<p>I originally posted this in the Yale forum, but decided to bring it out here in hopes that is will be useful to some of those applying to top colleges for the class of 2014.</p>
<p>As the common application became available just a few days ago, many future applicants are inevitably beginning the college admissions process For some, you've been contemplating and examining colleges for years as well as browsing CC - this is a great thing and you are better off for it. For other people, you may be lost, confused, and unsure. But there is one thing everyone who is applying has in common - you are all on a quest to better yourselves and enhance opportunities for yourself by applying for Yale - not to mention the amazing experience you will have if you are admitted. But I'm not here to discuss my experience at Yale - I have yet to begin there; rather to give my advice on the application process.</p>
<p>First and foremost, as I see on many chance threads, people worry about their SAT and ACT scores. Although no one can be for sure, from my experience and exploration through CC, admissions sites, and other resources, they have minimal impact on your chances <em>once</em> you reach a certain benchmark. For some colleges the benchmark may be 1750/2400. For others, it may be 2050/2400. For Yale, my guesstimate is it is about 2100, give or take 100 points. What this means is, in the preliminary examination of your application, you are categorized by your SAT score - whether this is a formal procedure or not, I am relatively sure it happens. Now having a score below 2100 does not mean you have no chance of getting admitted. What it means is that you better have a stellar application otherwise. In addition, once you hit that certain "benchmark," your score doesn't really matter. At that point, admissions officers know you can handle the coursework. This is why we sometimes hear people who score 2400 or 36 complain that they did not get in with their astounding test scores. Yes, they had the test scores to handle the course work, but did they have the rest of the package? Probably not. Test scores are important, but they do not always represent a person's ability to thrive in the college atmosphere. Especially at Yale, academics are not everything. Yale wants a group of students who will thrive in many areas of collegiate life - from academics to athletics and everything in-between. Ultimately my advice in this area is, if you have an SAT score below 2100, work on improving it if you can, but remember, you still have a chance, albeit a smaller one than if you had a 2300. If you have a score above 2100, GOOD JOB. This is something to be proud of - just remember there are 26,000 applicants who will have similar scores. Now focus on the rest of your application.</p>
<p>So if test scores that meet a certain benchmark really no longer make a difference, than what does? Primarily this is your extracurricular activities. From football to chess club, the most common difference between an accepted applicant and a rejected applicant is how they spent their time outside school. The key word here is how. A laundry list of activities and leadership positions will usually not work (usually!). Your extracurricular activities need to demonstrate your passions, something that is reflected often on CC. For example, did you play varsity basketball? Given that you will not be a recruited athlete, how passionate were you? Did you perhaps expand this into other ares of your life? How about an athletic leadership group or running a basketball camp during the summers? These things show passion. Did the basketball camp introduce you to a specific need in your community such as education - maybe you noticed a lot of kids in your area needed help in math and you branched out to tutoring (this could be an essay topic as well!). This shows passion versus you played basketball (captain), was VP of Key club, were active in Model UN, and was President of the band. Now I'm not saying that well rounded candidates are bad, but passion shows a lot in your application. This is also not to say that demonstrating yourself as strong in athletics, politics, and music is bad either. Many people can tie these together to create a strong application. My advice here is to be yourself in your application - demonstrate your love for whatever it is that you do.</p>
<p>Another important aspect of your application is the essay. Perhaps once you are good with test scores and are able to show your passions for EC's, this is the tipping point. A boring essay even with a strong test scores and leadership can easily put you in the rejected pile, especially at a school like Yale who has thousands of similar applicants. So with your essay, continue to explain your passions. The admissions committee wants to get as much of an understanding of you as possible. If all your ECs showed a focus in politics and then you wrote about your scientific research at a local university, I would have missing pieces of my understanding of you as an applicant. Now for example, say you wrote about how you found out how stem-cell research may pave the way for cures to diseases and you want to promote that through the political landscape - this has the potential to be a good essay that ties together your passions as well as something other applicants of a similar nature may not have.</p>
<p>So far, I think I have emphasized the "show your passions" idea throughout your entire application. Although I believe this is the best way to express yourself and gain that precious admittance, there are other ways. Yale admits many different type of people. I once heard that Ivy League schools admit approximately 25% of their classes based on hooks (URMs, recruited athletes, etc.), another 25% based on an amazing focus such a Intel finalist, top ranked debate team, amazing violinist, etc, and the other 50% based on good overall applicants. As someone applying next year, if you fall into the first two groups, power to you; however, this is not a guarantee of admittance. Most likely you fall into the third category where you have more control from this point on (although you have control over most other aspects as well - but it may be too late to become the amazing violinist or the recruited athlete). In third category category, you now have control over your how you "format" your application. Every aspect needs to be fine-tuned. Things such as spelling errors may be fatal (although as a side note, if your reviewing your application after you submit and realize you did make a small error like I did, your probably fine). What you really need to focus on is your essay, how you present your EC's and who you pick for recommendations.</p>
<p>Applying to college is never easy. It is time consuming at the very least and will be perhaps the most stressful part of your life up until this point, but it is rewarding as well. Whether you are admitted or rejected, you are probably a a great person who will go far in life. I was fortunate enough to apply SCEA, the best decision of my life. There are many arguments surrounding SCEA but if you are contemplating it and Yale is your first choice, go for it!</p>
<p>My final tip of advice for now is enjoy your senior year in high school. Wherever you are a leader and whatever you involve yourself in, thrive. Thrive because you want to, not to glorify your application. Things will fall into place as they were meant to be. If you happen to be rejected, remember that you are among the 93% that is. If you are accepted, Congratulations! You now have to deal with telling people you are going to Yale and getting sarcastic remarks back. Some people even resort to telling people they are just going to Connecticut in order to not be accused of being elitist. Otherwise, you will be entering into a "gated" community of scholars and you will experience profound growth in so many areas.</p>
<p>For now, take my advice for what it is worth. If you disagree, fine. Good Luck to all future applicants!</p>
<p>Also, feel free to ask questions!</p>