<p>Hey guys,
I was wondering how much Yale considers athletic and artistic ECs that you may or may not pursue during your undergraduate years..
I am fast enough at swimming to satisfy the minimum recruit time for one event. I'm also fairly well acquainted with the Yale head coach (I've trained with him and the Yale team before). I'm just not sure I'm capable of handling a D1 training rigor level (mandatory practices).
I also play the piano and violin. I've won a couple state competitions in piano and placed in others and I've auditioned and made the regional and all-state orchestra for 3 and 2 years, respectively, in high school for violin. I'm not sure if I'll major or even minor in music at Yale, but if allowed, I would definitely audition for the orchestra. Would it help to send in a CD with my app?</p>
<p>When you are this involved in a few extracurriculars it will always help. That being said, if you could technically get recruited by the swimming coach that would be exceptional. You definitely show a passion for a few things and that is exactly what the admissions committee will be looking for. These EC’s will definitely be considered and definitely will improve your app.</p>
<p>Thanks for your response!
In Ivy league schools, do the coaches really have that much say in who gets in and who doesn’t? If I do get recruited, does that guarantee my admission (if my GPA is 3.85 and SAT is around 2250)</p>
<p>There are many high-level musicians at Yale and many opportunities to perform; the vast majority of students doing music (whether for credit or as an extracurricular) are not music majors. (There are no minors at all at Yale.) The common wisdom on sending a music CD is that you should perform at conservatory-level – not Juilliard-level, necessarily, but you should be good enough to be competitive at conservatory. If you’re in doubt, maybe your private teacher can help you decide whether sending a music supplement would help your application.</p>
<p>Being recruited does not automatically gain you acceptance. While this is rather unfortunate that is just the way it works. I am assuming you are a junior in high school right now and I would recommend that you get in touch with the Yale swim coach as soon as possible and give him all your times and the schedule of your future swim meets. Speaking from personal experience, I was rather heavily recruited for golf in my local area by my school but not by Yale. (trying to sound like a braggart but I just want to give you first hand experience) I tried to contact the coach several times to no avail. I feel that I would be able to compete with the members of the team but I cannot gain his attention for some reason. After multiple phone calls and several emails I have gotten no response and for this reason I will not be getting any help in the admissions process. So my advice would be to get in touch with the coach because being recruited will significantly improve your chances.</p>