<p>My daughter knows one student who got a single sitting SAT1 of 2400, SAT-2s all 800, and ACT 36. Got deferred. Also knows another superscored 2400, got deferred. But she also knows some 2300+ students (including herself) who got deferred.</p>
<p>It seems that scores are like interviews- they can hurt you if they are bad, but they can’t really help you much if they are great.</p>
<p>^I agree with that, IMO once you hit about the 2250 threshold, it’s all the same.</p>
<p>@christiansoldier, and all you other 2400s out there:
Hey, I know how bad this feels - and it’s not as much my expectations (though I was dreaming bigger than I should have) - it’s what other people expect of us.
I kept getting calls and texts and regular ego-boosts, you know, like, “You have a 2400! Yale would have to be crazy not to accept you!”
“You have NEVER gotten an A-! Stop making us look bad by saying you won’t get in”
“I bet you’re going to have a very happy December 15th”
“Omg I can’t believe I’m actually talking to someone who might be going to Yale!”
Etcetera. Yeah, you get the picture.
It’s just that… people don’t realize how HARD this process has become, it’s just completely unquantifiable and irrational. We can’t do anything about it, except maybe cheer each other up because we’re all in the same boat. And I hate the jazz about “Oh other great schools are sure to accept you” because it’s all based on the same hollow, numbers-driven guesswork. Clearly Yale doesn’t care if you have a perfect score. I think they’ve pretty much established that. Now I just wish the rest of the world would wake up and realize that the SAT is extremely overrated. All the best, people.</p>
<p>vicariousparent: Sorry about the deferral for your D. That’s tough. But I’m sure she’ll have a fistful of great acceptances in May.</p>
<p>So will the rest of you guys. Hang in.</p>
<p>I am rather baffled & disappointed about the deferral
.
My stats are SAT 2340, SAT 2s 800s. 4.4 GPA, top 1% rank (9/980)
<ul>
<li>Many awards for poetry & essay (first prizes in state& local, finalist in national level), had a column in local newspaper for a year as student columnist.
-state UIL champion, ac-dec team leader (went to state) whiz quiz team (went to national)
-top five students in national French exam - past 2 years.
-work part time as a tutor (both paid & free). Did a summer job in local Public school as a teacher’s aid. Teach low-income kids French and math in boys& girls club</li>
</ul>
<p>Interview went good, My recs are excellent.
My essay compared my favorite books to my life situation.
Applied for engineering with indicating special interest in writing.</p>
<p>got a very enthusiastic e-mail from Engineering dept about my interest in research.</p>
<p>I sent my science abstracts, poetry, and essay samples as supplementary materials.</p>
<p>Can anyone give me an idea what else I should send (supplementary materials to Yale) to show my interest?</p>
<p>Any honest remarks regarding my chances are most welcome</p>
<p>christiansoldier: I recall the thread in which posters discouraged you from retaking your 2380 SAT to get a perfect score. </p>
<p>Great scores do help an application. Perfect scores get an application a very serious look, IMO. But as you’ve now learned, perfect scores don’t ensure acceptance at Yale, and they won’t ensure acceptance at its peer schools, either. In your case, I think perfect scores may actually have torpedoed your application. Retaking the SAT after earning a 2380 (not to mention a 36 on the ACT – you should have stopped right there!) demonstrates a constellation of qualities colleges disfavor. Go back and reread your thread on this topic. </p>
<p>If the colleges on your list allow it, please consider using Score Choice for the rest of your applications.</p>
<p>@hb730- bravo. you just said EVERYTHING i was feeling. I hate when people say ill get in. and then i dont</p>
<p>wjb: Thanks for the kind words. The odds don’t look too good that we’ll meet at Yale parents’ events 
</p>
<p>I agree with your comment to christiansoldier and I remember that thread. My D’s friend (a really great kid) also retook the SAT and scored 2400 after a single sitting score of 2340 and ACT 36. Got deferred. I’m not sure how much, if at all, the retake hurt this kid (or christiansoldier) but I can’t see how the retakes could have helped.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I wish people would use their CR skills and really listen to what’s being said about SAT scores. Anyone who looks at the 25:75 SATs for all the top schools can see that no matter what the schools say, they do matter, as HYPS have the highest in the nation. However, once one gets to a certain point (as I stated earlier, my mark is about 750 per section) there is no further gain by a higher or perfect score. And in fact retaking high scores may actually send a negative message to a school like Y that sees all scores. At that point, top schools want to see you doing something more important with your time and energy. They know that realistically, there’s no difference between a 2250 and a 2400 scorer in what they can accomplish in classes, so they’d rather have the person who will contribute to other aspects of college life.</p>
<p>This deferral isn’t too bad, I started 5 applications and I am working at a blistering pace. I somehow got myself around to the Stanford app and am almost done. Same with Princeton and UPenn.</p>
<p>see…i’m like anti-test obsessed and it didn’t help
I got a 34 my first (and only) go at the ACT and I was encouraged to retaked
you’re screwed either way</p>
<p>A 34 is an excellent score, r6l, and almost certainly not the basis for your deferral.</p>
<p>what can be done to help your cause if you are waiting for RD once you’ve been deferred?</p>
<p>When your GC sends your midyear grades, ask him/her to include a note re-affirming your strong interest in Yale (or that Yale is your top choice, if that’s an accurate statement). If you have received significant new honors that were not included in your EA application, send a letter detailing them (and confirming your strong interest in Yale).</p>
<p>That is great info - what about calling the admiss. office to ask them about weaknesses on your app or to request an interview (never had one)?</p>
<p>I would not call the admissions office about the reasons for your deferral. I do think it’s fine to contact admissions (I’d e-mail your area rep) to request an interview.</p>
<p>To those deferred/rejected: Best of Luck for all your other schools! Youre all amazing =)</p>
<p>To those accepted: PM me and maybe we can add each other on fb :)</p>
<p>Again, you are overreacting to the deferral. I am aware it sucks waiting three more, but you have not lost the opportunity to attend. Please get some perspective before you single out Yale for being so terrible in their admissions.</p>
<p>we’re all super qualified applicants, and I’m SURE yale knows that. it’s just that they can only send out so many acceptances in the early round, and it SUCKS when you don’t get one…but we’ll never know what goes on in that admissions committee. 
that said, best of luck to EVERYONE who got deferred, and I hope you guys get in come RD!!</p>
<p>@entomom: I do agree with you about the sat, and I’m not arguing that a 2400 shows scintillating skills not present in most people. For the record, I retook a 2190 (considerably below your 2250 threshold) and happened to get a 2400. I’m not scores-obsessed. What I am trying to acknowledge here is for a large majority of people In the world, the sat is some sort of be-all, end-all. It isn’t, of course. But how do you get that across to your friend with a 3.0 and an 1800, or your excitable great-uncle or Daisy who lives down the road? They just wouldn’t get it, which is why explaining to them what it means (and what a deferral is) is really the toughest part, not dealing with it yourself.</p>
<p>Again, those of you who got in. Nice :D</p>
<p>everyone else: well, there is the rd round and all those other great schools. I realize a lot of us might be bitter, and this process is really annoying at times, but let’s not bash Yale and get to work on the rest of our apps. You guys are the best :)</p>