Chances SCEA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Any input would be greatly appreciated!</p>

<p>Background:</p>

<p>White male -- NY
Undecided major, interested in music, politics, humanities, etc.</p>

<p>Testing/Grades:</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.25 W</p>

<p>Medium sized highly-ranked public high school</p>

<p>Rank: N/A (We officially don't rank, although my counselor has told me I am #2 of about 375 and will be salutatorian barring an enormous debacle)</p>

<p>ACT: 35 (36 E, 35 R, 36 S, 33 M)</p>

<p>SAT: 2240 (790 CR, 760 W, 690 M)</p>

<p>SAT Subject: US History (790), World History (740), Chem (750), Bio (720), Math II (620, but was deathly sick and can retake, though I might just send the ACT) </p>

<p>AP: US History (5), Lang (5), World History (5), Music Theory (5), Chem (4), Bio (4)
Senior year schedule: AP Calc BC, AP Physics, AP Psych, AP Lit, Honors French V (Will self-study for AP exam), Music Theory Internship, AP Macroeconomics, AP Gov, AP Human Geography, Honors Band, Gym</p>

<p>ECs: (Grade in parentheses)
-Marching Band (9-12) -- Drum Captain, Section Leader, Band placed second at state championships last year. Probably my largest commitment as I devote roughly 400 hours during the school year solely to marching band.
-I marched DCA Drum Corps as a sophomore and was the youngest tenor drum player in their history.
-Science Honor Society (10-12) -- Vice President 12th grade
-History Honor Society (11-12) -- Treasurer both years
-French Honor Society (10-12) -- VP 12th grade
-Math Honor Society (11-12)
-Tri M Honor Society (10-12 -- President 12th grade
-English Honor Society (10-12)
-National Honor Society (11-12)
-Tutor for most of the above honor societies
-Key Club (9)
-Habitat for Humanity (10-12)
-Robotics Club (11)
-Fencing Team (12)
-Jazz Band (9-12) -- Only drum set player through audition
-Wind Ensemble (10-12) -- 1st chair
-I am a "Youth Ambassador" for the Arthritis Foundation, meaning I speak at events, meet with local and state legislators, and help raise awareness for the disease.
-I give weekly drum/percussion lessons to young children in the community.
-I work part time at my aunt's event decor business.
-I do house and yard work, shopping, mail, etc., for my 95 year old neighbors on a daily basis
-I spent a summer in Scotland and worked as a "sanitation officer" at the British Open golf tournament as a freshman.
-Not sure if this counts but I am in several bands, two of which play locally for pay. We write and perform original music and one of them is recording an E.P.
Hundreds of volunteer hours in the community as part of many of the above activities</p>

<p>Essays: Not finished yet but I have won several writing contests and am confident in my abilities. First draft had my English teacher crying with laughter, and she also said it was one of the best she's ever read and that I conveyed the point I was trying to make extremely well.</p>

<p>Letters: Obviously don't get to read them but am expecting them to be pretty great, I have had both teachers for 2 years and work with them in conjunction with the various honor societies. Also, my additional rec letter is from a relatively high profile former politician who is a Yale graduate and active donor. I came into contact with him due to my work with the Arthritis Foundation.</p>

<p>Awards:
-I am an All-State percussionist, also selected for the SCMEA All-County Orchestra and Percussion Ensemble
-Ranked 3rd nationally on Le Grand Concours French exam
-National Merit Commended (so far)
-High Honor Roll (9-12)
-Concert Band Section Leader
-"Pride Award" in Music and Social Studies (School award, 2 kids get these every year in each subject area)
-AP Scholar with Honor (Can't get distinction or National AP award until all exams are taken)</p>

<p>Possible Hooks? Not really sure:
-I was born and raised in London, England until age 9.
-I was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis at age 5, and it has played a major role in my development.
-My cousin is a Yale graduate and currently works for them on a consultancy basis, and I have another cousin attending this year.</p>

<p>Applying to Yale because there is a much larger emphasis on the humanities/arts than at many other high level institutions. Due to the fact that I am not yet decided on a career path, the breadth of Yale's course offerings is extremely appealing to me. Also, I am interested in Brown, Cornell, JHU, Tufts, Carnegie Mellon, and Northeastern, to name a few, if anyone would like to take a gander at my chances there as well.</p>

2

<p>I guess I would say that having arthritis at such a young age really changed my life in more ways than one. I had to get shots on a daily basis (with several side effects including weight gain), workout and exercise every day just to strengthen my joints enough to move, and miss loads of school as a consequence. Now, 12 years later, I am relatively stable and can do pretty much everything I want to do, so I guess I am taking advantage of that (explaining why I have so many scattered activities); I was never able to do anything as a kid and always had to watch from the side, so now I am making up for it. Anyway, not trying to turn this into a sob story, because I think what I made out of a pretty bad situation is whats important. I know that I’m extremely fortunate to be in the position I am now, and I feel that I owe it to others to give back and share my story and do anything that I can in the hopes that at least one more child is treated early so they can lead a life as close to normal as possible. I have attended conferences, do public speaking at walks, etc., and have traveled to Washington D.C and had private meetings with Senators and Congressman to discuss their support regarding key pieces of legislation. Although this is not my largest commitment speaking in terms of hours dedicated each week, I don’t believe its importance can really be quantified.
Sooo… yeah</p>

3

<p>Don’t downplay the bands that you play in. That’s just as good as other ECs–perhaps better in some ways, because it’s not organized by adults.</p>

<p>You have the kind of stats and accomplishments that mean you are competitive for highly selective colleges, including Yale. However, Yale accepts students like you, and rejects students like you. Don’t have a single dream school, and apply to a good selection of reach, match, and safety schools. The other schools you mention are good options for your list, although they are all reachy.</p>

<p>Good luck. The world needs more smart drummers. (That was a little joke.)</p>

4

<p>Thank you very much for the response I really do appreciate it. I do have other safer options in mind, I was just curious as to if I was aiming too high with my stats.
Haha I do get that quite a lot actually! </p>