International aspirant : Do I have any chances of getting in?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>I am an Indian female in my senior year. I’m in a CBSE school (the most popular national board in the country, considered one of the most rigorous).</p>

<p>GRADES:</p>

<p>• Freshman year – 10.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average (10 point scale)
A1 grade in all subjects
First Rank in my batch of around 200 students.</p>

<p>• Sophomore year – Scored 98.2% in the Std X ‘Board Exams’ (Countrywide school leaving public exam conducted by CBSE)
10.0 Cumulative Grade Point Average ( A1 in all subjects)
First Rank in the city (tied with 2 other students)</p>

<p>English : 98
Social Science: 99
Maths: 95
Science: 99
Sanskrit: 100</p>

<p>I changed schools after sophomore year, as is the norm in India. Joined the Arts stream (the choice is between Arts, Commerce and Science streams) in another CBSE school. </p>

<p>Subjects – English, Math, Sociology, Political Science, Economics</p>

<p>• Junior year – 91.8%
First Rank in my batch of around 130 students (including Science and Commerce students)</p>

<p>• Senior year – Consistently receiving As till now. Expecting well above 90% in my mid-terms as well as Std XII Board Exams (school leaving exam).</p>

<p>SAT – 2300 (CR 800, W 790, M 710)</p>

<p>SAT II – Taking Eng Lit and Math IIC this October. Expecting 700s in both.</p>

<p>TOEFL – Taking it this Oct</p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULARS</p>

<p>1.Leadership:</p>

<p>Freshman : School Assistant Overall Incharge
Sophomore : School Overall Incharge
Junior : Elected Junior School Captain
Senior : Elected Senior School Captain </p>

<p>(All the above were the highest possible posts available in the School Council for students of that grade level)</p>

<p>2. Sports : Was on the school swimming team in 9th and 10th grade
Won 1 gold and 2 silvers at the district level, 1 bronze at the zonal level, and participated at state level both years.</p>

<p>3. Debate : </p>

<p>• Won the first prize in the Group Discussion event at International Youth Festival of History and Civics
• 2 first prizes in state level debates (adjudged Best Debater)
• 3 first prizes in local level debates</p>

<p>4. Other extracurricular achievements</p>

<p>• 2 local level first prizes in inter-school Science Talk contests
• 1 local level first prizes in interschool English Speech contest
• 1 first prize in intra-school extempore speech contest
• 1 first prize in district level Spell Bee
• 1 first prize in state level English Play contest – Wrote the play and played the lead role
• Participated in state level Science Talk</p>

<p>5. Work Experience (150 hours) : Did a summer internship at the local Times of India office. Wrote newspieces and was credited in the byline.</p>

<p>**6. Community service:<a href="Started%20a%20short%20while%20ago,%20should%20log%20in%20about%20%5Bb%5D60%20hours%5B/b%5D%20by%20the%20time%20applications%20are%20due">/b</a>
• Volunteering as a teacher with an NGO that teaches homeless children who live on railway platforms.
• Volunteering at a centre run by an NGO for women subjected to domestic violence and other family-related social problems. </p>

<p>ACADEMIC HONOURS RECEIVED</p>

<p>• 18th Rank in State in the International Olympiad of English Language</p>

<p>• School awards :</p>

<p>a) C. Subramaniam Award for Excellence in Character<a href="2010-2011">/b</a>
b) Shri A. S. Sharma Memorial Award for **All Round Excellence in Academics<a href="2010-2011">/b</a>
c) Smt. Umadevi Rathod Memorial Award for Excellence in **Academics. (2010-2011)
d) Won 3 school awards for Excellence in Mathematics
3 for Excellence in Science, and
2 for Excellence in English.</p>

<p>Though I’m still a bit unsure, I plan to major in Eng Literature and minor in one of the social sciences (Political Science/Sociology/Economics).</p>

2

<p>Okay, so I’m a freshman at Yale right now. Personally I did the IB, but I’m familiar with the CBSE system, so your stats are all impressive and certainly worthy of consideration. So, here’s the deal:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>You certainly have as good a chance as anyone else, just from what I can see here.</p></li>
<li><p>There are 3 parts to what I consider a successful college application:</p>

<p>A) A strong foundation, this is quantitative: stats and a strong academic history generally lay one cornerstone for you. Your extracurriculars lay the other cornerstones, this is where you emphasise your well-roundedness. You don’t do too many sports, or too many extracurriculars, and there’s a recurring theme in most of them, which is good, and you have a long history in most of them, which shows that you’re passionate about them, and not just doing them to fill a college app.</p>

<p>B) You need a thoughtful essay which EXPLORES and does not DEFINE your character for the reader. Writing a good essay is as much a process of self-exploration as it is informing the reader. You can do this from a range of different perspectives, either through the lens of one of your extracurricular activities (for example, perhaps you might derive a certain clarity of mind from swimming that allows for greater introspection), or through an exceptional moment in your life (this does not necessarily have to be an event, you could be in the shower and experience a revelation of sorts and that counts too). Usually a good essay will both tell a story and paint a picture. If you woud like, I can explore this further with you through private messages.</p>

<p>C) A whole lot of luck. At times it really is a lottery, and the class is composed almost like a salad. You want different things in there, and too much lettuce isn’t going to make anyone happy. So make yourself stand out, write about something you’ve experienced or engaged in that is uncommon, an unusual talent you may possess, or even something ordinary that has had extraordinary consequences in your life. Then just hope for the best.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I can see you’re a committed and hard-working individual, and, under the right conditions, you have a very good chance. Applications are all about presentation and how you build your image to an admissions committee.</p>

<p>Good luck, if you need any help, send me a PM and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, and just remember not to make application season more stressful than it needs to be.</p>

3

<p>Wow, thank you for that, Khalid, VERY helpful. Not to mention encouraging. :slight_smile:
I DO have questions regarding the essays, which I’ll PM you.</p>

4

<p>Guys, do you think applying SCEA to Yale might be worth it for me?</p>

5

<p>Applying SCEA is a curious choice. There are certain preconditions that should probably be met prior to committing to it. As an international student, you can’t necessarily exploit the loopholes that accompany SCEA, so we won’t get into that.</p>

<p>As an international student accepted through SCEA myself, I can tell you that there are counterbalances present. On one end of the scale, the SCEA acceptance rate for the Class of 2016 was approximately 15.3 or 15.4%, easily more than double the RD acceptance rate. On the other hand, this is made largely irrelevant by the fact that those accepted are ostensibly those who would have been accepted in the RD round regardless.</p>

<p>SCEA offers you the opportunity, if deferred, and no decision is made on your application, to be reconsidered in the RD round, where a final decision will be made. Note that acceptance rates among deferred students remain low.</p>

<p>You may be better served applying to other schools who offer an EA option, thereby broadening the range of your options and increasing your chances of being accepted to ANY school. You can then apply to Yale (and presumably other Ivy League institutions) in the RD round without consequence.</p>

<p>In essence, the choice depends on your confidence. In your case, while you’re a fine applicant, you’re not of an under-represented minority (URM) nor do you have what is termed a hook; an unusual or transcendant attribute that attracts attention. So no boosters for you. But this should not determine how you proceed.</p>

<p>None of us here can really answer your question definitively, but do make your decision with the aforementioned issues in mind.</p>

6

<p>Your point is definitely valid, but I’m actually not worried about my chances of getting into ANY school, because if I don’t get into the schools I want, I’ll be applying to colleges in my country, which include a few that I’m (mostly) sure of getting into, and which I’ll be happy to go to. So I’m considering not applying to any safety schools in the US, only matches and reaches. Which is why I want to apply early to one of my reaches, like Yale, even though it is admittedly a crapshoot. Since most of my reaches have restrictive early admission programmes, I’m trying to decide which one would be worth applying early to.</p>

7

<p>What schools are you considering applying early to? I’m a bit of an admissions buff so I may be able to help.</p>

8

<p>Umm… Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia, Amherst are the ones I’m considering right now…
To be honest, though application season has started, I’m completely clueless about choosing colleges to apply to. I don’t even have a long list to whittle down further; I don’t have any kinda list. Even after extensively searching the net for colleges strong in the departments I’m interested in (Eng Lit, Social Sciences) I haven’t come across any reliable or definitive ranked list. In the absence of any campus visits or good resources to consult, I’m finding it very difficult to shortlist colleges. In fact, the only ones I’m kinda sure of applying to are the above-mentioned reaches, mainly because they pop up in every list and have a good reputation. I know I should also apply to other less selective ones, but I have no idea where to start looking :confused: Any suggestions?</p>

9

<p>*( Also, Dartmouth is the one I really really want, however they only have a binding ED programme and an RD one; no EA or SCEA. I’m reluctant to apply to a binding programme.)</p>

10

<p>Dartmouth, Columbia and Amherst all offer binding early application schemes, and you are wisely reluctant to commit to those. So essentially your choice here is between Yale and Princeton. 2 points to observe here: </p>

<ol>
<li><p>Princeton’s early admit rate last year was higher than Yale’s, though these statistics are probably unreliable considering Princeton’s EA programme has only been reinstated this past year. </p></li>
<li><p>Princeton’s application is more specific, requires SAT Subject Tests, and no one’s performance on these ever really goes according to expectation, or, at the very least, it’s highly unlikely.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Your situation is rare, but also favourable, so I’d definitely recommend applying to Yale early. Even a deferral will allow for reconsideration, so it’s certainly worth it.</p>

<p>I’d recommend you construct an appropriate list for all the universities you want to apply to (on the chance that Yale defers or rejects) when the RD round comes up.</p>

11

<p>

If you’re concerned about too little financial aid, if a Common Application school offers too little aid, you tell them thanks but no thanks and apply RD elsewhere; there’s no risk of being trapped into something you can’t afford. This is part of the application.</p>

12

<p>I believe it’s more an issue of scope and opportunity as opposed to financial aid here.</p>

13

<p>

That depends on the college. Some require you to petition to be released and you have to show just cause for financial reasons. I would caution someone about applying ED if the college may not be affordable. Most schools have financial estimator’s to you should have an idea on your expected contribution will be.</p>

14

<p>^ Which schools require a petition? Common Application schools have this rule:

<a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There’s no mention of petitioning, and they already have all your financial data used in their determination. </p>

<p>If you doubt this, ask the school what their policy is when they don’t accept your “just cause” when the FA is insufficient. Imagine the horrible publicity if any school attempted to force attendance by requiring a petition, the petition is denied, the bill can’t be paid, and the student is expelled.</p>

15

<p>From my understanding, the decision to admit a student isn’t founded in any financial basis, they’re required to prove that they can pay before they can enroll, and the petitioning process is largely a safeguard to ensure that students and their families can’t break the contract and choose to matriculate elsewhere.</p>

16

<p>vonlost, Northwestern is one such school. See excerpt below:</p>

<p>If you are admitted under Early Decision and apply for financial aid, you will be notified of your aid decision around the time of your acceptance, provided your family has filed the College Scholarship Service Financial Aid Profile (CSS Profile) by December 1. Students admitted under Early Decision may be released from the commitment to enroll at Northwestern only for demonstrated financial hardship.</p>

<p>I can find the verbiage related to the process if you require further proof.</p>

17

<p>Well, I’m inclined to not believe them, no matter what the verbiage. :eek: What happens if NW doesn’t accept one’s demonstration? The family says they just can’t afford it, the school disagrees; what does NW say happens next? What is the consequence? I suspect none, i.e., NW would not actually attempt to prevent the student from attending elsewhere, e.g., at a school that would give this applicant more aid. The verbiage may indeed dissuade the non-wealthy from applying ED, as opposed to the Common App’s supporting ED application by the middle class without the fear of being trapped.</p>

18

<p>This is why almost all students from low-income families don’t apply ED anywhere. ED is traditionally an option for those who are sure that they want to attend this school and have the means to facilitate that.</p>

19

<p>Sadly so. commonapp.org and I think most participating schools are trying to change that by removing the financial aid fear barrier, allowing a sad (admitted to first choice, unable to attend) but simple thanks but no thanks. Schools do like well-to-do ED applicants; it helps manage the bottom line, but economic diversity is also a popular goal. Alas, some schools are dragging their feet…</p>

20

<p>Obviously a school cannot force you to attend if you cannot afford it but they definitely want to discourage students from applying ED if there is any doubt about attending. Anyone could simply say they cannot afford it. The other problem is you usually have to submit a housing deposit prior to receiving the fin aid award which you would most likely forfeit if you declined admission.</p>