Official Yale Class of 2015 SCEA Results Thread

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
241

<p>

</p>

<p>The best we can say is that we don’t know. We have already demonstrated that the sample is biased and not representative of the entire population. Another error in the CC data is that there is no way to know whether the responses are honest in the first place. An accepted student with a lower SAT might well fudge it up a bit to “fit in” better with the rest of the CC crowd. </p>

<p>And some of the responses might simply be totally bogus - made up entirely from scratch, or some kid posting an idealized version of themselves - their fantasy of who they wish they were. With unverifiable, self-reported, biased, inaccurate samples there is just no way to know.</p>

242

<p>is it just me, or is yale scea pool a lot harder than last year?</p>

<p>p.s. y’all are some amazing people… i had no idea that these many smart kids existed</p>

243

<p>come on, what was that supposed to mean??? The rampabnt hostility on this board is ruining what is supposed to be a happy occassion for the people who got in, and is unecessary.</p>

244

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 770 M 760 W (8 essay) 800 CR
[ *] ACT:
[</em>] SAT II: 800 790 780 (math II, chem, bio E- can’t remember which is which) 750 Lit 730 US (year after class ended)
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): no idea how that works, all As with several A+s (no A-s)
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): numero uno
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC, Psych, Bio, Chem, APES, APUSH, Gov, Macro, all 5s
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs Spanish Lang, Stat, Physics B, Euro, Lit
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF, Nat’l AP scholar
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): horse riding (for 10+ yrs), Taekwondo (to black belt, some teaching), enviro club (president now, officer last year, founding member sophomore year), few other clubs
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: therapeutic riding center, 5 hrs/week
[</em>] Summer Activities: CTY for five years, did an academic thing with Oxford last year, Community College course
[<em>] Essays: pretty good I though, enough to make up for my 8 on the SAT :P, one about getting a concussion while riding (or rather, falling) and the common app about a project that I had funning messing up on
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: good, I assume, I have a good rapport with the teachers that wrote them, one’s almost a friend the other has been my mentor since freshman year
[<em>] Counselor Rec: might have been a problem, this was her first year and I got my app in early, all she knew about me is what I told her (probably too modestly) after NMSF stuff came out
[</em>] Interview: I tend to have ‘extreme’ views on sensitive topics but I’m fairly accepting. It’s never affected me before because I’m a nice/good person so I just don’t tell very religious people that I’m an atheist unless I know them well, for example. My interviewer was very old, kept pushing uncomfortable topics, and didn’t really give me a chance to expound upon my ECs and passions- which is kind of what I thought the point of an interview was. I’m pretty sure he concluded I was ‘too serious’. He as also very much into sports and ‘being a complete person’ (I have to work very hard for every moment of coordination :stuck_out_tongue: and I’m not musically or artistically inclined, I appreciate them but lack talent)
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: I might, father lost the job we planned to pay my tuition out of directly, oops
[</em>] Intended Major: Cognitive Science
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): OH
[</em>] School Type: public, 165 per grade
[<em>] Ethnicity: white
[</em>] Gender: female
[<em>] Income Bracket: now or then?
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nada, self-studied psych and took some initiative with scheduling my science courses earlier than normal
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: I think I fit the atmosphere of Yale well, I love to think but not in a stuffy, super-serious way
[</em>] Weaknesses: Not Yale-unique, the interview, 8 on the SAT essay, many people from my school applied, oh and the admissions officer came to my school and was a little off-putting, I might not have been outgoing enough
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: White female valedictorian, guess they got enough of those! :stuck_out_tongue: Just joking. I’m nothing special. I get that. Especially because what I value most in myself is probably too subtle for the process to pick up on[/li][/ul]General Comments: Acceptance would have made my day but not my week. Rejection would have made me indignant for a couple days. I feel nothing about deferral- except a bit too much pride :stuck_out_tongue: but that’s in the discussion thread…
Great job acceptees. Yale doesn’t deserve those of you that got rejected. And to my fellow deferrees, what now?</p>

245

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>[li]SAT I (breakdown):2350 770M, 780CR, 800 W</p>[/li]
<p>[li]ACT: 35</p>[/li]
<p>[li]SAT II: 790 world history, 790 biology, 800 chem, 800 chinese <-lol</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): #1 whoo!</p>[/li]
<p>[li]AP (place score in parenthesis): 55555-chem, physics, american, comp, euro</p>[/li]
<p>[li]IB (place score in parenthesis): na</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Senior Year Course Load: 5 aps, highest load at our school</p>[/li]
<p>[li]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Biology Olympaid some sort of rank, National Chemistry Olympiad-top 50, AP National Scholar with Honor or Distinction or something like that, Semifinalist National Merit, CTY awards</p>[/li]
<p>[/list]Subjective:[ul]</p>

<p>[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Sci Oly (Pres), Mock Trial (Pres), Quizbowl (Pres/Captain), excel (Pres), Environmental Club (Junior Commissioner), couple other things, oh yeah and archery and piano </p>[/li]
<p>[li] Job/Work Experience: nope</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Volunteer/Community service: on the youth board of a non-profit organization, mentor the middle school division sci oly</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Summer Activities: went to the cornell medical center over the summer and worked with one of the doctors there, otherwise, volunteered</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Essays: pretty good, def unique</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Teacher Recommendation: one awesome, one pretty good</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Counselor Rec: never saw it, she better have written a good one lol</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Additional Rec:</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Interview: went ok I guess</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]</p>

<p>[li] Applied for Financial Aid?: nope</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Intended Major: biology</p>[/li]
<p>[li] State (if domestic applicant): ny <–not good for applying I guess</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Country (if international applicant):</p>[/li]
<p>[li] School Type: public pretty blah</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Ethnicity: asian <–oy vey</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Gender: female</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Income Bracket:almost 200K </p>[/li]
<p>[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I have a literary agent that’s representing five of my books. Other than that…</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]</p>

<p>[<em>] Strengths: Erm, I’m a writer with a literary agent I guess *shrug</em></p>

<p>[li] Weaknesses: looking at some of you people, my SATs? er, I’m asian? I’m from NY?</p>[/li]
<p>[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: *sigh</em> could be anything I guess. I suppose I just wasn’t good enough. It’s rather depressing really. :/</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: Yale…sigh. But congratulations to everyone who made it in!</p>

<p>Can anyone figure out what sunk me? I’d really appreciate any advice. Please :)</p>

246

<p>Deferred…</p>

247

<p>ACCEPTED</p>

<p>ACT: 34
SAT IIs: 760 Literature, 750 Math 2, 770 Spanish
AP: 5,4,5,4
GPA: 4.6 weighted
Senior Year Course Load: 5 APs, 1 Honors
Awards: Book Award, AP National Scholar,National Spanish Exam awards, etc</p>

<p>1 Varsity sport for 4 years, 2 year captain, ranked in top 15 in country
President of a club
NHS, SNHS
Intensive summer program in spain
Hospital volunteer
Peer mentor at school </p>

<p>Hook: Recruited athlete
Comments: Can’t wait for next year! Good luck to everyone else</p>

248

<p>Decision: D DEFERRED (sure wish I could figure out how to use your template.)</p>

<p>Objective:
• SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (800 CR 740 M 800 W)
• SAT II: 760 BioM, 730 Lit<br>
• GPA: 4.0/4.0 UW, 98.5/100 – 2 years weighted + 2 years not = confusing
• Rank: 2/650
• AP: Bio (5), Human Geo (5), Lang (5), US History (4), Govt (3)-10th, World History (4)-9th
• Senior Year: H Physics II, H Span I (took all French offered), AP Physics B, AP Micro, AP Psych, AP Lit, AP Calc AB & BC
• Major Awards: Gold Award, USSYP Alternate, Coca-Cola Semi, 4 state awards in primary EC (highest achievable), NMC</p>

<p>Subjective:
• Extracurriculars: Student Council (President), Interact Club (chapter founder & president), Class Officer (President 2x, Secretary), primary EC (local President and state leadership), Girl Scouts, Tennis (varsity 2 yrs.), French Club, Spanish Club, NHS, Senior Beta Club, Band
• Job/Work Experience: supermarket cashier (10 hours/week)
• Volunteer/Community service: 900+ hours, big projects and won grant to continue most recent, local hospital volunteer
• Summer Activities: volunteer at 3 camps, Governor’s School, competition events, work
• Essays: early version got D accepted to an expense-paid Ivy weekend and a week-long medical program scholarship
• Teacher #1: superb, Teacher #2: verbose, but glowing
• Counselor Rec: by school principal and only one he’s ever done - did not see
• Additional Rec: State Director of primary EC “best ever in 30 years” statements but embedded in long letter
• Interview: on campus, very good</p>

<p>Other
• Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
• Intended Major: Anthropology (Cultural/Medical) & Biology
• State (if domestic applicant): South
• School Type: Large, rural non-competitive public but very top kids are competitive
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Female
• Income Bracket: <60K
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>

<p>• Strengths: GPA, SAT, service projects, recommendations
• Weaknesses: AP scores, SAT 4x – D explained that her school encourages and pays.<br>
• Why do you think you were deferred: competition-You are all so incredibly amazing!</p>

<p>• General Comments: Yale is not D’s top choice, but could have been if accepted early. She’s fine, but my feelings are hurt. Last two years our high school has been successful sending top kids to Ivys+, though not Yale. She’s trying to decide if adjustments are needed before sending last two applications. I wish I knew how to advise her.</p>

249

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250; cr: 720, math: 740, writing: 790
ACT: N/A
SAT II: Math II: 790, US History: 770
GPA: 4.25 (weighted, school only does weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7/304
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 AP Lang and comp, 5 AP stats, 5 AP bio, 5 AP US his.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lang and Comp, AP BC calc, AP spanish, american foreign policy, physics honors, gym
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): n/a</p>

<p>[ b]Subjective:**
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Founder of the first girls golf team at high school (after playing as only girl on otherwise all male team), member of the new york youth symphony, rape care advocate for the county i live in, model un, tutoring club, chamber music club, operation smile vice president, LiNK (liberty in north korea)
Job/Work Experience: female caddy at golf club, violin teacher
Volunteer/Community service: Rape Care Advocate for the county I live in
Summer Activities: volunteer internship at KCS Community Services (public health), and internship (w. stipend) at Columbia University’s Insititute of Public and Economic Research and Policy, CTY, caddied at a golf club
Essays: Amazing. Probably what got me in, because they fortified my extracurriculars
Teacher Recommendation: good!
Counselor Rec: amazing
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Amazing
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Ethics, Politics, and Economics
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Very competitive public (#3 in NJ)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A
Reflection
Strengths: extracurriculars and essays, being totally different from your typical asian girl, passion and interests were very genuine.
Weaknesses: SAT score
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: have to say my scores and stats were good but not amazing, but yale’s looking for interesting people!</p>

250

<p>ACCEPTED!</p>

<p>Intended Major: Mathematics</p>

251

<p>hm…for some reason, I can’t find the edit button on my previous post. Sorry, I guess I can’t post my stats…unless someone has any advice.</p>

<p>If not then see ya Yale Forum! I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you do!</p>

252

<p>Sunkist - edit privileges on CC disappear after 20 minutes. If you are to post your stats you’ll have to do it in a new post.</p>

253

<p>Decision: Rejected</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I and II: n/a
[</em>] ACT: 35
[<em>] Weighted GPA (out of 100): 98
[</em>] Rank (deciles): 10%
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, AP Psych, AP Chem, Physics Honors, English 12, religion, health, gym
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): >_<
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars, Volunteer, Service, etc.: All very good… not listing everything
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: An office position for 2 years
[</em>] Essays: Pretty good
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Both should be great
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Amazing
[<em>] Additional Rec: Nope
[</em>] Interview: Didn’t have
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[</em>] Intended Major: Mathematics
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[</em>] School Type: Catholic. Not a feeder
[<em>] Ethnicity: White.
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: 60,000-100,000
[</em>] Hooks: NO.
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Teacher recs, good ECs, ACT was good
[</em>] Weaknesses: I’m white, I couldn’t take any APs before senior year because my school would not let me (whatthehell), no “hook” (what the hell who cares), no awards or anything special (lol no one in my school has anything in this category O_o)
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: ‘weaknesses’ ^[/li][/ul]General Comments:</p>

254

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]</p>

<p>[li] SAT I (breakdown): Submitted both–2240 (690W 800M 750CR), 2320 (800W 740M 780CR) </p>[/li]
<p>[li] SAT II: Biology (M) 790, Literature 730, Math II 800</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): [/li]School doesn’t rank</p>

<p>[li] AP (place score in parenthesis): Frosh–AB Calc, Soph-- BC Calc, Euro, Junior-- APUSH, Bio, Lit. All 5’s </p>[/li]
<p>[li] Senior Year Course Load: Colorguard, AP Lang, AP Chem, AP Environ, AP Gov, Woodwind Quintet, Math 464 Theory of Probability at local university</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): USABO semifinalist (2010), NMSF, nothing big</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]</p>

<p>[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): [/li]Children’s Museum–Volunteer, Youth Board President, Youth Board representative for the Board of Director’s
NHS–VP for Service Events
Urgent Care Jr Volunteer–4 hours each week
Piano (10 years) and flute (7 years) </p>

<p>[li] Job/Work Experience: [/li]-Summer Biology Internship in a university’s lab, continue to volunteer in the same lab
-Local city newspaper teen columnist for two years, before the newspaper shut down, but my columns were apparently read everywhere from California to Canada
-High School “reporter” for local magazine- a very small job</p>

<p>[li] Summer Activities: summer internship, band camp, nothing big</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Essays: Started in September, worked only on these essays… Only had one person read them (my english teacher, gave them to her anonymously…) I guess they turned out well, Common App was about my middle school teacher telling me that she thought I could cure Alzheimer’s and how I took it so seriously as an 8th grader, and then forgot about it, but then thought about it again this year. Supplement was a kind of conglomerate and I guess it showed my more childishly enthusiastic side, and it explained at the end that I can never and will never define myself by one activity, or one “life”</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Teacher Recommendation: No idea didn’t see, I assume they like me :)</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Counselor Rec: Didn’t see, she likes me, but I’m not sure how well she was able to write about me. She has been writing letters for a long time though…</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Additional Rec: None</p>[/li]
<p>[li] Interview: I loved my interviewer because she was the quiet, very good listener type, but she told me that she never thought she’d get in, and that the process was “random”, so that wasn’t very encouraging…</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: not yet, but will
[</em>] Intended Major: Undecided, but “interests” are molecular biology and literature
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Public
[</em>] Ethnicity:Chinese
[<em>] Gender: F
[</em>] Income Bracket:
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: That I legitimately love everything I do. Even highlighting papers for the secretary at the Urgent Care… Also, I’ve been attending Junior/Senior undergrad level math courses at the university nearby since first semester last year… but i dont know if that helps an asian at all… :stuck_out_tongue:
[</em>] Weaknesses: Asian female interested in biology
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: You know, I think once you reach a certain caliber academically, it really depends on whether your essays make you seem likeable. Whether you are truly enthusiastic, however silly or childishly so. Whether you actually can put up a fight to pursue what you want.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments: Just be honest. I think I wrote about me, even the parts that maybe colleges wouldn’t like. I’m surprised to be honest. I thought I was just another one of those “average” Ivy applicants who are generically “good” and don’t stand out. I’m starting to think that it really was the essays. It should really tell them what kind of person you are.</p>

255

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<ul>
<li>SAT I: Try 1: 2100, Try 2: 2130</li>
<li>ACT: Didn’t take.</li>
<li>SAT II: 800 Math II, 790 Chem, 780 Physics</li>
<li>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~91%</li>
<li>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5% (Not top 5)</li>
<li>AP (place score in parenthesis): None.</li>
<li>IB (place score in parenthesis): None.</li>
<li>Senior Year Course Load: Most demanding.</li>
<li>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): USAMO ~Top 30, CMOx4, USACO gold</li>
</ul>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<ul>
<li>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mostly math & compsci stuff, piano</li>
<li>Job/Work Experience: None.</li>
<li>Volunteer/Community service: A few things here and there.</li>
<li>Essays: Pretty good.</li>
<li>Teacher Recommendation: Unique.</li>
<li>Counselor Rec: Not good at all.</li>
<li>Additional Rec: None.</li>
<li>Interview: Not offered one.</li>
</ul>

<p>Other</p>

<ul>
<li>State (if domestic applicant):</li>
<li>Country (if international applicant): Canada</li>
<li>School Type: Public</li>
<li>Ethnicity: Asian</li>
<li>Gender: Male</li>
<li>Income Bracket:</li>
<li>Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.</li>
</ul>

256

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2390 (800 M 800 CR 790 W)
[</em>] ACT: N/A
[<em>] SAT II: 790 Math II, 720 Literature
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 uw
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (school doesn’t go farther than that)
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB (5), US History (5), Biology (5)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics B, AP English Lit, AP Spanish, AP Micro & Macroeconomics, + some electives
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF, AP Scholar,
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): piano (12 years), math team (captain), NHS (secretary), SHS, LHS, percussion, violin (7 years)/orchestra, physics team, theater, tennis, newspaper club, volleyball, a few random clubs, etc.
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Coaching youth volleyball, working at the local hospital, etc. - lots of random activities
[<em>] Summer Activities: volunteer activities, lots of traveling abroad
[</em>] Essays: Common App essay was strong, supplemental was solid but could have been edited more
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: One really strong, one strong but probably a bit generic
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Strong but, again, probably a bit generic
[<em>] Additional Rec: N/A
[</em>] Interview: Student interview went fine but probably not too memorable… alumni interview went very well, and we talked for 1.5 hours
[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: No
[</em>] Intended Major: Psychology
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): CT
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: very competitive public high school - feeder
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>] Gender: F
[</em>] Income Bracket: >300k
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: Well-written essay, high SAT score, recommendations
[<em>] Weaknesses: Subject test scores, maybe ECs/leadership, Asian
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Too many very strong SCEA applicants from my school. One rec, for some reason, was not received until ten days before decisions (we sent it three times). Don’t stand out enough.
[/ul]General Comments: I’m disappointed, that’s for sure. Y is my top choice… Now I’ll just keep waiting until April!</p>

257

<p>Decision: Accepted
Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2200
[</em>] ACT: 32
[<em>] SAT II: 720 Biology, 700 Math II
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0/4.0 4.6/4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/110
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio(5), Lang(5), Gov(4), Stats(4), Am. Hist(3)
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, AP Comp. Sci, AP Psych, AP Lit, Spanish II, Physics
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, Student Goverment (treasurer), Orchestra (1st chair clarinetist), Sault Tribal Youth Council, Pep & Marching Band, Teens Against Tobacco Use (president), Michigan Coalition Against Underage Drinking (president), Church Youth Group, Volunteer musician.
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Work in the summer. Pianist (volunteer and paid jobs).
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: A lot.<br>
[</em>] Summer Activities: Minority Introduction to Science and Engineering(MITES) at MIT this past summer.:slight_smile: Other than that I have worked, and I attended NYLC in D.C. a few years ago.
[<em>] Essays: I applied through QuestBridge, so they were slightly different, but I really worked hard on them and thought they were well written.<br>
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Very good! I asked my math and english teachers.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Commented that I was the most motivated student in his career and recommended me on the highest level.
[</em>] Additional Rec: MITES Evaluations: Humanities - really good, BioChem - commented that I scored above average on the tests, Physics - commented on my determination and perseverence, Digital Design - good, Calc - eh, okay but not great.
[<em>] Interview: I had a phone interview since I live over two hours away from the closest alum. Overall it went really well! She said she was really impressed and commented that this was the first year Yale offered interviews in my area, so she was excited too.
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: QuestBridge
[<em>] Intended Major: Either Cognitive Science or Biology
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): MI
[<em>] Country (if international applicant):
[</em>] School Type: Rural & small. (No one has ever been accepted to an Ivy before)
[<em>] Ethnicity: Native American
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation, minority, rural, MITES.
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[</em>] Strengths: Essays, teacher recommendations, interview, grades, rank, & MITES.
[<em>] Weaknesses: Standardized tests.
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: I had a great interview, teacher recs, and interview. I am very blessed.
[/ul]General Comments:
Good luck to everyone in regular decision! You all have amazing potential. :)<br>
P.S. Is there an official Facebook group? I am looking forward to meeting everyone on Bulldog Days! Woo!</p>

258

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>I don’t have time to post my stats right now, too busy doing college apps. I’ll try to do it later.</p>

259

<p>Deferred…but I don’t think my stats really matter now this late. </p>

<p>Damn.</p>

260

<p>I had responded to this thread the day Yale results came out, but I messed up the formatting and can’t edit it now. So this is a repost:</p>

<p>Decision: Accepted</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2280 (800M / 680 CR / 800 W), 11 essay
[</em>] ACT: 34
[<em>] SAT II: 800 Math IIc, 640 World History, 800 Chem, 790 Physics, 740 World History (retake)
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.964
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (My high school AAST doesn’t have class ranks)
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Chem, 5 Calc BC, 5 Statistics, 4 World History
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): Taking History HL this year
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load:
Core: Topics in Advanced Mathematics, AP Physics C, AP Psychology, IB History of the Americas HL, Honors World Lit II, Honors Spanish 5, Physical education, Senior Experience (a Wednesday internship)
Trimester 1 electives: Math team II, Math team III, Orchestra, String Ensemble
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): USAMO x2, AMC 10 National Winner, Qualified for AIME 3 times, USAMTS silver medal, alternate for US ILO team, qualified for USNCO, Fencing team MVP, First team all-league fencing, Qualified for Junior Olympics (U20 men’s foil), Foil rank D10</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Math Team, Fencing, Church (small group leader), 5 Musical ensembles throughout HS (Pit orchestra Grade 9, Orchestra 9-12, String Ensemble 11-12, Choir accompaniment orchestra 11, Paid church instrumental group for easter/midnight mass ceremonies 11-12)
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Teacher at Bergen County Academies math camp x2, Paid church instrumental group for easter/midnight mass ceremonies
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Three 1-week missions trips during the 3 summers
[</em>] Summer Activities: Three 1-week missions trips during the 3 summers (08, 09, 10), Travel trip to Beijing (08), teacher at BCA math camp (09, 10), fencing camp (10), Awesome math summer camp (09)
[<em>] Essays: I think my ideas were good, but they weren’t written as eloquently as I would have liked. My common app one was about how everyone is equal because our outcomes are all based on luck, and my supplement was about how I learned from my arguments with my parents.
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t get to read them, but both teachers I had for 2 years.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: I think it must have been good. Here at BCA each counselor has about 35 students per grade, and we have to schedule an intake session once every year. He’s always told me about how I’ve been doing “all the right things”, was surprised about how little stress I have, and was also a fencer.
[</em>] Additional Rec: None
[li] Interview: None (Was not offered one)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Applied for Financial Aid?: No.
[</em>] Intended Major: I put 1) math, 2) chemistry, 3) economics on my application, but at the moment I’m not sure anymore.<br>
[<em>] State: NJ
[</em>] School Type: Public Magnet HS. The name is Bergen County Academies (AAST) if you want to look it up online. Click on AAST Profile: <a href=“http://bcts.bergen.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1250&Itemid=2004[/url]”>http://bcts.bergen.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1250&Itemid=2004&lt;/a&gt;
[<em>] Ethnicity: Chinese
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: Upper Middle Class
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Mom did not attend college.<br>
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Luck!! (More realistically, I had a heavy math / fencing involvement while still having good grades and SAT scores. I’ve also been active in music/church activities throughout the 4 years.)
[</em>] Weaknesses: Lack of major leadership, Asian male, Low CR score (680), didn’t take most rigorous literature or spanish courses at my school
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: A math major admit</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments: </p>

<p>Good luck to everyone in the college admissions process! Spend a lot of your time just talking to people; that’s a skill in itself. Don’t be overly obsessed with college “rankings” or people’s perception of you. It’s not worth worrying about what you did wrong in your past; your future is bright. Choose happiness over rigorous study, and enjoy your time with that girl while she’s there.</p>

<p>In regard to choosing your extracurriculars: I suggest you avoid the small, student-run organizations. Instead, choose large, competition-based extracurriculars. Generally these are better by far. If you’re in a fake EC, just leave immediately. It took me 2 years to realize that my club fresh/soph year wasn’t worthwhile.
Bad EC’s : In my experience all environmental clubs at my HS were fake to mediocre. Anything regarding international charity was fake. Things that have <10 people are questionable.
Good EC’s: Math team, any science competition, Research, ALL sports, JSA, MUN, Debate team, Tutoring (of course not a complete list)</p>