Any chance for Yale?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey y'all, I was thinking about applying early for Yale, but I think I might save my money if I don't stand a chance LOL. Anyways, any comments would be appreciated.
oh yea..im an asian guy in southern california</p>

<p>Intended College Major: Biochemistry<br>
pretty much i wanna be a doctor</p>

<p>Academics:
GPA: 3.91 unweighted 4.4? weighted</p>

<p>• International Baccalaureate Program
o HL: Biology, Math, English
o SL: Chemistry, Spanish, History</p>

<p>• PSAT: 214</p>

<p>• SAT I (retook in October)
o Math: 660
o Critical Reading: 730
o Writing: 780
o Total: 2170</p>

<p>• SAT II
o Math 2C: 770
o Biology M: 770
o Chemistry: 760</p>

<p>• AP
o European History: 5
o Calculus AB: 5
o Chemistry: 5
o Biology: 5</p>

<p>• IB
o History SL: 5
o Chemistry SL: 5</p>

<p>Class rank: 40 /717</p>

<p>(Got B's 4 times..if unnoted then i got some form of an A)
Freshman year:
Alg 2 HP<br>
Concert Band<br>
Eng 1 HP<br>
March Band/PE<br>
Spanish 1 P<br>
World History Hp
Biology HP</p>

<p>Sophmore year:
Eng 2 HP
Europe Hist AP
Jazz Band
March Band/PE
Math Analysis Hp (Got a B first semester)
Spanish 2 P
Chemistry Honors</p>

<p>Junior year:
AP Calc AB/ IB HL math (got a B first semester)
AP chem/ IB SL chem
AP bio/ IB HL bio
IB SL history
Spanish 3 ib/ hp (got a B first semester)
english 3 ib (got a B first semester)
State required course
Concert Band</p>

<p>Senior year:
AP calc bc/ib hl math
Civics/econ
Theory of knowledge (IB)
Bio hl
Spanish 4 ap/ ib
englsih 4 ib</p>

<p>Awards and Honors
October 2013
• Letter of Commendation for outstanding performance on the Preliminary SAT</p>

<p>September 2013
• AP Scholar with Honor</p>

<p>February 2012
• Science Olympiad Regional Competition
o 5th Place Medal in Rocks and Minerals
o California Legislature certificate of recognition for being in the 4th place team (Walnut High School Science Olympiad Team)</p>

<p>February 2013
• Science Olympiad Regional Competition
o California Legislature certificate of recognition for being in the 3rd place team (Walnut High School Science Olympiad Team)</p>

<p>Janurary 2013
• County of Los Angeles Commendation Certificate
o Awarded for founding Student Bridge Association.</p>

<p>2012
• The President’s Volunteer Service Award</p>

<p>April, 2011
• Award of excellence and medal for Optimist International Club Essay Contest </p>

<p>Gonna get Eagle Scout</p>

<p>Gonna get Congressional Award Silver Medal</p>

<p>Work Experience/ volunteerin'</p>

<p>December 2010 – September 2011
• Junior Volunteer at LAC USC County Hospital
o Volunteered more than 200 hours
o Observed several medical procedures.
o Learned how hospitals Function</p>

<p>June 2011 – August 2012
• Lab Volunteer at the USC Doheney Eye Institute
o Worked at the lab for two summers and thorough sophomore year.
o First summer and throughout Sophomore School year: shadowed a graduate student and learned the procedures and protocols used in the lab.
o Second summer: worked on a research project concerning the expression of the Crb1 gene in knockout mice.
 Goal was to confirm the expression of the Crb1 gene in Dr. Craft’s knockout mice, for the expressed gene would require reevaluations of the conclusions drawn from previous experiments concerning the mice.
 Formulated and planned experiments.
o Skills Learned
 PCR
 Gel Electrophoresis
 Immunohistochemistry
 Tissue Sectioning
 Western Blotting
 Cell Culturing/Splitting
 Spectrophotometry
 Micropipetting
 Centrifuge
 Organ collection (from lab mice)
o I attended lectures with the rest of the people working at the lab to learn about research presentation.</p>

<p>June 2013 – August 2013
• Eugene and Ruth Roberts Summer Academy at City of Hope (<5% acceptance rate, mostly of undergraduates)
o Worked as a paid research intern ($4000 stipend for 10 weeks)
o Completed a research project and poster.
o submitted research into Siemens Competition.
o Project on the search for isoforms of DNA synthesis and replication proteins in pancreatic cancer cells.
o Wrote a “publication level” research paper.
o Skills Learned:
 Protein extraction
 2D Gel Electrophoresis
 How to write a scientific paper with references
 Presentation skills</p>

<p>Clubs and Activities
2010-present
• Math Club
o Participated in Pepperdine math day.
o Member</p>

<p>2010-present
• UnitedMed (School Club)
o Vice President
o Organize speakers in the healthcare profession.
o Organize and lead field trips to hospitals.</p>

<p>2010-present
• Future Scientists and Engineers of America
o Treasurer
o Organized presentations on science and research.</p>

<p>2013-present
• Chemistry Club
o Treasurer
o Original member</p>

<p>2010-2013
• Concert Band and Marching Band
o Alto Saxophone</p>

<p>2008-2013
• Trident Swim Club</p>

<p>2011-present
• Walnut High School Science Olympiad Team</p>

<p>2008-present
• Boy Scouts of America
o Completed Eagle Project
o Awaiting final conference and board for Eagle Scout.</p>

<p>2012-present
• Student Bridge Association
o A student-representing group between students and the school district; Organize events like Career Panel for high school students' benefits.
o Co-founder; Co-president
o Organization designed to connect high school students directly with the School District so that students are able to voice their concerns and also to be able to implement the changes that are aimed towards improving the school and its quality of education.
o Advised by WVUSD Board of Trustees Member
o I have hosted a career panel which allowed high school students to receive information from professionals in the field of law, medicine, and engineering, as well as ask the professionals any questions they had about their related field.</p>

<p>To be honest, i was a meh student so my recs arent gonna be anything speical
I probably got meh essays too.</p>

<p>anyways...thank for readin all taht soo please let me know if i should even apply or i dont stand a chance and should save my money for a couple bowls of pho instead...thanks yall!</p>

2

<p>“To be honest, i was a meh student so my recs arent gonna be anything speical
I probably got meh essays too.”</p>

<p>Then forget it, haha. Your stats are good, just as competitive as any other yale applicant, but the things that set you apart at this point will be your recs and essays. If they aren’t good/passionate/unique, forget about going to yale.</p>

3

<p>I see! Thank you for the response =). Looks like I’m having a few extra bowls of pho with my extra $</p>

4

<p>Yale is going out of its way to get science kids to apply at the moment. I would recommend writing your meh essay about how you love science and Yale is a great place to do science so you want to do science at Yale. They want to hear that very much.</p>

<p>[UP</a> CLOSE | Playing catch-up: Building a science culture | Yale Daily News](<a href=“http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2011/09/13/up-close-playing-catch-up-building-a-science-culture/]UP”>UP CLOSE | Playing catch-up: Building a science culture - Yale Daily News)</p>

<p>If you can submit an extra LoR, get one from one of your supervisors at the summer research programs.</p>

<p>On another note, you have an impressive record, but one self-deprecating bit at the end and people here basically tell to go to community college. College adcoms are a little more mature than the people who post here, but not by much. So, it will help you to keep your self-deprecating streak in check until application season is over. Then you can go back to implausibly pretending to be just another meh student when you’ve done paid research for f***ing Siemens. ;-)</p>

5

<p>Awww thanks for the response NavalTradition! I will definitely keep a positive tone in my college apps =). But honestly, I’m asking for recs from my chem teacher last yer (like I got A- both semesters, never really particiiptaed in his class, and kinda fell asleep alot lol) and my english teacher (i mean participation was literally mandatory and part of ur grade LOL but i got a B first semester and was dwarfed by those debate kids who always give long, deep, and eloquent responses =)) But I really appreciate ur commment and by all means let me know if you would like me to chance you back!</p>

6

<p>Alsooo i had a pretty boring life and i suck at writing so i dont think ima have a dramatic essay lol. like i had regular parents, regular family income, regular school, regular health (actually im kinda a fatass), just a preeety regular life. plus…im an asian from southern california…which is definitely a bad thing lol.</p>

7

<p>bump for joy, bumb for soy…sauce</p>

8

<p>"like i had regular parents, regular family income, regular school, regular health (actually im kinda a fatass), just a preeety regular life. "</p>

<p>Me too. So, I take little things that make me different and expound on them. </p>

<p>For example, there’s an optional mini-MIT essay about your cultural background. I thought, “what the heck do I write about I’m white.” I wound up writing about my Dutch heritage, and about how weird the Dutch version of Christmas is, and how we sometimes incorporate tiny little traditions.</p>

<p>Think about why you love doing research. Take little things and make them a big deal. There’s another essay for MIT about a “significant challenge”. But I haven’t had any “significant challenges”!!! My life has been pretty easy! So I wrote about how one time, our robot broke on competition day. Stuff like that can make for interesting essays if you’re thoughtful and reflective enough. </p>

<p>Think of a time you told a story to a friend. Now tell that story in an essay, and try and see what it says about you. Even people with “boring lives” have interesting moments. Adcoms wanna see your perspective. Let go of the idea that you’re boring and uninteresting, because you’ve achieved a lot in high school and you shouldn’t hold yourself back! I think you could get into Yale if you showed a level of passion and maturity in your writing :)</p>

9

<p>I don’t understand. You get chastised for your constant self-deprecation which you acknowledge and then you go right back at it again. Have some confidence! You’ve done a lot. Act like you’re worthy of a top college admittance. Don’t bring your current attitude to your essays or your interviews.</p>

<p>Find something that is meaningful to you or that you are passionate about and write about it or write about something that allows adcoms to gain insight about who you really are. I am a firm believer that you are what you think you are and right now you are projecting an image of yourself that frankly I wouldn’t want to waste a precious admittance on if I were part of an adcom. Why did you work so hard in high school to do all those things and now you sabotage your efforts by writing “meh” essays? Also, why choose teachers that you think won’t write good recs for you? It almost seems like you are afraid you won’t succeed so you are setting yourself up for failure and giving yourself a good set of excuses beforehand.</p>

<p>As we’ve said, you’ve done a lot. Take ownership of it. If it doesn’t work out at Yale then it will somewhere else as long as you show some confidence and go out and get it. And for Pete’s sake, stop saying LOL, this is your life and your future you are talking about!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

10

<p>WOOWWW!! u guys are so amazing! Man those are some amazing comments and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for saying those things! @yayitsme123 that is a GREAT suggestion thank you so much. It’s true, we don’t need tragedies in our lives to write good essays =), we should just write what we are passionate about. @Falcon1 omg you are an inspiration. I guess over the past few weeks I have been SUPER pessimistic about college acceptances and just didn’t want to expect too much. the teachers I chose to write recs for me are probably the ones that would write the best letters for me, but I was generally a quiet/shy student that didnt really stand out =P. But anyhow, thanks for the tip =)…i guess I really do look down on myself too much but I’ll stahp.</p>

11

<p>No worries. What really got me was that I thought about how much time it took for you to put together this chance thread and then at the end you say you’re willing to buy a couple bowls of pho instead of applying if a bunch of strangers don’t think you are worthy. </p>

<p>You clearly want to apply to Yale or you wouldn’t have spent the time and energy soliciting opinions. Why be afraid of that? If you have been quiet and shy all your life than now is a great time to change that. You need to keep visualizing yourself walking to classes at Yale and you’ll realize/know that you belong there just as much as anybody else. It becomes a whole lot easier to do, say, and write the right things if you constantly have this mindset. Constantly, putting yourself down will only re-enforce this negative image of yourself. </p>

<p>Apply to Yale and some other reaches along with a broad swath of schools. It’s okay if you apply to Yale and you don’t succeed but not trying or giving it your best effort when you’ve come this far is not.</p>

<p>Finally, if you’ve heard nothing else that I’ve said, get rid of the “SUPER pessimistic” attitude. It’s optimists who do well in life. When my daughter was applying to Harvard, I would gently remind her that only 1 in 20 get accepted so she wouldn’t get her hopes up too high. She would always reply “Well I guess I have to be that 1 person then” - and she was.</p>

<p>You need to understand, you will get in somewhere good, and you will enjoy your time there, and you will get good grades and come out of your shell, and you will become a caring doctor, and…</p>

12

<p>=D i swear u should be an inspirational speaker. Dude i see your point, thanks man. haha that last paragraph made me smile</p>

13

<p>I know how you feel OP. I have good scores and stuff but I come from an area where people don’t really go to ivy league/great schools, so I’ve been really self deprecating about the whole process. It took me a really long time to admit that I wanted to go to MIT. Let yourself want it! If you don’t get in, that sucks, but you know you have a chance and you should act like it.</p>

14

<p>Wow, its nice to know I’m not alone LOL. But like for me my pessimism is caused by the opposite reasons…12 people in my school have 4.0, a couple have 2400, and some of my classmates are amazingly brilliant. But, gosh, y’alll are so inspirational that I won’t let those who are better than me stop me from trying my best!</p>

15

<p>I’m sorry Harrylo. A SAT I score of 2170 is well below the average YALE score of 2380. If you do not believe me then you have to do research. Other than that your resume is very interesting and very good. It is just that a difference that large will result in automatic rejection.</p>

16

<p>It’s within the middle 50, I’m pretty sure. Half of all Yalies have below average SATs.</p>

17

<p>The only detractions from what is otherwise a stellar profile are your lowish class rank and several B’s. Besides that, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you got into Yale :slight_smile: Make sure to write some awesome essays!</p>

18

<p>Alright guys, thanks for the imput =D. I did retake the SAT I (yea hopefully ill get above 660 on math this time)! Lemme know if you want me to chance you back!</p>

19

<p>Your Extracurriculars are undoubtedly Ivy League material. Your SAT score would place you just a bit below the average sat score at Yale. A retest wouldn’t be out of the question. It is great that you got commended. Based off of experience from my friends who applied to Ivies, the essays are very very important. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they make or break an application. We have to remember that the people who read your essays need to be compelled and interested by your essay.</p>

20

<p>harryloo: how do you plan to convey your research experiences in your application?</p>