<p>Alright, it may sound harsh, but it's true. There's a girl at my school, who I really do like, but sometimes she is way overconfident in her school selection. She applied to Princeton, Yale, Harvard, and every other Ivy or Ivy-like institution. In total, she applied to 10 schools, all of which most people would qualify as reaches for almost any student applying.
She's got good stats, but I don't understand how she can be so confident in her admission. She got a 30 ACT and a lower equivalent score on the SAT. She's not even ranked in the top fifteen at our school, but she has great recs and a long list of extracurriculars (no state or national awards). The other day I mentioned that I had to send in my midyear report, and when someone asked her if she did, she proclaimed with the utmost humility, "No, but what are they gonna do, reject me?"
This really intrigues me. She skips class all of the time and has dropped every club she claimed on her application right after she sent it in.
Point is, she keeps talking to me about admissions. Everyone at my school is clueless about college admissions, even the counselors, so they practically guarantee her a spot. I hate discussing it because she always speaks as though she's GOING to Princeton, and I don't think she's contemplated not getting in. I feel horrible because every time she talks about it, I just want to shake her, call her an overconfident idiot, and explain that her chances of getting in are less than 1 in 10.
What would you say? Should I just avoid all talk, or am I being completely naive? Maybe I've spent so much time on CC that I'm actually judging others based on everyone here's crazy standards.</p>
<p>I think it would be to her benefit if someone convinced her to apply to a safety. Some still are accepting applications.</p>
<p>Dunno what you're asking for but...</p>
<p>Did she apply to any safeties or do you know?</p>
<p>Maybe she'll get lucky...it's known to happen. With every school she applies to, the laws of statistics say that her chances of getting into one of them increases.</p>
<p>If it makes you feel any better, she's likely to end up at her safety school/at a state school branch campus.</p>
<p>Though if you are saying anything judgmental to her regarding admissions (ie you will or won't get in, your scores/gpa/rank are too low etc) I wouldn't say those types of things.</p>
<p>Well it can sometimes be annoying. What I would do is avoid talking to her about colleges. I don't think you should tell her anything other than convincing her to apply to a safety (if that's what you want to do), because it's possible that she'll get in. But if it turns out in the end that she doesn't get into any of the schools, she herself will probably get frustrated and embarrassed after all the talks about going to Princeton without you having to say anything about it =).</p>
<p>She will be fine... there are still a lot of colleges accepting applications come April 1.</p>
<p>What sort of school do you go to?
It may depend - some private schools (&thus guidance counselors) can, if not guarantee, nonetheless be pretty sure that a certain person can get in places, and know that it will work it.</p>
<p>I only applied to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oxford, and UChicago, and I ended up fine. Granted, I was willing to take a gap year, etc., if none of the schools worked out, because I wasn't prepared to spend four years at somewhere where I was unhappy. Don't judge, I'd say. Everyone's different - and this girl may know something you don't about why she's a very, very likely candidate.</p>
<p>But then again, it might just be plain overconfidence...</p>
<p>I actually wish I could go back and do that again. I gotta say, I came to this site and became really insecure for applying to colleges. I took off the 5 reaches I had and made it 3 reaches - 7 matches and safeties. I really regret it now. I got into my 4th choice and I'm now waiting for replies from my 3 reaches. Had I more confidence at the time, I would only do like 1 safety, 2 match and 7 reach.</p>
<p>I can totally relate to this</p>
<p>so she didn't even apply to a match school?</p>
<p>wow...she really going to have a huge slap in the face when decision letters start rolling in...</p>
<p>HOWEVER -- what she's telling you and what she actually did may be two entirely different things. Some people have a tendency to lie through their teeth about where they've applied, thinking that where they've applied reflects on what kind of person they are. Obviously, anyone can apply anyplace, so it means nothing!</p>
<p>If you go to a reasonable school, and if your GCs give reasonable advice, and if she is not a first-generation college student, I'd assume that she has in fact applied to other places as well. I also assume that she hasn't applied to all the Ivies and Ivy-equivalents. (Why would someone apply to both Dartmouth and UPenn? They are so different!!) </p>
<p>Long story short: Things are not always what they seem, and people lie.</p>
<p>hopefullybright, I respect your concern, however, I don't feel that your friend would take the truth well. Anything you say in matter may jeopardize your relationship. </p>
<p>You are probably right, as I've seen similar people apply to crazy schools without any idea of the actual odds and admission standards, but you never know. She might actually get in.</p>
<p>I feel like I AM this girl, minus the overconfidence...</p>
<p>I'm getting really insecure, but put on a confident face to people who ask me how applications are going (adults particularly). Partly because I'm embarrassed at my stupidity, and partly because I give people the impression that I have it all sorted out.</p>
<p>What would you say to your friend if she asked you for advice? Are there any decent schools that are still accepting applications? Judging by collegeboard.com none of the ones that I've seen have average SAT scores above 600!</p>
<p>Just don't get angry about it...you meet stupid people like this everywhere, and I suggest you think of this as an opportunity to learn how to ignore them. Sorry if that sounded harsh.</p>
<p>Ah, the solution is VERY simple.</p>
<p>Tell her to come to CC and read some of the posts here. Then her expectations will change.</p>
<p>It is difficult for me to believe that the situation described in the original post in this thread is real.</p>
<p>Ouch. So you're saying her SAT is below 2020. If by 15, you mean, she's not even in the top 15th percentile. And the fact that she prides herself on having a long list of EC's with no state/national honors as opposed to a succinct list of one's that she's passionate about doesn't help either. </p>
<p>Michigan-Ann Arbor and Missouri-Columbia are both rolling, so maybe she could apply there?</p>
<p>I feel like that person, only I'm feeling the complete opposite- insecure all the time, everything's like a dream. I only have reaches left, but I did get other offers so I guess I'm okay. I do know people like that saying that they're going to Ivy or Oxbridge, not knowing the reality.</p>
<p>Even if someone applies to 10 "reaches," the chances of ALL 10 rejecting her aren't that high. I know this isn't a perfect calculation but even if she'd have a 20% chance at any one, there'd only be a 10% chance she'll be rejected by ALL of them.</p>