<p>Hrm. I had 2 really GREAT essays, 1 GREAT rec, one ok. I actually had 3 interviews. 1 GREAT, one good, and one bad. My transcript is strong (4.05), but i'm ranked 5/36, and my ECs are the top in my school inside and outside of school. </p>
<p>REJECTED.</p>
<p>My parents went to their 25th Reunion Wet Your Pants College Seminar (the summary, they told me, went something along the lines of 'Your kid isn't getting in'), and got some of the d/l on Yale Admissions...</p>
<p>Most important are your transcript and essays. I actually disagree with whoever said that essays shouldn't be important: your ability to write is one of the most important elements of how sucessful you are in a liberal arts college, and essays are a vital way to understanding the canidate's personalities and strengths. If you can't compose an essay you're happy with to apply to college, how are you going to pull off 20-pg English papers?</p>
<p>Next are your recommendations. It's INCREDIBLY important that you get amazing recs, and often it's extremely difficult because it's so dependent on the quality of your teachers. However, a lame rec or not stellar rec really screws you (sorry ivyboy). It's the best way, essentially, for the college tto understand you as a student. oftentimes, you're stuck with teachers who aren't used to writing recs, aren't good at it, or don't know you well. I got a rec for fun from my 10th grade art history teacher, who gave it to me to read (not traditional, I don't know why, I didn't use it in the end) that started 'Alyssa may not appear, at first, to be the kind of student who is strong in all areas,' or something. NOT the type of thing you want your colleges to see. However, I ended up asking my two AP History teachers from jr. year (against everyone's advice), because they knew me the best and had the most experience writing recs.</p>
<p>Before coming here, I had never heard of a 'hook,' but I think that I agree with it now. However, I think it's more in the form of something, or a few things, that you are completely dedicated to and have been doing for a substantial amount of time at a high level, no matter what it is. of course, being a black innercity BOY (52% of college applicants are girls, and they're more qualified) raising his 4 younger sibilings, or a legacy, helps a lot.</p>
<p>Another thing we saw at my prep school was the importance of varsity sports: those who did them got in, those who didn't... didn't. Getting a letter under your belt is incredibly valuble: my parents themselves noted that athletic admits are often an academic notch below everyone else.</p>
<p>i hope that clarifies some things... of course, admissions are often completely random because so many people are so overqualified, as everyone else has noted.</p>
<p>I don't agree with what has been said above. Harvard doesn't care about interviews that much. At the end of my intterview, the guy told me that I am the most sophisticated person that he has met in the past 15 years that he is doing interviews for Harvard. He told me he can perfectly see me as Harvard student..........</p>
<p>I got deferred.</p>
<p>There were two basketball recruits from my area applied EA. They had to balance the regions out. I live outside Dallas, TX. Well, I wish interview was everything, because I had the best time after my two hours interview!!!</p>
<p>Like10thousand, I was an internatioal soccer player. I was the youngest person in history of my country to be invited to Under-16 international soccer team. I moved to the U.S. last year and learned the English in the past year, and I`m about to publish 2 English papers! I basicaly raised a family that doesn't have transportation and doesn't speak English... </p>
<p>Where am I? deferred...</p>
<p>yeah i went to the ASC site for Yale and they even mentioned that they know teachers can write crappy recs so they dont really hold it against the applicant.</p>
<p>I know a number of kids who get into HPY and do not interview. So I don't know think the interview could possibly make all that much of a difference. A tip factor, not a category in itself. My son did not make his interview and was admitted. </p>
<p>The SATs and Gpas/class ranks do make a big difference. If you look at the matrices of accepted students over the years, a significantly larger percentage of the high stats pool get in over those with lower number. However, most schools do not bother to look at the exact class rank or SAT-they have a threshhold, say 1480, for the SAT1 which would give the kid , say, a 5 out 5 rating which would be the same for a 1600. They do not weight the 1540 vs the 1600. The categories are not absolute and change, so it is difficult to find out what is in force when. </p>
<p>The biggest thing is if you have something the school needs or wants. Each college, even HPY have their wishlists. That is why athletes and URMs are accepted at greater rates, they are generally on those wishlists. </p>
<p>It also helps to apply very early in the season if you have a stellar profile, but there are many kids like you. It is very difficult to turn down a top drawer student with great science and music ECs and top SAT1s scores early in the process. Once you are the thousandth one with the same profile, you become old hat. Most of the kids I work with who get in have their apps in by October and I have noticed a significant difference between the accept rates of those kids vs those who squeeze that app in on Jan 1. When the adcoms come back from winter break to review those apps, you can imagine what they will see. Thousands upon thousands of apps with a number of the early seats already taken, and still those who are deferred waiting in the wings. The enormity of this task is breathtaking. </p>
<p>Also, I can tell you that in my opinion the essays that I have seen are not particularly fantastic for those who get in. I am not sure how the essay counts but from what I have seen it is not worth laboring, over editing and worrying. Most of the kids who get in have ordinary essays that give a good picture of the writer. Nothing earth shattering or terrific.</p>
<p>One note about the above poster's comment on wishlists: Wishlists can also include some academic areas that the college wants to improve on in terms of its entering class. For example, I've <em>heard</em> that Yale likes to see females with engineering/physical science interests, because many who fit this category head to MIT, Harvard, and other places.</p>
<p>additional comment about the wishlists: i've heard that they can also include musicians that the college musical ensembles really needs. for example, if you're an awesome oboe player applying the year that the orchestra needs oboes, the music dept. will put in a good word for you (thus the option to send in recordings).</p>
<p>Yes, I'm a girl physics major! But I got deferred. </p>
<p>About getting admitted more easily if you send in your application early... I'm not sure if they read it in the order that they receive the application.</p>
<p>Suburban-</p>
<p>97.5% UNWEIGHTED IS A LOW GPA?!</p>
<p>I never understood the GPAs that weren't on a 6.0 pt scale? How does that work?</p>
<p>And I'm a girl math major, not sending in my app until late tonight. I don't think they read in the order they receive it in either. Personally, I don't think that reading something for regular decision earlier is goingn to change anything - decisions have already been made for EA folks, not for regular!</p>
<p>i don't know... i saw all these people posting 4.0 u.w. which I assumed would be equal to 100. I don't know what my gpa is on a 4.0 scale. And it's low compared to the highest gpas of last year's and next year's senior class in my school. The valedictorian last year had a 99+ average u.w.</p>
<p>I could get a 94% in all of my classes and have a 4.0 UW. 4.0 UW does not correspond to 100%.</p>
<p>really, wow! here i was thinking that everyone here had gotten all A+s, every class, all four years. well, there probably are a few who have. but yay!</p>
<p>Yeah. I am pretty sure A LOT of places have 94%+ is a 4.0. It is VERY rare to see people with 99%+ averages.</p>
<p>In my school, everything from a 90% to 100% is considered 4.00</p>
<p>"yeah i went to the ASC site for Yale and they even mentioned that they know teachers can write crappy recs so they dont really hold it against the applicant."</p>
<p>Oh, thank god. My English/French teacher gave me a copy of her rec after she sent it. She said great things about me but her writing was just plain AWFUL. Yes, I did say she was an English teacher.</p>
<p>"Most of the kids I work with who get in have their apps in by October and I have noticed a significant difference between the accept rates of those kids vs those who squeeze that app in on Jan 1. "</p>
<p>So applications are read in the order they are received? Also, might it also be that kids who send their applications in on the last day (a la me) do a more rushed job than the ones who sent theirs early?</p>
<p>Sometimes no interview is better than even a mediocre one...I know a kid who "missed" it because her google search on the guy revealed they would be at philosophical and sociological odds and no matter how genial an arguement they would have, the likely topics woul have been too personal to them both not to leave a tad of sour taste. Who wants to risk that? The beast thing is for the interviewer to be able to relate to you.</p>
<p>i know someone with 1560, 800 x3, and highest GPA possible who got rejected from yale
after getting rejected she realized she had placed too much emphasis on her grades and too little on her ECs or social life
she changed the concept of her app and got accepted to harvard in RD</p>
<p>
[quote]
Harvard could fill the freshman class twice over with people who got 800s on the Math or Verbal SATs.
[/quote]
Not really. Nationwide, 939 kids got a 1600 last year. Even if all of them applied to H,which they don't, H could not fill their class even once. FYI, about 2000 kids were over 1580, so I guess they could fill therr class with them, but just barely, since only about 600 girls were 1580+, and they need to keep it 50/50.</p>
<p>939 kids got a 1600 in one sitting. that doesn't include all the peopel who took it 2+ times, and then combined scores.</p>