<p>GPA: 3.92 UW
Class Rank: NA, but def top 10%, pretty sure top 5%
AP: 4 on AP Stats, awaiting AB Calc, BC Calc, and Bio
SAT: 800 M, 670 R, 690 W
ACT: 33
SAT II: None so far, will take this fall
Race: Asian
Awards: National Merit Commended Scholar</p>
<p>EC's: JV Tennis(9-11) Captain Junior year
Varsity Tennis (12)
Quiz Bowl (9-12) VP junior year, Prez senior year
Math Club (9-11) Treasurer Junior year
Piano 9 years
Freshman Academic Mentor</p>
<p>Jobs: McDonald's (current)
Math Tutor for 1 year</p>
<p>Volunteering: With my church I have done over 100 hours, but it's real scattered</p>
<p>I doubt my chances are good. What are my realistic chances, and what will I have to do to get in? Retake SAT/ACT? Improve EC? Write killer essays?</p>
<p>Oh dear. The issue is that your EC’s are so “asian.” No offense. I’m asian and it’s just a fact that race is a huge factor in admissions. </p>
<p>Do you have any awards? Awards may help you stand out in the applicant pool if they are at least regional if not national. For example, piano for 9 years means very little because we are given little information about the caliber of your performance in piano. I have played for 11 years and must say that if I didn’t use piano skills for community service, school accompaniments, and for winning some general awards, I wouldn’t mention it at all.</p>
<p>I’m not super familiar with ACTs. However, I personally would retake the SATs to get above 700 in all sections. Great job on math, though! </p>
<p>Definitely write killer essays.
Good luck! Remember, in the Ivies, it’s always just a crapshoot, so it’s worth a try :]</p>
<p>Ya…I would definately retake the SATs if you could. However, your ACT score is just fine for Yale, so if you dont have time to retake the SATs, you should be fine test score wise if you submit your ACT score only. </p>
<p>However, as demiitasse said you are lacking in awards (at least based on the info you submitted). Its great you have some leadership positions on various teams, but they dont mean a whole lot if you dont win any awards…definately list any you received in those activites on you app.</p>
<p>Lastly, and I absolutely hate this about college apps, but you ECs are very “asian.” However, because colleges (Yale included) want a diverse student body the Asian kid who is good at math and quiz bowl who plays tennis is not exactly underrepresented at any ivy. So ya, make sure your essays are passionate and kind of break away that Asian stereotype!</p>
<p>That all said, you have a fairly strong app and if you work on the things above stand a good chance at Yale…however most of the ivies are indeed a crapshoot (especially for Asians and whites…= / ).</p>
<p>I don’t “chance” people. I offer them my perspective and some suggestions, because it sure is more helpful than saying nothing at all, and the OP has a choice as to accepting my advice or not.
I’m not a fan of just saying “Oh low reach high reach fail you’ll never get in” kind of thing.
Just putting it out there, Khaki…</p>
<p>going off the “your ECs are too asian” thing:</p>
<p>i think a lot of people condemn ECs that are typically found in most asian applicants, but i think the thing is to note that it’s not BAD to do those, and you certainly should not drop them for something less asian if that’s something you’re passionate about. what the point is is that there are plenty of asians with those ECs with more stellar scores (and probably more achievement in those activities) than you, so you’re just going to have to try harder to stand out, esp. in essays and recs.</p>
<p>Ok, chair2 I agree with you in that the OP absolutely must use his or her essays to stand out. My problem with his/her ECs is that they are not an uncommon combination of clubs for people. For example, if Yale admits a girl named Beth who plays the tuba, is president of her school Science Club, and founded a Young Republican/Democrat club at her school, Yale doesnt need another Beth. STAND OUT!!!</p>