<p>As i've browsed through the various forums and stat profiles, i'm blown away by the almost every poster's level of excellence. I mean seriously how is everyone so amazing? I'm applying to some top LACs and i'm not so sure of myself anymore after looking at the SATs, ECs, community service, etc of my fellow 2011s. Anyways i'm just curious if all the rest of the applicants at Williams, Pomona, Amherst are this good.</p>
<p>You are much better off comparing yourself to the statistics of admitted students or enrolled students that the colleges publish. The CC sample is almost certainly biased, the only question is how much.</p>
<p>The CC population is well above average. There was a lengthy thread a while back trying to pin down the average SAT of CCers; it came out to be ~1465 on the old SAT. The CC admit rate to HYP is ~35-45%, based on old admit threads. The rest of the applicant pool isn't necessarily as strong.</p>
<p>and some lie....yeppers...they like to, what's it called, be a troll</p>
<p>I sure hope the rest of the pool isn't this strong! If it is, I'm very very scared.</p>
<p>Ah, and yet another has been jaded by CC.</p>
<p>Don't worry, this is not the average applicant pool whatsoever. It's probably best if you stop coming to CC for a couple months, so it doesn't dishearten you more. But unfortunately that probably won't happen, so just remember that the average pool is not this strong.</p>
<p>no, people aren't all like CCers. CC can help quite a bit with college, but you can't let it make you panic.</p>
<p>ah this thread is a relief...</p>
<p>lol cc has definetely taken ALOT of my time but its defintely helped me in terms of preparing for apps in terms of what i should strive to accomplish</p>
<p>oh thank goodness :) And i've actually tried to stay away from CC a little since sending in the first of my apps, but it just keeps drawing me back...I'm addicted!</p>
<p>the sample youre getting from CC is nowhere near representative of the population of 2011ers</p>
<p>dont worry about it</p>
<p>
[quote]
The CC population is well above average. There was a lengthy thread a while back trying to pin down the average SAT of CCers; it came out to be ~1465 on the old SAT. The CC admit rate to HYP is ~35-45%, based on old admit threads. The rest of the applicant pool isn't necessarily as strong.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Wow! Who woulda thunk you could bring up your SAT scores and improve your chances of getting into Harvard just by joining some internet forum!! :D</p>
<p>
[quote]
Wow! Who woulda thunk you could bring up your SAT scores and improve your chances of getting into Harvard just by joining some internet forum!!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>LOL. Who needs Kaplan when you've got CC?</p>
<p>The SAT scores are the cc thread are very high due to the the nature of the type of person who posts especially on the ivy league threads. There are generally about 30 or so regulars who post on each of those threads especially for early decision or SCEA. These are students who are very proactive about the admission process to elite schools. It is difficult to get an accurate idea of the acceptance rate of the posters on those forums. There are many who post their acceptances who are not regular posters. Unless one has been a regular poster they would be less apt to post if they were deferred or rejected including their statistics and why they think they were taken or not taken. Thus the almost 50% acceptance rate is probably not an accurate figure.
Keep in mind that those who post are just a sampling of the students who apply and are accepted to those schools.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you don't have 10 AP courses before senior year (with 5s on all the tests, of course), you might as well only apply to State U</p></li>
<li><p>If you have ever had a minor disciplinary infraction such as a scuffle or being late to school too many times, forget about applying to elite schools. If you EVER had an alcohol suspension, get ready for a year at community college.</p></li>
<li><p>4.0 is a pretty low GPA.</p></li>
<li><p>1400 old scale SAT is embarrassing.</p></li>
<li><p>SAT IIs should only be taken once one is prepared to get an 800.</p></li>
<li><p>If you aren't a recruitable level athlete, you better at least be the captain of your team or don't even bother with the sport.</p></li>
<li><p>"Community service" needs to be your middle name. You better be on a first name basis with everyone down at the homeless shelter. You can take time out to organize a large charity benefit.</p></li>
<li><p>There are only 20 colleges worth attending.</p></li>
<li><p>Nobody's kids on CC drink in high school. They don't like the taste.</p></li>
<li><p>Williams may be a pretty good school, but not enough people have heard of it, so you might not want to apply.</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone at Williams is a binge drinker, anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>Swarthmore has perfect kids- except for the one drunken lout from last year. Swarthmore is perfect in every respect, actually, and doesn't have the big, bad athletes that Williams and Amherst attract.</p></li>
<li><p>If you aren't first in your class, you really messed up somewhere.</p></li>
<li><p>Only take classes that will look good on your transcript.</p></li>
<li><p>Everyone at University of Chicago is a nerd.</p></li>
<li><p>Be careful of Rice. It's in Texas which means everyone is conservative and Republican.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you stay around, you'll sort it all out and get at the REAL truths!!</p>
<p>Good list. Here are some more:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you got a 2350 on your SATs you should retake them to "bring those scores up".</p></li>
<li><p>You can only know your professors if you go to a LAC (preferably with <1600 students); large publics are only good for grad school (if that).</p></li>
<li><p>Since the kids with sky-high stats start their "chances" posts with "I'm screwed" or "Probably no chance" or "Average student", you should probably start your applications to culinary school.</p></li>
<li><p>The only way to determine if you should apply to a school is to have lunch in the dining hall and see if you like the way the students look. You especially want to judge if they are too preppy, cut-throat, liberal/conservative, etc.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>haha thank you for both of those lists! I've been trying to cut down on CC since I already sent in my ED app to Pomona- hanging around this site only makes me nervous when there's nothing I can do about it now anyways!</p>
<p>This is actually it's own thread now: Things you learn in a week on CC. It's in the Parents forum.</p>
<p>CC posters are parents or students who for the most part are in the top 10% of their class. That means they DON'T represent 90% of the kids applying to college. </p>
<p>The other 90% of parents/kids are scared away from CC pretty fast!</p>
<p>If you notice, the tag line for "College Confidential" refers to Elite College Admissions.</p>