<p>Hi... so anyway.. my dream school is Yale (which, I know, is incredibly hard to get admitted into). Let's say that I have okay extracurriculars, but I'm not president of any of them... however, I am passionate about them (or else I wouldn't have stuck with them for four years). I could write a very lengthy, passionate essay about them if asked. Would you say that they are "mediocre" or "poor"? If I have, say, a good SAT score (2200+) and a good GPA (4.0), as well as a very challenging course curriculum, do you think, without any real "leadership" in my EC's, I still have a reasonable chance of getting admitted, or should I not even bother applying? (to put things into perspective, I believe the admissions rate at Yale is ~7%)</p>
<p>All I know is that it can sometimes look odd to admissions if you’ve been a part of something for 4 years but never elevated or brought yourself up to leadership level. It might look (or might not, but still something to consider) like you really didn’t care about them or weren’t 100% dedicated.</p>
<p>Good grades are important, but finding and showing how you can stand above the pack is the most significant part in college admissions for competitive schools. Your scores will be common among Yale applicants – so why do you think Yale should choose you over someone with similar grades who was editor of the newspaper, track team captain and first chair violinist? (Does that make sense?)</p>
<p>If your SAT score is over 2200 and you have an excellent GPA, then you should apply anyway.</p>