<p>I applied to Yale regular decision this year and was rejected. I'd like to re-apply this fall, but I'm not sure of the odds or if its even worth it. SAT's weren't all that great (1330, 600, 800, 740), and I would certainly take the time to really study and significantly boost my scores. I know that Yale specifically stated on their site that very few applicants get accepted their second time, but this is really where I want to be. Next year I plan on taking a year off and studying or performing community serivce work in Japan through the AFS exchange program for a semester. After that, I plan on taking music classes (my passion is for percussion) at University of Southern Maine and online "AP" courses through Standford. Would it help to have stats of high school posted on here? Has anyone had luck/failure with a post-grad year? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.</p>
<p>I think you'd have a better chance of getting into Yale as a transfer.
What other schools did you get into? I'd pick a good, solid school, work hard, get great grades and then try again. I think a year, or even a semester, of great, college level work is much more impressive than various classes and experiences from so-so institutions.</p>
<p>Hmm....good to get different perspectives, thanks guys. </p>
<p>Kc_lady -- according to collegeboard.com, Yale accepted 26/696 transfer applicants last year (that's below a 5% acceptance rate...lower than the freshmen percentage). Just something to think about I guess. </p>
<p>Also, if I choose to re-apply, is it appropriate to say on the application "enrolled in ____ and ____ through Stanford University" though I will be in Japan when sending my application? I mean, if I'm not involved in the class while writing my application, is it ok to comment upon enrollment?</p>
<p>Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated and let me know if stats would help. Thanks.</p>
<p>Kc__Lady...</p>
<p>Rejected: Duke, Harvard, Yale, Cornell
Waitlisted: Dartmouth
Accepted: Wakeforest, Carnegie Mellon</p>
<p>I do really think that SAT's were my biggest problem. I believe that music, school and community activities were one of my strong points; however, I still did not have that major "hook" (more of a well-rounded student).</p>
<p>BUMP...suggestions?</p>
<p>Your SAT verbal will probably go down after you go to Japan so I wouldn't recommend retaking it immediately after returning home.</p>
<p>bump bump bump</p>
<p>dreamkissed is so true</p>
<p>Ok, Ok...but you also have to understand that I'm going to be studying for the SAT's over the summer and WHILE IN JAPAN. The fact that I'm taking a year off will hopefully provide me with sufficient time to do this...</p>
<p>I'm still leaning toward community service...any suggestions?</p>
<p>Also, I'm really faced with a dillemma and I can't get it off my chest. My dad says go to a college (either Wake Forest or Carnegie Mellon, my two acceptances this year) and cement yourself there and don't worry about things, but I feel like Yale is the place for me. YES, I KNOW that any place I go will challenge me and I will find happiness...I'm not worried about being happy the rest of my life, truly; I KNOW that things have a way of working out. But I must tell you, I have been driven toward Yale for some time--call it prestige hungry or whatever--but its one of those gut feelings. I mean, what do I tell my dad? Is he right? Am I just wasting a lot of money and time traveling to Japan and some other courses? The only reason that I can say I want Yale is because its a dream of mine, and when you have a dream you go for it, right? Or am I being selfish and close-minded? He says I'm making a mistake by doing this, and to tell you the truth, I don't know if I can simply pursue my plan without his support (well...of course I would have his support...but I know that he would really be thinking 'he shouldn't have done this').</p>
<p>And yes, there's always transferring, but the odds are terrible. I'm the type of person who will take a year off and make it my own. </p>
<p>This is really tough for me. I'm going to ask around...teachers, friends, guidance counselor, but any suggestions I'd love to hear. Man, I just don't know......... maybe I'm in this competitive mode after completing applications and I can't see the larger picture, but right now, I'm just aiming for that 'top tier'.... right now if I were to choose, say, Wake Forest, I would feel like I "resorted" to attending another school and didn't do everything within my power to achieve that top tier. I like challenges...but maybe I'm over my head and I don't realize it.</p>
<p>at the very least, look into whether you can accept and defer admission (for a year, plenty of people do it) to one of your acceptances but still be allowed to apply to yale (standard instead of transfer), so that when you don't get into yale you have something to fall back on</p>
<p>bump bump bump bump</p>