Chance me? It would make me smile :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>HI! Thanks for stopping by :). Here are my stats:
**
Background Info:**
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Asian
Income: Definitely too high >_< Probably ~200K
Location: Oklahoma
School: Small public high school
Hooks: First Generation Student</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I: Didn't take/will not submit
SAT II: Didn't/will not take
ACT: 34 (34/34/33/36: Essay = 11)
Unweighted GPA: 4.000
Weighted GPA: 4.511
AP Scores: 5s in Music Theory, Biology, and Euro
Rank: 1/263</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>ECs: Piano (10 years - think Chopin's Revolutionary Etude) and have competed in state competitions, National Honor Society (10-12), Spanish/Multicultural Club (9-12: Committee Member), Hospital Volunteer (11-12), President of my Piano Teacher's Student Body, Academic Team (9, 11-12), Student Board (11-12), Editor of our School's Anthology (11), may or may not be accepted into the Oklahoma Youth Council</p>

<p>Awards: Gotten the "Most Outstanding Student" Award (top in class) in Word/PowerPoint, Geometry, Algebra II, AP English, English I, Pre-AP Spanish II-IV, AP Bio, Pre-AP Chem, and Music Theory; AP Scholar (will be AP Scholar w/ distinction); NMCP Piano Certificate for Grade 7</p>

<p>Assume that the recs will be great (one from a science teacher that's known me for 3 years and one from a Spanish teacher with likewise exposure).</p>

<p>My main essay will be about my struggle with my cultural identity.</p>

<p>If you read through this all... you're awesome :) Thanks for any help you might be able to give me.</p>

2

<p>You are an Asian male. This automatically means that it will get a little harder from here. Your academics put you right in the middle of everything.
If you are pursuing a music major, by all means send in a supplement. However, your ECs do not make you pop out from the main crowd, which will be problematic. Nothing necessarily wrong with them, but a lot of people from our (yes, our) do play the piano. The essay is also too cliche IMHO. Be creative, make yourself standout from the rest. </p>

<p>Chances: Reach</p>

3

<p>^^ Unfortunately, I have to agree with GiveMeReason. See:[Do</a> Asian-Americans Face Bias in Admissions at Elite Colleges? - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/do-asian-americans-face-bias-in-admissions-at-elite-colleges/]Do”>Do Asian-Americans Face Bias in Admissions at Elite Colleges? - The New York Times)</p>

<p>“Some studies suggest that Asian-American students need higher standardized test scores than white students to be admitted to some colleges.”</p>

<p>“Thomas J. Espenshade, a sociologist at Princeton and the author of “No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life,” showed in his research that Asian-Americans needed SAT scores that were about 140 points higher than white students, all other quantifiable variables being equal, to get into elite schools.”</p>

<p>“Asian-Americans as a category have the highest rate of high school graduation of any identified group,” Mr. Greene said. “Also, as a cohort, Asian-Americans have the highest SAT and ACT scores.”</p>

4

<p>Haha, thanks for the honesty guys.</p>

<p>Maybe I’ll rethink my essay…, but my parents have made it pretty clear that I can’t retake the ACT. So… yup.</p>

<p>Quick question though: How “quirky” can an essay get without being too… you know?</p>

5

<p>Define “quirky.”</p>

6

<p>^^ BTW: Here are two of my favorite college admissions quotes regarding essays. Quirky essays can be intersting, so long as they highlight the below:</p>

<p>What You Don’t Know Can Keep You Out Of College by Don Dunbar</p>

<p>“If the admissions office door has four locks on it, the first two keys are test scores and school record, and the third is special talent or some other accomplishment or quality. What is the fourth key? It’s “character.” An old fashioned word, it means the way you develop your inner qualities: intellectual passion, maturity, social conscience, concern for community, tolerance, inclusiveness.”</p>

<p>Acing The College Application by Michele A. Hernandez</p>

<p>“Colleges look for students who show initiative and passion. Those are the two mantras you should repeat to yourself over and over as you fill out your application. Think passion and intellectual depth. If there is one single area that admissions officers are looking for above all others, it is intellectual firepower. Though there are many valedictorians, there are few who show a deep and sincere love of learning. Those are the ones who are accepted most often into the most selective colleges.”</p>

7

<p>The point about passion and intellectual depth is key. My D was accepted to Yale without having a well-developed talent or exceptional accomplishment to showcase. She had good (not perfect) grades, excellent test scores, varied interests, and decent EC’s. She wrote an essay that did not include any personal vignettes; in fact it was hard to tell from the opening that it was an application essay. She did not write explicitly about herself, but about something she had thought about, and in the process manged to reveal a lot of important things about herself. She convincingly communicated that she is passionate about learning. Note that this was not a “quirky” essay - but it was outside the box, and it was genuine. I suspect it was a very important factor in her admission.</p>

8

<p>Genuine is also key!</p>

9

<p>@CantConcentrate Let me see if I can assign points -1, 0 or +1 for each of your accomplishments. Mind you it is based on the fact that you are Asian.</p>

<p>Background Info:
Gender: Male **[1]<a href=“for%20female%20it%20would%20have%20been%20-1”>/b</a>
Ethnicity: Asian [-1]
Income: Definitely too high >_< Probably ~200K [0]
Location: Oklahoma [1]
School: Small public high school [1]
Hooks: First Generation Student [0] </p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I: Didn’t take/will not submit
SAT II: Didn’t/will not take
ACT: 34 (34/34/33/36: Essay = 11) [0]
Unweighted GPA: 4.000 **[-1]<a href=“Asian%20have%20better%20GPAs”>/b</a>
Weighted GPA: 4.511
AP Scores: 5s in Music Theory, Biology, and Euro **[0]<a href=“nothing%20unique%20among%20Asians”>/b</a>
Rank: 1/263 **[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a></p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>ECs: Piano (10 years - think Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude) and have competed in state competitions **[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a></p>

<p>National Honor Society (10-12) **[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a>
Spanish/Multicultural Club (9-12: Committee Member) **[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a>
Hospital Volunteer (11-12) [0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a>
President of my Piano Teacher’s Student Body, Academic Team (9, 11-12)[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a>
Student Board (11-12) **[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a>
Editor of our School’s Anthology (11) **[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a>
may or may not be accepted into the Oklahoma Youth Council **[1]<a href=“For%20an%20Asian%20in%20OK%20that%20would%20be%20an%20accomplishment”>/b</a></p>

<p>**Awards: **Gotten the “Most Outstanding Student” Award (top in class) in Word/PowerPoint, **[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a>
Geometry, Algebra II, AP English, English I, Pre-AP Spanish II-IV, AP Bio, Pre-AP Chem, and Music Theory; AP Scholar (will be AP Scholar w/ distinction); NMCP Piano Certificate for Grade 7 **[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a></p>

<p>Assume that the recs will be great (one from a science teacher that’s known me for 3 years and one from a Spanish teacher with likewise exposure). **[0]<a href=“Expected%20of%20Asians”>/b</a></p>

<p>It is unfortunate, but true that as an Asian you cannot be sure of admission to any of the top 10 schools, especially the IVYs. Don’t get me wrong, you will get in one of them I am sure but just don’t get fixated on any of them as they will break your heart. I have seen non Asians rejected at UCs but accepted at IVYs. It is called a holistic approach.</p>

<p>Best Wishes to you.</p>

<p>PS: If you have questions feel free to PM me. Just been through the process with my D this year.</p>

10

<p>Uh, how can one have better than a 4.0 UW GPA? :o</p>

11

<p>You have very good qualifications, and will get accepted to some very good schools as long as you apply to enough of them. It helps that you go to a small public high school in Oklahoma, and that you are first generation. Your specific activities, although impressive, are not unusual for the most selective colleges.</p>

<p>What’s the reasoning behind not taking the ACT again? I assume you’re a junior.</p>

12

<p>Thanks for all of the replies, guys! It really helps to get some insight on this :)</p>

<p>@Hunt: My parents don’t think it’s necessary for me to take it again. It’s also the reason that I won’t be able to take SAT II’s… ever. I got a 33 the first time I took the ACT (33/34/29/35: E=10) and the only real reason I took it again was to get my subscores balanced. Notice my reading score? So I took it again, got that reading up to a 33 and my composite up to a 34, and now my parents refuse to let me take it again.</p>

13

<p>Are your parents interested in your being admitted to schools like Yale?</p>

14

<p>It’s really not worth it to retake the ACT. At a 34, it won’t make enough of a difference if you score 1 point higher on the composite. </p>

<p>You are certainly qualified and you definitely have a decent chance, but I think your biggest weakness is that you appear to be a typical Asian applicant, with perfect GPA, very high test scores and music dominated EC’s, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there are thousands of other asian applicants very similar to you. You really need to shine in your essays and have excellent recommendation.</p>

<p>Whatever happens with Yale, you will end up at a excellent university.</p>

15

<p>@Hunt: Shall we say… partially? Problem is, I kind of agree with them. What is the HUGE difference between a 34 and a 35, quantitatively speaking?</p>

<p>@cortana431: Yup… Asian applicants. In some ways, the bane of my existence… >_< Thanks for the encouragement, however :)</p>

16

<p>

The difference is that if the school is deciding between you and a very similar candidate with a 35, they’ll take him. And as has been noted, you face a pretty big risk that there will be lots of candidates very similar to you (except that you’re from Oklahoma).</p>

17

<p>See page 14: <a href=“http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2011/pdf/profile/Oklahoma.pdf[/url]”>http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2011/pdf/profile/Oklahoma.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>2011 ACT Oklahoma stats</p>

<p>36 = 5 students
35 = 56 students
34 = 156 students</p>

<p>In Oklahoma, quantitatively speaking the difference between a 34 and 35 is 100 students.</p>

18

<p>How many students from Oklahoma does Yale accept?</p>

19

<p>I don’t know. But all things being equal, the 61 students who scored a 35/36 have a better shot than the 156 students who scored a 34.</p>

20

<p>The relevant question is how many of those 34/35 scoring students from Oklahoma apply. The total number of Oklahoma students with those scores is irrelevant.</p>