Background:
White Male
Middle Class
Major/Interests: Physics, Journalism, Econ
Live in Northeast.
Hooks:
Double legacy at Northwestern
Stats:
ACT: 36, 11/12 Essay
GPA: 4.0/4.0 UW
Rank: N/A, Top 2%?
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics
APs: Mostly 4s and 5s, going to be 20 APs by the time I graduate.
ECS:
Research at Yale on quantum metrology (current since feb), Biophysics research for two years at local uni, Paid summer atomic physics research intern, Regional NPO president on education, Journal writing job for a science magazine, Journal intern for a Uchicago press journal, club swimming, choir at school, local hackathon organizer/director.
Awards:
- AIME Qualifier
- National Conference Presenter Virtually
- International Conference Presenter at Harvard
- Congressional App Challenge Winner
- PVSA Gold
Recs: Biology teacher (top 5 students in 20 years of teaching), History teacher (unknown but good relationship), Yale PhD student (unknown but good relationship).
Essays: Starting now, but will edit and revise.
I have a safety I am more than happy to attend, so will mainly shotgun top schools for my interest, but Yale SCEA is the main one, also wondering chances for NU RD.
Why are you having a PhD student write your letter? Can the professor who you worked with write the letter instead?
Your stats look fine. But getting into Yale SCEA is very very difficult. Your Northwestern legacy is nothing to sneeze at, and would almost certainly result in an acceptance in the early round. But as you know, during RD, the legacy benefit is minimized.
What would you do if you got rejected/deferred from Yale, and then during the RD round also rejected by Northwestern? Would you be okay with that?
@sgopal2 Yes! I would of course apply to other T20’S RD, and I have a few safeties I would be happy to attend. I can’t ask a professor because I’ve never really interacted with one. My work is being done with the PhD student. I could maybe try to ask if there’s a professor he works with to see if I could talk to him about a recommendation.
Ok I understand. Having a professor write a letter that you never interacted with would be quite strange. But talk to the PhD student and see what they think. A letter from a full Professor at Yale would obviously be very compelling, but only if you’ve worked with him/her in a meaningful capacity.
Best of luck, it sounds like you’ve got a decent chance and are prepared with safeties.