I’m a high school senior from the southeast and am thinking to apply to Yale. I know it’s a very prestigious school and requires stellar records, but although my academic data may not be the best, I feel like my service, motivation, and recommendations are really good. Will I have a chance of getting selected?
Unweighted gpa: 3.37
Weighted gpa: 3.87
Coursework: Only Honors and APs (especially for core classes)- throughout highschool
Attending a somewhat “magnet” school that is more rigorous and hard than others
Extracurriculars (emphasizing service):
Peer Helpers, SODA, and Tutoring
dance since 5th grade
music since 6th grade
violin since 7th grade
Math Honor Society
Spanish Honor Society Officer
Leadership: Organized my school’s first Cultural Event
Awards: Won 1st place at a state-level competition held by the governor, Student of the Week multiple times, special award at a science fair
Research: conducted my own research projects freshman and sophomore years
Internship, Shadowing, and Medical Camp experiences since sophomore year
Volunteer frequently at school to help out everyone with everything
Did charity donations
Recs: I know that they’ll incredibly fantastic
Essays: I feel like I’m a pretty good writer, good at conveying the right information concisely
Although all of this may not be quantitatively high enough as other kids, I’m genuinely passionate about the things I do. I truly believe that liking what you do is more important than just being involved for the sake of it.
I hope that you do not get into Yale. Yale is hard for top students. It will be massively more difficult than high school.
Please, do not think of prestigious highly ranked universities as “better”. They are not better. They are more difficult. Their classes are aimed at students who were the #1 top student in their high school. If you were the #1 top student in your high school and go to Yale, you would suddenly become average.
By the way, I suddenly became average at a different highly ranked university.
There are a large number of other universities which would be a much better fit for you.
Do you have standardized tests like SAT/ACT/subject scores? Are you URM or first-gen?
Maybe the way your school calculates uGPA differently, I hope that is the case. Agree that it is on the low side.
Any leadership roles in your school/ECs?
Hope you have safeties/targets on your application list.
Good luck.
I’d say don’t waste the time applying. And wherever you do apply-- do not list ECs you did elementary and middle school. Your SAT/ACT will also matter but even if high will likely not overcome you GPA.
SAT: 1430, and yes, I’m first-gen.
I do have leadership roles because I’m an officer in an Honor Society, and I’ve organized multiple school-wide events. A lot of my school teachers know that I’m a good leader.
@disneyloverrrrr go ahead and give it a shot (it is a reach for everyone anyways). Explain your grades and write great essays. Who knows, you may get in.
“I hope that you do not get into Yale. Yale is hard for top students. It will be massively more difficult than high school.”
Not true that Yale is especially hard. It is probably easier to do well at Yale than at a state uni, depending on major, because professors are more likely to cut students slack if they are late with papers. My daughters went to a competitive public high school. One attended Yale, the other Middlebury (which is likely harder than Yale). Both found college easier than high school (although other students attending less rigorous high schools had more of an adjustment).
Hardest part about Yale is getting in. Your GPA is well below the typical range for Yale students. I of course am not on the admissions committee, but expect that you would need to have some very unusual accomplishments on your resume to overcome that GPA. Good luck wirh your college applications!