From your original list, Williams, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, Brown, Columbia and UVA may represent some of your stronger choices for your academic interests. I believe you might benefit from refinement of your list beyond this point, however.
I think you should add a couple of more likely schools regardless of whether or not you get deferred at Yale - all the kids I know who were deferred (not hooked, but stellar profiles and coming from elite BS) were eventually rejected - just something to keep in mind.
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I know of non-hooked students who were deferred and later accepted in the RD round so YMMV.
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At Yale, specifically? Maybe it varies by region (over-represented area vs under-represented).
My observation in the NJ area matches @Thorsmom66’s
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My comment wasn’t meant to suggest that this student wouldn’t have a chance of being admitted after being deferred (I know that some kids are). I just don’t think it’s a given - certainly just getting deferred from Yale shouldn’t keep a student from adding a couple of more likely schools to their list (instead of keeping to a list that consists entirely of high reaches). This is especially true after reading that his GC gave him 50/50 on his EA schools - that is a far cry from the certainty about those schools that he expressed earlier.
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Re: deferral from Yale EA
Does Yale defer most non-admitted EA applicants, or does it reject most?
If it defers most, then subsequent RD admission should be considered very unlikely, since the deferred pool includes both the borderline and the likely much more numerous clear (in Yale’s eyes) reject applicants. But if it rejects most, then the deferred applicants are just the borderline ones who have a significant chance of admission.
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Yes at Yale specifically…we are only about 90 minutes from campus and not an underrepresented area. So as I said YMMV.
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My GC gave me a 50/50 for UMich, 60/40 for UVA, 70/30 for UNC (we have a really good relation I think) and 90/10 for Purdue but looking at the data, no student with my GPA and Test Scores has gotten denied in the last 3 years to these schools and it’s been 50/50 at Yale which honestly doesn’t make sense where their projections come from. I’m honestly not sure.
It’s either Wall Street or Law at the moment. Both require prestige to some extent whether it be your law school or undergrad.
This is what I found out about their numbers:
“In the 2021-22 admissions cycle, 31% of early applicants were deferred for reconsideration in the regular round and 57% were outright rejected.”
Law hiring is heavily influenced by ranking of law school. Where you attend law school is mostly influnced by LSAT score, college GPA, and willingness to pay (often with huge loans).
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I’m stunned your counselor thinks you have a 70 percent chance of getting into UNC, which has an 8 percent oos admit rate, but a lower chance at UVA, which has a 15 percent oos admit rate. Please report back when you get results.
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Those are much better than typical odds, but apart from Purdue there isn’t a real safety in the bunch. You are obviously a very talented student, but parents here always suggest some true safeties after reading too many stories about top kids getting shut out. Also, past performance (in terms of admissions) is no guarantee of future results. Many excellent private schools have seen a decline in the number of students accepted to T20 schools in the past couple of years so it is better to be safe than sorry!
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I am aware. However, where your high college GPA comes from plays a factor to some extent as well.
I don’t know either. I will let you know with my results come late January though.
For sure. After seeing these comments I will look into taking some super reaches I don’t really care for and replacing them with UToronto, UW Madison, and others.
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If you intend to apply to Tufts, know that they are very concerned with their yield. They don’t want to be known as the safety school for the Ivies. So what you have to do is convince them that they are your absolute first choice (without committing via ED). You do this by making a visit, writing a letter or two in which you speak knowledgeably about their departments and their professors, and their fields of interest. You tell them why Tufts is so perfect for you, how much you love them. Otherwise, they probably won’t accept you. It’s a stupid game, but if you want to get in there, you’ve got to play it.
I think that your chances are better than some might think, because not so many applicants want to major in history and religion. If you can get this across in your application, you’d have a better chance than the many premeds and Comp Sci majors. But your essays for each school have to be tailored to that specific school, explaining why that specific school is the best match for you.
Definitely apply to SUNY Binghamton. I agree with your plan to consider adding in Toronto and Madison.
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I think it’s natural that kids at higher pedigree schools will perform better in tests, class per se - but look at Harvard, Yale Law, etc - on the basis of what I said yes you’ll have the top schools but you have the Boise States, U of South Dakota and more - so I do think where you go matters little but your GPA, test scores, and moreso today post work experience matter most.
But the same kids who were elite as undergrad will also be elite for law - so while it appears where you go matters, it likely matters little.
I know someone who went to Rutgers, got into Vandy and goes to much lower ranked Miami - but pays $0 tuition.
I agree with @ucbalumnus in this case.
Sorry to have read about your Yale rejection. I am sure it stings given all you have achieved but please use it as a wake up call to ensure you are properly prepared and hedged for RD.
Please sit down with your GC ASAP and ensure you have a few safeties.
As mentioned previously at highly competitive prep schools like yours that send a lot of kids to top tier schools the eventual decisions are often driven based on subtle differences in GC and teacher LORs. The GC will know what has been messaged about you in those letters and what your “real” standing is amongst your student peers.
With that knowledge and their experience the GC can offer you proper advice to ensure you have a back up plan.
As stated previously your credentials are outstanding. Please make sure your essays are constructed specific to the schools. You seemed to target schools based on rank which can lead to generic essays. You need to dig deep and be introspective rereading those essays to make sure they are specific and authentic.
While you are academically qualified for any and all schools you need to use your essays to convince AOs why you are a good fit for their schools.
You have a short window of time and I am sure you are stressed but you have worked far to hard not to get this done!! Good luck!!!
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appreciate the advice a lot. I just need to regroup myself and change my college list a bit. I also really appreciate your concern about my essays but I know they will be good(GC is a former AO, also had another former AO look at them), I talk a lot about unique aspects that draw me to a school. My theory about my rejection is that the other students from my school who applied there are simply better candidates - one is legacy and the other started a 6 figure business and is top 30 in the country at squash, I would rather admit them too.
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