“Am I Wharton Worthy? Please validate my existence.”
“Chance me!! Should I die or do I have a chance at Wellesley (rising senior)?”
“Chance an underachieving, mediocre, hopeless sack of s*** (me).”
For thousands of seniors applying to college this year, one question lingers: Am I good enough?
With college admissions becoming increasingly competitive, over 100,000 r/chanceme members – a subreddit dedicated to providing college application feedback – turn to the internet to find answers. Students anonymously post their stats, extracurriculars, and awards as other Redditors estimate their chances of acceptance to their dream universities. However, this supposed outlet for inspiration and realistic, constructive feedback, often spirals into endless scrolling for unhealthy comparison and obsession – all based on ‘guesstimates’ formed by fellow anxious, unqualified teenagers.
“Applying for college is one of, if not the most stressful things ever. The worries of not getting into the college you want are at an all-time high, especially at East. With East people and people in your year on Reddit and Linkedin, you’re constantly comparing yourself to others, always thinking, ‘Can I get in with these stats?’ or ‘Is my GPA high enough?’ when I know I should just worry about myself,” said one rising senior, who wishes to remain anonymous.
The r/chanceme subreddit was originally formed so “that none of its s*** stays [in r/ApplyingToCollege],” another subreddit used for college-related discussions, according to a user who also describes r/chanceme as “a septic tank full of sh***y opinions and depression [that] causes self-esteem to jump off a bridge.” With comments like “Are you just waiting until you get the answer you like most? [You] probably won’t get in,” and “You have little to no chance imo,” you don’t even need to publish your own stats to feel discouraged. Having post after post to compare yourself to brings oscillations between ego boosts and feelings of complete inadequacy. Plus, Reddit is only one component of a larger college admissions culture that just perpetuates anxiety and superficiality among us.
Well-intentioned students scour the internet for accepted applications or watch videos of essay readings to decipher what exactly will get them in, disregarding the nuance of admissions and the absence of a “one-size-fits-all” checklist. The predictions made on r/Chanceme are pure guesses distorted by one’s own biases or experiences, and the pressures that such forums exacerbate are fueling “the most anxious, stressed out, sleep deprived, judged and tested generation in history,” according to Marilee Jones, a former Dean of Admissions at MIT.
On paper, the internet is a great place to seek advice and ideas as to how to improve yourself, but in practice, you’re more likely to leave with more confusion and disappointment. Someone wouldn’t post their resume if they weren’t already confident in it, so with such high-achieving individuals flaunting their accomplishments online, the average applicant gets torn down by distorting their definition of “average.” And attempting to replicate successful applicants who seem to be shoe-ins for top schools inhibits students from developing their own interests and identities. As a whole, the pressure to succeed, in tandem with declining admissions rates every year, has fueled a conglomerate of shame, guilt, jealousy, and elitism online for vulnerable students just trying to figure everything out.
“You pick all the AP courses and do all the extracurriculars, even if you don’t want to. And with the commits [Instagram] page and everyone just doing everything, there’s just endless stress,” said a rising sophomore at East.
When scrolling excessively, a line must be drawn to distinguish self-help from self-destruction. Rejection will not invalidate your existence, and we all have the potential to accomplish so much more beyond high school, free from constant comparison.