<p>My cousin really wants to go to Yale. She's a junior this year, and I'm not positive what her major is going to be, but I think something with music. </p>
<p>What can she do to improve her chances of acceptance?</p>
<p>interview, hook, impressive recs, ec/cs (that relate to hook)? How important is GPA/SAT/ACT? </p>
<p>Those are a few ideas that I had, but I wouldn't consider myself the most knowledgeable person on applying to ivy league schools, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Direct her to Yale admissions webpages. There, you can see what viable candidates are doing. The single most important factor is proven academic accomplishment. Ask her this question: “Would the teachers and principal and administrators at your school say you’re one of the single most outstanding students in your year?”</p>
<p>If not, then her chances are less than poor, in my opinion. She is already this or not. There’s not much she can do to alter this.</p>
<p>Yes, URM does have advantages…But there are other things to improve your chances. Academic excellence for one! Encourage her to take challenging classes in her senior year and strive for mostly A’s this year! Also, Yale is BIG on community service! Make sure she gets in a lot of hours in the next year or so. She should also mention this in her interview (it helped in mine :D). Tell her to begin drafting her essays for admission early! Preferably the summer before senior year. Her essays should demonstrate her passions that she has pursued throughout high school. Also, she should try to participate in clubs/ sports that interest her. And of course SAT scores are important, she should aim for 2100-2200. These are a lot of things adcoms look for in an admit.</p>
<p>I’m not even sure how much legacy helps - my brother applied early to Yale (both of my parents went to Yale) but he was deferred and then rejected, but accepted to Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, etc.</p>
<p>Academic excellence is definitely a priority, but for countless individuals the demonstration of merit without the three qualities LubiaB mentioned will not get them anywhere in a process that is predominantly subjective. Many, many individuals are deprived of their rightful opportunities simply because of qualities that they cannot control.</p>
<p>^I agree and I was not suggesting that high scores should be the only measure of an applicant’s worth. I was communicating that the absence of such admission hooks leave many applicants at a predetermined deficit in the process regardless of the talent and promise that they demonstrate.</p>
<p>Haha why does it seem like top colleges are trying to stay away from (for lack of a better word) “nerds”? No offense to anyone… Maybe they are just straying away from “nerds” without hooks/ passion? Idk.</p>
<p>I will argue that you don’t need to be a minority, an athlete or a legacy to get into Yale. One of my kids graduated Y a few years ago with none of the above factors. And, out of her 7 room mates, only 1 was an athlete, and one URM. No legacies.
There is an interesting fact about most of the kids who have been accepted from her HS in her year and the years surrounding her graduation – they were all editors of their high school papers. Maybe this is just a coincidence, but I think being a very good writer is something that Yale admissions seems to value.</p>