<p>I have just finished my freshman year at Yale (2012) and I feel I can help out on a few of these. I hope you other Yalies don’t mind^</p>
<p>@ Anthony Clark- it’s good you are looking so early, as that can only be a benefit. 1)get good grades, 2) do some form of “giving back to the community”, it doesn’t have to be draining old people’s bedpans. 3) pursue whatever it is you are passionate about and become excellent at it. If it’s violin, be one of the best that your resources can allow. If it’s building indonesian toothpick hut models, then take part in the state championship or whatever. Colleges are more impressed if you excel in one or two particular ECs than if you join every club under the sun (although that can work too). 4) be likable in class so you can get good reference letters 5) start studying for your SAT test by buying BARONS study books, and just doing the practice tests over and over and over again. 6) do not wait for someone to get you there, you must keep order of everything required for the application, tests needed, rec letters, etc. </p>
<p>@ cavalierpup3 - It sure can’t help, but it seems to me anyway that they are more concerned with your ranking in the school. Also if you get a B in gym class it probably wont matter too much. Just dont get more than 1 B or else you might start moving towards the auto-reject pile</p>
<p>@ race64 - Don’t expect the classes to be easy like highschool. Don’t take 6 credits of intense sciences and maths, as you will probably die. Your dean and upperclassmen will instruct you well, but one of the main things is to branch out and take classes on whatever you’re interested in.</p>
<p>@ Transfer Accepted - No your age wont matter. I know a few transfer students in my college that did the same thing</p>
<p>@ badgerpoker - Take the most difficult courses your school offers. Try to take Calculus of some sort.</p>
<p>@ tek09 - The journalism program is new and I haven’t heard whether it’s good or not. It probably is. Even if not, there are tons of student run newspapers you can write for. The YDN is the longest running student newspaper, with daily publications, and if you start out freshman year, you can work your way up to be an editor of some sort, which are apparently tapped for secret societies a lot </p>
<p>@ Purpilicious - It has an art department, and needs students to take classes there. I know a handful of people taking art courses who all seem to enjoy it.</p>