Need an Idea/Advice

Colleges & Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Okay, so I'm like obsessed with Yale. It's really the only Ivy that I truly am excited about (although Cornell is pretty cool, it's no match for Yale). I would like to know how much of a reach it would be for me.</p>

<p>My weak areas are the SAT I and ECs (I have not taken SAT IIs yet, but I expect pretty good scores on them).</p>

<p>Gender: M
Location: Missouri
College Class Year: 2015
High School: Public
High School Type: sends few/some grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes</p>

<p>GPA - Unweighted: 4.00
GPA - Weighted: 4.33
Class Rank: 7/415</p>

<p>SAT I Math: 710
SAT I Critical Reading: 730
SAT I Writing: 710
SAT I Composite: 2150
ACT: 33</p>

<p>APs: AP Euro (5), AP Lang (?), AP U.S. Gov (?), AP Comparative Gov (?), AP Calculus (?)
Next year I'm taking six APs</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<ul>
<li>Fall/Winter Strength Training (9-11)</li>
<li>E! Crew Leader/Ambassador (11-12)*</li>
<li>NHS Member (11-12)</li>
<li>Baseball 13+ years (started when I was 4 years old - also played soccer and basketball, but didn't continue them in high school)</li>
<li>Played on school's summer baseball team (9-10)</li>
<li>Representative for my school during Curriculum Advisory Council meetings (district meetings - only two people from each school take part)</li>
<li>Guitar (2+ years)</li>
<li>Missouri Scholar's Academy Alumni Association</li>
</ul>

<p>*Our school's branch of Link Crew - Google it if you don't know what it is please =)</p>

<p>High School Sports:</p>

<ul>
<li>Freshman Baseball (9)</li>
<li>JV Baseball (10)</li>
</ul>

<p>Volunteer Work:</p>

<ul>
<li>Volunteer at School Baseball Fields (10-15 hours)</li>
<li>Volunteer at Fundraiser for Baseball (21 hours)</li>
<li>Planned/Worked Trivia Night to Raise Funds for MSA (15+ hours)</li>
<li>Volunteer at Crisis Nursery (6+ hours)*</li>
<li>Volunteering with NHS, etc. (~25 hours)</li>
</ul>

<p>*I am going to an orientation next week that will enable me to volunteer regularly - planning on accumulating many hours there</p>

<p>Honors and Awards:</p>

<p>Top 10 of Class (9-11)
EHS Renaissance (9-12)
Best Male German Student (9)
Best German Student (11)
Missouri Scholar's Academy '09
John M. Kastner Board of Education Award</p>

<p>College Summer Programs:</p>

<p>Missouri Scholars Academy '09*
Lion's Pride Summer Youth Leadership Summit '10</p>

<p>*VERY prestigious - top .5% of my class across all of Missouri attends, using GPA, class rank, and IQ as criteria</p>

<p>So yeah I have a few questions now.</p>

<p>1) How much of a reach is Yale for me?
2) Should I work to improve my SAT I score by about 100 points?
3) My ACT score is pretty good, but my writing is only a 7. Would the writing score hurt me at all, or do I not need to work to improve that?
4) Should I send both SAT and ACT scores (assuming I don't take either again), or just one? If I send just one it will be the ACT+writing.
5) I have no work experience as of yet (multiple reasons why). Would working a part time job from July this year throughout all of senior year provide me with enough work experience for schools like Yale and WUSTL?</p>

<p>Thanks for the help, I'll come back for more questions. I really, really need some advice. It will be much appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Yeah, Cornell loves you too.</p>

3

<p>lol I really do like Cornell, but I haven’t disliked a single thing about Yale. In fact, I haven’t even liked a single thing about Yale. I have only loved what I have heard; it might as well be considered the perfect school for me.</p>

<p>I’m not trying to hate on Cornell. I would go there if I got accepted there but not at Yale or WUSTL. Cornell is a great school and I’m sure for many people it’s their perfect college. But for me, it’s not as much of a match as Yale, WUSTL, etc, and that’s what I meant. Didn’t mean to offend you or anyone else. haha</p>

4

<p>

</p>

<p>lol… maybe you’ll want to find a different school. </p>

<p>Your chances are average for Yale.</p>

5

<p>Haha, yeah I have more schools than just Yale. But Yale is definitely my top choice.</p>

<p>I know I’m qualified for Yale, but my stats don’t show it. I haven’t done enough outside of school and I haven’t spent enough time on my SAT. My chances are pretty average, yeah. But a majority of applicants to Yale have average chances.</p>

<p>If I can convey that I’m qualified and that I’ll make use of Yale’s resources, probably largely through recommendations and essays, I’d say I have almost as good a chance as most of the applicants (save some of the superstudents that lurk CC).</p>

<p>HOWEVER, that only answers one of my five questions. Would anybody be willing to give me advice on the other four? Thanks.</p>

6

<p>so…

  1. Can’t really say, you say you know you haven’t done enough outside of school and your SAT is weka, so…what have you been doing? The Summer Program looks good, but when you say you’re definitely qualified, do you mean you have something else you’re not putting on here? Not trying to be sarcastic, just wondering
    2/3. Your ACT score is actually on par w/ your SAT 33 corresponds troughly to what you got, but of course, it was writing that killed that. Is writing hard for you or do you just need to learn to write “SAT style”? If you can raise the writing, than retake ACT, it’s not helping you right now, therefore it’s hurting, you look like you’re leaning towards social science(by the AP’s you took) therefore good riting matters more than say, if you want to go into Engineering
  2. if you’re not taking any subject tests than just send one
  3. Work experience isn’t vital and it’s looked at in context(if your family is walthy and you work at the local CVS a couple hours a week, it’s a little different from helping feed the family) don’t add work experience just to have it </p>

<p>hope that helps.</p>

7

<p>1) By “I’m qualified” I mean that I would definitely be able to go to Yale and be successful. I also think I have a strong enough application to be accepted, but since there are so many other applicants that are as strong or stronger than me I have to make myself really stand out.</p>

<p>2/3) My SAT writing is actually a 9. If I wrote larger (I write really small) or faster I would have gotten the two full pages I need for a 10-12. My ACT writing, though, is only a 7. I don’t know why it’s so low, because I’m a great writer. I got all 7-9s on AP Lang essays (mostly 8s). I don’t know what it is about the ACT that is different, but I can’t get higher than a 7.</p>

<p>4) I plan on taking subject tests. Even though my SAT roughly equals my ACT, Yale’s ACT average is slightly lower than the SAT average, so my ACT would look a little bit stronger. This is why I’m unsure about sending both or just the ACT.</p>

<p>5) I know work experience isn’t vital for Yale, but it is for WUSTL (I know I’m in the Yale forum but still, lol). Do you know if it would be enough for WUSTL? And although my family isn’t necessarily wealthy, I don’t need to work to feed the family either.</p>

<p>Thank you very much, your help is much appreciated. I’m just looking for advice on as many areas as possible from as many people as possible.</p>

8

<ol>
<li>ok, I’d say Yale s high reach for anyone who’s not a recruited athlete, your app is strong enough to be accepted, but that’s around half of the pool at least, come up with something to make yourself stand out
2/3. sorry, didn’t realize that, that being said, you should retake SAT to raise your score b/c</li>
<li>if you send SAT II’s you must send all of them and all SAT I’s</li>
<li>work experience, again, can help you but degree is dependant on context, if you get something out of it other than extra spending money, you’re on the right track, but again, don’t add it just cause, does WashU require work experience? I’m not sure if the guy I know going there had any but either way, it wasn’t particularly significant…</li>
</ol>

9

<p>Get your test scores up.</p>

10

<p>“My weak areas are the SAT I and ECs” LOL</p>

11

<p>@ECazndb8r - Yeah I’m hoping the essays/recs will make me stand out. I’m already planning on retaking each test as well. Thanks for the help</p>

<p>@ahhhmotherland - I’m retaking both the SAT and the ACT in the fall, and I’m taking the SAT IIs in the fall as well. I’m going to be putting more than a week into each this time around, and hopefully I’ll be able to get them up to a better level. Thanks.</p>

<p>@HIGHreachNoob - Yeah? You’re point? They are the weaker areas. I know of many people who have gotten into Yale with SAT scores and ECs like mine, so it’s not like they’re terrible. But they definitely could use a boost. Please don’t come back, you aren’t wanted.</p>

12

<p>Threads like this are 100% useless. You’ll only run into insecure people online who will try to kill your confidence. Apply to Yale. Hope for the best. Be honest with yourself, and be honest in your applications. If it doesn’t work with Yale, it’ll work somewhere else, and you’ll ultimately be really happy with the outcome regardless of what it is.</p>

13

<p>I’ll be applying for Yale, no matter what. I’m not really using this as a chance thread, so much as a thread to get advice on whether I should bother doing something or if it won’t help very much.</p>

<p>I really appreciate that comment, though, it is the ultimate truth regarding college admissions. And congrats on getting into Yale, hope you enjoy your time there!</p>