Chances at Yale

Do I have a shot at Yale? I have a 3.7 GPA, On my Practice ACT’s I got a 34, won first place at dance nationals as well as made it to Google in robotics.

Mock Trial - Finals

Peer Court

Editor & Chief of the school paper

Dhesi Student Association - Officer

Cyber Security - Club Leader

Green Focus - I shadowed under the business aspect of an electrical company. The women who I shadowed under works directly for Governor Jerry Brown of California.

Energy Audit - (With the help of others, we cut down our schools cost on electricity in half)

I am a member of our Student Body, elected in. (Student Board Member, I go to board meetings with the leaders of our school and I give a full report on the high school, taking back any questions or concerns. I also attend booster meetings).

I have fantastic relationships with my teachers and other mentors around me. (Great recommendation letters)

Overall, I have a driven passion, reaching out to Yale as a Sophomore and getting in contact with a Yale Alumni. (We still communicate today). I created my Yale application back in Sophomore year, updating it every day.

The 3.7 doesn’t look good for that level. Generally, you need almost all As in almost all AP classes with high scores on subject exams. The ECs look good, and it may be worth a shot, but I wouldn’t count on getting into that level of school.

I see your point, but I assumed that my ACT score would compensate for it.

@SafalM, a few things. First, the 75th percentile at Yale on the ACT is 35. That doesn’t make a 34 bad, but it does mean that it won’t “shock and awe” the AO.
Second, many students perform differently on practice tests than the real ones.
Finally, how does a 3.7 GPA rank at your school?

The ACTs and ECs are good. However, unless you are a recruited athlete or something, you generally need strong academics. If that is a 3.7 unweighted with all AP classes, it might not be that bad. However, there are so many people posting with pretty much all As in all the hardest classes at extremely tough schools, with many 5s on AP exams and 750+ SAT IIs. People will tell them that somewhere like Yale is a reach for everyone. So the ECs and ACTs will probably help get you in somewhere good, but I am not sure if it will be a top Ivy.

I am unfortunately not in the top 10%. However, a lot of people in my class’s ranking are dropping, so I might get into the top 10% or cut close. However, my school was given the civics learning award, only three schools in the United States received it. My school is very difficult, and we have an academic and social responsibility category. I have received fours from even the hardest teachers at my school. I have taken APUSH, and AP Physics 1, AP Physics 2, AP Government, and AP English is what I will end high school with. (Not that many AP’s are offered it’s a small school). Do I have a chance at other Ivy’s?

Much less than 1% of students from a typical public school go to top Ivies. If you are maybe not in the top 10%, it doesn’t look good. You have good ACTs and ECs, so if you have high SAT IIs, you have a strong application, and a shot at Ivies and similar level schools.

96% of the class of 2021 were in the top 10% of their class for schools reporting rank. https://admissions.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/class_profile_2021_final.pdf I suspect the vast majority of those were in the top 5%. Of the 4% not in the top 10%, we can safely assume a good number were athletic recruits, development cases or other applicants who are incredibly spikey (national/international recognition or achievement). On the other hand, your chances are 0 if you don’t apply. When you come up with your "list’ of colleges to apply to, you must objectively look at your high school record, test scores and other achievements and compare that against the stat’s of accepted students of the targeted colleges so that you have a good range of reach, match and safety schools. Don’t get hung up on 1 school, especially a highly selective one like Yale where the admissions rate is in the single digits.

@BKSquared Thank you for your response and you are right, if I don’t apply I don’t know. I’ve heard of two students with 3.5 GPAS, not athletes and no ties to the college accepted into Columbia University. Who knows maybe my ACT score and extracurriculars will shine something through.

Yale is not as forthcoming as Harvard, but please read this from Harvard’s Golf Recruitment page: http://www.gocrimson.com/sports/mgolf/faq

If that is what the Big H is looking for from a recruited athlete, you can be assured they are also looking for the same in a non-athlete. And I imagine it’s the same at Yale, Columbia and the rest of the ivies. As such, I fear a 3.7 GPA is a bit too low, unless your 3.7 GPA places you in the top of your graduating class (according to Yale’s Common Data Set rank is considered). You’ll never know unless you apply, but apply knowing your chances are not great.

And FWIW: A high ACT/SAT test score does not compensate for a lower GPA, as a test score is a three-hour window into a student’s scholastic potential, whereas a GPA is a 3-year window into a student’s drive, determination and scholastic potential.

I would apply to a range of schools, particularly because some parts of your application are stronger than others. It is OK to apply to Ivies as reaches. However, you are also not indicating SAT II scores or academic achievements as ECs. This is usually what top 30 schools look for. The grades might be overlooked by some top schools if it were a stronger application in terms of academics.

@gibby @sattut Thank you for your responses! I’m going to go ahead and give it a go at Yale, and who knows maybe they’ll see something in me to accept me.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks!