<p>Hi- I may not have a great many posts registered on this name, but I assure you, all throughout senior year (since September '05, I believe) I've been cruisin through this website, and although I mostly logged on during crunch time (college choices, app time, etc.) and have of late not really visited, I feel I must offer some hindsight advice to juniors now embarking on the process.</p>
<p>Assuming you're top 10% of class, that you are ready to play the college game, and have some real serious decisions, your outlook on colleges and how tough they are to get into will change. At first, I believed that I had a "good shot" at the Ivies, because I was near the top of my class, had the test scores, had extracurric's and knew I could put together a solid app. The initial phase after first finding out about colleges is that these Ivies are pretty hard to get into. (no one really has a "good shot," there are tons of applicants like you). But- this information is probably not new to any of you.</p>
<p>The main point of this message is to tell you about phase II- after you're a little learned, and knowledgable about the game.</p>
<p>-= It's not really as daunting as many posters on this site make it out to be (please, no one take offense). Reading about others' stats, and stories about Ivy admissions can make someone paranoid. So just take this caveat (warning, lol) to heart- don't freak out. Just do what you do, fill out the app, apply to challenging schools. I- suprisingly- actually got into some awesome schools and had tons of visits to do in the spring. I'm not trying to blow my own horn here, of course I recieved rejections. But the point is- don't get so afraid of top colleges it's not so hard to get it as it sometimes seems-=</p>