Chance, Please

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>SAT I (breakdown): Critical Reading (680), Math (780), Writing (780), Total: 2240</p>

<p>SAT II: Math II (800), US History (740)</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85 (Weighted = 4.37)</p>

<p>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7th / 1200 Top 1%</p>

<p>AP (place score in parenthesis): U.S. History (5), Physics B (4), English Language (4)</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: AP Chemistry, AP Government, AP Macroeconomics, AP English Literature, AP Calculus AB, IB Math SL</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, AP US History Teacher Award, Pre-AP Algebra II Teacher Award</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: Select Soccer Division 1 (10 hours a week), School Tutoring Society (Vice President), Student Government (Ambassador/Vice President of History), Habitat for Humanity, National Honor Society Member, Key Club Member, DECA Member</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: None</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Traveled to Italy and aided earthquake victims in L'Aquila.</p>

<p>Essays: Good</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: Two positive recommendations/teacher stated I am in top 1% of students intellectually.</p>

<p>Counselor Rec: Great</p>

<p>Interview: It went fantastic. The lady majored in Italian, which is one of the two languages I have known since I was a child. We spoke after the interview in Italian about the culture and lifestyle. It lasted about 2 hours.</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): Texas
School Type: public school
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $130,000 +</p>

<p>What are my chances? About how much financial aid would I qualify for? If I put nonacademic honors in the academic honors section, will I be penalized. I listed a Habitat for Humanity award and a soccer award I received, but they do not classify as academic.</p>

2

<p>i hate too say this, but your chances are not good because of several reasons. Your teacher recs will be terrible compared to others. They already know your in the top 1% and a smart kid. The interview does not matter. Lackluster awards. Only write your ap scholar award. Don’t write your teacher awards lol. Your EC’s are very mediocre. Your test scores are somewhat good on the positive note. Nothing special with school classes and A.P courseload. Avearge g.p.a. Nice rank. Excellent math score btw. Your EC’s are too weak. That is why ur chances are so low</p>

3

<p>well thanks for the optimism haha, do you think that putting down teacher awards and nonacademic awards such as a Habitat for Humanity award and a soccer award I received will penalize my application?</p>

4

<p>To be honest I think the other poster is being far too pessimistic, it seems to me that you have as good a shot as the rest of us. Your summer activity in particular sounds great, I imagine you must have incorporated that into your essays. Your test scores are past the threshold where it doesn’t really matter anymore and your courseload looks good. I don’t know much about your ECs since I’m in the UK and don’t understand all the acronyms but they look fine; perhaps not amazing though.</p>

<p>Still, think positive, nice work on the interview and good luck!</p>

5

<p>Thanks that is what I like to hear UKtoUSA. Whereabouts are you from? I was born in Cambridge.</p>

6

<p>wait a second here. most people on this yale forum say that breaking a 700 in every category is pretty much essential to getting in, and yet now you guys are saying that this guy’s test scores (which include a 680 in CR–one of the “big two” categories, not even writing, which yale doesn’t really care about) are one of his strongest points?</p>

7

<p>I believe the overall score is the most important factor they look at, and of course the subject tests. The slight errors made in CR were more than made up for with high M and WR scores.</p>

8

<p>how many times have you taken the SAT? i really think that raising CR to a 700 could help you…i would say you have a decent chance, but it IS yale, so i think it would be foolish (for anyone except a recruit) to expect an acceptance.</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

9

<p>Your scores are pretty good, and your class rank and GPA are average. You also have some activities going on, but nothing really stands out to me except your summer activity and soccer. Of course, just because it doesn’t stand out doesn’t mean they don’t mean anything.</p>

10

<p>With all due respect cadillac, how is a top 0.6 % class rank considered average?</p>

11

<p>Your class rank is truly outstanding but I think he/ she means that most people who apply are valedictorians or top 1%, Student Body President, or 2300 + SAT so you have met the threshold. I have similar stats and I think you have a chance if you write amazing essays. Put nonacademic awards in additional info ( resume) or somehow slide them into your essays. You should totally apply because if you don’t you’ll never if you could be at Yale this time next year.</p>

12

<p>^woops, sorry, I didn’t see the /1200 part :stuck_out_tongue:
Yeah in that case, your rank is also good, but your overall information just seems rather generic. (Check out the Yale Pledge thread to get an idea of the competition.)</p>

13

<p>haha thank you both.</p>

14

<p>I chanced you in your other thread, but I’ll do it again anyway:</p>

<p>Reach.</p>

<p>Weak ECs and awards without a hook, but a good GPA and rank. Decent test scores. Decent courseload.</p>

<p>A 3.85 unweighted is good, right? I’m confused between “good” and “decent”. Does “decent” actually mean good? Lol.</p>

15

<p>I’m going to go ahead and give my feedback. You seem pretty intent on refuting the feedback most people have left so far, so when I don’t respond to your commentary, just know that I’ve given you my opinion and that opinion stands.</p>

<p>You’re smart. Guess what. So is everybody else applying to Yale. Unless you are an exceptional soccer player, your chances are pretty low. Your SAT is pretty average by Yale standards (your APs are actually not good at all by Yale Standards). If you had exceptional ECs to float you, your SAT score would be very good. But that’s not the case. Your ECs basically scream that you’re just trying to get into college, except your summer trip to Italy, which is interesting. If you were really into community service, you might have organized your own efforts.</p>

<p>Don’t get me wrong, you’ve done a good job and are probably one of your school’s elite. Sadly, every school has its elite, and you’re up against them.</p>

16

<p>That is fair enough christiansoldier. I just have two questions for everyone. I have made all As in my lifetime, with the bulk being over 95, but my GPA is not 4.0. I do not understand if this is a school thing that Yale will recalculate because most people that claim a 4.0 make low As a lot of the time. Also, I thought that AP scores do not go into a college’s criteria for admission. Please correct me if I am wrong.</p>