You mentioned you have a sibling that attends Yale. I think a comparison to them (not for competitive reasons but rather information gathering reasons) might be informative. Did your sibling attend the same school as you? Are they much older or just a few years older? Were their accomplishments in the same ball park as yours? What do they think tipped the scales in their favor? This exercise might shed a little more light to your chances for us, random people on the internet.
And BTW, don’t be desperate. It’s never a good look. Be eager, enthusiastic, yes, but not desperate.
Overall considering your school and your record, I think you have a much higher chance than the average applicant.
A couple of questions: how many Bs in high school have you had and what classes?
Have you confirmed with your counselor that you are top 10% or is that your best guess? Agree with others this may come down to who else is applying to the same schools and how they compare to you regarding EC, LOR, essays, etc.
Well my siblings admissions file said the reason he got admitted was bc of his personality. Despite being valedictorian, dual sport captain for multiple years, editor of a journal, and an all-state instrument player, I think his flaw was that he applied as an Asian male to CS which he didn’t have rlly any ecs for bc he’s pretty moral, so there was no get in and switch (he was gonna apply what he was gonna do). Went 7/20… no other Ivies although waitlisted at harvard and stanford. Got into UCLA, Washu, Swarthmore, Gtech CS
Main difference is i’m applying social science/ business so I think my leadership will be more of a plus vs if I applied stem. The kids from my school that go to top colleges 90% are non-stem bc it is very rigorous so students are unable to study and grind for Olympiads and other competitions
Yeah I def think UMich oos and ND are in reality reaches for 90%. I think my counselor said I will probably get in which is why I consider them reaches. Usually top kids apply as things like writing/english or history majors. Very rarely top-Business or econ
yeah that’s what I think. My personal school College counselor is also new to my school, so IDK if he completely knows the school that well. My hope is that I am the top business/econ person in my school and my schools is very rigorous, so I have a decent shot.
Interesting thing about the schools is… no one has really huge spikes. This is really probably due to the rigorous course load. For example, I’m the only AIME qualifier in the school. Now compared to the nation, AIME qualifier doesn’t mean much to top schools, but within the school’s contest it does.
As for the ecs like Mock trial, business, debate… our school has never been the top in state at any competitions due to the smaller size… around 100 per class. With the aforementioned rigorous courseload, people don’t have the time to commit to studying after school for these comps. Our school is so small there are requirements to play at least 2 sports during freshman and sophomore year.
There has not been a USAMO or any other national olympiad qualifier from my school in the last 5 years(I’ve been there for 5).
From what I’ve seen, colleges understand the school’s nature, and from the people I see admitted, I definitely see them getting admitted through passion/storytelling/essays not hooks. No one really has serious serious national-level hooks.
In context, holding leadership for 5 clubs, although not very nationally successful is probably the most leadership in the class. Especially considering the size of business clubs/ community service clubs.
I can definetely see why my Ecs can look very weak because I have a lack of competitions/ awards. I believe my best strategy is focusing on the Big fish in a small elite pool = I hold a ton of leadership in a top school
All those kids that got into top places…
not one was a National Olympiad Qualifier
Most of them their best ec was probably some club that didn’t actually do competitions… ex:mental health awareness, newspaper, one of the kids was like me math/debate club
Well firstly, I am pretty confident I am the top business person. Also I have asked my counselor, and he said he doesn’t really know where other kids are applying bc they aren’t completely sure yet. Also there are like 5 separate counselors for a class of around 110; they aren’t familiar with the whole class.
middle of the pack midwest state… meaning we send like 5 kids d1 from the state every year:sob:
no one has gone d1 from my school in the last 8 years. Only one kid in 2013 bc he was like 6’4 200, but he only played 1-2 years
well problem with the satirical magazine is it is kinda a joke. I am close with the founders, it was kinda to take shots at the real newspaper. Also it’s a 1 time a year publication. Idk tho, it just isn’t super super serious, everyone does it for fun and to get a laugh. I guess I could talk it up, but my two friends who were leader last year were like “yeah we don’t really designate leaders, if u put in a good amt of work ur a leader”. Like the authors page is jokes like “John - gonna put this on my app - smith”
At these types of private high schools, the counselors are likely to know which college sees the student as the best fit for the college’s needs and wants (which may be different from whether the student sees the college as the best fit for the student).
See I think this is my strength. I could play on my leadership and strong contributions I have made to my schools small but well-known and successful community. I might not have a ton of awards, but colleges can see I made a positive impact on the school.
“You’re thinking about it backwards. It’s not about your achievements or qualifications. It’s about what you can do for the college.”
See I think this is my strength. I could play on my leadership and strong contributions I have made to my schools small but well-known and successful community. I might not have a ton of awards, but colleges can see I made a positive impact on the school.
It is a midwest school too. Not quite as prestigious as your top NE schools. Once upon a time I think my school had more weight, but with admissions being so tough, I think it has had less.
