<p>^ On Yale’s website it says that it is “need-blind” when it comes to admissions, so I don’t see how asking for FA would impact an application. </p>
<p>Anyway, OP, I don’t think anyone here’s going to sugarcoat it: your SATs aren’t good. However, if Yale is your top choice, I say go ahead and apply. The worst that can happen is they deny you outright and you’re free to apply to as many schools as you want RD. In a best-case scenario, something in your application gets you in. This was the case with one of my friends last year, abeit she was applying to John Hopkins. She had SATs barely breaking 1800 overall, lackluster ECs (no leadership, maybe 2 Ecs done on and off in HS), and she was Asian, arguably an over-represented minority when it comes to admissions to John Hopkins. Our school GC told her to give up on applying to any top schools and just go to a state school (we live in Nevada so our state U’s are horrific), because she’d CLEARLY never get into a good school, especially John Hopkins. </p>
<p>She was accepted ED to John Hopkins, while the Saluditorian of our school was waitlisted at every school she applied to, finally only getting into a school because her father had legacy status at one of them.</p>
<p>The moral of the story? Anything can happen. Do what you want to do.</p>