my chances for Yale

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

I’m an applicant from India (US citizen) in my junior year, and I just wanted to know how realistic my chances are at getting into Yale.

Grades: 9th-8.8; 10th- 10; 11th- 83-85%( top 1-5%)

SAT:1390 (going to retake)

Awards:

  • Certificate of Merit from CBSE for Performance in Sophomore year with cash prize of 11,000
  • awarded ‘best presentation’ in a science project I lead on music and consciousness. Also got to present it in a another school.

Extracurriculars:

  • been playing the sitar and guitar for 5 years (performances)
  • part of the Editorial Board, ( I’m going to try getting a place as Editorial Head in senior year)
  • have published multiple times in literary magazines
  • Honorable Mention in a national-level poetry competition (16 & above)
  • selected for All-India Essay competition ( 2 selected from school)
  • article published in local newspaper
  • organised “Hole in the Wall” program where we teach kids from nearby rural villages the basics of using a computer (3 yrs)
  • “Each One Teach One” program where I taught rural women basic hindi, maths, and english
  • part of the school Interact Club (50 students from school selected)
  • taught art and craft at a school in a village for a month
  • was part of a Bihar and Assam flood drive
  • been doing charity bake sales for a year now (to build sanitary toilets in a village)
  • made posters and pamphlets to spread awareness on a zero-waste program
  • volunteered at an orphanage for 3 months
  • research at a major institute in my country(ICGEB) over the summers
  • currently working alongside undergrads for a research project
  • self learning Japanese (I’m going to be taking the JLPT proficiency test next year)

Should I think of applying next year? I know my EC’s are lacking.

2

Your ECs are all over the place. I would counsel dropping the stuff you don’t care as much about and focusing on the ones that matter to you personally, and on your schoolwork. Of course I am just some random stranger on the internet so I don’t know, you may be passionate about writing and playing and charity work and research and Japanese all at the same time, but from the other side of the world it looks like you’re just trying a lot of things all at once.