<p>My name is Alin, I am from Romania. This is my first post here. :-)</p>
<p>I plan on applying Regular Decision to Yale, so i would like you guys to give me an opinion on whether or not I would stand a chance in being admitted at Yale.</p>
<p>In High-school I was a very active pupil. I attended many extra-curricular activities and I've been awarded many prizes at County-Level, National and one International IT (Computer Science, Software) Competitions. Asides from that, after winning the Second Prize at a International IT Contest, a software company offered me a part-time job as a web-developer, which represented the foundation of a two-year career during high-school. So I gain two years work experience while attending high-school. And the experienced I gain helped me a lot in gaining a lot of competition awards and build up many strong relationships with software developers all over the country.</p>
<p>I've took the SAT Reasoning Test for the first time this November and I took 1730 (490 CR, 650 MATH, 590 WRITING) and I'm planning on taking them again on January. Hopefully I would get higher grades.</p>
<p>My GPA is really low, IMHO. I am barely reaching a 3.0.
And a very important aspect, my family's annual income is really low. So I would need absolutely full financial assistance, since my parents can't afford paying for anything. (including tuition, room, board, books, and so on)</p>
<p>So, all the factors being considered. Do you think I stand any chance of being admitted at Yale?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your responses.
With respect,
Alin B.</p>
<p>Alin: I wish you the best in your efforts to attend a good American college. The fact is that your international status places you in a pool with the very top-performing applicants across the world. you’ll be in a pool of non-Americans who are scoring 2300-2400SAT and near perfect grades.</p>
<p>In that pool that has under 7% acceptance rate, you will stand no realistic chance whatsoever. However, if you spend some time researching, you may find some excellent choices.</p>
<p>I think it’s fantastic that you are looking to further your education by going to college in the US. But I do think there are some things you need to think about.</p>
<p>First, I would absolutely take your essay off of this post as soon as possible. Although we’d all like to believe that everyone here is honest when it comes to their applications, it’s just not true. Putting your personal work out there to be copied by others is not a good idea.</p>
<p>Second, your SATs and GPA are pretty low to be considered for Yale. Yale’s average score ranges are 700-800 for critical reading, 700-780 for math, and 700-790 for writing. The majority of students were in the top 10% of their high school classes and have particularly high GPAs.</p>
<p>That said, don’t ever let anyone tell you that you have absolutely no chance of doing anything. The only way that’s true is if you don’t apply. I would stop and reconsider exactly what it is you’re looking for. If you truly are the first of your family to look to further your education and improve your life in this way, simply going to college is a huge achievement. There are plenty of other top-notch colleges in the US that might be better choices for your statistics. If, after you investigate further, you decide that Yale is still where you want to apply, I say more power to you. However, especially if money is scarce, you may want to spend that application fee elsewhere.</p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck in whatever you do!</p>
<p>Welcome to CC. I would like to evaluate you as an applicant but please understand, an application essay should not be posted in public. Not only may someone steal your ideas, but a “personal” statement just includes identification information that should not be spread on the internet. If your essay tells as much about you as you want the admissions office to know then I don’t think everyone on CC should read your essay. </p>
<p>Now, regarding your application, Yale may be a reach for you, but it is a reach for everyone, so make sure to take a shot at it. First of all, try to improve your SAT to 2200+ and take a few subject tests and try to get 750+ on each one. GPA is a problem that you really can’t cure now, but that depends on your school and country as a whole. Even though international applicants have a low acceptance rate, Yale still looks for diversity so think more in the context of applicants from your region and how you compete with them. As for financial aid, don’t worry about it until you’ve gotten in. I’m pretty sure you’ll be satisfied with what they give you.</p>
<p>I’m being honest - a 1730 SAT and 3.0 GPA will not get you into Yale. Also, your essay should not be a narrative of your entire high school career. So I think you should consider some other schools. Only 8 schools offer international need-blind admissions for financial aid:</p>
<pre><code>* Harvard University
Princeton University
Yale University
Dartmouth College
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Amherst College
Middlebury College
Williams College
</code></pre>
<p>Unfortunately, these schools are all very prestigious, and you simply don’t have the stats to be competitive. So I recommend that you have a backup plan to studying in the US.</p>