Will I stand out?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

<p>Hello all! I'm making my very first post here on the CC forums, but I've lurked for a long time. I know that chance threads are usually very annoying, but I have been wanting to get a perspective on my chances for a while. I will try and summarize my record as succinctly as I can, and would very much appreciate comments!</p>

<p>So let me start off by saying that I have taken the hardest classes (AP, Honors, etc.) my school has to offer every year, and I am currently finishing up my junior year. I managed to do fine and receive mostly A's until junior year, when health problems landed me in the hospital for about a quarter of school, in between first and second semester, so it unfortunately affected both of my semester grades. After that, my above-average GPA took a nosedive, and I am currently at a 3.4 UW GPA. </p>

<p>I have taken the SAT and the SAT Subject tests, but they were only taken once for the experience, and I will be retaking them.</p>

<p>I am involved in a number of ECs, but my particular passion is public speaking. I have been president of Mock Trial for 2 years (secretary my freshman year), advanced to the state level in my debate team, and have won numerous speech contests. I am also a rather strong writer, and have won several creative writing contests as well. Other ECs include swimming (JV- 2 years, Varsity- 1 year) and innumerable volunteer hours at my church as both a leader and a lector. </p>

<p>I understand my GPA is not spectacular, and my ECs are not outstanding, but I was hoping that my hook would somehow catch the admission officer's eye. See, I'm going to be 15 years old entering senior year, and was hoping to apply to Yale Early Action. </p>

<p>I am planning on applying because I am extremely hopeful, but I am realistic about my chances at the same time. But I would really appreciate your perspectives on whether or not my hook will get them to take a second look at my application (I know my essays will wow them for sure) and whether I can convince them that I am a good student who simply faced the worst problem in the worst year. Thank you very much for your time and thoughts!</p>

2

<p>Yale doesn’t accept students who won’t turn 18 sometime during their freshman year. You’ve done a lot at a young age and it’s commendable. However, Yale’s not a place that takes the super young prodigy types.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure if you’re being serious, T26E4. But if you are, are you sure that information is correct? I know someone who was accepted at the age of 16.</p>

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<p>^ Yeah, nothing in the admissions website mentions an age requirement. This seems like something that may have been true in the past but that isn’t true anymore. College admissions is far more flexible now than before… An age requirement seems out of place.</p>

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<p>Adcoms aren’t sympathetic to younger applicants. Younger applicants are expected to have credentials that are as strong as those of ordinary applicants. Being a young applicant is not a hook.</p>

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<p>Frankly, I’m repeating something I heard *somewhere *— plz double check. Despite what someone once claimed, I’m not Jeff Brenzel! LOL</p>

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<p>I have not yet heard about an age cap but I guess I will definitely have to look into that…</p>

<p>But do you guys think I will have a chance if I emphasize the fact that I have achieved so much despite my age and health issues? Like I said, I had rock-solid grades until my hospitalization. It’s an explanation, not an excuse for my grades!</p>

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<p>You have a chance, definitely. In the end, it often comes down to being a numbers game: too many great applicants for too few spots</p>

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<p>You might have heard it from me. The Yale Admissions Officer that did the presentation for us told us that students who will not turn 18 at any time during their first year at Yale are at a competitive disadvantage in the admissions process.</p>

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<p>A 3.4 coupled with the fact that you are 15 with no interesting extracurriculars renders admission almost impossible (the operative word being “almost” before someone here eats me alive).</p>

<p>Edit: I just re-read the original post and I take back the “almost” above. No chance whatsoever, especially considering how uncomfortable you are sharing your SAT Reasoning/Subject scores. While your purported “hook” is interesting, I’ve personally known applicants with similar problems and overcame even greater obstacles (major surgery, took year off but maintained a 4.0 UW all 4 years of high school) but were straight out rejected by Stanford and Princeton.</p>

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<p>@GoldenCoast There is never “no chance” but if you must know, I got a 2150 on my SAT and 710 on my Math Level 2 and 740 on my US History tests. Like I said, they were my scores from the first attempt, so I will be retaking them for sure. </p>

<p>I posted on this forum just for different perspectives, but I still believe that I have a chance. I’m not going to break down if I don’t get admitted, but I have confidence. I also have personally known accepted applicants of a broad spectrum, and in the end, it’s much like bluecoast said- a crapshoot.</p>

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<p>Yes, there is such thing as “no chance”, but you don’t fit the bill. You don’t have much of a chance, though.</p>

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<p>Assuming there is no rule preventing your admission now at this young age (there was none years ago as I had a 16 year old freshman year roomate), I don’t see this as a “hook” at all. As many would say, the best part about Yale is your classmates and your youth may work against you as to how well you fit in and contribute to the social dynamic. If you took a year off and did something interesting you would still be younger than your entering classmates but could probably write a great essay on how you blew through high school but wanted an additional year to grow as an individual and this is what you learned from the experience. This would also give the admissions office your full senior year record to prove that your junior year grades were clearly an aberration.</p>

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<p>My niece also had a major hospitalization during her junior year. She had been hoping to get into an ivy and ended up at Notre Dame because she had legacy. It was a tough disappointment, but be realistic. Kids who have 4.0UW plus a few ECs and sports didn’t get in. Yale has an amazingly low acceptance rate and most applicants are more than qualified.</p>

15

<p>Being young for the class is not a plus for Yale and most Ivies; it will not help you, and would likely work against you. Historically, younger matriculants have had much greater difficulty adjusting to the social and academic pace of the college; you might match seniors academically, but socially you are not a senior. Sorry, I know this is not what you wanted to hear.</p>

<p>You might be a better prepared applicant if you decided to take a gap year after graduating HS, embarked on an interesting job/travel/study/service experience, and then applied when your age was a better match with the incoming class.</p>

<p>But as it stands now with you, your youth is not a hook…and is more likely a hindrance.</p>

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<p>AnotherNight, don’t listen to those people who are saying there is “no chance” for you. If you are mentally mature enough to handle university life, and can demonstrate that to Yale’s adcoms, I don’t see any reason why your age would be a hindrance to you. It actually sounds like a legitimately interesting hook to me. </p>

<p>What exactly is the definition of a hook anyway? I thought it was just something that caught the adcoms’ attention as something out of the ordinary regarding the applicant- something which your age obviously does.</p>

<p>I got a C+ both my freshman and sophomore year, and I heard the same negativity on the CC boards. I just stopped coming here and I applied, not expecting much but applying because I hoped against hope that I would be the exception!</p>

<p>Apparently I was- I don’t want to build up your hopes, but you never know unless you apply. Who knows- maybe you will be the exception! You have no idea how blessed I feel, even though I’ve known my decision for months. The fact that I was accepted still really has not sunk into me yet. Seriously, you should just apply-if you don’t get in, you will probably have tons of other great universities to choose from, and if you do, then I’m sure it will feel like a dream come true!</p>

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<p>What do we do in case of spammers? Because I just checked JMacMan’s posts and he is definitely just advertising that website.</p>

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<p>You might want to consider a couple gap years. There are a lot of elements of College life that being two or three years younger than your roommate complicates.</p>

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<p>Rosylips: Just report him.</p>

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<p>Do not apply early to Yale. You would have better chance applying RD. Work on your GPA the first semester of your senior year and if your grades go up, it will show that the drop was temporary.</p>