<p>Ive heard that many colleges line up applicants from one school and compare them. out of the 9-10 people (includes me), there's like 3 that i feel without a doubt are more qualifed than me. i don't know why im even here. i guess i have one question:</p>
<p>Does Yale compare the students from one school to each other? or do they look at them separately?</p>
<p>I’m really curious about this as well. </p>
<p>I do know that my sister got accepted RD to Yale in the early 90s from a small Midwestern high school, and a friend that she went to school with got in ED. The odds of that boggle my mind, but that was over ten years ago.</p>
<p>All applicants are considered on an individual basis as it is, but think about this realistically.</p>
<p>I knew someone who applied ED. He didn’t get in, but this other person from the same school got in, because she was more qualified than him. Not that he wasn’t a great applicant… it’s just … you know, he did his best and it wasn’t good enough, because she did better.</p>
<p>You tell me: Why would a college choose someone less qualified over someone more qualified if they’re from the same school aka they had the same opportunities available to them (at least in an academic/extracurricular way)?</p>
<p>Now, there’s always a possibility you might stand out to them in a particularly different way than the other “more qualified” candidates… so don’t lose hope completely.
Just, do your best.</p>
<p>If you are completely different from the 3 more qualified applicants, then it probably won’t hurt you in any way. If you happen to be involved in all the same activities and have the same interests, it may not bode too well for you. I would definitely try to distinguish yourself through your essays. --Oh, and you may not want the same recs either.</p>
<p>I see what you mean Sirensong. I believe that i am very different from 2 of the 3 more qualified applicants applying. I guess my strongest selling point is track. I had a bad season junior year but still placed 5th at county (out of like 40) and 7th at state sectionals (out of like 48) in the 400m hurdles. And I’m on the 2nd Team all county 4X400team. </p>
<p>~Whatever. I guess I’ll still apply and just pray for the best because I really would like to go to Yale.</p>
<p>^ I’m not sure if you’ll get a chance at an alumni interview considering how many people are only applying from your school (wonder how many would be applying from your region then)… but… if you do, try to sell yourself.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>if you write a better essay than all of them, your chances increase astronomically…well, maybe just a little. Plus, if the other 9 students come off as boring overachievers and then you stand out from all of them as a genuine, well-rounded, etc person, your chances will actually increase. Who wants another 5-club president anyway when you could have that kid who invented Pumpkin Pie?</p>
<p>Thanks Feed. I went to an info session earlier this month and actually met one of the alumni interviewers for my area. I’m hoping he’s the one who will do my interview. lol</p>
<p>And thanks for your input xAAAx. I’ve been working for weeks on my college essays and I think I have finally found a really good idea to use. I guess the most interesting thing about me at the moment is that I’ve started a quidditch league in my area. lol. I don’t know if it will help me or not but I do enjoy playing it. The responses I get from people is hilarious. Youtube it; it’s actually really fun and I’d love to see the sport spread. Maybe NCAA status one day? lol</p>
<p>Feed: whether all or none or some applicants get an interview isn’t due to the fact that they all go to the same HS. Assignments are randomly given to a sometimes small volunteer corps. No one should read ANYTHING into whether they are offered an interview or not as Yale does no pre-screening whatsoever of the applicants. It’s serendipity. The hypothetical super shoo-in kid may be bypassed for an interview while her classmate, a completely unrealistic candidate gets one. That’s just how it goes.</p>
<p>My area coordinator sends me most of the applicants from my two local high schools. It just saves on driving time I guess. I think I’ve done 80% of all the applicants for the last few years from these two schools.</p>
<p>^ Noted, although that doesn’t really seem like the best way to do it.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, if someone has already met someone at Yale (like an admissions officer, alumni, current student etc.) one-on-one, would he definitely not get an interview, or does that depend on luck too?</p>
<p>Depends on how stacked that particular region is for volunteers. Some (maybe most) alumni regions will put those who have had an on-campus interview at the lowest priority. That being said, I’ve interviewed kids who were already interviewed on-campus. Just luck I suppose.</p>
<p>As for my hypothetical, it highlights the fact that there is a very small window so Yale finds it best to try to interview as many as possible (while not holding it against anyone who doesn’t interview). How can you presort if some great kids’ lazy counselor doesn’t send transcripts in until March? easier to just do 'em all. My region consistently interviews about 90% of our applicants. It’s one of the higher percentage committees in the US. We work HARD!</p>
<p>Alright, thank you for the quick response.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about Yale, but the admissions director from Stanford Richard Shaw ( used to be admissions director at Yale) told my school that they do compare people from the same school. He said that since every school is different, it is easy to compare grades, ranks, recommendations etc… of people from the same school which can clearly demonstrate the stronger candidate. That being said, I think that even if you think there are people more qualified than you, they may not be the type of people Yale is looking for. Although their gpas may be higher you can make that up with an outstanding essay that will blow everyone away. I know that from my old high school, some years 3 would get accepted to Yale EA and then the next year none would get accepted but the same amount would apply. So they do look at for qualified candidates as a whole not only in individual schools. GOOD LUCK!</p>