<p>I mean, you can find a school's numbers pretty easily, and the rest is a complete guess...how would some random stranger on a forum be able to give you an answer of any value?? The worst is "Chance me and I'll Chance back"..if you can't chance yourself, then what good is your opinion to someone else?</p>
<p>I mean... am I right?</p>
<p>it makes you feel better…or worse lol</p>
<p>Honestly, I find them pretty much worthless, but it gives a third person perspective on whether or not an application is worth your time (too many reaches, etc.).</p>
<p>Sometimes applicant overestimate their chances. Chance threads can humble them, make them look at alternatives.</p>
<p>I think people like to chance others to make themselves feel powerful. Most people who respond to those threads are in high school and have absolutely no idea what they are talking about. You cannot give anyone a concrete idea of their “chance”, especially without having a lot more information that can possibly be provided.</p>
<p>I post a link to the school’s freshman stats from the previous year and let them figure out their chances on their own.</p>
<p>Let’s say you know a kid who got into a particular college with similar stats last year.</p>
<p>Or a kid who got rejected who had better stats.</p>
<p>That would be useful information to the person posting the Chance Thread.</p>
<p>^ but lots of the kids are lying about their stats anyway, which then I really don’t see the point in the “chance me” thread. And some of them have such high stats that it seems more like they are just bragging, as they can figure out themselves that they have a high chance of acceptance.</p>
<p>I think a “chance me” thread after first semester sophomore year would be worthwhile, in regards to feedback about academics and extra curriculars and some suggestions on how to prepare for the standardized exams.</p>
<p>The “chance me” threads after someone has already submitted their application is silly, IMO. Is someone going to change their mind about applying to a school based on anonymous feedback from CC’ers? I hope not. If you have the application fee and the desire to attend that school, very simply apply. No one, not even the admissions counselors can tell you an absolute chance. No guts, no glory :-)</p>
<p>The “Chance Me” threads are ego-boosters, since most of the kids on CC can get in anywhere they want.</p>
<p>lol jk</p>
<p>I agree that some of them just seem like they are bragging and they know they can get in anywhere.</p>
<p>“2400 SAT, Intel and Siemens finalist, IMO Gold Medalist- do I have a chance???”</p>
<p>From my point of view, it’s basically just to let me know whether I’m shooting to high or two low for a school. Plus, past college graduates of a particular school might have further insight on how my ECs weigh up against others that they’ve seen. </p>
<p>I can look at a school’s freshman profile, but for schools like Georgetown, which has an ACT range of 27-33, it’s hard to judge from a high schooler’s perspective.</p>
<p>I’m not in favor of obsessive chancing. But I posted my stats once (this past summer before I had started applications) and it helped me really get a feel for what I was up against. Especially for schools that are farther from my home and who’s reputations I’m less familiar with. It didn’t really change my mind about where to apply or go. I just wanted to get a feel for how I stacked up so that I knew where to set my hopes.</p>
<p>**What are the point of threads criticizing “chance me” threads? **</p>
<p>seriously their everywhere</p>
<p>In my opinion, the only time that “chance me” threads can be accurate is when the school is completely numbers-based (for example, a state school with a massive applicant pool). For Ivy League schools and small, prestigious liberal arts colleges there is absolutely no surefire way to tell whether someone will be accepted because the admissions process is based on…well, nobody knows, but I have a feeling it involves wearing a blindfold and doing “eeny, meeny, miny, moe.” </p>
<p>I think the worst thing that comes out of this obsession with “chancing” is that it can discourage otherwise fantastic applicants from applying because their SAT scores or GPA aren’t seen as “good enough” by CC’s standards. For top tier schools, while SATs and GPA certainly play a role, college admissions are based on so much more than numbers. People with 2400s and 4.0 UWs are rejected and people with 1900s and 3.6s are accepted (granted, the latter stats aren’t bad by any means, but they’re Clown College material by CC’s standards). It’s about the applicant as a whole, not just their scores. </p>
<p>Lastly, CC tends to put a lot of emphasis on standardized testing, but its importance has increasingly decreased over the years to such an extent that many very prestigious schools no longer require them. Granted, a good GPA won’t negate a downright atrocious SAT/ACT score, but I’m willing to bet that if there was one applicant with a 2000 SAT, a 3.9 UW, and strong ECs and another applicant with a 2350, a 3.5 UW, and weak ECs the college would lean towards the former. I’d go so far as to say that within the next 10-20 years standardized testing will no longer be a factor in top tier college admissions.</p>