<p>How closely does Yale scrutinize your transcript i.e. is it more of a cutoff type of deal that they use before looking at the more subjective stuff in the application or do they readily differentiate the 4.0 UW student from say the 3.8 UW individual? The reason I ask this is because although I have taken the most rigorous curriculum in my high school's history(10 AP classes and 2 higher-level math classes at a community college), but I have accumulated 5 B's in the process(mostly B+'s). It seems like everyone who's applying has a 4.0.:( Furthermore, my school doesn't weight GPA's based on courseload so even though my school doesn't rank, my decile(top 10% i.e.) suffers because of it due to most students with higher GPA's taking easier classes. Thanks for your insight!!!</p>
<p>I do remember the admissions officier saying they like seeing students who take a rigorous curriculum, but not to the point that it effects your grades. I'm sure those things are factored. I know that the Val and Sal are usually looked at carefully, but after that - depending on many factors (feeder schools, how strong is the school's top graduates, history of recruitment, etc) are all considered. If you grades were worse, low b's or even c's, then that would appear that you have over extended yourself.
Good luck.</p>
<p>Do you mean val and sal are scrutinized to make sure their courseload was rigorous enough?</p>
<p>There's no such thing as a val or sal in my school.</p>
<p>Second Potus. Do you mean val and sal are scrutinized more closely if their grades are valid?!</p>
<p>Longtime alumni interviewer here who is pretty hip to Yale admissions. I'm not sure what leftylafty is referring to, so I may be incorrect, but I have never heard of the val and sal receiving special scrutiny. Obviously, Yale likes people who are highly ranked, but the idea that val and sal undergo a different analysis is news to me and I don't think it's true.</p>
<p>evil_dictator, what will be will be. I'm sure plenty of people with 5 Bs have been admitted to Yale, but they analyze every application individually. Maybe other things in your application compensate, maybe they don't. All we know is that they absolutely look at the rigor of your courses and the harder, the better. A 4.0 with easy classes isn't going to cut it.</p>
<p>AdmissionsAddict,</p>
<p>Could you clear up/evaluate the validity of another rumor for me? :)</p>
<p>Someone told me that if you're ranked 1st in your class and your school sends kids to Yale every year, you have a much higher chance.</p>
<p>I am competing with a valedictorian and I am ranked 5th. We both have similar standardized test scores, and we have the same teachers writing recs!</p>
<p>If you're ranked 1st in your class but you have relatively weak ECs, you won't get in. The admissions officers analyze applications individually. There may be what appear to be patterns at certain high schools, but it's an individualized process and no one knows what the admissions officers will do but the admissions officers.</p>
<p>In almost all the schools, you can not become Val or Sal w/o taking hard (AP/IB/JE/DL) courses. The GC will categorize the student within their recommendataion. Most Val and Sal do not come from the "on level" student pool. I also believe that certain courses within a subject carries more weight the others (eg. Calc B/C vs. A/B, or Stats, AP Chem vs. Honors Chem, or Calc III at a university vs. Honors Algebra). The list of AP's, and the AP pertaining to subject matter will identify the rigor of the curriculum.</p>