I am a caucasian girl with a 2350 SAT, a 3.9 GPA and 7 AP classes through out high school. My extracurriculars aren’t amazing but I’ve done some:
-marching band: 3 years, commitment of about 30 hours per week during the fall
I’ve played piano for 10 years and flute for 8.
I’m part of a teen leadership group at my religious school.
I founded the Habitat for Humanity club at my school and am president of the club
I’m part of the writer’s group at my school and have been published in the literary magazine
-I play soccer recreationally
I was a volunteer tutor for 2 years and did costume design for the school play for 1 year.
I write a lot in my spare time and have finished a novel although it isn’t published of course.
I’m also a legacy from my mother, if this helps my chances.
I know that I haven’t done any science research or won any national awards, but do I have a chance? If not, could you recommend some good liberal arts colleges that I would have a better chance at?
Your academic side is pretty strong for Yale. On the other hand, your ECs are average at best. Legacy will be minimal at best, unless your mother donates six figures annually or something. I’d say you definitely have a change, probably better than most, but you should try and make up for your ECs in your essays and recommendations. Good luck
Have to disagree on the academics. For any Ivy, they’re average. All those schools could have their pick of 4.0 GPAs with 2400 on the SAT to boot. 2200-2300 is the unofficial “minimum” for 99% of viable applicants (the remainder will be recruited athletes, ABRSM grade 8 pianists, etc). 7 APs isn’t that different from 17, from a university’s standpoint, but it isn’t exceptional either.
On the extracurricular front: more leadership roles would help.
The fact is, nobody has a good chance to get into Yale. Not unless their mother/father is the dean of admissions. Yale admits about 5% of applicants, and the strongest candidates are the ones whose chances are better than that average: 20%, or 25% in a few select cases. Almost nobody has even a 1 in 2 chance at Yale. You could have a 2400, a 4.0, publish a bestselling novel, found an international nonprofit, cure cancer while doing lab work in your spare time, master 5 instruments, and you wouldn’t be guaranteed admission at Harvard, Yale, Princeton, UChicago, etc. So you need to apply to a number of other colleges you’d be happy attending. Start with the assumption that you won’t get into Yale, and you can only be pleasantly surprised.
If you’ve got a strong interest in writing, the University of Pennsylvania is a very good school. It’s an Ivy, so admissions are very competitive, but it can’t hurt to apply. I’ve heard good things about Northwestern and Oregon State. Beyond that, you (and 99% of those who post on this site) should first ask your high school counselor, whose job is to know these things, what advice he/she has to offer.
I think your academics are good enough. Have you considered taking ABRSM exam for flute and piano? I am sure you also know that coleges doesn’t care about how many years you played an instrument. They really care when you passed an official exam indicates let’s say “that person is at or above ABRSM Piano Examination Grade5”. First of all, take ABRSM Exams, an while consideration of colleges, end them to colleges and say “Hey, I want to add this certificate and grade to my application.” I also will take ABRSM soon, you can try practical ABRSM for upcoming March-May. As second advice join Interact which is a connectional organization to Rotary. Trust me, it will help for YALE. Also, cheer up! You made a pretty good effort. Listen my advices and hope you will get in there. Bye
I agree. While she has very legitimate scores to be seriously considered, they are by and large, the norm and not the exception, for admitted students at Yale. My biggest advice is to make a compelling statement as to the reason “why yale?” Too many students approach it from the perspective of what the school can do for them, rather than placing it in the narrative of what they can offer the school and how they fit into that specific academic community. To be clear, this is not to reiterate your scores/grades, but rather to create a nexus of your objectives and the institution, and how they are symmetrical. This also allows the reader to know that you have done homework about specific programs and faculty at the school–best to you.
Your academics are really impressive, but Yale considers so many factors when deciding applicants, and it’s so hard for us to accurately measure your chances. There are applicants that get accepted at Harvard, but rejected at Yale. That’s how strange the admissions process at ivy league schools are.
Your academic record puts you in the running and legacy definitely helps, but you have to bring more to the table and definitely apply to other schools. I’m assuming you’re a junior, so you still have time to improve your resume and give yourself a better chance. Definitely visit the campus and try to get some sponsors at Yale (professors, club presidents, newspaper editors, etc.). Your mom might be able to help you with that. Focus on leadership opportunities. Maybe you could run a music or writing camp? Use your creativity and desire for social justice to develop your own unique leadership opportunities. Also consider self publishing on amazon. Definitely pick some great schools with higher admissions rates to apply to as well, though.
Everyone is seriously overestimating the competition. Still she isn’t in for sure, but I had friends with about the same stats and ECs as her get into Yale and other equally presitgious schools. Not every person in the world has won Intel or started an international nonprofit. She stands a good chance. However as with every applicant who hasn’t done cured cancer, it all turns into a gamble at this point.
It might be a bit late, but you should try to do something like an internship to strengthen your EC’s if you want to try for Yale. Other than that, it really comes down to your essays and reccs. Don’t listen to all of the discouraging people. You don’t need to intern at JAXA or win the ISEF to get into Yale. There are many students with normal EC’s that get accepted.
As for LAC’s, you should have a decent chance at all of them. I had only 1 EC and similar academics, and I was able to get into a top LAC. I know many others with the same case, but with a few more ECs and lower scores.
Remember to do well on the subject tests too. They should be much easier compared to SAT I.
I’m a caucasian girl. I had “weak” ECs but was competitive academically (lower SAT than yours!) and had legacy through my mother who isn’t a billionaire and hasn’t done anything amazing for Yale. I’m going to be a freshman at Yale next fall. I didn’t do anything amazing: no internships, studies abroad, or even a summer job. Don’t listen to people talking about ECs. Find what you’re passionate about and stick to it and try new things, but, most of all, have fun in high school. It goes by too quickly.
