EA Chances for an Artist? (Esp. how to frame my app around interests)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>Yale is my top choice, and as you should tell by my ECs, in part because of the amazing fine arts department and world class liberal arts school on the side (that's what my why Yale focuses on). Any thoughts on chances, GPA, and how a strong arts supplement will impact me? (Especially on if my application is almost too-focused on arts/culture, another passion of mine). An Yale admissions officer said, verbatim, a very strong rec from the art department can be "an immense boost," so do you think for me it'll be enough to overcome other weaker areas (ORM, GPA)?</p>

<p>SAT: 2350, 12 essay superscored (low 2300, 12E in highest single sitting)
SAT IIs: 800, 800, 720
GPA UW: 3.80/4.00 (Coming from an easy public school, I had a little trouble with the new intense curriculum at my new private school when I moved after 9th grade. Upward trend since then, and the equivalent of 7-8 Semester B/B+'s... Counselor will explain a bit, though she doesn't think this is a terrible GPA even in terms of very selective schools.)
GPA W: 4.5/4.7 (Only for junior year, and this is > avg W. GPA--remember this is junior year only--for EA acceptance at my school. Basically, I had a very strong junior year, grade-wise among those who to go HYPS, etc.)
Rank: N/A</p>

<p>ECs: Art (independent study 12 yrs, private instruction 7 yrs, 3 international juried shows, 6 national/int'l awards, 1 international publication, student shows, city-wide activities, etc)
2 Major (President) Leadership Positions in 2 Culture-related Clubs
2 Minor (assistant leader/leadership board) Positions in 2 Clubs (One culture-related, One semi art related)
(these five above are central ECs, ones that I'm the most passionate about. My essays tie them together)
Two Varsity Sports with state-wide recognition
Two Science Research Internships
100 hrs Community Service in culture-related areas</p>

<p>** I was a new in mid-HS. Will they account for that when evaluating my in-school ECs in terms of years of involvement and leadership? My HS includes middle school and people have been in certain clubs since then.</p>

<p>Supplement: Art portfolio for sure (PM me if it'll help you chance me, or if curious), possibly an art teacher rec which would be amazing.</p>

<p>Recs: Should be strong, probably top 10% to top 1%.
Essays: Should be strong. My main one is about art and how it relates to my culture and more important my ideologies. Though my culture may not be unique among other Asian applicants, the way I portray it, I believe, should be far different. I'm still working on the Yale supplement, so I don't really know yet.</p>

<p>School: Small, competitive private. Last year, almost 20% went to Ivies/Stanford/MIT... Median SAT ~2150, ~20-30% NMSF. I don't live in CT, but my regional officer is familiar with my school--how that'll impact me, idk.</p>

<p>Personal: Male, ORM (East Asian)</p>

2

<p>Bump… Any opinions/advice?</p>

3

<p>not long ago, i spent hours reading that 2013 scea thread, and i have to say that your stats are really up there, easily on par with the people that got accepted. not to mention being an artist really helps to defeat any speculation among the admissions people that you’re just another ‘asian robot’.</p>

4

<p>Your art accomplishments look extremely impressive! Aside from your art, your other activities are pretty ordinary but solid. Because you’re interested in sports and science too, you seem to be very diverse. However, you don’t display a lot of initiative within your community like organizing community culture-related events. One of the deciding factors for admissions is how an much an applicant will impact the Yale community. If you did something with your community service, I’d definitely go into detail about it on your application. </p>

<p>Besides that, your grades and art and culture related activities give you a great chance at acceptance</p>

5

<p>“not long ago, i spent hours reading that 2013 scea thread, and i have to say that your stats are really up there, easily on par with the people that got accepted. not to mention being an artist really helps to defeat any speculation among the admissions people that you’re just another ‘asian robot’.”</p>

<p>Omg, is that really true? I’m a class of '11er and a Yale hopeful, and coming from one of the toughest applicant pools there are (Asian Californian) I’m hoping excelling in photography in both national and international levels can give me a boost above other asian vals. Thoughts?</p>

6

<p>zomg, i’m also an '11er!</p>

<p>look through the 2013scea thread to get a feel for the applicant pool. i noticed some people with max sat scores get straight-up rejected because their ecs consist of “was in physics club for 1 year”, or something insignificant like that. people with quirks like photography do well, especially if they have inter/national awards.</p>

7

<p>just an observation- on cc alone including this thread, i have seen four asians with international art recognition. if no one is exaggerating, that is quite extraordinary!</p>

8

<p>Extraordinary as in how little people do art, or extraordinary as in how so many people do art?</p>

9

<p>extraordinary (in a good way) that so many teenagers are getting high recognition for their art, for CC is but a sampling of talented students over the country. also extraordinary that finally people might recognize that asians are some of the most talented artists around, instead of clinging to this outdated “asian nerd” stereotype</p>

10

<p>Yay (:</p>

11

<p>For younger artists, which national/international art shows/awards/exhibitions did you participate in? Where and how did you find out about these opportunities? PM me if you don’t want to post. Thanks.</p>

12

<p>Mine are exclusively photography (I don’t do painting, drawing, etc)</p>

13

<p>Does anyone know if colleges look at apps differently if you moved?</p>