<p>yeah So i’ve spent quite some time for the past couple months (lol @ my post count) and i’m bored so here are some discrepancies that I find between the CC community and the real world (or even my uber-competitive school >.>) I thought i was smart until I came here, lol =P</p>
<li>a 2100 SAT score is probably below average. I think at my school “average” is like a 1900–which, I know, is shocking =O</li>
<li>someone that is the president of 5 clubs, has 200 hours of volunteering, winning state awards in math and science, and was Intel semifinalist needs “stronger ECs”</li>
<li>A 130+ AMC12 score can be safely said to be average. A 140+ is considered “decent,” but for anyone aiming for a perfect score, it’s considered “failing.” (Oh wait or is that AoPS?)</li>
<li>Taking 5 AP classes junior year, and doing well in them, is on the low end. Oh and if you don’t self-study for 5 tests a year since 8th grade, well, you probably aren’t going to get into college then.</li>
<li>“There’s nothing special about me…I’m just a regular joe that got into <em>insert top 20 school</em> without any accomplishments so that means YOU CAN TOO!” Yeah that person is probably an intel finalist, a USAMO winner, or at least a 2400-scoring, 4.0 uw valedictorian of a prep school that sends 100% of its kids to ivies.</li>
<li>An “easy” summer involves trying to find the cure for cancer with a professor at MIT. That’s the backup plans for CCers if they don’t get into RSI, or TASP, or other summer programs that have basically negative acceptance rates and are about a million times more selective than top colleges themselves.</li>
<li>Anything below a 3.9 UW GPA and 4.5 W GPA, you’ll probably need to start looking at safeties. Anything below a 3.8 UW, and you’ll probably get rejected from your local community college. And get flamed on your chance thread for having the nerve to consider xxx school!</li>
<li>High school freshmen seem to have higher stats, do more ECs, and worry more than is healthy.</li>
<li>Hard working, overachieving, and other similar adjectives are considered negative, because we all want to believe that we got that perfect ACT score, those 970458273 5’s on AP tests, and the highest record-breaking GPA purely with our intelligence. </li>
<li>There are more valedictorians here than all other ranks combined.</li>
</ol>
<p>and</p>
<li>More people seem to be accepted to xxx school or summer program than are rejected, even if the national acceptance rate is 4%.</li>
</ol>
<p>yay can’t think of any more! and yeah i probably fit in to like more of these than is good for me >_></p>
<p>its funny because a few of my fellow classmates boycott CC because of these impressions. it says it makes them feel "Depressed". i just tell them it's just reality. i mean, if you want the best - you just have to be the best, right?</p>
<p>lmfaooooooo sooo true i love this one. but yeah this site totaly does depress me, but hey, when i need advice, this is the best place to turn to :D</p>
<p>the trick with CC is to take what you need only and move on. CC is good for strategizing and understanding the admissions process. I personally don't pay any attention to references to grades, scores and performances, because truly who cares?!</p>
<p>ps - you forgot to add another CC fallacy: ALL black students get into top universities through affirmative action only! LOL!</p>
<p>You must marry someone Hispanic/Black/Native American, have kids, sign them up for SAT classes 10 years in advance, train them to become Olympic athletes, discover a rare strain of elbow cancer (and cure it), if you want them to get into any <em>good</em> school.</p>
<p>That is why I mostly stay in the cafe. Any other area makes me think that I am an unaccomplished slacker who basically wasted 4 years of my life. And that I won't get into any college at all. And that I basically should die.</p>
<p>Well, I learned that you have to have at least 20 EC's to get into a good college (along with grades, varsity sports teams, ect...)</p>
<p>For some reason, knowing that I'm not anywhere near the ideal student makes me laugh, even if it's not that funny. Truthfully, there's so many different opinions on how to get into a good college that the information gets so mixed up and you end up back at square one with the same question: How do I get into a good college?</p>
<p>This site does have some good advice, though.</p>
<p>yes...this is a sadly true (and comical) post. for the first time viewer, this site definitely feels like harvard's online forums. i wish everyone could just look past rankings and actually enjoy themselves in life. i guess this is what happens when schools lecture kids everyday about how the U.S. is falling so far behind Japan in academics lol.</p>
<p>Hah this is true, I've been on here two days and one of the first posts I saw was about a girl with a 2390 SAT and a page and a half of EC's wondering whether she could get into her safeties.</p>
<p>It is intriguing - I read all these "experts" on this site telling people what they need to get in, and then I think about the people I went to school with and have worked with from Ivy League / top ranked schools, and I just don't see any correlation.</p>
<p>The people in these schools are by no means brilliant or curing cancer or whatever else this board makes it seem like you have to be to even be considered. Some are smart. Some are stupid. Some are lazy. Some are motivated... </p>
<p>Oddly enough, even after immersion in the Ivy culture, you know where some of the most brilliant people I've ever known went? Northern Michigan University - a small public school you've probably never heard of that admits almost everybody who applies.</p>
<p>Applejack, That may have been the most inspiring thing I have ever read. Thank You. Now I know that I don't have to go to Harvard to be successful in this world...</p>
<p>
[quote]
With the way people talk about stats to get into a school, I have absolutely no chance at college. I have ZERO EC's. haha
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Don't count yourself out just yet. My ECs were paltry by CC standards, and I got into some good schools. Focus on presenting yourself as an attractive package as a whole, particularly with your essays.</p>
<p>"Applejack, That may have been the most inspiring thing I have ever read. Thank You. Now I know that I don't have to go to Harvard to be successful in this world..."</p>
<p>Come to think of it, the guy who owns Starbucks went to Northern Michigan University. I'm sure Harvard business students would love to think about that everytime they sip their double mocha latte frappuchinos.</p>