It’s natural for students (and their parents) to judge their chances of admission at a particular college based on the results of people they know. Students compare their classes, GPAs, test scores and activities and conclude,
“If I do what my friend who got in did, I should get in, too.”
But the problem with that method is that you don’t necessarily have all the facts.
Do you know for sure what your friend’s GPA and test scores were? I’m not suggesting this is all a big conspiracy, but that’s personal information and not everybody tells the truth when pressured to reveal it.
More importantly, you didn’t have access to the admission file. You didn’t get to see the application, the description of the activities, the letters of recommendation or the essays. And you probably weren’t sitting in the interview with your friend.
You don’t have all the information. And the information you do have might not be entirely correct.
If you want to judge your chances of admission at a particular college, start by talking to your high school counselor. He or she will know who got in from your school last year, and more importantly, they’ll have access to more good information than you will.