Alright, Give It To Me Straight - Chances

<p>So I sent in my Yale application today. I'm applying as a theater studies major, and my stats are as follows: </p>

<p>I am a Caucasian female from Illinois, and I will be a first generation college student (no one in my family has attended college up to this point), if that makes any difference. </p>

<p>My high school coursework/activities are detailed below:
-Attended a public high school
- Scored 31 on my ACT, which I took 2 times (and got the same composite score but with some variation in the breakdown scores)
-Scored a 760 on my English Literature SAT Subject test
-Scored a 690 on my U.S. History SAT Subject test
-Top 30% of my high school class
-AP Scholar With Honors</p>

<p>I anticipate my coursework to be as follows by the end of my high school career:</p>

<ul>
<li>4 years of Honors/AP English
-3.5 years of Math, 2 of those years at an Honors level
-3 years of sciences, 2 of those years at an AP level
-4 years of foreign language
-4 years of music, 3 of those years at an audition level
-Plus 4+ years worth of electives, in the form of additional English classes (with a focus in theatre) and music. </li>
</ul>

<p>AP World History Score: 5
AP Government Score: 3
AP US History Score: 4
AP Language and Composition Score: 5
I will also be taking the AP European History test this year.</p>

<p>Activities:
4th Year Senior, Varsity Speech Team, voted a Senior Committee Member (leadership position)
4 Years in Fall Play
3 Years in Winter One Acts (2 years as an actor, 1 year as a writer/director)
3 Years in Contest Play/GI
1 Year in Spring Musical
1 Year in Concert Orchestra, 4th Chair Viola
1 Year in Concert Choir, 3 Years in Bel Canto Choir
All in all, these activities take up an incredible amount of my time per week, somewhere in the range of 40+ hours per week.</p>

<p>Was honored as being selected as a cast member of the highly competitive and selective Illinois All State High School Theatre production, which will be performed at the Illinois High School Theaterfest this January.</p>

<p>Ranked 9th in the State for Radio Speaking, IHSA Speech (Competed at IHSA Speech State Finals 2011)</p>

<p>Recieved an Academic Excellence Award from my district's school board</p>

<p>24+ Hours of community service</p>

<p>Was a People To People Student Ambassador to England, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in my freshman year, 2 weeks abroad.</p>

<p>Attended ISU's Summer Speech Camp, 1 week, for Radio Speaking</p>

<p>I also spent one month on the Northwestern campus studying Acting on Film through the National High School Institute's summer program (popularly known as Cherubs). </p>

<p>Now, here's where things get a little scary for me: my weighted GPA as of the end of my junior year was only a 3.8, unweighted 3.5ish. I realize, of course, that this is incredibly low for Yale's standards. However, considering that my ACT and SAT II scores are in a good range (yeah, yeah, 31 is still technically kind of low for Yale), I'm deeply involved in my extra curriculars, and I wrote seriously kick butt essays for the Common App and Supplement, that I might stand a tiny sliver of a chance. I've heard success stories of people getting in with ACT scores under 30, so why couldn't I get in with a GPA under 4.0?</p>

<p>Before you get flooded with a sea of “never gonna happen” replies, I’ll go ahead and tell you what any admissions officer would: the only way you have no chance is if you don’t apply. Since you’ve already sent in your application, sit back and relax, perhaps read a good book or see a good movie, and wait for decisions to be sent out. Don’t let all the militant “4.0 and 2400 SAT” people get you down; most of them will be rejected anyway. You’re definitely a contender for Yale, especially if you wrote excellent essays. Good luck! Hopefully we’ll both get in.</p>

<p>Thank you for not being one of the militant “never gonna happen” replies! I really appreciate it. I’d like to think that anything can happen if you let it, hence my applying in the first place. I appreciate your honesty, seriously.</p>

<p>31 ACT + 30% rank + unremarkable ECs = extremely unlikely</p>