Mediocre freshman year grades...okay SAT score...SCEA?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
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<p>Hello...I was planning on applying to Yale SCEA and I had a few questions. But first, some quick stats..</p>

<p>HS Grad year: 2010
Location: suburban MA, very competitive high school
GPA: ....not sure. see below
Class rank: 1st decile (our class only gives deciles; we don't know how we place in them)
Class size: 270+
Race(s): Hispanic, White, Asian (not sure what to do about this...URM, neutral, and ORM? do they cancel each other out? i come from a very WASPy/asian school, one of two minorities in the 1st decile...would it be negative if I put asian as well as hispanic? [my name isn't asian at all, so if i didn't put it down it's not like it would be obvious I was 'lying])
SAT score (CR/M/W) second time but single sitting: 600/760/740 (69 MC, 11 essay) total 2100
SAT IIs: French w/listening- 770, taking Lit and Spanish this Saturday
ECs: started organization that raised over $100,000 to build filters and wells in guatemala and rwanda, etc...worked in orphanages in guatemala and ecuador, taught english at boarding school in china, piano for 11 years, guitar+voice for 3 years, self-taught artist (pretty good)multilingual (english, french, spanish, taught self japanese), etc. other than that i have the rest of 'your average ecs' (newspaper and stuff)
Work experience: french/spanish tutor, logo design, summer camp counselor, etc.
Class workload: AP french sophomore year (only soph to take AP course), always took highest for.lang./english/history class available, regular math and history
APs: AP french language (5), will take AP Calc AB, AP bio, and AP spanish senior year
Recs:<a href="i'm%20assuming">/b</a> fantastic, teachers asked me to write them, hahah. (can I submit a supplemental one from outside school?)
**Passions: languages, art, music. I also plan on writing my essay on my melting pot...ness. I come from an extremely diverse background (don't worry, I don't plan on mentioning 'URM' that is too long to put for a 'quick stat' :p but trust me, it's definitely...different).
Supplements: planning on submitting mini art portfolio, piano recordings (does it matter if they are original or covers?)
Hooks: URM</p>

<p>Okay, so here's my problem..my freshman year i had a very difficult transition period (depression, hospitalization, eating disorder, deaths in family, etc.) and got B+s in three/six classes. I've gotten straight As since then, but my freshman year is really bringing down my cumulative GPA. Also, will my chances be lowered if I haven't taken all honors? Our school only offers one AP class (officially) for juniors. Would the fact that I took one sophomore year help? I know that a lot of people have done this and even have freshman year, but no one has at my school. just wondering.
Also, I don't mean to sound obnoxious by being worried about these B+s...but as you all know, Yale is an amazing school academically (and for other reasons) and I was wondering if those B+s would lower my chances significantly, as they do lower my cumulative GPA.</p>

<p>Second, my SAT scores. For some reason, even though I'm terrible at math and I'm totally an english person, I got a 760 and 600 on those respective sections. I've taken it twice and my CR score has only gone up by 10 points. I'm taking Lit this weekend and well...if I were to take it right now, it would not look good. I do plan on studying a lot before Saturday to hopefully have a shot at a better score. The other thing is that I'm also signed up for Math II this weekend. I know that there is a very generous curve, but I have taken many practice tests and there is NO way I'm getting above a 670. I haven't canceled yet but I'm leaning toward it...would my Math SAT I score cover my not taking the subject test if I will already have 2 others? I would rather focus on raising my Lit score than Math.
I'm taking the SAT I again in October and am really hoping to raise my CR score...but if things don't work out as I'd hoped, how much will it hurt me?</p>

<p>Also, I heard here that SCEA is "kind to minorities..." is this true? Regardless, I am so torn about what to put down for my race.</p>

<p>Sorry this is so long; I tried to make it as short as I could :p Anyway, Yale is my absolute dream school, so I was wondering if you could answer these questions...any help at all would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

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<p>If Yale is your dream school, you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering you don’t apply EA, so do it.</p>

<p>Freshman year is far and away the best year to mess up with grades (not that B+s are messing up in any world other than hyper elite college admissions). If you’ve been strong since then, your freshman year grades will not kill your chances, especially if the rest of your profile is compelling. An issue you did not raise in your post is whether to disclose why you had “low” grades freshman year. Colleges get antsy about people with mental illness in their backgrounds. I’d run a search for threads about disclosing these issues. There have been at least 2-3 in the Parents Forum over the past few years. You need to understand this issue and weigh whether disclosure helps or hurts you.</p>

<p>As for your race, I believe Yale has a place where bi- and multi-racial applicants can fill in exactly what their heritage is. Be honest. Don’t try to play the system. You are who you are.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Yeah, I thought about the race thing some more and I’m gonna put down all three. Especially since they are so much of who I am (I mean, besides the obvious :p) I’m proud of my heritage!so why not? :)</p>

<p>Ah yeah I didn’t realize I hadn’t put it. I am going back and forth with what to do about that…my guidance counselor is putting that I had a “medical issue,” but I don’t know if that’s still a red flag. I looked up some threads and it seems a few people also have the same problem, but not many have solutions. I definitely don’t plan on writing a ‘sob story’ essay, but I am not the same person I was in freshman year. Yes, depression and eating disorders can return, I am certainly aware of that. But I have “matured” so quickly because of them…meh, I really don’t know what to do about it. It’s so aggravating…it brings down my cumulative GPA a ton. Unfortunately, colleges probably get a lot of these excuses :confused: Would saying that there was a death in the family be safer than saying I was depressed? I have no idea…any more advice on this would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for the response!</p>

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<p>Let your guidance counselor explain the situation however you decide is best. You shouldn’t do anything that looks like making an excuse–it’s not a good use of your essays or short answers.</p>

<p>I would steer away from the topic as an essay even if it’s about growth instead of about “excuses”.</p>

5

<p>apply Stanford SCEA.
they don’t look at freshman grades and they love hispanics. No, your races don’t cancel out. You’re still part hispanic.</p>

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<p>You could easily be accepted. apply</p>

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<p>I was thinking of applying to Stanford…(my uncle went there for med school and my cousin is there now, [who is hispanic on the other side of her family, ironically]) but I don’t know if I want to go that far from home. I may apply RD though.</p>

<p>And yeah, my guidance counselor is just going to say I had a medical issue…hopefully it won’t arouse too much suspicion.</p>

<p>Thanks so much to all of you–I was feeling extremely discouraged cause when I told my history teacher I wanted to go there she was like “You’re not getting into Yale.” Meh :stuck_out_tongue: at least I have a chance! Thanks again :)</p>

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<p>About submitting additional/supplementary recs and materials, keep in mind:</p>

<p>[Applying</a> to Yale College | Frequently Asked Questions | Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/admit/faq/applying.html#9]Applying”>http://www.yale.edu/admit/faq/applying.html#9)</p>

<p>"Is it OK if I submit supplementary letters of recommendation?
We strongly discourage students from submitting more than the two required letters from teachers and the letter from a guidance counselor or college advisor that accompanies the School Report Form. Additional letters can have the effect of cluttering an application file, often repeating what has been said elsewhere, and can leave a reader wondering which letters are the most important recommendations. Three, four, or even five letters from teachers rarely do more work for a candidate than two.</p>

<p>That said, we try to be flexible about the need, in isolated cases, for students to submit an additional letter. If you feel there really is a need to send an extra recommendation, one that will add substantially to your application, be sure it is labeled “supplementary” to avoid confusion. </p>

<p>I am not an artist or musician, and I have not engaged in any original research. Am I at a disadvantage for not submitting supplementary material? Should I submit something else?
Please do not feel any pressure to submit supplementary material. For the vast majority of our applicants, we evaluate the quality of extracurricular activities and talents through self-reported activity descriptions, essays, and comments made by recommenders. For a very small number of exceptionally talented artists, musicians, and researchers, we may find it useful to refer tapes/CDs, slides, and/or abstracts to the appropriate Yale academic department for evaluation. Unfortunately, we are unable to evaluate DVDs or video tapes, so please do not send them."</p>

<p>So, give due consideration to additional materials, be certain that they enhance your application and that they are of excellent quality; any less could do you more harm than good.</p>

<p>Are you a native Spanish speaker? If so, taking Spanish courswork and Subject tests may not be as impressive as other subjects.</p>

<p>Y may or may not be URM friendly during SCEA. Last season there was a highly qualified Hispanic applicant who was rejected (not deferred) EA and who was later admitted to H in the RD round. And remember, the very selective colleges are not likely to give leeway for test scores unless you are a URM who is lower income or attend an underserved HS; middle class URMs will be expected to have stats similar to their non-URM cohorts. While applying to Y SCEA is unlikely to hurt you, it may not be a considerable help unless you’re a top candidate (URM or otherwise) who would be accepted in any pool of applicants.</p>

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<p>I am not a native Spanish speaker; it’s my third language after French. Languages are, however, my passion, and I plan on expressing that as much as I can (among other things). Neither of my parents speak Spanish (my dad speaks English, Arabic, and German…not exactly similar to Spanish :p), but fortunately many of my cousins do which has led me to pursue outside means of learning the language (as well as a desire to experience “Hispanic culture” as much as I could). I have become much more than proficient through my efforts, but I definitely did not grow up speaking Spanish in my household.</p>

<p>As for the art and instruments, I haven’t competed in any national competitions or anything but that’s just due to lack of interest. I have much more of an interest in composing things…I’ll be recording them in the fall. Depending on how that comes out, I may or may not submit a supplement. (how long/short would the songs CD need to be? Just time-wise).</p>

<p>Yeah, I am definitely planning on bringing up all my scores. I completely realize that being qualified for a top school is a package deal (URM or not). Thanks for the response !</p>