Question on chances posts

I see a lot of people posting their ‘stats’ and other information asking their chances at the various schools they’re applying to

i’m just curious is it mainly for coping with anxiousness or another reason? Not to be a bummer but the purpose of a chance post doesn’t come to me very conspicuously

Let me know if this question isn’t appropriate for this forum!

In about 75% of cases, the purpose is exactly what you describe. It can be hard to assess your odds just by looking at the 5 people from your school (at large publics) or the 1 other person (at small private high schools) applying to the same reach as you. The common data set tells you whether you’re qualified, but the natural assumption for someone unfamiliar with the process (“I have above-average stats for the school. Does that mean I’ll probably get into Yale?”) is very different from what posters on CC can tell them.

In the other 25% of cases, a student genuinely isn’t sure if his/her college list is realistic, and wants some input. I can see a role for both types of threads.

Probably a question with a more reliable answer is

“What are the chances that the chances I get back from a chances thread have a reasonably low variance?”

Answer: slim to none.

i have posted many chance threads mostly because i was nervous and just wanted to know if i would get in or not