<p>Had my heart and soul set on going to Yale and was rejected. Have been admitted to a great liberal arts college but still wish I was able to go to Yale!</p>
<p>Though an admission statistically becomes more difficult each year, should I give Yale 2015 a go by taking a gap year and re-applying (with better grades of course!)?</p>
<p>Or is an education the same everywhere? Will Yale as an undergrad even help me?</p>
<p>Any advice will be appreciated. Have never been so confused.</p>
<p>Yale as an undergraduate school is invaluable. and it’s ridiculous to compare Yale’s education to any lower-ranked or state schools in the country. </p>
<p>If your heart is set on Yale, I would definitely recommend taking a gap year and reapplying. Yale is especially concerned with socially-minded young people, so I would recommend spending your gap year on something truly special (community service, activism, etc.) that shows your passion and dedication towards social issues. It’s true that it’s difficult to transfer into Yale, but if you are really passionate about the school then you can make it happen through hard work and character. </p>
<p>The fact that you turned down a great LAC to come there will also more than impress the admissions committee at Yale; while Ivy League colleges are not worried about yield as much as certain other schools, it is always nice to see a student that displays that much devotion and dedication.</p>
<p>I agree with Lergnom. Having been rejected once, your chances of being accepted next year are slim to none. Go to the LAC: how you do in life depends on your own hard work, not the name of your college. And if you still yearn for a Yale degree, there’s always grad school.</p>
<p>Agree with Lergnom & Booklady. Cold hard fact, you were rejected, not even WLed, that should tell you something about your chances after a gap year.</p>
<p>It is a mistake for anyone to have their heart and soul set on being accepted at a school with such a low admissions rate, don’t make the same mistake again, move on, do great things and never look back.</p>
<p>heck no. how could you possibly be confused about this? there is some huge error in your thinking here. you are being completely unrealistic. go to the best school that admitted you. if you really don’t want to go to that school, and you have actual worthwhile plans for a gap year – go ahead. build a new list of schools to apply to. But I’m willing to bet big money that Yale will not admit you if you reapply.</p>
<p>Sorry man, unless you’re going to do something amazing, you have no chance. Keep in mind you’ll need to be in the top 7-8% to get in, you weren’t even in the top 14-15% this year when you weren’t waitlisted.</p>
<p>Let this particular dream die, but set your sights on your fantasy grad school. The neighbor kid is graduating with top grades from a mediocre state school and is heading to a Phd program at his first choice for undergrad (rejected): MIT.</p>
<p>the OP was outright rejected and waitlisted. Turning down a fantastic offer to another LAC couldn’t even begin to bridge the gap in the applicant’s file. This is rather radical advice to give based on your guess of what would impress a yale admissions officer. I agree w/the other posters. Move on. You’re probably a fantastic student who will do fine at any college.</p>
<p>If you want to go to Yale that badly, then go to your LAC and then transfer the following year - by that time, you’ll probably love the school that you’re at anyhow.
Or do what I’m doing - set Yale as your grad school goal OR aim to take a summer session class there. Yes, it does suck to be rejected from your dream school, but moving on from that rejection has to happen some time or another.
Good luck :)</p>
<p>Please, please don’t do this, the transfer rate is about 2%. And since you submit your transfer application after just 1 semester of college, your HS record and test scores are weighted more heavily that what you’ve done in college.</p>
<p>I was rejected by Yale, but a friend of mine who got into Yale with a full ride was rejected by Columbia, Brown and several others schools I got in. I don’t agree with the “top 7% get in, top 14% get waitlisted” sort of thing.
If you really love Yale, I don’t see why you shouldn’t apply for transfer, though the chance is really slim. But more importantly, enjoy you life at your wonderful LAC.</p>
<p>Statistically, you very nearly have zero (0) chance of being accepted as a transfer student to Yale (or Harvard, or Stanford). The numbers are abysmal: look 'em up. The advice Bedouin gave you is categorically incorrect, at best, and downright malicious at worst.</p>
<p>In our culture, we’re fond of the sometimes irrational belief that if we all just try hard enough and want something badly enough, we can and will achieve it.</p>
<p>Naturally, that’s not true.</p>
<p>Be practical – don’t spend a year of your life spinning your wheels. My advice to you is precisely what others have said: keep your head up, move on and never look back.</p>
<p>You do know that the majority of Nobel Prize winners did not graduate from HYPMS. It’s what YOU do that matters. The school matters ofcourse, but to a lesser extent.</p>
<p>Your chances will rise from zero to about one percent (i.e. you are probably just going to get rejected again, and going to have wasted a year to hear the same news). </p>
<p>Move on w/ your life! As you said, you got into a “great” college… learn to appreciate it. I love Yale, but I’d be the first to tell you that you can get a fantastic education and wonderful quality of life at more than HYPSMetc…</p>
<p>You got into a FABULOUS college. Macalester is great. Stop idolizing Yale. It’s a college. It’s not heaven on earth, and it’s not as though chocolate flows from the fountains. Smart people - and so are the kids at Macalester.</p>