Do the result threads accurately represent the college admissions process? Are those that post their stats stronger or weaker than the average student accepted to the top colleges?
IMO, they’re stronger. You are looking at a very select subset of respondents who post their results. If your school uses Naviance, that would probably give you a better picture. The results threads can add some subjective texture, but they can also serve to depress the heck out of you.
Many colleges have summer open houses with sessions led by the admissions counselors. We found during visits last summer that some colleges were very direct in answering specific, pointed questions about what types of students applied and what types of students were admitted. And this was the most up-to-date information, given they had just filled the class a couple of months earlier. In some cases (Kenyon, for example) the recent results deviated substantially from those that the guides in print, like Fiske, had been reporting.
Go to the common data set.