Canadian student wants to go to Yale, advice please!

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm a Canadian student who wants to go to Yale.
I've been trying so hard to contact (by calling and e-mailing) Yale admission office and all I could do was to leave a voice message.
I guess it's impossible to talk directly to the admission people.</p>

<p>So I just thought I could ask some people on the college discussion board.
You people seem to know a lot.</p>

<p>Okay,
I am a Canadian student from Calgary, Alberta.
I go to public school with 1550ish students including gr.10 to gr.12.
I'm in grade 11 right now, so Im a junior? right?
And I want to get into political science or international relations program at Yale.
Since SAT is not required to go to canadian universities, there isn't prep course or anything like that around.
so i'm just stuyding by myself and it's been like a month since I started it.
I am scheduled on May 2nd for the test and I'm studying like crazy for that.
I wrote diagnostic test and I got like 1800s which isn't that bad.
But as I said, I'm planning to go to yale so I'll have to pull it up to 2200s at least.
It was just a diagnostic and I didn't know anything about SAT before, I think I can get 2200 or higher.
After I write SAT, I'm going to write Biology for SAT2 and another subject which im not sure of.
And my essay is considered pretty good, and I am pretty confident.</p>

<p>SAT will go okay, but the problem is that my school mark isn't really good.
My average is high 80s. would that be enough for yale?
Canadian grading system different.
We count 80-100 as "A". So I have all A but... the thing is that it's not over 90.
I will try my best to raise my mark to 90.. But although I can get 90s my grade10 and 11 mark would just stay in 80s.
Do american universities average up all the marks I got in highschool even in grade 10?
oh, and do they also include option courses when they average up? like.. drama?</p>

<p>My extracurricular activities are...
Leadership, social amnesty club, global culture club, and I'm going to joing model UN.
I volunteer at Korean language school, World of Science, Homeless shelter, Calgary Public library, and Calgary Theatre.
I am highly committed in drama and theater. I've done 4 drama courses in school and I'm directing a show that will be performed in front of a public. And I volunteer at the theater.</p>

<p>And some other things: I speak Korean + Spanish, I have been going to school in korea from grade 1 to grade 9. So I have been going to school in Canada for only about 2 years.
And as a group, I have raised 700+ dollars for "Save Darfur" campaign, and 400+ dollars for "Water for the World" campaign.</p>

<p>AHHHHH I am soo stressed out!
I've spent like hundreds of hours online finding about Yale and I don't know anything.
I went to school guidance and they don't know any more than I do :(
Please Please Please, write me anything, any advice, please!</p>

2

<p>Have some of those many hours online been at yale.edu the website for Yale? The site will tell you everything about the school, and admissions. Also, go the Yale forum on this site (under Ivy League Schools). You'll find out tons, and be able to ask Yale students and parents about details. Also, you can see the stats and ECs of the admitted Yale students from past years to see how you compare.</p>

<p>You will be applying as an international student, so the competition will be stiff- you'll need great SATs or ACT, and three SAT Subject tests too. </p>

<p>The Ivy schools understand the Canadian grading system, and they will compare you to other Canadians applying. So your class rank will be more important than your GPA.</p>

3

<p>1) You're having trouble getting through because the admissions committee is making their decisions right now for next year's class.</p>

<p>2) Yes, you're a junior.</p>

<p>3) It doesn't matter what you choose to major in: you're admitted to Yale College as a whole, not a specific program.</p>

<p>4) High 80's are considered a B+ in the US. Most American colleges average your marks from grades 9-11 (although some don't count 9th grade as heavily) to come up with a GPA. </p>

<p>5) Usually only 'core' academic courses count towards your GPA: English, History/Social Studies, Science, Math and Foreign Languages. Drama, Phys Ed, Band, etc. often don't count, but it varies from college to college on what exactly they include.</p>

<p>6) Your best bet is to try and bring up your GPA and do very well on the SATs and SATIIs.</p>

<p>You can also try posting this on the Yale forum, as fauve suggested: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

4

<p>Honestly, your best bet is not to fall in love with only one school, especially one that accepts fewer than 10% of applicants. It is very, very different than the Canadian system. Even if you have very top grades and scores, chances of getting in are small.</p>