So, do I have a shot of getting into Yale?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>At my school, we have a special program that helps disadvantaged students (ex: poor, first gen, URM, etc.) get into college, and the head of this program believes that I’m a strong candidate for selective universities such as Georgetown, U Penn, Princeton, Harvard, and YALE. :/ However, I’m not sure if I believe him. I go to a pretty competitive school where it’s not unusual to find kids with a 3.6 gpa or higher (seriously, like 1/3 of my grade is in the National Honor Society), and only a handful of kids get into prestigious universities every year (2 got into Princeton this year, 1 got into Georgetown, 3 got into Cornell, and 2 got into Brown), but this guy seems to think that I’m a frickin’ UNICORN compared to everyone else in the program. Granted, most of the other kids have low grades and test scores, but I don’t feel very competitive compared to the kids who normally apply to Ivy League schools. Could you guys please chance me?</p>

<p>FYI, I know it’s ludicrous to ask for chances since no one really knows how the Ivies choose from applicants, but I really need to know if my college counselor is right, or if he’s waay delusional…</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2120 superscore (1st Time: 2030 [610 M, 690 CR, 730 W] 2nd Time: 2090 [580 M, 730 CR, 780 W]</p>

<p>ACT: Not taking</p>

<p>SAT II: Taking Bio, Lit, and World history in 2 weeks</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8 Weighted: 4.47</p>

<p>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t officially rank, but probably top 10%</p>

<p>AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Government (4), AP US History (5), AP Psych (5). Waiting on scores for AP World, AP Bio, AP Calc AB, and AP English Lang. I’m in this exclusive, apply only program at school that pushes you to take a bunch of APs. Only 50 kids (out of 500 juniors) are in it, and there was this tough application process to get in back in middle school. </p>

<p>IB (place score in parenthesis): None</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: AP Stat, AP Lit, AP Macro/Micro Economics, Honors Physics, Piano, Creative Writing, Philosophy Seminar, Independent Research Project (I’m writing a novel).</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar??</p>

<p>Subjective:
• Extracurriculars: National Honor Society (running for secretary this year) Science National Honor Society (tutor) , Minority Scholars Leadership Program (mentor, committee member), Stage Crew, Piano, Independent Creative Writing (completed a novel and various short stories, working to get published) , Harry Potter Alliance (secretary) , SAT Prep Club (vice president) , Science Olympiad (running for secretary). I’ve won medals for Science Olympiad (3 bronze, 1 gold) at Regionals and States, and our team went to Nationals this year (although we didn’t place). </p>

<p>• Job/Work Experience: None, but I might get a job this summer.</p>

<p>• Volunteer/Community service: NHS, volunteered at old elementary school, some volunteer work at events for high school.</p>

<p>• Summer Activities: Reading (I’m part of a panel at the library that reads ARCs of books and sends reviews to the editors), creative writing (Camp Nanowrimo), independent learning (getting ahead for next year, lol). </p>

<p>• Essays: Will be awesome, guarantee it.</p>

<p>• Teacher Recommendation: Don’t know. I’ve asked my AP bio teacher who’s also my science Olympiad coach, so she knows me really well. The other teacher likes me (He’s an English teacher who thinks I’m a talented writer, but we don’t talk a lot so…yeah)</p>

<p>• Counselor Rec: Average probably, although our school requires us to basically put our whole life story in writing and deliver it to the counselors before the write our recs, so that might help. </p>

<p>• Additional Rec: None</p>

<p>• Interview: If I’m offered one, I’ll definitely accept, provided that it’s close by. </p>

<p>Other:
• Applying for Financial Aid?: Yes
• Intended Major: Double Major (Psychology, and English with a Focus in Creative Writing)
• State (if domestic applicant): MD
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: African American
• Gender: Female
• Income Bracket: <10,000
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, 1st generation, low-socioeconomic standing</p>

<p>Thoughts guys? :) </p>

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<p>Good shot. Your URM will be helpful</p>

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<p>@ooohcollege Thanks! So you don’t think that my low SAT score in math (610) will hurt me? </p>

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<p>I’m not sure how much exactly urm helps, but for Yale without the urm I’d say it’s worth applying but be very surprised if you get in (<10%). How much urm helps I don’t know exactly, but as an educated guess I would say anywhere from 15-50% chance. Definitely worth applying, although seeing your income bracket, you should definitely talk to your counselor about getting application fee waivers especially if you will apply to a lot of colleges as the fees add up.</p>

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<p>URM does in fact help a lot. My cousin who was quite an average applicant with a 1920 and a 4.0 gpa with unspectacular ECs got into Yale and Cornell. 1 girl from my school got into Yale with lower stats and two others got into Stanford. Its not a definite acceptance but it does boost chances.</p>

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<p>Your SAT is kinda low, but since you have an extremely low income and you are a URM, you will probably get into your schools. They are still a reach, but a school will be able to see you overcame extraordinary adversity to get where you are today. Your ECs are pretty average, but again, you have a pretty big hook. One thing though: make sure you get to know your college counselor! Even if you hand your accomplishments in, hang out in their office. Talk to them. Give them updates about your summer plans and the schools you want to look at. If you get to know them personally, it makes a HUGE difference. Colleges really pay attention to those recs to confirm what they see on the application. I wish you the very best! :slight_smile: I would love to talk through PM if you have more specific questions :)</p>

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<p>Try taking the ACT, you might be better at it.</p>

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<p>No one has a 50% chance of getting into Yale. Ivy League schools at best admit 10 to 20% of the URMs who apply. Op may have a chance because she has a great application that stands out and even more so if the circumstances surrounding her are challenging. Everyone can come up with the anecdotal story about that one person who defied the odds (remember it’s a holistic process and test scores may help qualify you but as you go deeper in the process their importance is diminished). The best students in the country of all ethnicities will be applying. Allow yourself some reaches that you find appealing but also find some safeties that will provide you some great opportunities as well. Agree w trying the ACT and it will also help if your leaning towards the humanities your math scores won’t be as important. </p>

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<p>I think you have great chance. You’re incredibly well rounded not to mention your incredible grades!!! You seem like wonderful candidate! And seriously, a 4 in AP Government? Thats great! That class was really hard (im still not sure what i got myself) I’m proud of you I hope you get in, y
ou definitely deserve it :)</p>

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<p>What’s a URM?</p>

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<p>SAT is low. I really don’t think you’ll get in, even with affirmative action. I didn’t get into Penn with a 2330, not superscored. </p>

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<p>URM is under-represented minority</p>

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<p>Thanks for all your advice guys! You’ve really helped to ease my worries. Anyway, I think I WILL apply to these schools (because what do I have to lose, really? Other than my dignity…hmm…) although I’ll definitely need all the fee waivers that I can get. I have a couple of safeties and matches on my list, too, so I should be okay even if I don’t get in. </p>

<p>Any advice to help me boost my chances, though? :slight_smile: </p>

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I posted this sooo long ago, but as an update: I got into HARVARD. Shows you that anything can happen. REALLY. :slight_smile:

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You do have a chance, although I would not say it is high–that said, that is true of even very qualified applicants. My daughter is a freshmen at Yale and is a URM (native). I would say overall, you both have similar scores, but hers were higher in several areas: UW 3.94, SAT 2180 (math 770), 10 AP classes, and number 2 in her class of 470. What was also in her favor was that she was from an area of the country were Yale does not get many applicants and she was a state ranked runner. Finally, her essay and personal statement really focused on Yale’s historical relationship with Native Americans, and from what I heard, it was very well received. Also, she was planning to major in a STEM, and qualified women of color are very high on Yale’s list for these subjects.

My suggestion, as I say to most, is you need to frame the conversation with Yale, in an interview of otherwise, on what you can contribute to the Yale community and how you would fit-in. I do think you have a chance, but as I previously mentioned, some of this will be tethered to the region of the country you are applying and similar applicants and the realization that some of this is just a tight numbers game—so best of luck.

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@angelonacloud I am so unbelievably happy for you!!! thank you for coming back to let us all know…this makes my day!