False Admissions Hope

As if college admissions wasn't already a cutthroat process, now the applicants themselves are playing odds-makers rating their peers' chances of getting into selective schools. Students who frequent the popular College Confidential "What Are My Chances?" forum can post their test scores, GPAs, extracurricular activities, and other relevant information to get an informal assessment of where they stand in the admissions process. Peer-to-peer comments as you would expect are not always flattering or encouraging. Bruce Poch, Dean of Admissions at Pomona College, says "some of them are getting false encouragement, some are getting a little ego massage, [but] they aren't necessarily getting an answer."