<p>People beginning their college searches shouldn't use this board as their first resource. The best first step would be to go to a book store and get a book(such as the Fiske College Book), find what schools might be a realistic match(considering grades, SAT's, EC's...), then read about each school and think about what is the most appealing in terms of personal happiness(size, location, prestige, weather, etc...).</p>
<p>I completely agree. There are so many times brand new users go to the chances forum and ask the question. </p>
<p>The thing is, most of us actually know a hell of a lot about the college admissions process - we HAVE read the college guides, we HAVE read at least one 'how to get in book,' and we HAVE hung around this site long enough (well, most of us). I don't think it's worth CCers time to give newbies chances before they have hung out on this site and become a Junior Member.</p>
<p>I personally wanted to go to a large school so that I wouldn't stand out. It wasn't until one of my friends said that I should really consider a liberal arts college that I decided I really should look into those. I was social with everyone, all my teachers and I had great relationships and I liked being in small classes because I felt you could get that intimate learning environment. Also, there isn't one subject I feel attracted to. I am great at Math but I'm also good at English and Economics. I wanted a school that allowed me to engage in a "well-rounded" curriculum. Obviously, I realized the latter qualities on my own but I would have never thought of them if my peer didn't bring his objective view. That's what "What are My Chances?" are to me. They're the objective views. Be they positive (You have a really good chance of getting in.) or "not exaxtly what you wanted to hear" (Your SAT scores just won't cut it). </p>
<p>BUTTTTTT. (Oh yes, there's a but :-D)</p>
<p>I have never asked a question about my chances. The worst feeling to me is regret and I would hate to think "What if?" if I didn't apply to an Ivy League school because someone thought my chances were slim. (I personally wasn't interested in an Ivy League) If your chances are slim, that means you still have a chance. If people with the highest of scores get rejected, than obviously, they're looking for something more. And maybe, you are that more.</p>
<p>BUTTTTT (Oh yes, somemore buts :-D)</p>
<p>I get REALLY ANNOYED reading the questions as WindCloud mentioned. I mean, sure, you went to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton and like what they all have to offer. That's quite all right. There was some distinction made, you like all of them and you feel they're a perfect fit. But when someone posts about their chances at about 25 of the Top schools, it's hard to draw the line with whether or not they want to go to the school because they actually love them or if they think acceptance to just one of them will suffice because they're all the epitome of prestige. I believe there is a perfect fit "Mr. Pink". It's not as easy as one makes it seem, "I went there and it was a perfect fit". It's more of of a mental reassurance. You can see yourself taking classes there, researching there, possibly LIVING there. </p>
<p>Furthermore, I am a matriculant of one of the top ten liberal arts colleges. But to me, it's something more than that. I didn't take the top 20, apply to them all, and think "Well as long as I get into one of them...". I thought about my school in particular, applied so that I wouldn't regret missing out on a possible acceptance, and was overjoyed. </p>
<p>I think WindCloud's idea is right on point. Explain briefly what you like about the school. Some people do like all of the Ivy Leagues and that's fine. No one said you couldn't. But explain why. It's sort of arrogant to just try to get into one of them for the bragging rights.</p>
<p>"It's sort of arrogant to just try to get into one of them for the bragging rights."</p>
<p>Sure, but you know that's why a good part of the applicant pool is applying to HYPS. </p>
<p>The main problem is our assessments of the competitiveness of people's stats in the "What are my chances?" forum are pretty meaningless. That student at the top of her class with a 2400 and awesome ECs may well be denied simply because that applicant is not what 'x' college needed to fill out a balanced class. Moreover 'tufts syndrome' seems to be spreading throughout the country, and we cannot know whether a certain school has been infected or not (please treat the word 'infected' in its objective and subjective meanings). What are my chances is a great way to gain motivation to work harder, or to gain confidence after always convicing oneself that what they have done is not enough. Other than that, it's gosh darn useless.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the newbies at this site flock to this subforum because it provides an instant reward in exchange for little work. So many times it is the new members that type away their stats, having done little to NO research at all that ask these questions. </p>
<p>SUGGESTION: I think it'd be very appropriate to stop users from commenting in or on the chances forum until after they've been a member for 'x' number of months/days OR commented on other threads 'x' number of times.</p>
<p>To OP- Ummm isn't that the point of this entire website?!?</p>
<p>^ If you'd notice, the 'What are my Chances' forum is greatly outnumbered by talk of the college process, college selection, parental advice, graduate schools, standardized tests, and so on. It is so popular because it provides an instant reward for a poorly realized question.</p>
<p>theese people are really annoying, scared they are not gonna get into a ivy school. Just be happy you have a chance to go to any school in the U.S. or abroad. I have no AP classes a 3.3 GPA and my math grades are one of the worst in my school. Be Happy and don’t fret getting rejected.</p>
<p>in response to an earlier post in this thread.. it doesnt really make much of a difference if people answering the “chances” questions are seniors in high school, parents, or college students.. because many students are rejected to schools where they actually had all the requirements.. so you never really know why you were rejected (unless it was an obvious reach).. i think people give “chance” evaluations based on what they know about the school i.e. sat and gpa stats, what the school is looking for, how high the school’s acceptance rate is, and also based on people they know who have applied and what their credentials were (not just one person). it’s clearly not 100% reliable, the only true indicator of whether you will be accepted is in the hands of the offices of admissions.. honestly, most people can “chance” themselves by just reviewing the stats and like class of 2011 profile on each school’s website</p>
<p>i think we should all go skinnydipping! whose down with me?!?!?!</p>