<p>^ usually that is because most of those “lol valedictorian saludictorian” and people w/ perfect SATs are not usually as good of a candidate because they suck at other things, such as a val/sal taking the easiest courses, or the 800 per section scorer doing nothing but SAT studying. Those statistics are misleading - most of those applicants rejected got rejected because they sucked in other important aspects.</p>
<p>i agree with what you’re saying, lurker - certainly, i understand i am no match. just from personal experience, i know roughly 5 other applicants to yale, all of whom are absolutely amazing. this year, definitely will be tough to get that coveted acceptance letter.</p>
<p>warblers - conversely, though, if we were to look at the acceptance percentages for those categories, they would still be higher than the overall acceptance rate.. hmmmm. i get the point you’re making, though.</p>
<p>rootbeer - *she :)</p>
<p>thanks for the comments everyone!</p>
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<p>This is the problem with chances threads on CC. For some kids, taking 5 APs by senior year is remarkable. Personally, I know quite a few people who have taken 4-5 APs in their sophomore years and scored all 5’s, so I wouldn’t be completely awed by that achievement. What it comes down to is whether your school is competitive, and even if it’s not, whether you’ve done the best you can with the opportunities you have. But sometimes it is unclear what kind of school or opportunities a student has, and then we overestimate or underestimate his chances.</p>
<p>To OP – I think you fall in the group of HYPMS applicants who are somewhat likely to be accepted. Out of HYPM I think you may make one or two. I have your exact sat i/sat ii scores and I find that your scores in general are pretty good. Your ECs are fine too. How are your AP scores? I can’t really find fault, but because you don’t have a huge hook or national awards or the like it’s hard to say you will “probably” make yale scea. I think you have good chances at the other schools.</p>
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<p>That’s a lot of 36 ACT’s rejected.. a lot more than I would expect. Only 1 out of more than 5,000 testers (I think, I read somewhere 15,000?) on the ACT will score a composite 36. And similarly for 2400 SAT.</p>
<p>One of the big mistakes in these posts: you are all forgetting the reputation and strength of high school. the most imp. factor, the weightiest is the strength of and performance in HS curriculum. The Ivy League keeps detailed notes on each HS, and in many cases on individual courses and teachers in each of these schools. So, a perfect A in Euro Hist from school A may be less important than a B+ from school B where old Joe Tough Teacher is known as hard grader.</p>
<p>Similarly, 4 or 5 high achieving Asian students from NJ Asian heavy high schools will be less remarkable than one less high achieving Asian who is the only Asian in a CT prep school because, as one adcom personally told me at an Ivy, as “we walk the school corridors during visits we get the sense of how easy or difficult it is for any particular individual to achieve at that school”.</p>
<p>You are all surprised by admit decisions because beyond the grades, the APs and the SATs you forget about the history that HS has had with the college.</p>
<p>One further thought: to do 4 APs by sophomore year in a school where there is somewhat of an AP arms race is far less remarkable than to do 3 by senior year in a school where no one takes APs. Some top prep schools have abolished APs, as many of you know, for example I think Fieldston and Horace Mann.</p>
<p>alwaysthisclose has excellent chances at HYP.</p>
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No, I agree that it’s something to keep in mind. I also know that it’s amazing how many CCers go to “extremely competitive” high schools. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>CCers are a very very very tiny sample. Highly self-selected and have little bearing on the thousands of normal, high average kids who do make it to HYP.</p>
<p>Here’s a little bit about my high school if it helps put me in context–</p>
<p>Highly competitive private prep school in CA. Last year, admitted 7 people to Harvard and 20 to Stanford (not sure of exact numbers for Yale/Princeton), out of a class of around 140. Has a lot of tough classes, but 4 APs by soph year isn’t normal (most people take 1-2). Lots of high performing students, but the majority are focused more on science/research, med, math, engineering, etc. instead of the humanities, so this year a large number are applying early to MIT and Stanford. 3 are applying early to Yale.</p>
<p>I would guess you would get into at least one, if not 2 of HYP. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks, and thanks again to everyone who posted! 49 replies is amazing (even though roughly 20 were mine..).</p>
<p>I just submitted my app, and I will update this again in 6 weeks HOPEFULLY (<em>crosses fingers!</em>) with good news :).</p>