I would say that even for those applicants who are squeaky clean, posting detailed info like your precise test scores and SAT 2’s are enough for AO’s to narrow your app down to 1-2 out of many thousands.
It also pains me to see kids use their real pictures and real names on here with their chance threads, especially when they have a D-baggy or humble brag tone.
As if a stranger could really chance you…?
Also, it seems the ultra high achievers who humble brag in posts and whine about whether they should retake a 2390 usually regurgitate a laundry list of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in the form of unique EC’s, abilities, or contests they won.
The bottom line: Don’t give away your PII!
(Or your pie, either - especially pecan pie).
One more story that is a bit off post but somewhat related:
When we visited Princeton last year, a girl showed up for the tour about 10 minutes late - she just strutted into Nassau Hall into the big wooden room and plopped down among the already assembled group with the blonde AO already into her introductory speech (which caused a bit of a distraction) - plus this girl had the audacity to strut in wearing a Yale shirt.
Then, during the tour, the girl in the Yale shirt even brought up how she didn’t like the Princeton grade deflation which got other kids and parents into a tizzy who didn’t even know about it. (Yes, I know the grade deflation policy is gone now).
The funny thing is that during the campus tour, another person from the AO that accompanied the group on the tour was scribbling furiously on a clipboard the whole time - but the loudmouthed girl didn’t seem to care.
When we had arrived earlier that morning, the AO had asked that one person from each group sign in.
Since the Yale girl was the last to arrive, she would have been the last person to sign in for the morning tour.
I would bet my a** that they went in right after the tour and looked at the last person to sign in and figured out who she was.
After having the nerve to wear a Yale shirt on the tour, I often wonder why she even bothered to show up and tour or if she even applied. I also wonder if she got into Yale.
Anyway, that got me thinking about how much an AO might try to identify applicants in other situations - for instance, if they made enough of a negative splash in the CC forums - in which case, I would use caution about putting any PII in a chance post.