<p>I almost never look at it, but I did today on a lark. I understand why kids post on Chances, but it creates such a horrible environment of pointless comparisons, intimidation, self-doubt, ego tripping......nothing but useless white noise with not one micron of actual helpfulness. It is assiduously to be ignored.</p>
<p>It’s hard to pinpoint the logic that goes behind the Chances thread. In fact, this is a question in human behavior (and a middle school student like me has no idea what to say and how to say it.) I’ll try, though! </p>
<p>Everything you said is true. However, for the desperate or anxious applicant, any semblance of reassurance or criticism helps us…categorize ourselves. If we’re told, "Oh, it’s hard for you to get into Exeoverfieldkiss, then we relieve some of our stress. It could become a soft let-down, because if you get a rejection, you can say, “Oh, well, I wasn’t expecting the acceptance anyway.” Or, if you get a lot of encouragement, it might spur you to be more lively/enthusiastic, and relieves stress as well.</p>
<p>I’m not as annoyed about the Chances section as you are, Parlabane, because it is easily ignored. What I am annoyed of is how some Chances threads manage to slink into the main Prep School Admissions forum, or leak into the other sections…it drives me insane to see the misplaced “Chance me!” thread.</p>
<p>This is all just food for thought :)</p>
<p>I like to encourage other people and it makes me happy when people encourage me! I think that is what drives the chances thread.</p>
<p>I think some people get really nervous and want to be reassured that they’re going to make it into the school of their choice. I don’t like viewing chance threads or posting in them because we all have different opinions, and we don’t really know the student besides what they post. Rather than telling them ‘yes you’ll get accepted’ or ‘no, they won’t take you’, we should just give advice on how to do wll on your applications, because even the most qualified students who receive a 99th percentile on their SSAT’s and think they’ve had great interviews, don’t always get accepted. In the end, it’s really not up to any of us. Just stay positive.</p>
<p>You said it keisha404</p>
<p>@Keisha404 said it best. I try not to get their hopes up or let them down to bad but just remind them to work as hard as they can and broaden their search to more than just HADES unless they have no other choice. (i.e. parents.)
The only thing that REALLY annoys me is when I have to scroll through 10 pages of their CV, which is padded so much it includes things like “volunteered at soup kitchen in second grade” or “help my teacher organize the classroom”. You guessed it, padded apps.
Also, sometimes you can just tell when a person is bragging. (Oh dear me! I only got a 95% percent on my SSAT!)</p>
<p>Haha yeah, I agree. I’m applying as well, and it frustrates me when people use chance threads as a way to boast and brag. They might not even get in with such an attitude.</p>