<p>For those of you who got in or applied to Yale this year, would you guys like to offer next year's applicants some advice?</p>
<p>Not to rush anything, but I thought I'd start this thread now while everyone who applied to Yale might still be lurking on CC.</p>
<p>What would you guys have done differently?
What are some things you wished you had known earlier?
Tips on the application process in general (getting transcripts, recommendations..etc)</p>
<p>Any advice would be appreciated!</p>
<p>Thanks ahead of time :)
I'm really looking forward to the responses.</p>
<p>1) Start early! Don’t tempt fate by working on your app till the very last millisecond. If you are sure about the college itself, apply SCEA for sure. If not, put some extra effort into it and apply RD. Pace yourself, don’t rush, yet do NOT procrastinate.</p>
<p>2) Don’t try to look so well-rounded with your app. Position yourself through your essays/recs; find some approach that makes you unique. Evaluate yourself: are you a math person? are you a leader in various areas? are you a hard-working athlete? Don’t try to go out on a limb and risk spreading yourself too thin. Stay focused and find an approach that works for you. This will make you stand out as a remarkable addition to any class.</p>
<p>I know I sound like a book on college applications, but trust me, in hindsight, this is what I have learned and what has worked for me. It is something that applies to all of us who got in, got waitlisted or simply got into another college. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, I got in, for Class of 2013 this year. Hopefully you can form part of our class of 2014 next year. Best of lucks! ;)</p>
<p>I agree with a lot of what Jordi offered. Definitely work your butts off in the next few weeks left of the school year and make sure your grades are good.</p>
<p>To be honest, though, for the most part, the academic portion of your application is done because you can only really control your end-of-year grades, and if you apply SCEA, senior grades might be irrelevant (although you should still work hard to show Yale that you’re still doing well).</p>
<p>I think the most important thing is to spend time on your essays and thinking about who is going to write your recommendations. I firmly believe that my essays and recommendations catapulted me into Yale, more so than my grades and ECs alone would have done. The essay is where you get to show the admissions officer WHO YOU ARE and what makes you unique. I’m sure that academically you are qualified to go to Yale (otherwise, I doubt you’d be applying). But what makes you more special than the next person? Think about this and make sure that comes through in your essays and application. That is what will capture the admissions officer’s attention and say, “Wow, this kid would really be great for Yale!” (I know this is all clich</p>
<p>If you search through the forum there is a post by a girl (I think) who got into Stanford and during the admit weekend asked the admission officer what they wanted in an application and it was passion. I used that advice and it paid off well I think that it is something anyonw applying to top schools should look into.</p>
<p>I just posted this to another thread, but I think it is pretty applicable here:</p>
<p>I was just admitted to the Class of 2013, and I never had an earth-shattering experience. </p>
<p>I am white and middle class from Pennsylvania, pretty run-of-the-mill.</p>
<p>So here’s what I think made the difference. Around the start of my sophomore year, I knew I was stretching myself pretty thin trying to look like I was a high achiever. I was in so many random activities I couldn’t even tell you what they all were. So I decided that I loved to play sports, sing, and take math and language classes… and I put all of my energy into doing these few things excellently for the following three years. And in the end, not only did this help me get into college, but I feel like I actually had a good high school experience. Rather than dragging myself through a mad attempt to be involved and in charge of everything, I was able to really care about what I was doing (while still maintaining a degree of well-roundedness).</p>
<p>And when you get around to your actual college process… do whatever you have to do to put your scores in the 1500+ range. I saw friends of mine who were incredibly awesome and qualified get denied or waitlisted because of average scores (I know this because our guidance counselors call admissions to ask). Also, make sure to put a lot of energy into EVERY supplement you do. Trust me, they can tell… and it makes all the difference.</p>
<p>If you’re really serious about Yale, do SCEA. If you get in, it is the BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD to know where you’re going (or at least that you’re going somewhere) when half of your friends haven’t finished applying yet.</p>
<p>Also, START THOSE ESSAYS EARLY. Do something awesome for the supplement essay. I mean, you can write it about anything. Show Yale how awesome you are. :)</p>
<p>College admissions process can be very strange sometimes. I think I got in with very personal essays, but that depended on who it clicked with. I got rejected by Stanford SCEA, waitlisted by Wash U, waitlisted by Duke, and started to lose hope. And then I got into Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Cornell. In other words, never despair, never give up, because it’s never over. You should enjoy the rest of your HS life too.</p>
<p>Work on your essays now. Develop and improve it all throughout the rest of the time you have. Ideas will pop into your head, and enhance your essay.</p>
<p>I’m definitely going to try to get my score up to 1500. I’m at 1440 right now (790 W…too bad it wasn’t CR haha). I know someone this year that had an average SAT score but everything else was amazing and she got rejected/waitlisted at all her top schools. </p>
<p>YES! I’m going to do SCEA for sure. I plan to work on my essays this summer–right when the supplement comes out. I’m already brainstorming though. Just writing down ideas in this journal I have whenever they pop into my head. </p>
<p>Thank you guys so much. I really appreciate all this! And I’m sure everyone else applying next year will be grateful for this advice. </p>
<p>Question–If you guys applied SCEA, did you guys feel rushed at all? I know I’m going to start my essays this summer and everything but did you guys have trouble getting all the other material in on time? (transcripts, recommendations, scores, counselor stuff…etc)</p>
<p>Should I ask for recommendations like after AP exams this year to give my teachers more time? (Big public school…teachers get loaded with requests in the fall) Especially since I know FOR SURE I’m applying early?</p>
<p>In terms of transcripts and recommendations, I didn’t feel rushed because my college office/teachers took care of that on their own and got it in on time.</p>
<p>However, I had a busy summer and my first semester was hectic 'cause of football and so I didn’t really get to work on my essay until a few weeks before the app was due. However, I got in everything on time so it was fine.</p>
<p>Yeah, it’s always nice to give your teachers a heads up that you want them to write you a recommendation and let them know you’re applying early. But I don’t know if you have to do it before the summer. AT THE LATEST, I would say as soon as you go back to school in the fall. (Only one teacher actually had her students fill out a sheet if they wanted her to write a recommendation.)</p>
<p>^ A lot of teachers at my school has requirements for recommendations. Like you have to give them a transcript and a resume type of thing (with your ECs, awards, scores, jobs…etc). But I think only one teacher I’m asking is going to require that. Which might be a problem since I can’t get transcripts that include my entire junior yr grades until next fall. And I really don’t want to make it seem like I"m rushing my teachers. It would be really realllyyyy nice to be one of the first ones they write for though. And especially since they’re junior yr teachers, I bet it helps if you’re actually in their class when they write it…they’re less likely to forget certain things about you.</p>
<p>I’m hoping all the school stuff will get there on time. But I can’t really do anything but trust that my counselor will get all the required paperwork to them. Which is kinda scary because it’s kinda out of my control at that point.</p>
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