admissions help for a current junior

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Hi, I was just wondering if I could get a general opinion on whether or not I should apply to yale and other similar top schools- I don't have any major awards or extracurriculars or fantastic scores....
here goes:</p>

<p>SAT- 2240- CR 750, W 690, M 800- I'm almost positive I'm going to retake beginning of my senior year to bring up the writing section, but I'm not sure how much it will help
PSAT- 226
GPA- 3.91 UW, I've gotten 2 Bs in AP French and 1 B first semester AB Calc
I've taken 2 400 level courses at the U of A (A for ODE, not sure about complex analysis yet)
APs- AB Calc Frosh year, Euro and BC soph, 5s on all. Taking 3 more APs, and 3 Subject tests in a few weeks
USABO semifinalist- I don't know if that means much...
Will be NHS VP next year (nhs is only seniors at my school)</p>

<p>Frosh and Soph year wrote for the Tucson Citizen newspaper as a teen columnist (the newspaper closed, though)- summer of 8th grade I wrote for them as a movie reviewer
Volunteer at a children's musuem for 3-4 ish years, VP for their Youth Board, and Youth Board representative for the Board of Director's
Hospital Volunteer for 1 year
Doing a biology internship at U of A this summer</p>

<p>Piano for 9-10 years, Flute for 7 years (did regionals only once soph year, got 3rd chair, so not sure if its worth mentioning)</p>

<p>I'll take any criticism or whatever I just need help! Thanks in advance</p>

2

<p>If the question is whether or not you should “apply,” I highly encourage you to apply to Yale and a few other top schools (e.g. Dartmouth, Cornell). Your stats are in the right range to be “competitive,” so you’ll be given serious consideration.</p>

<p>If the question is whether or not you’ll get in, I don’t know, honestly. I don’t see anything that is very compelling academically or extracurricular wise, but nothing throws you out of consideration either. You have a good shot, but it is still a very small chance.</p>

<p>I would: improve your SATs if possible, get more leadership positions in extracurriculars, and most importantly, WRITE GREAT ESSAYS, and get GREAT teacher recs.</p>

<p>I highly encourage you to also apply to schools like Pomona, Wash U in St Louis, etc, because, in my opinion, you (statistically) may not end up at Yale but you could end up at a school in that range if you apply to enough and take your applications seriously.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the advice- i guess VP isnt the same as president although sometimes i feel like i do more :slight_smile:
I am definitely going to retake my SATs
You think if my essays “stand out” it will make up for my lack in other areas?</p>