<p>Jeffrey</a> Brenzel Named Dean of Admissions for Yale College</p>
<p>It will be interesting to see what this means. Of all the Ivies, Yale's admissions decisions in the last year or two seem to have been the most eccentric and unpredictable.</p>
<p>Brenzel earned his PhD in philosophy at Notre Dame, and has been head of the Yale Alumni Association for years. (Good thing for legacies?)</p>
<p>I hope so!</p>
<p>Okay, my last remark was kind of flip, I know, but Yale seems to have been almost anti-legacy for a while, or at least anti "white kids from the suburbs especially if they live on the east Coast even if they have perfect grades and scores". My feeling may be skewed by the fact that the majority of kids who get into Yale from our school are recruited athletes and B+ type students, while the top students don't get in, legacies or not.</p>
<p>that is because most top kids make As, but they can'y apply those skills to real world stuff.</p>
<p>it is a fact that those who do not have a 1600 and straight As generally are the ones who carve the world. that is most of the time, not always, though.</p>
<p>bingowasmynamo, that's because 1600 and straight A students make up only a very small fraction of the overall student population. Unless you can show that recruited athletes and B+ type students are actually more likely to accomplish great things, your argument doesn't have a point.</p>
<p>So do you guys think this is a good or bad thing?</p>
<p>Well I'm excited. If he went to Notre Dame it means he knows that not all Hoosiers are rednecks! Yay!</p>
<p>I really don't know what to think.</p>
<p>If what the OP says is true, good luck to Stanford students-Richard Shaw is their new admissions head i believe</p>
<p>He is, and as my Dad wisecracked, he got a "promotion."</p>
<p>Yale has the second-lowest acceptance rate overall, and it is likely to remain that way for years to come.</p>
<p>Hmm, I wonder if more emphasis will be place on Legacies since the new director was head of Yale's alumni association?</p>
<p>i doubt it. Once elite colleges start putting even more emphasis on legacies, it'll raise even more eyebrows than it does now.</p>
<p>Actually, randomperson, whether you look at the educational backgrounds of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies or the data in The Millionaire Next Door, high SATs scores and GPAs seem to have only a limited correlation with high status or "success" in this society. It seems to take a broader range of skills and talents for that. Look at our last Presidential election: both candidates had 1200-ish SATs and midling GPAs.</p>
<p>I don't think that's a good indicator.</p>
<p>The highest-skill jobs, such as investment banking, venture capital, technology innovation, academia and medical research--almost all of those participating have excellent backgrounds and are very intelligent.</p>
<p>Just a quick question: Could somebody explain to me how Yale's admissions decisions have been unpredictable? And does that mean the other Ivies' decisions have been predictable in some way?</p>
<p>ok last presidential candidates...bush and kerry both had a c average (or around there) at their colleges... but i think they had connections to get in in the first place.</p>
<p>Here is how Yale admissions are unpredictable: two years ago Yale took 2 of the top students in our high school (where my kids go). Last year our school had the best student ever in a decade - no score under 800, all Apluses, 13 APs all fives, National Merit finalist, lots of ECs, plus gorgeous and had won a major science award. Rejected EA. NO ONE understood it (a less qualified student, though very bright, was accepted).
Bush and Kerry got in at a time when it was easier to get into Yale, plus they had connections. Remember that they have recentered the SAT so if you have a 750 today it would have been a 700, 15 or so years ago. I am an alumni and most of my classmates would not have been admitted today - we all had a few Bs!<br>
In the real world, you do not have to be "perfect" at everything, just very good at one thing. Did John Grisham get As in calculus? Who cares! Most schools would be happy to have him as an alum. That's why where you go to college isn't the biggest predictor of success, I think. Although I am very glad I went to Yale! great school - luck to all.</p>
<p>Catherine, out of curiousity, where did the fantastic student who got rejected Yale EA get in?</p>
<p>I guess it might be Cornell because I saw a similar case in my town.</p>
<p>Even if the guy wants to implement major changes, it'll take at least two or three years until the admission decisions are impacted significantly. Remember, the head of admission doesn't read all the apps. The associate officers and regional officers are still the most difficult hurdles to pass.</p>
<p>Does this strike anyone else as somewhat akin to the Senate Democrats trying to figure out how Judge Roberts will decide cases if he is confirmed?</p>