<p>Is it just me or does anyone else roll there eyes when they see a subject that looks something like "I'll never get into college" just to read a thread that boasts a 3.9 gpa and sat scores in the 1300s...lame. I wish I had so little to worry about in life to be able to complain about my crappy ivy league stats :\ please.</p>
<p>yeah the worst are like 2300 sat, 4.5 gpa and 25 ecs, and they're like "oh, i hope i get into notre dame" or something like that. i mean, some people just obsess!</p>
<p>but i kinda sympathize w/ ppl, b/c i have doubts a lot...even @ places where i should get in. though there are some overachievers who are TOO much.</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>yeah the worst are like 2300 sat, 4.5 gpa and 25 ecs,<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Well, at for the high end schools these kids often have legitmate reason to worry. Look at the EA/ED results threads coming out now for the top colleges and you'll see some kids with stats just like these getting deferred or rejected.</p>
<p>Taking IB classes (without full diploma) I surround myself with these types. Sometimes it's frustrating (ok, a lot!) because they tend to do this all of the time and make the rest of us, who were perfectly happy with our SATs and don't care for an overly competitive school, feel...stupid. Lame.</p>
<p>yes I can understand if they're talking about how worried they are, that's only natural, but when people starts saying 'omg i'm sooo dumb' or 'i'm not getting into college' w/ those kinds of stats, it gets annoying. I'm an average student and even I know that there is a decent college out there somewhere for me.</p>
<p>Hey man... I don't think you understand how tough it is to get into these schools people wanna go to.</p>
<p>There seems to be a big drop off around College rankings after about number 30, where they get easier to get into to... but the others, 1-30...</p>
<p>I am freaking out about schools...</p>
<p>I just got deferred Stanford EA- GPA= 4.0 (all APs and honors), rank 1/610 (highest GPA in school history), ACT 34, SAT 2200... the works </p>
<p>Yes, my test scores are low for some schools...</p>
<p>but people have a reason to worry at the competition of schools... its differnt if you are looking at a State U... but for privates, people's fretting is legit.</p>
<p>i dont think she is saying that there is no reason to worry. i think the argument is that they have no reason to complain. with 2300 and a 3.9, you have far more options than most in choice of college. so they don't get into harvard, i am not so sympathetic. there are plenty of people who still struggle to even make it to college, regardless of intellect and hardwork. these kids who are supposed to be the best and the brightest just have a very narrow world perspective because if they didnt they would complain or fret so much.</p>
<p>It's not that they haven't cause for worry as far as getting into a particular school, it's just exasperating to see such tunnel vision that a valedictorian declares they'll end up a bum on the streets simply because they didn't get admitted to Stanford or something. Genuine anxiousness is understandable and worthy of sympathy, exaggerated despair is arrogant.</p>
<p>It's hard to get into those advanced schools, yes. But that doesn't make your life difficult in any sort of way at all. You'll get in somewhere and probably be happy there, even if it isn't one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Stressing out over a B or less than perfect SAT scores will not only make your high school experience miserable, but will leave you immature and unprepared for college. Life is about more than just getting into someplace well known and well respected and if you're so unhappy because you feel like you are not getting rewarded for all of your hardwork, maybe you should reassess what you really want and what you will find rewarding. I don't think superficial things like an HYPMS degree will really satisfy you or make you a better person in the end by any means at all.</p>
<p>The 2300/4.0/val kid who's worried about his/her chances will never amount to much more than a paper-pusher anyways. If you're that insecure while being the best, how will you ever assert yourself? I find them pathetic.</p>
<p>Yes, it's true that HYPSM etc...reject hundreds of 2400s, 4.0 students...but that 2400, 4.0 student WILL get into ONE of those schools. So it's just ridiculous for someone like that to be worried about his/her chances at said schools. I really feel bad for these people--their parents must have done a number on them. Meanwhile, my parents never pressured me to be the best, and I was very secure with my stats (ones far lower than these posted dream stats). And I got into a great school, and I was always confident that I would.</p>
<p>The one thing that makes me mad is the fact these overachievers are basically the ones that keep up'ing the qualification standards for the colleges. With the internet nowadays, you can check princetonreview or collegeboard to look up college stats. But especially at my school, it seems to be that kids worry more when they look at these stats. If princetonreview says that a certain school's avg GPA is a "3.5" a lot of kids will go "well I need about a 3.7 to get in then" No, and I'm really starting to see that in effect now. One of my friends recently got into a school that' avg GPA was a 3.6, he got in on a 2.5. I just wish these overachievers would calm down, they ruin other things ESPECIALLY college admissions for the rest of us.</p>
<p>" but when people starts saying 'omg i'm sooo dumb' or 'i'm not getting into college' w/ those kinds of stats, it gets annoying."</p>
<p>I agree, except that I find it "infuriating" when students complain like that, and on principle I ignore their posts. I think that they're being very insensitive to the many people with average stats. Indeed, anyone who takes the SAT usually is reasonably bright even if their scores are average or below average. Truly stupid people don't take the test because they don't need it since they aren't headed to college.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, virtually anyone in this country who graduates from high school can get into some college, and in most cases, they can get into a 4-year college.</p>
<p>I find these messages disheartening too. So many of these "underachievers," in addition to their stellar stats, are editing their own newspapers, raising huge amounts of money for charity, assisting surgical teams, starting businesses, whatever, and then everybody says, "Weak ECs." </p>
<p>Give me a break. These kids are 16, 17, 18 years old and they're already doing things that would be impressive for adults. Shouldn't HS and college be a bit about finding what you love to do rather than pushing to do something NOW (yes, even if you love it) that will impress an admissions committee? </p>
<p>And it seems like all the kids at the top are trying to squeeze into the same ten or so schools, where the admissions are so tight that it's basically a crapshoot anyway....</p>
<p>It's sad...<em>sigh</em>. Everyone wants time to fastforward, but I really want it to slow down...I have no idea how I will be able to survive March 30-April 1st.</p>
<p>I'm a debater, so I hope you'll forgive some devil's advocacy...</p>
<p>I am a current junior. My ambition is Stanford. Stanford will see a 3.92-4.0 as my GPA, my SATs will be >=2310, and my ECs are great. I don't think I have a very good chance.</p>
<p>I attend a very competitive high school, and the top schools will only take around 10 kids each. Considering the competition I'm up against (my guidance counselor just told me that over 100 kids have over 4.0s in my grade), I won't look so good in comparison. I absolutely need to nail every section of my application to make up for GPA.</p>
<p>I want to attend Stanford because of a variety of reasons, including location, CS program, business program, weather, and most of all the general feel of the campus. I spent 3 weeks there last summer, and I feel like I belong there. I could go on.</p>
<p>So what does any of this have to do with anything? Here's the point:</p>
<p>I am going to go to a perfectly respectable college. I have absolutely no right to say "omg I'm dumb" or "if I don't go to Stanford, I have no future" or anything like that. But this whole game means something to me. I have my heart set on the top tier, and not because it's my parents' dream. And while my stats are excellent compared to most, they may well not be enough. You find posts from kids like me to be "disheartening"; perhaps that's because the whole game causes us to become disheartened ourselves.</p>
<p>Essentially, I'm asking for some pity here. If these kids are legitimately worried for all the right reasons, cut them some slack. If they say "I'm dumb", they probably are intimidated by competition and the whole process; they want encouragement. Give it to them. It costs you nothing.</p>
<p>Oh please. You guys are such bleeding hearts. You're as bad as us "HYPSM over-achievers!" (I rank very narrowly in the bottom of that category.)</p>
<p>Yes, it's fruitless to worry now, but the plain fact is that opportunities exist at the best schools that other institutions can't offer you. Are you going to have coffee with Maya Angelou at a school ranked 67? What about the best research and internship opportunities in the world?</p>
<p>We're just trying to ensure that our futures are bright. There's no sense in UNDER-achieving, after all!</p>
<p>Plus, we're just a little nerdy.</p>
<p>well considering what ive seen at my school, even a 2400 cannot save you.</p>
<p>I'll say this much.</p>
<p>I got into rice with these stats</p>
<p>-13/458
-89.2 UW, 101.3 W
-EC's that I enjoyed doing (martial arts, art, etc... got bashed by people saying I had no leadership crap... I taught Tae Kwon Do...)
-Extremely sporatic grades. i.e. english with a 93 average and then a 60 on the final (she despised me, and refused to let me see it)
-1390 SAT (1970 new) with about a 2140 SAT II's
-A lot of random awards. i.e. best animation in school, 1st in state for photoshop repair, TKD trophies.</p>
<p>Nothing "spectacular" by most CC standards--I didn't cure cancer or feed 10,000 starving ethiopians in my spare time. According to most CC'ers, I would have had a "slim" chance of getting in because I wasn't a national merit scholar (hispanic recognized with a 200 PSAT), no 4.0 GPA, no recuited athlete (i spar damn well in martial arts though), and my EC's, according to many, were "lacking."</p>
<p>I think the reason I got in is because I was interesting, I had great life experiences to share in my essays (I went to a chinese birthday then a bar mitzvah in the same day.), I explained how I'm not perfect (I'm not and neither are you) but I try my best at everything, and I did stuff because I enjoyed it; I didn't do it to look good.</p>
<p>I know I'll prolly be flamed, but I am almost certain that half the people that post EC's like</p>
<p>-hospital volunteering 100000 hrs
-salvation army volunteering 100000 hrs
-helping deaf/mutes 100000 hrs
-road cleanups 100000 hrs
-tutoring 100000 hrs</p>
<p>Do it to look good (I tutor a lot and I like to do it). They do not express their passion for it properly and it comes off badly, but the few that do get accepted because they are honest.</p>
<p>Stats and SAT's only say so much. This first semester of my senior year I ALMOST FAILED ENGLISH, but I explained thoughtfully in my essays about how difficult she was and how much I appreciated it. It also helps that my average went up 7 pts per six weeks and I got the highest grade on the final. I went up to a 2180 on my SAT I--writing went from a 560 6/12 to a 710 12/12--and my SAT II's went up to a 2340.</p>
<p>Anyone with reasonable stats can get in. It isn't how much you do and how perfect you are, but why you do something. My MIT interviewer said it best: "MIT wants to see passion. They could fill their class up with perfect students thrice over, but they want people who do things to learn and enjoy it, and not for grades and to get into college." Don't get me wrong though, I don't mean that a 500 SAT, bottom of class kid can get into princeton or MIT, and I don't mean that all people with these absurdly great qualifications and humanitarian EC's are false, but I believe many are.</p>
<p>Yes, it's fruitless to worry now, but the plain fact is that opportunities exist at the best schools that other institutions can't offer you. Are you going to have coffee with Maya Angelou at a school ranked 67? What about the best research and internship opportunities in the world?</p>
<p>austinj: Yes, you are right, there would be some amazing opportunities at top schools. But what you might find at schools ranked 67 are: a professor who changes your life (or just teaches a great course), the person you might end up marrying, great research opportunities, especially for committed, bright students (it does happen, I know of a daughter of a friend of mine who went from Large State U. to a graduate fellowship at Yale.) Opportunities abound everywhere, college and the college experience is what you make of it.</p>
<p>Granted overachievers are over worried about getting into the good colleges, but some have legit reasons for doing so.
I want to go to a good college, and have worked my butt off during high school to do be able to have options for college. I go to a pretty bad school where Ib is the only thing and only 3 students do the IB diploma, most Ib classes are even crap.
I don't want to go to state uni. because I'm tired of being the only one who raises a hand in class. Perhaps, working 4 years in high school is well worth 4 great years at a college where i actually have fun at!</p>