My Chances of getting into Yale?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
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<p>Yale is one of my Dream Schools
and I would like to know if I have any chances of getting in
because I will be applying for an early decision at Yale
but if I have no chances at all,
I would rather apply somewhere else that
I do have at least better chance
so if you could take a look and tell me how it looks
I would be grateful!</p>

<p>I am also targeting Dartmouth, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, U of MN, Rochester, possibly few more that are in higher tier group of schools</p>

<p>Gender: Female</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Asian</p>

<p>Income: I do not know and I do not think it will matter as I am applying for ED</p>

<p>Location: NC, USA</p>

<p>High School: Fairly new (since 2007) yet highly competitive school with IB program
(we have had quite a few that got accepted to IVY Leagues, MIT, CalTech, etc.)</p>

<ul>
<li>I am not a US citizen however which means I will be applying as international student.</li>
</ul>

<p>GPA: 3.9 (UW) 5.1 (W)</p>

<p>Rank: 32/327 - it will be much higher as soon as this semester's courses gets calculated</p>

<p>ACT: 27 (was required to take at school; took without any preparation; not planning to report this score or retake for a better score)</p>

<p>SAT: First- 1980 (760 Math, 590 CR, 630 WR with 9 on Essay) (Nov); Second- 1970 (700 Math, 630 CR, 640 WR with 9 on Essay (Mar); 2030 with superscore;
will be retaking in Oct (I will be studying for SAT all during summer so hopefully it will go up as those two attempts were without any prepartion... do you think it might hurt that my score didn't go up second time?)</p>

<p>SAT II: will be taking Physics & Math II this Saturday- expecting a fairly good score
also thinking about taking US History and Chinese with Listening and maybe Korean with Listening in Nov.</p>

<p>Enrolled in all IB Courses (Junior ~ Senior)- English, Chinese, ITGS, Math, History, Physics, TOK, Music (have all A's except in English and History with high B's)</p>

<p>Freshman: CP Band (for a year, could not take honors as a freshman), CP Gym (required, no honors level), English, Geometry, World History, Biology all honors; CP Chinese I (no honors level)- all high A's</p>

<p>Summer: Earth Science Honors with B (88) online</p>

<p>Sophomore: CP Band (one semester), CP Principles of Business (no honors level), English, Algebra II, Pre-Cal, Physics, Chemistry, Civics and Economics all honors; CP Chinese II online (no honors level), Chinese III honors online- all A's</p>

<p>*I was so bummed that I could not make Junior Marshall because my rank dropped significantly due to all the CP courses I took that did not offer Honors level; but I did make A's in all classes with the exception of Earth Science; hopefully not making Junior Marshalls won't affect my chance as much..?</p>

<p>I speak Korean and English fluently and will be studying Chinese and French.. possibly Spanish as well rigorously over this summer, at least Chinese for sure as I barely speak it as of now even after 3 years.</p>

<p>I have been playing Piano for years (at least 10) but I am not doing anything with it like tutoring so I am not sure how it will help; but I do play piano occasionally in Concert Band.</p>

<p>Awards:
NC FBLA State Champion in Business Math
NC FBLA State Runner-up in Personal Finance
-going to Nationals this year; hopefully rank 1st at Nationals
Competed in Speech and Debate for 2 years</p>

<p>Leadership:
Freshman VP in Student Council
Sophomore Class Rep in Student Council
FBLA Secretary
NHS Treasurer
Interact ICC Rep
CCC Historian/Founder</p>

<p>Other EC:
BETA Club (Sophomore, Junior and Senior)
Mu Alpha Theta (Sophomore, Junior and Senior)
FBLA (Sophomore, Junior and Senior)
NHS (Junior and Senior)
Interact (Sophomore, Junior and Senior)
Speech and Debate (Freshman and Sophomore)
Student Council (Freshman and Sophomore)
CCC (Junior and Senior)</p>

<p>*No sports though.</p>

<p>Concert Band (Freshman~Senior)</p>

<p>I am also planning to create Youtube Videos on Academics and organization over summer</p>

<p>Volunteer frequently through Interact Club</p>

<p>Planning to volunteer at animal shelters during summer this year to explore my career interest</p>

<p>Teacher Rec: I have no idea how it will turn out because I do maintain good grades but I missed school a lot this year (8 days) and I fell asleep during class a few times; but my Physics teacher taught me for 3 years before IB and through IB and is also my EE advisor; my relationship with math teacher was ok.... but it has been getting good lately; my ITGS teacher is also an advisor for FBLA so he knows me very well since Sophomore year</p>

<p>Counselor Rec: I have no idea on this either.. but my counselor is not particularly fond of me- I asked her to change my courses during Freshman and Sophomore year quite a few times and she did not like that; and on top of it, we have had a situation where my parents and the principal had to be involved..</p>

<p>Possible Major: Engineering/Science/Animal Behavioral Studies/Veterinarian Medicine</p>

<p>Essay: will probably be about how my dog have changed how I perceive the world and affected my pursued career (I only got him last Nov so it will clearly show how it changed my view)
& why I want to study engineering- like to assemble furnitures; fix computers; build structures; etc. or particularly animal behavioral studies or vet medicine or bioengineering for animals all due to the aforementioned reason.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Honestly, nothing in your profile makes you stand out as far as an ED applicant goes. I think your main weaknesses are your scores. You’ve accomplished a lot but in the uber-competitive ED Yale round, I think you’ll be rejected.</p>

<p>Your list of other schools looks solid and I’m sure you’ll have many places to choose from next April. Best of luck to you.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for a quick reply! Do you have any suggestions for me that I could do to improve my chances? Providing that I will have a decent SAT score (2200~2300) in October?</p>

4

<p>I don’t think the grades are as much of a problem as the lack of extracurriculars; if piano is the only thing you do then there’s no chance Yale will even care about the rest of your application</p>

5

<p>When you say extracurriculars… what exactly are you referring to…? I thought all the clubs counted for extracurriculars…? As well as Volunteer and Youtube videos…?</p>

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<p>Also please consider that I do not have particular ‘hooks.’ My dad went to Indiana University and BU and my mom has BA at one of the best Universities in Korea, so I am not a first generation college go-er either.</p>

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<p>Honeybun, obviously I’m not T26, but I’m inclined to agree with his assessment. I’m sorry.</p>

<p>I agree that your standardized test scores are perfectly good, but will appear lackluster in the pool of Yale applicants. </p>

<p>I think your class rank is also a problem for Yale and its peers. I know you said it “will be much higher as soon as this semester’s courses gets calculated,” but I wonder how you know that. In order to improve your class rank, you don’t simply do better than you’ve done in the past. You have to do better than the people ranked above you, and by a wide enough margin that you can overtake them. But the people who rank above you are all in the top 10% of the class. They got there by taking the hardest classes and getting A’s in them. If you do that, you won’t overtake them. You’ll just keep up. In order for you to pass them, they’ll have to stumble. And the trouble is, they’re in the top 10% of the class because, at least until now, they’ve never stumbled.</p>

<p>The real trouble, though, is this. In interviewing for a different Ivy, I’ve met a lot of kids who were a lot like you: smart, talented, good kids, who do well in school, and who belong at a really good college. None of the kids I have interviewed has gotten in yet. It’s not that you can’t get into Yale–and it’s certainly not a matter of your not being good enough to succeed at Yale if you do get in–but the hard reality is that you probably won’t get in. There are tens of thousands of applicants. If only 10% of the applicants appeal to Yale more than you do–because they’re the top student in their class, or because their test scores are better, or because they’re linebackers or children of generous alumni or movie stars–that more than fills the freshman class.</p>

<p>I admit, this sucks. It has made me like my own alma mater less and less over the years. But it’s what happens.</p>

<p>I agree with T26E4 that you have some really terrific universities on your list, where you are likely to be accepted. And I think you have a lot of options besides them, too, if you want to cast a wider net.</p>

<p>I wish you the best.</p>

8

<p>Sikorsky, Thank you so much for a such a sincere reply. I truly appreciate all your advice.</p>

<p>As for the class rank, I know for a fact that it will go up, because of how our school’s GPA system is set up. It’s a very long story if I want to explain how it works, but I just wanted you to know that I am fully aware that the class rank depends on how I do in comparison to other students!</p>

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<p>I just wanted you all to know that 5.1 (W) does not correspond to the rank. My rank of 32 was calculated at the end of my sophomore year whereas my GPA of 5.1 is at the end of Junior Year. 32 would probably correspond to my Sophomore GPA which is around 4.4, and they do not match because my school does not calculate our IB Credits into our rank and GPA until the end of the year. So the weighted GPA 5.1 is what I calculated to predict how my GPA will turn out at the end of this year after the first year of IB, as I am certain that my grades now are also my final grades for the course. Thanks!</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>No!</p>

<p>I mean…no, thank you. You’re a smart person. If you understand the system, and you have thought it through, I would much rather believe you than read a long story about how it works. ;)</p>

<p>And, really, I will be delighted for you if you do get into Yale. I just want to emphasize that it would be naive to count on it, and prudent to develop a list of other good colleges where you could be happy and successful.</p>

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<p>I agree with both T26E4 and Sikorsky. Your SAT scores are just too low for the competitive pool at Yale. In addition, as you’ve already taken the test twice, and are planning to take it a third time, Yale will see ALL OF YOUR SCORES as they do not allow for score choice. See: [No</a> choice on scores | Yale Daily News](<a href=“http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/jan/16/no-choice-on-scores/]No”>http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2009/jan/16/no-choice-on-scores/)</p>

<p>“We believe that our policy maintains a more level playing field for low-income students who cannot afford repeated testing or the expensive test preparation that often accompanies it,” Brenzel wrote in the statement. “We also hope that this policy will help to discourage excessive testing and help to simplify testing issues for all of our applicants.”</p>

<p>"When asked whether Yale looks only at a student’s best standardized testing scores, Brenzel said in an e-mail: “We do give primary consideration to the top scores attained. It can be helpful, though, to know how many times it took to achieve those scores.”</p>

<p>Given the above, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, U of MN, Rochester would seem to be surer bets.</p>

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<p>Thank you all SO MUCH for the replies. Now I know where I am, I think I know better where to look for and what to do. I sincerely appreciate all the comments. I know it’s not the end of the world no matter if I get into Yale or not; there are many more opportunities in the world that I can work for and maybe I will be able to find a college that will fit me better! Thank you :)</p>

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<p>You’ve gotten excellent help from some of the most experienced members on CC, I’m so glad you’re listening. </p>

<p>I will add that it’s all about the LIST, not any individual school on it. Be sure that you have an adequate number of realistic admissions and financial match and safety schools to go along with a few reach schools and you’ll be fine.</p>

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<p>Hmm… those test scores are a bit low. You’re a junior though; study this summer, and bump up those scores :slight_smile:
& you don’t know what your family income is? It actually does matter. If you’re a low-income student, you should consider QuestBridge. Those scores might get you in somewhere with QB by your side. Otherwise, seriously aim for much higher scores.
Your ECs don’t stand out either. Maybe you should send in an arts supplement because the piano playing might impress them.
Good luck!</p>

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<p>I don’t think Questbridge is an option for International applicants, however.</p>

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<p>You don’t have to be a US citizen to do QB. You just have to live in the states. One of my friends was a Questbridge finalist and is considered international. I don’t think it even matters to honeybun94, however. She is most likely not low-income.</p>

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<p>Get those test scores up, don’t write about your dog (kind of an unoriginal topic), and improve your EC’s (sports!).</p>

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Where did you end up getting in/going?

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@Katrie: Please do not revive old threads, such as this one which is 4 years old. Use them only for reference. Once admitted to a college, most student’s rarely return to College Confidential, so the answer to your question will probably never be known.

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