Chance me for Yale SCEA

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey everybody! Im currently a junior and I'm looking into my chances at Yale University. Although i will be applying to Yale SCEA, I am also looking at Stanford, Pomona, Brown, UMichigan, University of Virginia, Georgetown, Princeton, and UC Berkeley!
Be as harsh as you like, I guarantee I will appreciate your honesty!</p>

<p>Objective
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 Reading, 35 English, 35 Math, 35 Science)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 800 Biology, 760 Chemistry (I will be taking two more SAT 2s: French and Lit)
PSAT: 227 (National Merit Semi-Finalist probable)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.84
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
AP (place score in parentheses): School does not offer APs (but i will be taking French, APUSH, Physics B, and AP Comp this year independently)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semi-Finalist (predicted), National Semi-Finalist in Congress Debate</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): </p>

<p>*Model United Nations - Secretary-General (President) of this club. I cannot fully describe how much effort and time I have devoted to this activity. Debate and International Relations are my two primary passions so when I entered high school I was seriously disappointed in the state of the Model UN Club. I have spent the past three years building up the club and bringing it back from the brink of ruin. I have reinvigorated our annual conference and we now host over 200 area students each year for an all day conference, which makes upwards of 2,000+ dollars, run entirely by me and my staff. I have gotten the club to out of town conferences, fought with the school administration over budget constraints, and tripled the size of the club's membership. It is my responsibility to train all of the members and this year we have won over 15 awards at three regional conferences (maybe not impressive to universities, but if it's passion they want I'm proud of my club and it took a lot of hard work). 5 hours a week, 9-12th grades</p>

<p>*Student Government - Three time (and hopefully 4 time) elected representative to the student honor board. Only 2 representatives from each grade are elected annually, and I am the only representative from my grade who has served all three possible terms. I take this commitment very seriously, and I don't think it will come across as flimsy resume padding or the result of a pointless popularity contest. 2-3 hours a week, 9-12th grades</p>

<p>*Debate Club - Member of the Debate Club, I participate in the Congress Debate event. Sophomore year i ranked 8th in my region and advanced to nationals and national semi-finals after qualifying at my regional tournament. This year I am currently ranked 3rd in the region and I am on my way to the regional competition and (hopefully) to nationals again. I also have a series of best senator, silver medal, and gold medal awards from local tournaments. 3-4 hours a week, 9-12th grades</p>

<p>*School Newspaper - 3 year staff writer for the school newspaper. I have written in 13 of the 15 editions that have been published since september of my freshman year and I think I have a good shot at being News Editor next year. I have been featured on the front page 3 times. 1-2 hours a week, 9-12th grades</p>

<p>*Squash Team - 3 year member of the squash team, potentially captain next year. I have been playing squash for five years and I play in regional tournaments as well as on my school team, I really love the sport although I am far from great at it. 3.5 hours a week, 7-12th grades</p>

<p>*Volunteer Tutoring - I tutor underprivileged elementary school students on a weekly basis. I struggled to find a volunteer outlet that was really meaningful to me but I think I've found one in this program. I really connect with the two boys I tutor and I love seeing them every week. I tutor them in a variety of subjects, help them with homework, and teach them a series of lesson plans concerning topics ranging from earth science to american history. I may be the head of the school club that organizes this program next year. 9-12th grades, 3 hours a week.</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: This summer I will have an internship at a government agency. I have volunteered seriously for a number of local campaigns.</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community Service: Volunteer tutor described above (3 hrs/week for 4 years)</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Summer Immersive Langauge Academy for French, Service and Language Immersion Trip to Guadeloupe, Summer conflict resolution camp for students from the USA and the Middle East with a competitive application (10% accepted, well known program).</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private, Competitive
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Really big legacy. In addition to my sister attending, I have a series of close relatives who have attended the school which include 3 aunts/uncles, 3 cousins, 5 second cousins, 4 first cousins once removed, and 2 great uncles, all of whom share my last name. Yale only lets me put aunts,uncles, siblings, parents, and grandparents, but my family's last name is very well established at Yale. At Harvard I have a sibling and a parent. At Stanford both my parents attended for grad school (if that counts for anything)</p>

<p>Thanks so much! I look forward to hearing your guys' opinions!</p>

2

<p>hey there and oh my god…
your stats are stellar… and your legacies are impressive…
I just got accepted SCEA and my stats were far from being even half as good as yours (but i’m intl.)
I would suggest really making your application essays personal and focusing on making your file stand out for something else than your legacies, you don’t really want to be the guy that just follows the others footsteps… other than family tradition, why do you like Yale? Why can’t you imagine yourself somewhere else?</p>

<p>having said that, no one can ever be safe for Yale SCEA and facing recruited athletes and other fierce applicants, you should make sure you don’t get your hopes too high!</p>

3

<p>Thanks melanieu!
Of course I don’t want to get into Yale if I don’t deserve it, it’s just that I love the school so much I want to press my every advantage.
Thanks for the feedback though and congratulations on your acceptance!</p>

4

<p>I would say you are very well qualified as well as being a Legacy and being able to afford full fare tuition. </p>

<p>You have a good chance of being accepted, if not then deferred for sure.</p>

<p>However, there is always the X factor and Ivy admissions can be unpredictable.</p>

5

<p>Thanks Mandalorian!
I totally understand that no one can really know what type of student yale could be looking for in a given year, but thanks for lending your opinion anyway.
Anyone else? Does anyone have an opinion on my chances at the other schools I’m looking at?</p>

6

<p>I think you’ll definitely get in, as long as you continue this senior year.</p>

7

<p>What is your intended major? Are you planning on doing work in that field before you attend? Have you thought of any summer programs that may help you chances? </p>

<p>I for example am looking at Ivy Engineering (Cornell), and as such am applying for a Calc II course at Harvard.
Think of taking summer courses that will put you ahead of the game. Also, if you take courses at Yale over the summer, you can build connections with faculty, further increasing your chances of acceptance.
You seem very intelligent, and I wish you the best of luck!</p>

8

<p>I really doubt that taking summer courses at Yale would have any effect whatsoever. OTOH, if the OP is interested in the courses, great. </p>

<p>While stats are strong, I’m not seeing anything that indicates an academic passion, though you’re obviously very strong on government/leadership activities.</p>

<p>Any of the Ivies are a crap shoot. I can’t imagine you wouldn’t get into Michigan.</p>

9

<p>Thanks for the input guys!</p>

<p>My passion is debate and political science and my intended majors are international relations and economics. I was hoping this would come through in my debate/student government/model UN commitments, but if it doesn’t i understand your perspective.
I also have an immense passion for language and paleolinguistics. Although it is hard to find evidence of this passion in my application, I am a serious student of French (hoping for a 5 on the AP) and I have spent 2 summers in French immersion programs. I guess you could call the study of paleolinguistics one of my “hidden” ECs; independent and casual research on this subject takes up a lot of my time and I am really interested in this field.
I have always been worried about the state of my ECs, but by senior year I’m hoping to build them up to something more impressive, maybe record profits from the Model UN conference my club and I host or a national finalist award in debate. Assuming one or both of these things happen, do my ECs show enough direction and passion?</p>

10

<p>Great chances at UCB UM and UVA</p>

11

<p>Thanks! Any opinions on Stanford and Princeton? Will be legacies or lack thereof seriously affect my chances at those schools?</p>

12

<p>bump! 10char</p>

13

<p>any love? 10char</p>

14

<p>Shameless bump :D</p>

15

<p>So I know I put 35 as my ACT score here, but that was just based on preliminary tests. Today I got my actual ACT scores and I’m pleased to say they are identical to my predictions (35s on all sections, 35 composite)!! I know this doesn’t affect anything, but just wanted to update everyone and see if there were any more opinions! I just got a political internship in a gubernatorial campaign for this spring that i will be spending 5-7 hours a week on, and I am in the running for two internships on the hill this summer. Also, I am now ranked 1st in my region for congress debate! Let me know!</p>

16

<p>You have a good chance based on your outstanding resume. However Ivy’s are unpredictable so…
chance me
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1618455-chance-me-on-these-institutions.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1618455-chance-me-on-these-institutions.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

17

<p>You should have no problem going anywhere!!</p>

18

<p>Thanks for the opinions guys! I do chance back, so just post the link if you want me to</p>

19

<p>Anyone else?</p>

20

<p>I have just been accepted into the internship program for a senior US Senator this summer! I am over the moon excited for this opportunity, and hope it contributes to the political science/international relations main theme of my application. In addition, I placed 4th at regionals and I am heading to the national debate tournament again! I am looking closely at Princeton now, as they have a very strong international relations program at the Woodrow Wilson school, but my first choice remains Yale. Any more opinions? I will definitely chance back!</p>