What are my chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Dear All,</p>

<p>I would appreciate any feedback possible on my admission possibility. I am from Singapore studying in a high school offering the IB Diploma Program. During my Grade 9 and Grade 10 years, my results were not that good and I was constantly getting marks around 50-75 in the Mathematics and Sciences.</p>

<p>However during my Grade 11 and Grade 12, I took the following subjects:</p>

<p>Mathematics HL Chemistry SL
Economics HL Spanish Ab-Initio SL
History HL English SL</p>

<p>I have been constantly getting 80s and high 70s and around 38-45 points which is considered very good by my school and my predicted IB score is 44 points. I realized that enough is enough in slacking and worked hard in these years.</p>

<p>I wish to do something related to Political Science or International Studies in the university and my SAT scores are pretty high (near perfect). I am the Secretary-General of my school's Political Science Society and we have participated and organized many Model United Nations conferences and we have even participated in The Harvard Model United Nations. </p>

<p>I love flying a lot and I got selected by the local defense ministry for a pilot's license program. Over the course of 2 years, I have been pushing myself to the limit by flying 3-4 times a week during the academic year and I finally have a Private Pilot's License. </p>

<p>I have also participated in the World Scholar's Cup, a very famous academic decathalon worldwide and we made it past the national round in Singapore to compete internationally in South Korea, coming in top 5 and representing Singapore. </p>

<p>I am also an active member in an organization called the Young PAP, which is the youth branch of the reigning party in Singapore, called the People's Action Party. What we do is basically volunteer ourselves to help those who dont understand politics too much by introducing them to policies and we also have conferences to discuss different issues concerning the country.</p>

<p>I like languages a lot and I can speak fluently English, Tamil (my native language), French (I have the DELF diploma {equivalent to the TOEFL but for French}) and Spanish (since I took spanish ab-initio). </p>

<p>I am also a member of my school's local newslette team for the past 2 years and we publish a record breaking number of copies each season and we write about many issues concerning the school. </p>

<p>I am also an Executive Committee Member of my school's Indian Cultural Society and I have attended many competitions in that area and we also ourselves host many competitions.</p>

<p>I also volunteer majority of the year in helping students from dysfunctional families by tutoring them in Grade 5 and Grade 6 English, Science and Mathematics for free and many of them have done very well under my guidance. </p>

<p>I also play the Sitar, an Indian classical instrument, which I have been learning for the past 2 years. I can play it pretty well and enjoy it. </p>

<p>This is pretty much my portfolio. What are my chances of admission guys? Thank you so much for your help</p>

2

<p>bump. anyone any help please?</p>

3

<p>I think it's hard for people to judge because your system is so different. It's hard to tell how your grades and extracurricular stack up to your peers.</p>

4

<p>well our system is pretty international actually. not too different from many countries</p>

5

<p>The IB is the same in all countries ;)</p>

6

<p>High 70s and 80s would spell your doom in the US. Obviously, these are considered good grades in your country. That's why I'm saying that it's hard to predict. Any idea about class rank? The activities are also hard to assess because we aren't familiar with Young PAP, World Scholar Cup, etc. and therefore don't understand how big a deal they are or what kind of a time commitment it is.</p>

<p>My concern is that you don't mention grades for 9th and 10th grade. If these are low, this will hurt you. Finally, by US standards, you have a lot of extracurricular activities, so many that it seems impossible for you to have gone as deep into any one activity as US schools like. It seems like you have, but I'm just not familiar with the programs you're involved with.</p>

7

<p>Hey thanks for the critic. Is it even possible to not mention the 9th and 10th grade marks? Also I spend up to 7hours a week on each of my ECAs. The highest points you can score for IB is 45 points and I have been getting about 44 so I would say that that is somewhat good :)</p>

8

<p>Your high school transcript must show all 4 years, which include 9th and 10th grades.</p>

<p>IB scores are only used for placement in college classes. Thus they have very little (or no) weight in the admissions process.</p>

9

<p>Gaffe, I don't think that's true at all. I have read many admissions books, including one written by a Harvard admissions officer, and IB scores (along with AP scores) have a lot more to do with admissions than placement these days. They have significant weight in admissions.</p>

10

<p>Ailey--I think having good IB or AP scores is a plus, but I don't think they have significant weight, at least not at the top schools. One reason is that not every school has IB or AP, so it's unfair to put too much weight on something that a lot of applicants don't have access to.</p>

<p>There is no way not to show your 9th and 10th grade grades.</p>

<p>Also, in the US, top applicants generally spend more than 7 hours a week on their key ECs. A lot of people have a key activity that they spend 20+ hours a week on. This is another reason why it's hard to assess your chances. Yale admissions officers probably have a sense of what ECs look like in top high schools all over the world, most people on CC just know what top applicants from their high school look like.</p>

11

<p>A 'plus factor' is probably a better way to describe it. To be precise - at the top colleges, if your school offers it, it is a significant factor (negative weight if you don't take it if offered; also negative if you do poorly; positive weight if you take it and do well), while if your school does not offer it, there is no disadvantage to you as long as you take the top level offering at your school.</p>

12

<p>Ailey--I don't mean to debate, especially b/c I have never heard a Yale admissions officer comment directly on the importance of AP/IB scores. Taking the most rigorous curriculum your high school offers--which is IB or AP a lot of places--is vital to elite college admissions. That's a given. What I'm questioning whether your AP/IB scores make that big of an impact in admissions at the top schools. I follow the Yale admissions scene closely and nothing I have seen or heard indicates that your AP or IB scores carry much weight in the process. In fact, the only place I have seen them referenced is as they relate to acceleration credits and placement.</p>

<p>You may be right, but there's a lot of uninformed (not saying that you in particular are uninformed) conjecture on these boards and I just want to clarify as best I can what I have heard directly from admissions officers, read in the YDN, and seen in the alumni interviewer newsletter over the years.</p>

13

<p>Hi guys. My teachers here have been telling us that doing the IB is a big advantage and schools like Brown University and Penn State have come here to give talks. As for my ECs, I have my two main ones, Political Science society and my flying course, both where I spend about 20+ hours per week. The rest are usually between 7-15 hours per week.</p>

14

<p>As I understand it, an applicant will have at most two out of six IB scores available for the college application, and many will have only one. Thus, it can't play that much of a role.</p>

15

<p>Hi AdmissionsAddict, you make a good point - I have not see Yale-specific commentary either about scores. I have seen admissions officers quotes from Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Duke etc about AP scores and was extrapolating from there to top colleges in general. But if people on this forum are looking for Yale-specific direction on this topic, that may well be an open question.</p>

16

<p>I am currently a high school freshman, and I possess a great passion to attend Yale University. I'll start off by giving a brief synopsis of my high school career thus far. I am enrolled in all honors level courses(Honors English, Honors Geometry, Honors Global Studies, Honors Civics and Economics, Honors Algebra 2, Precalculus, Honors Chemistry, Honors Biology,and Honors Physics). I have a GPA of 4.25. I am also a member of my school's Science Club(freshmen aren't allowed to hold leadership positions within the Science Club). Before the end of the current school year I plan to join the Student Government Association, Quiz Bowl, Creative Writing Club, Math Club, Key Club, Leo Club and the Debate Team. Also, outside of school I am a hospice volunteer. As a volunteer I am responsible for contacting a certain number of patients via telephone each week. I am ranked within the top 3 of a class of over 200 students. I plan to graduate valedictorian. I am strong academically and I consistently make straight A's. However, I am concerned with my extracurricular activities. I have the oppurtunity to attend a local magnet school for juniors and seniors who excel in the areas of math and science. I am an excellent math student, but English, history,philosophy and Cosmology are my major areas of interest. If I stay at my current high school I am sure that I will graduate at least 2nd in my class. The magnet school does not rank its student because most of them are clustered at the top. There are also more educational oppurtunities at the magnet school, and a broader range of academic courses. If I do decide to attend the magnet school it will be more difficult to distinguish myself among my peers. What should I do? How will this decision affect my potential acceptance to Yale? And what is my current standing?</p>

17

<p>You're either a very clever troll or among the most obnoxious people on the face of the planet, battleship23.</p>

18

<p>What do you mean Frankies?</p>

19

<p>I prefer CLEVER troll.</p>

20

<p>your extracurriculars seem very messy...i mean, "Student Government Association, Quiz Bowl, Creative Writing Club, Math Club, Key Club, Leo Club and the Debate Team" seems very "that ought to fill in the common application gaps"..i'd recommend focusing...</p>