@ccshiyun07 I am sure you had a very interesting essay
@ccshiyun07 - when you say you are a “prevalent musician” do you mean that you perform a lot? What instrument do you play? Are you auditioning for the Yale BM as well as BA program? Your international background sounds interesting. Does it have anything to do with your music training? Have you applied SCEA to Yale? Best of luck!
@Cariar I wrote about my background and how that inspired my love for traveling in one of my supplementals but I wrote about one time when I played music for the deaf/ (wore hearing aids) in my common app.
No, although it can make an interesting essay.
That’s an EC, not a hook, and “prevalent” is probably not the adjective you want.
I’m a purist, so to me a hook is: you were either born with insane athletic ability/as a URM/into a family that has legacy and/or donates a lot of money to the school and/or are celebrities.
@zoebrittany Music would be my main extracurricular or “spike” I’d say- I play the violin- I’ve played in a masterclass with the Royal Philharmonic in London (1 of 4 students: the other three are from Paris, London, and Beijing) and I’ve also been a member of a national youth orchestra and a student of a conservatory precollege program for 6 years (I didn’t name the conservatory for confidentiality reasons)- I am planning to audition for BA MM program but I am more concerned about getting into the college first. Would my background and music be something that MIGHT make up for low test scores?
@ccshiyun07 - If you prefer to PM with your test scores rather than post them here, feel free. This is the first year that Yale is offering applicants the opportunity to apply to a combined BM and BA program. For current Yale students (like me), we have to wait until we are juniors to apply to the School of Music. You sound like an accomplished violinist, but there is no shortage of them in my class - and they also have stellar stats, letters of recommendation, great essays, community service records, as well as many years of study in pre-college conservatories, time spent in prestigious summer music programs and even international competition awards. Up until this year, musical applicants had to first pass the college admissions hurdle and then have our musical skills evaluated (via supplemental video) by the undergraduate music faculty. My guess is the latter function will be performed this year by the graduate violin faculty (if you are applying to the combined BA/BM program), but you will still have to pass “muster” academically to get into the college.
Don’t give up hope. Literally just got contacted yesterday for an interview tomorrow - over the Thanksgiving vacation (and have lots of family in, ugh!!!). Point is, I think they are going to be rushing to get a bunch in before Dec.1.
I also just got contacted today for an interviewed over the weekend! So excited!
Got my likely letter from Yale today!
Sorry for flexin’
I am jealous! @FatErg
Are you an athlete?
@FatErg Can you post your stats?
@FatErg that is great, congratulations!!! Are you an athlete?
Congrats! @FatErg
Please share the core message of the LL.
Who else can’t wait three more weeks lol 
I assume that @FatErg is both a recruited athlete and outside of United States (based on likely letter arriving on Thanksgiving)
Hey everyone,
I apologize if my last post came off as narcissistic or rude, I was just trying to get the ball rolling on this thread. I’ve been given an incredible opportunity and have been very lucky throughout the recruiting process.
In terms of academics I’m nothing special. My grades/GPA are very weak compared to other athletic recruits I have spoken to, so keep that in mind. My SAT is 1350 (660 R&W, 690 Math), and Junior year academic average was 90%.
Regarding the Likely Letter, it had a pretty simple message; they gave me application a “likely” status; they expect me to maintain my grades up; and that they don’t see me as an “athlete”, but rather someone who can add to the community at Yale.
Thank you everyone for the congratulations, I wish everyone applying to Yale the best of luck!
Congrats @FatErg !! And no, you did not come off as narcissistic at all
Ok, I have a question to ask you guys. So I have legacy at Yale (Grandfather, Uncle, Great Uncle, Cousin) and my Dad went to the business school, do you think this will help? Or no? Because I’ve heard that unless a parent went there undergrad, legacy has little to no impact.
GF at the college and dad at business school are both counted, uncles and cousins not.
Legacy has little impact even if it is a parent. Although the 20% admit rate for legacies seems high, these students are not typical of the applicant pool and are self-selected by highly educated parents who value education and typically have socioeconomic advantages that translate into higher objective stats. Without question, applicants with legacy at Yale get admitted to Harvard and Princeton at a higher percentage than the general admit rate and visa versa.
Question to interviewers who can shed some light into the application evaluation process. Does Yale use a first reader and second reader sheet? or do they weed out applicants with low scores and evaluate the ‘qualified’ pool? or something else entirely?