<p>Getting into Yale would be an absolute dream come true for me. I visited Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc. this fall and fell in love with Harvard and Yale so I would love to know if I even have a chance of getting into either of them (but if by some fluke I got into both, I would choose Yale). You see, sophomore year I got really sick. I missed most of the school year and the administration at my school actually tried to force me to drop out of school for the semester rather than helping me work through it (despite the fact that I still had A's and B's and would lose my honors/AP classes). I aslo have two documented immune deficiencies, chronic migraines and spondylolysis (a fracture in my lower back). So far in my high school career, I have missed over 1,000 classes. Despite that...
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Income: >$150,000
Location: CO, USA
Nationality: Canadian (not a permanent resident yet, applying for green card)
High School: Public, sent 2-3 kids to Ivy League in 11 years
GPA: 3.85 UW, 4.1W (I know it's low, I have taken the most rigorous courses though.)
Rank: 15/565
ACT:31 (34 English, 29 Math, 36 Reading, 25 Science, 12 on essay) (I'm taking this again on Saturday and I'm confident this will easily go up)
SAT: 1990 (ridiculously low, I know. My question for this is do I even need to send it in if I don't retake it and just use my ACT scores?)
SAT II: Took Math Level I and US History, last Saturday, expecting 750+. Taking Literature and possibly Math Level II in October.
Throughout high school, I have definitely taken the most rigorous courses, as almost all of them have been honors or AP - 4 honors freshman year, 4 honors & 1 AP sophomore, 4 AP junior year, and 7 APs senior year.
ECs- I have over 600 hours of community service logged currently and that should continue growing. I have been on the JV tennis team for three years. I have played the harp since I was six years old, have won second place and fourth place in the American Harp Society's National Harp Competitions. I performed in the 2011 World Harp Congress. I'm also applying for the YoungArts program. At school, I'm involved in National Honor Society, Key Club, Mock Trial, Link Crew and FCCLA (lettered). I started French National Honor Society this year and am Co-President. I'm also a chapter officer for DECA (Director of Competitions), placed seventh in the State and qualified for internationals in DECA. I have a part time job at the Yard House.
Both counselor rec and teacher rec should be amazing and I was thinking I would use the easy to explain my unweighted GPA and talk about perseverance... Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I want to complete a double major in business and psychology and then go on to law school. Thanks!</p>
<p>“So far in my high school career, I have missed over 1,000 classes.”</p>
<p>^^^ As that fact may appear on your transcript, or may be mentioned by your guidance counselor in their Secondary School Report, your teachers are really going to have to write proactive, stellar comments stating that you are – despite those missed classes – one of the absolute best students they have ever had. MIT has a great resource for students and teachers on what is needed for top recommendations: [Writing</a> Recommendations | MIT Admissions](<a href=“http://mitadmissions.org/apply/prepare/writingrecs]Writing”>How to write good letters of recommendation | MIT Admissions). Best of luck to you in the admissions process.</p>
<p>You do need to bring up your test scores. You should NOT use your essay to explain your unweighted GPA – your guidance counselor letter should do that. I also think it would be a near-miracle if you can pull off an original essay about perseverance. Although there may not be many people in your high school who have had to tackle school work in the setting of dealing with illness or other adversity, there will be plenty of applicants every year with similar stories. Your essay should be about something that you are passionate about, and/or something you have thought about. (I’m not saying it’s impossible to write a compelling, original essay about handling an illness, but it’s not easy.) Good luck!</p>
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<p>Read the Y policy for score reporting carefully:</p>
<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions - Standardized Testing | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/faq/standardized-testing]Frequently”>Standardized Testing | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>The ACT can substitute for the SAT + Subject tests. But, if you want to send the ACT and your Subject tests, you need to send your entire SAT record.</p>