I looked through a bunch of “what are my chances” threads and threads on this forum as well and I see all this amazing stuff on peoples applications. It’s so amazing its almost unreal. And then I realize. I think it is unreal. Do you guys think a lot of the people who post new discussions on this are telling the truth or are they just sugarcoating their app with all these amazing extra curriculars and whatnot. I mean obviously the majority of people are telling the truth but the ones who are applying to the ivies and schools like that. do you think they all did these things? I was just looking at someone who was applying to stanford and he posted a “chance me” thread. He built 4 apps to stop rape and hunger in India and he’s going there to volunteer there and he made a non profit organization. Maybe it’s all real and he’s just brilliant but it’s just too amazing its almost hard to believe.
I think it’s a mix - some people are probably trolling, but a lot of people are telling the truth.
Also, some people puff up their accomplishments on their college applications, so they may not have actually done everything they claim.
I’ve seen a fair amount of chance me threads and I know some very qualified college applicants in real life, and there are definitely people whose applications will seem unreal. In fact, the most impressive applicants I know aren’t the ones that I see posting Chance Me threads because they don’t feel a need to. On the other hand, there are definitely people who post fake chance me threads, but it is usually easy to tell them apart.
It is easy to be overwhelmed when you are a big fish in a small pond and you finally reach the ocean and realize there are a lot of even bigger fish out there.
CC is self-selecting for that kind of student.
I think it’s the real thing. And i also think that most folks who hang out here (and take it to the next step of opening accounts, etc) are already in “amazing stats” arena.
I believe most are real, but I have caught one or two that I’m almost certain are fake. An interesting example I saw on CC (anonymized):
A user claiming to be from country C posted on a chance thread that he/she won a bronze medal at a major international competition in XX year. It was one I had heard of, and I knew people who had medaled there, so I decided to look it up. Turns out, in XX, no one from C won a bronze medal but there were silver and gold medals.
So I asked about it. User posted some really BS stuff about how he/she originally won silver but then someone else scored higher so they demoted him/her to bronze. I realized it didn’t make any sense. Then he/she edited her post so that it dodged my questions entirely. Never saw the user again.
The moral is: don’t lie on college apps.
There are definitely fakes and liars. There are also some students who come in and post 2, 3, or more different “chance” requests under different names. Each one differs a bit, but if you compare them, they have core similarities.
It’s probably an attempt to test different spins on their character against popular opinion.
This strategy makes it seem like there are more highly qualified students than reality might support.
Then, there is the puffery. Like saying you were runner-up for a state berth in something. That increases the size of the accomplishments list.
The people like the ones you see on chance me threads are few and far between in real life. I know one-yes, one- girl who’s application was unbelievably good. There was no single weak point. Funny thing is, she’s going to Umass Lowell because they offered her a full ride. My point is that I think there’s at least a couple posters making some stuff up, or at least telling some fibs. We’re teenagers; there’s a limited number of things we’ve had the opportunity to do and create unless we’re a one in a million genius.
I take all of these as “case studies”. One never really knows whether a case study is real or not. The key is to learn what you can from the case study. What advice would one get with these circumstances? How does it apply to me? “Chance me” threads are only useful in seeing where to shore up an application (e.g. “I am a sophomore with …” answered with “You should really dive deeper into A and let B go”) to improve the overall impression. How reading it helps you as a member is really all that matters, not whether the person or original post is REAL. Even for the OP, an opinion of acceptance chances is not the REAL goal- the goal is either to show off, to intimidate, or to see where the holes are that need to be filled in in the available time.
On another board related to a specific discipline, some students found out that their classmate had made up stories about creating a nonprofit as part of her application. in the U.S, nonprofits are registered and you can find out about them online.
Some are certainly false postings and some I know to be true. I think, however, that there’s a 3rd set which is people who embellish based on hoped for future events. For instance, it’s not unusual to see a post something like “I got a 1950 on the SAT this time but [place excuse here] and it should go up to a 2100 when I take it again in the Fall”. This is usually wishful thinking as, per SAT’s site, only 1 in 25 people increase their score by more than 100 points and for anyone with a 680 or more in CR or W it’s more likely their score will go DOWN than up.
I suspect that for every poster who says they will score better there are two or three who simply post the new test scores they expect to get.
I think it is a mix of self-selection here at CC (top students would be more into this site perhaps?), some embellishment, and a rare out-and-out fibbing of the stats.
Sometimes I read chance me threads and just want to bury my head in the sand, feeling like a failure as a parent. 
I really believe “chance me” thread are useless. No one knows ultimately what the final up/down tipping point is on any one person’s application. Some kids post their stats to try to make themselves look good and boost their confidence in what is an increasingly hyper-competitive environment. IMHO, no one knows what the magic formula is so I think all kids will serve themselves best if they just put forward an honest application and let their true personality come through.
I forgot where i read this, but a college (USC maybe? I forgot) decided to verify every single applicant’s transcript/resume by checking with their high school, and found that around 10% of applications were sugarcoated or had complete BS on it. It’s so easy to lie on college applications, most schools probably don’t go through the trouble to verify everything.
As a previous user mentioned in this thread, I utterly despise the “chance me” threads with a passion. It deprives others of confidence who may not be as well accomplished as they are and it really serves no purpose other than to boost the original poster’s ego and confidence.
^even worse are the “chance me, I’ll chance you back”. If you aren’t qualified to “chance” yourself, why on earth would you be qualified to “chance” someone else. Clearly just looking for accolades.
@TiggyB62, I agree and disagree with you. No one can accurately “chance” anyone for top schools. Adcoms will take who they want, and may see things differently; and the amount of information presented in a “chance me” thread is minute compared to what is on an actual application. On the other hand, I’ve seen “chance me” threads where applicants get valuable advice as to how to present themselves or what accomplishments to highlight, or what things to work on, that may substantially improve the quality of their eventual application.
I tend to triage applicants in “chance me” threads into weak / competitive / strong / “rock star” categories. Someone who has major weaknesses is very unlikely to get in. A lot of people have competitive stats, but don’t stand out; they are pretty much thrown into the lottery - some will get in, but others will miss out. “Strong applicants” have something that distinguishes - what @Hunt referred to as the “AND” in another thread. And then a very small number of credentials that set them apart by a large margin. Even then, few are guaranteed success at any one school.
I also agree with @ZeeTee that some of the strongest applicants aren’t going to be putting out “chance me” threads.
Haha I secretly wondered this to myself as well while reading various results threads for schools like Harvard, etc. I don’t see why people would have a reason to lie about it here, but I’m sure some slip through the cracks to make themselves feel better about their rejections not only from the Ivy League, but society as a whole.
@renaissancedad I see your point.
The “chance me and I’ll chance you back” threads crack me up.
A high school senior, who has no idea whether his/her credentials are sufficient for the schools he/she is planning to apply to, is going to give you advice on your own applications??? What on earth does that accomplish??? Neither has been through this process before. Neither has any idea of the validity of their own applications, yet they’re qualified to advise you??