Looking for Chances!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Hi there! I've been lurking on the board for a while now, but haven't posted. With EA decisions coming out in just under 2 weeks (!), I'd appreciate some honest assessments of my chances.</p>

<ul>
<li>International (Beijing)</li>
<li>Asian, female</li>
</ul>

<p>Stats:
SAT I 2370 (800 M, 790 W, 770 CR) [superscored from two takes]
SAT II: 800 (Math II), 800 (Lit), 780 (Bio)
Rank: Unranked, but top decile
GPA: ~3.9/4.0
National Merit Semi-Finalist
Yale Book Award winner</p>

<p>EC's:
- Managing Editor of school newspaper
- Captain of Varsity tennis team
- Forensics (Speech + Debate) Team (multiple medals/awards, competed at Nationals as international representative of the China region)
- Music (piano for 12+ years, multiple awards/international competitions, soloist with international orchestra)
- Activities Coordinator, volunteer work (teaching at/preparing activities/fundraising for) a local school for migrant children
- MUN, but only for one year since Forensics became a priority (but during that year, attended an international conference, was named a School Ambassador and Distinguished Delegate)
- Founder/President of an organization of volunteer student musicians who performed at local nursing homes, but only for one year (organization disbanded after I moved to Beijing)</p>

<p>Work experience:
- Private tutor (in math/english, as well as piano)
- Staff journalist at a local NJ newspaper
- Internship (unpaid) at a small business advisory/law firm</p>

<p>Essays:
Personal statement was excellent. Yale essay wasn't fantastic - adequate, but fairly mediocre. Should have spent more time on it.</p>

<p>Recs:
Fantastic.</p>

<p>Interview was last weekend; it was alright, but the interviewer seemed a bit stiff. Questions were very standard. I think I left a good impression, though.</p>

<p>As you can see, there's not really much to distinguish me from the veritable horde of other Asian students with similar scores, but I'm hoping that my passion for my main activities - tennis, journalism, and speech/debate - really manages to come through. My personal statement should help as well (it's quite unique!). Still, I'm a little worried that I don't have enough of a 'wow' factor. </p>

<p>Any honest opinions of my chances would be much appreciated :) Preferably in the form of % acceptance/% deferral/% rejection.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>Cheers,
eve</p>

2

<p>Err… </p>

<p>35/60/5? </p>

<p>There’s a decent chance you’ll get in. If not, you’ll still be going to a pretty decent school.</p>

3

<p>14/60/26, just like everyone else… I guess? We’ll just see in 13 days.</p>

4

<p>imo, her chances are a bit higher than “everyone else”…35/65/5 like gryffon said is probably more accurate.</p>

5

<p>geez I’m regreting that I applied to Yale…SAT-2050, SATIIs-670X2 (but retaking come saterday, won’t reach Yale though)
I am also an international from Ethiopia. Essays were sub-par, wrote them in less than an hour.
Well, rejection is in order, and if by some miracle I get deferred with these sats then yayy. Anyway compiling a stronger application for RD.</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>You do know you can’t update your app for Yale RD. Unless I read that wrong and you’re just talking about other schools (which you probably are).</p>

7

<p>Update it with SAT scores, I think sidrak meant.
You can always submit more achievements and stuff though, which never hurts!</p>

8

<p>^ ah yes, I see now.</p>

9

<p>do US citizens abroad count as international? I’m only asking bc National merit is only given to US citizens or those who write letter of intent
that said, if you are international, the competition from China is pretty intense, no idea, but good luck :)</p>

10

<p>ECaznd, I attend an international school in Beijing, and I am a US citizen – so I think I’m not competing with ‘true’ internationals. Good thing, too :P</p>

<p>Sidrak, what about you? International school, or actually international?</p>

11

<p>Any more chances/input would still be welcome, by the way. Bumpity bump.</p>

12

<p>everisen, isn’t your SAT superscore 2360?
Think you may have added wrong. :P</p>

13

<p>Oops! I didn’t notice. Thanks, mickjagger – typo :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: Don’t know how to edit the original post though…</p>

14

<p>No problem. And good luck! You definitely are a very qualified applicant. But you never know what will happen! I’m jealous of your 800 on lit; how did you do that, everisen! And do you know what you will major in or what your career will be?</p>

15

<p>Thanks! I originally chose the Math II/Lit Subject Tests because I figured that as skill-based tests, I wouldn’t need much preparation at all – and I’m glad I did! The three days prior to the exam, I was on a school camping trip where we were hit by a torrential rainstorm and slept in inches of muddy water. Not fun. After failing to get a fire started in the torrential rain and going to bed hungry, we surrendered to nature and stayed at a hotel the last night. :stuck_out_tongue: All of my classmates who had brought SAT books with the intention of studying were left with soggy messes of paper… but I digress.</p>

<p>Right now, I’m most likely going to major in economics, and after undergrad, will pursue a career in business or go on to law school. But things could change! I think that’s one of the wonderful things about the US college system – the freedom that it affords students to explore different interests and figure out what they’re really passionate about, rather than locking them into a rigid pathway from day one.</p>

<p>What about you? Are you a SCEA applicant as well?</p>

16

<p>I am not; I just enjoy lurking on these forums. :stuck_out_tongue:
And as for my major, I am undecided. I probably will do something technical (not much with the languages). But who knows! I too enjoy the freedom of US colleges. I mean, I’ve heard that you apply directly into certain majors for UK universities. I couldn’t imagine doing that. :/</p>

17

<p>@Mickjagger: you’re right about uni in the UK. You pick a subject, apply to several uni’s to study that subject and are then stuck with it for 3 years. It’s great if you know 100% what you want to do (my brother for example was dead set on law so is taking that - incidentally law and medicine are undergraduate degrees in the UK), but not if you don’t. At a lot of places you can do joint honours, and at others you can switch degree after a year or two years, but even so there’s nothing like the flexibility of liberal arts. Which is part of the reason I’m applying to the States.</p>

18

<p>^^sat=2020and sat2s=650 & 680
don’t know how i wrote those #s</p>