<p>have to disagree with iamme...</p>
<p>admission to Yale, or any other top school, is not about grades and test scores. oh sure, you're not likely to get in with an 80 avg and 1100 boards. but that's true even if you're a legacy, minority, athlete or anybody.</p>
<p>consider that almost 20,000 people applied to Y last year and that fewer than 2,000 were accepted. of those who applied, how many had a 95 avg and 1500 boards? probably 5,000 or more. how many had a 94 avg and 1400 boards? thousands more. clearly, Y had to make its decision based on other factors. even among those applicants with perfect board scores, probably fewer than half were accepted.</p>
<p>admission to Y and the other top schools is based in large part on accomplishment. those students who have already demonstrated in some way that they will make a substantial contribution to society as they go through life are the ones who are likely to be accepted.</p>
<p>almost every student who applies to these schools has really good grades, test scores and a list of great activities. each of them probably stands out in their high school, as they have stood out in middle school and elementary school before that.</p>
<p>now, the goal is to stand out within this small group. and it's complicated by the fact that each school is trying to put together a community. you might fit in one year and not the next. indeed, an adcom told me that you might fit in one day and not the next, or even 1 minute and not the next. if the committe has just accepted 2 or 3 kids in a row, what are the odds that they'll take the next one?</p>
<p>admissions to these schools is often called a crap shoot...and as the adcom above makes clear, there definitely are random events that come into play. but you can enhance the odds by presenting yourself in such a way that you stand out.</p>
<p>make sure that your applications makes your case. reading posts on this board, it's clear that many kids sit down with the app and answer the questions. that isn't likely to get you in.</p>
<p>instead, before you even look at an app, think about the case that you want to present to the school. ask yourself, "why should school x take me? why am i special?" make a list of the points that make your case. some of these can be adapted as answers to the questions they ask. in other cases, you may want to consider writing an essay that specifically addresses one of your points. when you're done, you're app should "scream" your case.</p>
<p>make sure you get recommendations from teachers/others that will bolster your case. if they agree to give you a rec, provide them with a few pages of background on your activities, accomplishments, etc. My S may have gone overboard when he provided about 20 pages of stuff, but I can assure you that each of his recs was right on target.</p>
<p>give yourself more of an advantage by visiting the school and talking with professors in your area of interest. even if you can't visit, you can correspond with them. let them know who you are and what you're interested in. find out about special opportunities. faculty will advocate for applicants if they've made a good impression.</p>
<p>there's more of course, but the bottom line is this: you have to work hard for admission to the top schools. no matter how good you're grades and test scores, you can be sure there's someone else in line that did even better. but if you work at this, you can get noticed...and you can get in. even if you're not wealthy, connected, a legacy, an athlete, etc.</p>