<p>Hey... I'm a British prospective student (Year 12) and I was wondering if there's anyone out there who has applied to / is at Yale who could give me some advice.</p>
<p>I have 9A*s and an A at GCSE (A in Music) and am predicted AAAAA in my AS Levels in English Literature, Geography, History, Maths and Further Maths. </p>
<p>I obviously have more to say than just grades, but if anyone can tell me their experiences, I would most appreciate it :) :)</p>
<p>HI!</p>
<p>I’m in Year 13 and have just finished a gruelling round of SATs, applications and interviews. The ONE thing I wish someone had told me when I was in your position is:</p>
<p>IT IS DAMN HARD. Be prepared to give up your weekends and large swathes of your sanity. (I should mention that I’m very lastminute, so this might not be a problem you tend to have.) To avoid being in this position:</p>
<ul>
<li>Finish your SATs by the end of Year 12 if at all possible - at least have finished the SAT I and ideally one of your subject tests.</li>
<li>Write your essays and do your Common App over summer</li>
<li>Apply somewhere early - this will force you to do your stuff earlier and there’s a chance you won’t be swamped by work!</li>
</ul>
<p>The above is particularly applicable if you’ll be applying to the UK, and especially Oxbridge cause of interview season.</p>
<p>Your grades are perfectly in order for Yale - aim to be getting above 90% in your ASs so you’ll be predicted A*s: the US unis ask for your predicted grades.</p>
<p>A big thing to start thinking about is extracurriculars. They really matter in America, and while they’ll make some allowance for the fact that there isn’t as great a culture for them here, you’ll definitely want something besides grades. Sports, music, clubs, awards, writing, charity/volunteer work are all good, but try to make it something you do care about and can commit to long-term. They like to see development in your activity (maybe progressing from a junior to senior role or taking it to a higher level with some new initiative). If you’re totally stuck and have NO extracurriculars, you might want to look at some charity trips or courses you can do over the holidays. Sounds deeply cynical, but it’s a way of getting your ‘hours’ in if you do little outside school, which may be the case if you do 5 ASs.</p>
<p>I know I’ve made it sound very hard, but that’s just because it is much harder than applying under UCAS, and I might say even harder than Oxbridge, and I feel that schools can tend not to realise that.</p>
<p>Have you taken the SAT/SAT IIs? I’d recommend taking Literature and Math I or Math II for the latter. Since you continue to take Maths and English, I assume the SATs shouldn’t be too big a prob for you, try for low-700s plus.</p>
<p>Main point: make use of your resources! Collegeconfidential and the Collegeboard website are helpful; ditto Satninja (look up Malcom Gladwell’s essay on the SAT; read it the night before and got 800s on reading and writing), getting out a book on the process might help too.</p>
<p>I hope I haven’t told you loads of stuff you know already or discouraged you - please do reply if I can give you any more advice. I know one British girl at Yale and another on her way there (as well as some Americans) - it is a really wonderful place and not at all alienating to a Brit. I’d say the accent would actually be a bit of a cache 
That said, while at one time UK students fairly low in quality compared to their US counterparts could get in to top schools like Yale, with increasing applications from the UK that is starting to change. Of the two girls who applied Yale EA from my school, one was accepted, one deferred, but they were both tippy top. Look at some other schools and, if you’re at a school which has a fair number of US applicants - look at the trends to guage your chances so you’re more informed.</p>
<p>Hope that was helpful! Always happy to aid a fellow UK applicant. BEST of luck!</p>
<p>There are very few UK applicants on this site, so I’m happy to help also! missotisregrets’ advice was very much spot on and if you follow it, you’ll have a good shot with the schools you will be aiming for. I wish I had it when I was applying! But you’re already on track with your great GCSEs.</p>
<p>The only thing I would add is that the admissions is completely different to the UK system. I applied for law here and so my personal statement was all about how i loved law and only law and i wanted to do it forever blah blah blah… I barely mentioned any of the ton of sport and volunteering i do, which i talked about with interest on my US applications. </p>
<p>Problem is, when you’re 17/18, it’s very hard to predict what you want to do intensely at uni. That’s why I think the US system is better. </p>
<p>The SAT was harder than I anticipated and the only way to beat it is to put in the hours. VERY few people have applied to the US from my school (no one has got into an ivy and on average 1 every 3 years applies), so I had to do a lot of the research on the process myself. I would advise you to look at the Harvard UK club website which is helpful for examples of esssays, teacher recommendations and transcripts. It can also help guide you through the process as well.</p>
<p>Hope these thoughts help and please ask any questions if you want!</p>
<p>oh and missotisregrets, just wondering where you’ve applied to? :)</p>
<p>Hey there rampantlion - don’t know if this is the right place for it, but I can’t work out PMs on CC! Applied to Yale, Columbia, Brown, Penn, Harvard, Chicago, Amherst, UVA, Swarthmore. Luckily I’m from a school with a fairly sizeable American population, so we have at least 5 each year applying. Sucks that you had to do all that yourself!</p>
<p>missotisregrets:</p>
<p>To PM, click on the the name of the intended recipient ([Rampantlion](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/members/rampantlion-466728.html]Rampantlion[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/members/rampantlion-466728.html)</a>). Then simply click on the “Send a private message to <recipient>” and enter your message in the PM form. Alternatively you can access PM entry under the Contact Info tab of the recipient’s public profile.</recipient></p>
<p>To read and manage your PM’s, click on the “Private Messages” link just under the “Welcome, missotisregets” message in the upper right corner of the CC forum page.</p>
<p>Hey thanks guys 
I’m already working towards my SATs, getting around 2200 on practice papers but hey, I’ve still got a month or so
I do quite a lot of extra curric, for my school anyway,</p>
<p>Writer’s Club (prefect)
Maths Enrichment
3 Choirs (assistant leader for one)
Orchestra
Part of a drama group (2 roles with many supporting roles)
Oboe - working towards grade 7/8
Young Leader’s programme - involves volunteering</p>
<p>Been on School Council twice and am currently applying to be Head Girl. I have also done Charities Committee, Chaplaincy Team and helped to set up a Student Listeners at my school. </p>
<p>Does this suffice as extra curricular?</p>
<p>Looks like you’ll be heading for a very solid score, best of luck!</p>
<p>And those EC’s all look good, but I think the main thing to do is make sure you write about them passionately. There’s definitely an artsy/music/drama theme to your EC’s so you can talk about how much you love them and dedicate XYZ amount of time to them. There’s also lots of leadership as well which is exactly what they like to see</p>
<p>thank you
guess its all in their hands soon anyway…</p>
<p>Please come! Yalies love Brits.</p>
<p>Anyhoo, I’m not from the UK, but the one bit of advice I could offer is DEFINITELY APPLY EARLY. My year, about 14% of early applicants were accepted, but only 7% regular decision.</p>
<p>It’s so lovely to find a few other brits on here who’ve applied/are in the process!</p>
<p>Lemming101 all I can really do it reiterate, get your stuff together early. I found myself with a painstaking cross-over period whilst trying to complete both US and UK applications and if I could do it all again, I’d have written my essays and finished the common app by early September at the latest. Are you from a school where people regularly apply to the ivies? If so utilise every bit of help you can find! It really does pay to have someone around who has gone through it all. On the other hand, coming from a school that has never sent someone across the pond can work massively in your favour, but it does mean you’re pretty much alone in the process. Whatever the case you can make it happen, just keep doing what you’re doing and then some. </p>
<p>Anyone else terrified at the thought of tomorrow? My stomach is in knots…</p>
<p>thanks, nikkif - I am the first from my school to even consider the US, let alone the ivys, but my headmistress has been really supportive and encouraged me to apply :)</p>