Well, there's a 9% acceptance rate at Yale

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>...so the odds of me getting in are pretty slim. But, I suppose it's worth a shot. I'm also interested in Duke (sister currently attending, so we are financially supporting the school right now), Emory, Northwestern, UChicago, Swarthmore.</p>

<p>Heeere we go!</p>

<p>SAT: 800 CR, 700 M, 780 W
AP Scores, jr year: US History = 5; English = 5; Calculus BC = 5; Macro Econ = 5; Micro Econ = 4; Chemistry = 3
GPA: 3.95 UW
Rank: 4 out of 416</p>

<p>Jr. year courseload:
AP US History (A / A)
AP English (A / A)
AP Calc BC (B / B)
AP Chem (A / A)
AP Micro & Macro Econ (A / A)
Hon. Spanish IV (A / A)
Hon. Newspaper (A / A)</p>

<p>Sr. year courseload:
AP Physics B
AP Computer Science A
AP Spanish Lang
AP English
AP Government & Politics
AP Statistics (I might drop this in favor of a dead period to do work)
Hon. Newspaper</p>

<p>EC/roles:</p>

<p>Newspaper - Editorial Editor (10), Managing Editor (11), Editor-in-Chief (12)
Literary Magazine - Co-founder, Managing Editor (11), Editor-in-Chief (12)
WSJS Radio Internship - Host, Producer of Monthly 3-hour Teen Talk Show (9, 10, 11)
Big Brother/Big Sister Program - Youth Advisory Board member, High School representative (10, 11, 12)
Academic Team - (9, 10, 11, 12) ; Captain (11, 12)
Piano (9, 10, 11, 12) ; many awards
Global Concerns Service Club - Co-founder (10), President (11) - 100+ hrs community service
Girl's Council Service Club - (9, 10, 11, 12) - 200+ hrs community service</p>

<p>National Honor Society
Spanish Honor Society
Junior Marshal
Governor's School Nominee</p>

<p>Work experience: File manager at medical practice, summer after sophomore year; Hostess at steakhouse, June 06- present</p>

2

<p>Numbers are solid. EC's aren't off the charts but they do show depth and you have some unique things that will help you stand ount (namely, the talk show). Make sure your SAT II scores are on par with your SATI scores. Other than that, you look great. I'd say...</p>

<p>Yale - reach
Duke - slight reach
Emory - safe match
Northwestern - match
UChicago - match
Swarthmore - slight reach</p>

<p>I think odds are you'll get into Emory, NU, and Chicago plus one of Yale, Duke, Swarthmore. If you're okay with that, then just apply to those. Otherwise, I think you should add some more Ivies or top range LAC's and play the gauntlet a bit more; a few more reaches wouldn't hurt.</p>

3

<p>Thanks stambliark. My sister currently attends Duke, and I've performed equal to or better than her in high school, so I'm hoping since we're currently financially supporting the school, that one I'll be able to get into. I feel about the same as you on my chances at the schools, and I know that my EC's aren't as strong as they could be. It's amazing though, how much time these things end up taking and how difficult it is to find something that might put you on a state-wide or nation-wide level for some recognition. I honestly haven't seen any opportunity for that kind of large-scale EC while I've been in high school. </p>

<p>To abemartin, yes, I do think I have a shot. My sister was waitlisted at both Harvard and Yale and accepted into Duke, and my grades, test scores, and difficulty of courses all top hers. I haven't saved any Indonesian children, but I've made a difference in my own community and I intend to highlight that.</p>

4

<p>artcoffeejazz: remember, the EA admissions rate to yale is 17%, and the RD rate is 5.8%.</p>

5

<p>You seem really interested in communications/publications. You would be a great applicant at Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern. Have you given that any consideration, or are you not into the writing bit?</p>

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<p>jimbob- Is EA really 17%? That's awesome. The Yale admissions person who gave a talk at my school said that the average is 9%, but I was already planning on applying EA, so I'm glad that's a bit of an edge.</p>

<p>halopena- Yeah, I love writing, and I'm considering Northwestern because of the Medill School in the event that I choose to go into journalism. I don't know that I'd like to work on a daily newspaper my whole life, but I wouldn't mind getting my doctorate somewhere down the line and being able to write on my area of expertise in some news magazines or the like. I'm too interested in small business ownership and public relations to put journalism as my top choice for a possible major, but Northwestern would certainly be a good school to be at if I decide I want to pursue it.</p>

7

<p>If you are anything like your username suggests, then Northwestern would be an ideal fit. Essentially, when I visited there, the tour guide basically explained the school with those three terms (not necessarily together)</p>

8

<p>yale is overrated anyway. stick with duke.</p>

9

<p>Both have great reps with overpriced prices</p>

10

<p>I did really like the vibe of Northwestern when I visited it-- it seemed much more laid back and fun than UChicago, where everyone walked around with their heads bowed and there were hardly any posters up for things to do that weekend.</p>

<p>Honestly, the only thing going against Northwestern is the climate and the quarter system. I'm from North Carolina, so Chicago is... well, different. And I'm not a huge fan of the quarter system, but maybe it wouldn't be as bad as it sounds.</p>

11

<p>If you are concered about climate, Yale might night be a great place for you either. It snows a ton and it is very cold. I understand if you can make these acceptances because its "Yale" but I can tell you it can get pretty bad in New Haven.</p>

12

<p>Yeah, it's problematic that the schools I'm most interested in are up north. I love New England, but I also visit it most in the summertime. I don't know how important weather or the campus appeal should be in my decision, because I wasn't exactly struck with the architecture and campus of Northwestern-- it's very sprawling and lacks that really beautiful Gothic architecture that schools like Duke and UChicago boast. I'd really like a college campus with lots of old buildings, quads, green, etc.-- which is why aesthetically, Yale is so appealing. Of course I'd like to go there for other more obvious reasons, but there's just something about a New England winter with all of the grass and trees that seems better than a cold, windy Midwestern winter on a campus so integrated into the town of Evanston. </p>

<p>It's completely picky and probably terribly unimportant, though. There are all of those tiny factors like campus appeal, food, weather, housing that I just don't know how much I should care about. I love the Duke campus, but the housing is pretty awful there (I've seen my sister's dorm. It was ridiculously small) and I really don't care for East Campus, where all the freshmen live. Does it really matter though?</p>

13

<p>duke is sooo awesome. it has a beautiful campus, north carolina weather soundly beats connecticut's, it has a wonderful blend of social life and academics, and durham has a LOT of great restaurants...</p>

14

<p>There was a college fair at a nearby high school so I went to check it out. One of the colleges there was Duke. So I asked the admissions counselor why I should apply, what is different about Duke. This guy, who didn't have a great grasp of english screamed, "We have great basketball team, what more can I say." I thought I was going to pee in my pants. I took his pamphlet and now its in my college files. Great tactics DUKE!</p>

15

<p>BTW, I lived in New England for sometime. New England Winters are not full of grass and trees, they are full of snow, snow, snow, cold, and oh yeah...snow.</p>

16

<p>My sister's at Duke right now, so I've got a fairly good feel for what the student body is like. Unfortunately, it does live up to some of the stereotypes it's tagged with-- a lot of the kids are snobby, prep school elitists who were accepted largely because of family connections and wealth. However, I think you'll find that with lots of the top universities, and I'm a firm believer that you can find a niche at any college you go to. My sister doesn't think Duke is a great fit for me, because there isn't much of an indie/music scene, and I'm a fairly artsy person (as indicated by my username), but I also love school and learning, and the intellectual atmosphere there appeals to me.</p>

<p>Haha yeah, I'm not sure I should have said "grass and trees" when describing the New England winters-- what I meant though, was that a New England winter is probably a fair bit better than a Chicago winter, because Chicago gets so darn windy. I was in Chicago over spring break, and it was in the low 30's. Lake Michigan can be a real pain.</p>

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<p>abemartin...i second ur thread.
as for ur schools
emory/uchicago/northwestern/swarthmore are matches
duke is a slight reach
yale is a big reach</p>

18

<p>go for yale </p>

<p>and try to join s&b ; )</p>

19

<p>Looking at more of what you said, Penn might be a great choice. It's a great environment for artsy people (not just referring to Penn, but Philly as well). They have a cozy house specifically for writers. As for your other interests, Penn also has Wharton, and you could take a few classes there to see if business/PR is right for you.</p>

<p>Brown, Amherst, and Williams all have very artsy reputations; in fact, I'd say moreso than Swarthmore. My impression of Swarthmore is highly academic, so perhaps a bit more cold than artsy. However, I'm not particularly familiar w/ Swarthmore so I may be wrong.</p>

<p>Stanford is a bit more practical, but they do have a great creative writing program. If warm weather is a plus, definitely give that a shot as well.</p>

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<p>artcoffejazz,</p>

<p>In case you don't know, Northwestern also has a great communication school (journalism and communication are two separate schools). :)</p>