I was hoping to gain some insight on this worry of mine:
I go to a school in the LA area. It is decent academically, sending approximately 1 student to Stanford every other year. However, according to Naviance, my school has never sent anyone to Yale (or Harvard, Princeton, or Columbia) in its entire history. Last year, however, one senior did get into Yale RD, but chose to go to another comparable college better suited for his intended major. That senior was 1st generation and low income though (I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it, he was very smart, but those do add to his application significantly in a special way).
Do you think my school’s negligible relationship with Yale or the Regional Yale Admission officer will hurt my admission chances (if I apply EA or RD)? Do you think that the senior turning down Yale will hurt my admission chances?
HYP Admissions are very clear: they admit students, not high schools.
However, the lack of students from your high school admitted to HYP over the years would seem to indicate that: (1) AO’s are not that familiar with your HS and/or it’s curriculum or (2) your GC may not have a relationship with the AO’s at HYP – both of which do not bode well for any student from your HS applying to those colleges.
So, you need to trust the data from Naviance and act accordingly, meaning . . . . if you are graduating in the top 1% to 3% of your graduating class, AND have top test scores, you should apply SCEA to HYP or S – pick a school, whichever one is your favorite – and apply RD to the rest.
My daughter, from the Northeast, went to a “decent” public HS that had never sent anyone to Yale. They do send perhaps 1 or 2 a year to HYPMS. She was not in the top 1% to 3% (but part of that is due to only modest weighting on AP/honors classes). She had top SATs and some other good ECs but nothing worth writing about in the newspaper. She applied RD and was accepted with a likely (STEM) letter. So I wouldn’t go so far as to say the GC relationship is the be-all and end-all. Though of course, acceptance for anyone is a small probability.
My father was the first person from his high school to go to Yale, my cousin was the first person from her high school to go to Yale, my sister in law was the first person from her high school to go to Yale. My kid’s high school has never sent anyone to Yale. I’m hoping this odd combination of legacy and pioneering will count in my son’s favor.
My D was the first from her small public school to go to Yale. I remember reading that they like to admit public school students who have taken advantage of the resources available to them. Definitely no guidance counselor relationship at our school.