How representative is GradCafe of grad school applicants?

[warriordawg23]

I'm in the processing of applying to several different German universities that are somewhat selective. (Acceptance rates of approximately 6%-33%) I'm getting nervous about how I compare to other applicants, to some degree because of this forum.

It appears, to me at least, that most everyone on GradCafe has a GPA around 3.9-4.0, a GRE around 169-170 V/Q, and a good amount of practical work experience. My question is, are most applicants to graduate school similar to this? Or is GradCafe populated by significantly better than average students? 

I appreciate your feedback!

[TakeruK]

TheGradCafe results definitely do not represent the entire applicant pool. Most of the people that know about this site, check it, and have the willingness to post their information will be top applicants. 

[Concordia]

We are all so fabulous here that you couldn't possibly compare normal applicants to us.

 

 

Relax.

[eternallyephemeral]

As @TakeruK mentioned, this site is not representative

Also, I think you're suffering from massive confirmation bias here, because most people I've read about on this site don't have stats anywhere near that. So unfortunately (or fortunately, in this case), you're completely wrong about the breakdown of this site, and therefore of the broader applicant pool.

Most people on here are not applying to Germany, meaning that it wouldn't be an precise applicant pool, even if it was accurate.

So good news all around.