people who wants to go to elite schools.</p>
<p>What do you expect when you ask STRANGERS to evaluate your high school transcript, your ECs, your job history, your family lifestyle, your income, your parents’ divorce settlement, your high school gym teachers… </p>
<p>Some is true, some not. Your job is to be discerning. This skill will serve you very well in adulthood.</p>
<p>Be cautious about what you put on the internet.</p>
<p>You’d be surprised. When the average admit at a non HYP ivy has mid 700 SATs and is val or sal, you realize that there are a lot of 4.0, 2100 kids in the world today.</p>
<p>^Definitely. What some people don’t realize yet it’s that it’s even more unsettling to read past admission decision threads than chance threads. So many amazing people are rejected every year.</p>
<p>I agree that most of the posts are probably true. I know what you’re saying – that anybody can claim anything they want to on here and none of it can be verified. But, on the other hand, why would somebody bother? We’re all strangers. Most people hide their identity and don’t want to reveal too much about themselves, to protect their privacy. So what would be the point of “bragging” and lying to get attention? People who choose to lie for praise or credit wouldn’t be able to “collect!” No one knows who they are! ;-)</p>
<p>However, like somebody mentioned, there are pretty obvious ■■■■■■ here who do post false claims in hopes of getting a rise out of the rest of us.</p>
<p>My kids have had some pretty awesome stats – the son who’s looking at colleges now has really amazing, nearly perfect academic stats. But still … he’s only #2 in his high school. Take every public high school in our state … take every #1 and #2 kid in those schools … and then take every single state and all those schools … and then take all the kids in the country who aren’t #1 or #2 but who still have nearly perfect stats …</p>
<p>Well, it’s all pretty believable to me. I think it’s so skewed on CC simply because the most competitive and/or ambitious and/or gifted kids get on here to read up on the college search process. And so the sample is very skewed.</p>
<p>Many people find this sight through searches for academic issues; I know I was looking for National Merit information. Found it too. Then it starts…</p>
<p>well, i know i came on here near the end of my sophomore year, and i remember looking at all the 2400 scores, and the 800 SAT II scores. I remember the first time I saw someone say they got a 780 on an SAT II and wanted to know if they should take it over. I guess part of me wanted to believe it was all fake, but when it hit me that this really was the competition, I really pushed it Junior year. I’m still not some 2400 kid with a perfect 4.0, but at least i feel like i stand a chance! this site is filled with super smart people, and i honestly think that if any of this is fake, which i’m sure some if it is, that it’s a very minor part of the cc population. just all the more reason to work harder in my opinion when you’re competing against students whose grades seem unreal xD</p>
<p>In 1999 there were about 3.3 million seniors in American public high schools.
Add to this the seniors in private schools.
Add to that population growth.
Add to that any number of ambitious and high-achieving foreign students posting here.
I have no idea what the end result is, but undoubtedly it’s quite large even when accounting for the smaller number of students who go on to college. I think the number of people who get 2400s every year in the US is about 250-280 or so. LOTS more people get 2250s or higher, because, well, the SAT does not measure much, and around one million high schoolers take it every year. I couldn’t find data for the SAT IIs, but let’s face it, they’re a lot easier to study for (since the subject material is not so wide) and plenty of people probably get perfect scores on them.</p>
<p>In addition to the sheer overwhelming numbers, the students who are overachievers are also often the neurotic perfectionist type who tend to end up on College Confidential. So it’s not just that a lot of people have this kind of record, it’s that most of them are here. More than that, why on earth would you even bother lying here? A lot of people can tell and will call you out, and it’s not like it will give you any boosts except in the faceless eyes of whatever small number of chancers fall for it. Some people undoubtedly will, but large numbers of people converging on CC to lie about their high SAT scores is almost certainly not a real phenomenon…</p>
<p>In short: some people are faking. Most are telling the truth. There is harsher competition than you thought.</p>