Unnoticed Flaw in "What Are My Chances" threads...

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>So...hi guys.</p>

<p>So, as some of you might have noticed, "What are my Chances" threads are QUITE common on this discussion forum. I must admit, as a high school junior, posting one of these myself is more than appealing: I'm just as curious about my chances at X, Y, and Z University as the next overcompetitive CCer. But seriously, guys, we've gotta ask ourselves: are these threads actually helpful??</p>

<p>For instance.</p>

<p>A typical "Can I Get Into ... College?" might look something like this:</p>

<p>"Hey. I was wondering about my chances. Here are my stats:</p>

<p>GPA 3.5 UW
SAT 2190
ECs debate, theater, peer tutor, some art, lots of other stuff
Essays are amazing
Recs are perfect</p>

<p>Can I get in?"</p>

<p>Oh, oh...where to begin. I guess we can go in order. If i forget some things, please don't hesitiate to add on. The silliness of these posts is neverending, really.</p>

<p>1) The college process is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more complicated than a bunch of numbers -- espeically when you're applying to a competitive school where every application is read thoroughly. Having above-average grades and SATs will not get you in anywhere; it depends on how you fit in with the applicant pool, your essays, your EVERYTHING. Nobody on this website can determine your chances of acceptance with all that much accuracy. If you want average test scores/GPA's for your desired college, go to its website and check -- becuase that's really the most anyone here will know, as well!!
2) Saying "my essay is great" is lovely, and it's nice to have confidence, but nobody on this site can possibly help you without actually READING your essay that you seem to love so much. Posting your essay on this site may not be advisable, but assuming that college admissions officers will automatically love your essay may not be the most beneficial thing in the world, either.
3) Listing a bunch of random clubs (some of which people don't even know about) as ECs without explaining them won't help you. If you're going to post one of these things, at least explain everything that you type. If you truly want us to help you, that really woudlnt be such a bad move.</p>

<p>Bottom line: college admission is pretty unpredictable. Typing out a bunch of numbers and asking people's opinions isn't going to help determine your chances. The only thing is does is make you, and those around you, more anxious about applying.</p>

<p>Peace.</p>

2

<p>Your second two points are very specific to the few people who actually have such vague stats pages so I'll just address your first point.</p>

<p>Sure the college process is more than numbers (essays, personality, blah, blah) but numbers sure help. I've read that most colleges see gpa, sats, and courseload as primary factors in admission and thats just what people here post to be judged. No one on this forum can promise someone admission but numbers actually are enough to determine safety/match/reach schools which is what most people ask for anyway. Yeah, we can go to the college's website, but many of the college websites I've seen seem either vague or biased. Every college's site says they have the perfect admission process. They supposedly look into the very soul of their applicant and decide if their destiny lies with ______ college. Either that or they have very little information about the numbers. I use this forum as an unbiased source of strangers who can look at my stats and give me a vague generalization of my academic range for college. Besides, it's way easier to post here and get all of my info analyzed than going to the college's site and just getting average sat/gpa. I have checked all the websites for colleges on my list, and collegeboard but I still prefer this site simply because I can get multiple opinions. Speaking of multiple opinions, they are very much needed here: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=210167%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=210167&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

3

<p>Lol, I like the shameless plug at the end. I agree with your notion of getting opinions though.</p>

4

<p>There are a number of other factors that are important in making guessitmates.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Athletics. Many LAC's, for example, field a lot of teams. If you are good athletically and scholastically, it may help.</p></li>
<li><p>Your school's rep with a specific college. If you attend a competitive HS, your GC may have scattergrams listing acceptances/rejections by SAT and GPA. This can provide a clue as to how well thought-of your HS is. </p></li>
<li><p>Financial Aid. There are periodic (and heated) discussions on the Parents forum as to whether applying for financial aid hurts at private colleges and uni's. IMO it may - even at some school that bill themselves as need-blind. In practice, this means that you need to be a bit more careful of a solid foundation of matches and safeties (and financial safeties) if you are applying for aid.</p></li>
<li><p>Look at the percent admitted by sex. This is especially important at places like MIT.</p></li>
</ol>