<p>Or someone to lie and tell you that you have hope?
Because if you're interested in a college, can't you evaluate your own credentials based off of the research you've done on the college? And if the college you're applying to is incredibly selective, don't you know that your chances are minimal (just like everyone else's)?</p>
<p>I'm not trying to have a go at anyone who makes a "Chance me?" thread or invalidate them. However, I don't see in what cases a "Chance me?" would be genuinely useful. Please enlighten me. :)</p>
<p>Yeah, you’re right. Mainly people do it for a self-esteem boost or for some hope. I do it too, lol. I admit it though. Sometimes, you feel that you aren’t going to get into any college so, you want some hope. </p>
An outside perspective can be useful because it’s hard to be objective about yourself. The problem with the chances forum on here is that the outside perspective usually comes from some kid who doesn’t know any more than you do.
I posted a couple of chances threads when I was in high school, mostly because I’m self-absorbed and I like making lists. </p>
<p>There is a lot of info that’s not easily searchable on the web. A prospective student may have talked to the band director at the school and found out there is a 40% acceptance rate for oboe players as opposed to a 15% acceptance rate for flute players. Chance threads help you gain knowledge from others who have other insight in the application process. </p>
<p>And tbh I don’t think people do it as a self esteem booster because if you’ve browsed the chance thread, there are rarely any positive posts. I mostly see “all selective schools are a crapshoot” or “if you don’t raise your SAT score you won’t have a chance at x school.” I think the value of chance threads on CC are that they evaluate the applicant extensively. You mention that someone can evaluate their own credentials based on research but research never includes stuff like ECs, essays, hooks, LORs, etc. If you are applying to a selective school then these things are just as important as seeing where your stats fall on a scattergram. CC is a place where people have some knowledge on what makes someone holistically appealing and whether their subjective data is strong or not. The value of the chance thread is that you can get this insight from others without being hindered by your own bias or the bias of family members and friends. </p>
<p>And lastly, what you mentioned about top schools. I think when people make the “Can I get into Harvard” threads it’s mostly to see whether they even have a chance, not whether it’s a good chance or not. It’s hard for us to tell whether our ECs are good because in our mind they’re the best we could do. A second opinion is helpful. </p>
<p>Some high schoolers are clueless about their chances. Many thing that because they are in the top 10% of the class that they have a good chance at HYPS. And they do NOt like it when told in chance threads that such schools are out of reach. </p>
<p>I think a lot of high school students have a very limited perspective on their odds of admission. And often they are told by people around them that they are a shoo-in for top colleges – and those people really have no idea. Also, lots of students (and parents) don’t even know where to look for the information. For example… very few people who are new to the college admissions process know about the Common Data Set, which is a great place to glean info that can help you gauge your chances. </p>
<p>Now… as @TomSrOfBoston said, some students don’t want to hear that their chances are not so great and will argue with other posters. I always figure that the ad-coms will resolve the argument in the end, but encourage the poster to have some safeties and matches that they would really like to attend. What else can you do?</p>
<p>I personally think there are four types of people…</p>
<p>1: those who need a serious reality check
2: those who are looking for signs of hope (I’d say most people do this)
3: the dang braggarts
4: the absolutely clueless</p>
