Yale Class of 2019 SCEA Decisions

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
41

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 - 720 CR 800 M 690 W
ACT (breakdown): 35 - 33 E 35 M 36 R 34 S
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable: 23/798
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics B (5), English Lang (5), US History (4), World History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Varsity Swimming (Two Blocks); AP Calc BC; AP Physics C: Mech; AP Gov; AP English Lit; AP Spanish Lang; AP Physics C: E&M; AP Macroeconomics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, AP Scholar with Honor. Besides that just a lot of local awards.</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity and club swimming (Captain 11-12), Science UIL, multi-instrumentalist (8), a lot of church related activities, involvement with a local Christian day camp.
Job/Work Experience: CIT and Assistant Counselor at local Christian day camp.
Volunteer/Community Service: Church, NHS (VP), mission trips
Summer Activities: Swimming, working at day camp, mission trip in Spain.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CommonApp wrote about how I felt most content while in 100 degree weather with screaming 5 year olds at that day camp and what I’ve gained from it (8/10). Yale Supplement wrote about my work ethic and used a farming metaphor to describe it. May have been to much tell and not enough show. I honestly don’t know how to rate this one, that’s up to admissions. Short takes were good. I tried to sound spontaneous, but I don’t think they made me stand out or anything.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: 11th grade English teacher, didn’t read, but I know I was one of her favorite students.
Teacher Rec #2: 11th grade physics teacher. Said a lot of good stuff about me, but he isn’t the best writer. Hope that they don’t take writing skill of recommenders into consideration. 8 without skill considered, 6 with.
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read. I’m at a large public high school, so she doesn’t know me too well.
Additional Rec: My youth pastor. Didn’t read, but I know he always has good stuff to say about me, and I hope he didn’t try to sound too formal, cause he has a really charismatic voice.
Interview: Eh. Wasn’t bad, wasn’t good. Didn’t sell myself as much as I could have.</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Physics
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public, about 800 per class. Surprisingly competitive compared to surrounding schools.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Around 100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Athlete. Not recruited, but I have contact with the coach and he wants me to swim for Yale. </p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Test scores, essays (I think?), interest and proficiency in science.
Weaknesses: Grades (My freshman year of high school I didn’t have motivation, and I had a bad run with my English teacher my sophomore year), lack of awards, lack of hooks.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I failed to “Wow” the admissions officers. I think I was a fully qualified applicant, and I hoped that my correspondence with the swim coach would help give me get over that thin line that separates accepted and deferred, but looks like it didn’t. Maybe he can help me with RD, still, though :wink:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to UT’s physics’ program! I’ll have to wait another 4 months-ish to know about any other schools though. </p>

<p>General Comments: I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but I’m looking on the bright side. Congrats to those accepted, and hopefully in April I’ll be an official Bulldog, too! If not, worst case scenario is that I end up at UT, which isn’t even that bad, haha. I’m lucky either way.</p>

42

<p>[asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2240: CR 740 M 800 W 700 (superscore)
ACT (breakdown): none
SAT II: Math II 800, Chemistry 800, Physics 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): not available
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): not available
AP (place score in parenthesis): nope
IB (place score in parenthesis): nope
Senior Year Course Load: </p>

<p>We do A levels.
Prelim Results:
GP B
H2 Chemistry A
H2 Physics A
H2 Mathematics A
H2 Economics C
H3 Pharmaceutical Chemistry Distinction</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Some science and math olympiad medals</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Chinese Orchestra (used to be Concert Mistress)
Alchemy Club (Treasurer)
Odyssey of the Mind - First in National Finals</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Tuition teacher
Volunteer/Community service: not much, some peer teaching initiatives and event planning stuff
Summer Activities: Research. Spent most of my holidays in the lab. </p>

<p>Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Main: 9 Your favourite place. I wrote about my love of elevators. I think the subject matter is creative.
About Yale: 7 I talked about Open Yale Courses. Nothing exceptional.<br>
Short takes: 7 Some very cheesy, some quite funny.
Supp: 9 About chemistry. Quite a passionate piece. </p>

<p>Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
I didn’t see any, waived rights. These are just my guesses.
Teacher Rec #1: Chemistry Teacher. 7. I know him quite well personally, though I’m not really a good student in his class.
Teacher Rec #2: English Teacher. 7. Frankly can’t really tell. I don’t know her that well though I did put in a lot of effort in her class.
Counselor Rec: 8ish, Form Tutor. Probably likes me.
Additional Rec: none.
Interview: Was decent. Very nice lady, though she was probably bored that I ramble too much lol. Very experienced interviewer. </p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chemistry
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Singapore
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender:Female
Income Bracket: 40k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Achievements, essays
Weaknesses: school grades, SAT, lack of leadership</p>

<p>Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Focus. My whole app was very much directed towards chemistry and research+teaching. I was very sure of what I want. Achievements and service hours in these areas helped a lot. </p>

<p>Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to some UK schools. </p>

<p>General Comments:
Showing passion is very important. You really don’t need to have a lot of activities, just work hard in a few areas you’re passionate about and you’ll be fine. The fruits of your labour will speak for themselves. </p>

43

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (CR: 750 M: 700 W:750 Essay 10)
ACT (breakdown): 33 (M:36 E: 35 R:34 S:28 Essay:10)
SAT II: M2: 800 Latin: 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: H. Humane Letters, H. Calculus II, H. Greek II, H. Physics II, Studio Art IV/Drama II
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): CAMWS Translation Contest Letter of Commedation 13/14, National Merit Commended</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Improv Troupe 9-12 (captain), Mock Trial (11), Concert Choir 10-12 (Historian on Choir Council 11-12), Jazz Choir (11-12), Women’s Choir (6-12), Caroling Club 12 (founder), Mentoring 10-12, Youth Co-representative on Board of nonprofit, Lead in School’s First Musical 12, Latin Reading Club 12
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered around church, tutored at school
Summer Activities: STEM boot camp, shadowed Radiologist, prepared for Senior Thesis, visited family
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 8/10, Yale essays 8/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I waived my rights so these are guesses</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: 8/10 My math teacher, who I’ve had for 5 years now. Knows me really well and that I work hard.
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 My Humane Letters teacher, also spoke very highly of me so I;m sure he wrote a good letter.
Counselor Rec: 9/10 She really loves me even though she was new this year and said she gave me a great letter. One of my acceptances mentioned how good it was.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Thought it went well, my interviewer seemed impressed by me and my interests.</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Classical Languages
State (if domestic applicant): AZ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Charter
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <15000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: I think essays and letters of rec, grades, interest in Classics
Weaknesses: Maybe test scores, lack of hooks or leadership
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have a relatively good application but SCEA is much more competitive. I wouldn’t know what to guess for the thing that got me deferred.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at Willamette University, ASU; haven’t heard back from the rest yet</p>

<p>General Comments: I tried to really show my passions and I put my all into my application. Trying to be optimistic for RD. We’ll see.</p>

44

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): did not send
ACT (breakdown):35- 34 math, 36 writing, 36 science, 35 reading
SAT II: did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7 (full IB)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 25/166
AP:
Chemistry (5)
US (5)
Language & Comp (5)

IB:
Math Studies (7)
Senior Year Course Load:
IB world topics HL
IB french SL
IB bio HL
IB chem HL
TOK
IB English HL
chorus

Extracurriculars:
dance- 14 years (Dancer of the Year)
Gay Straight Alliance (president)
Theatre- multiple lead roles (drama club treasurer)

Volunteer/Community service:
volunteer camp counselor
hospital volunteer

Summer Activities:
camp counselor

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7? The stage as the place I’m most content
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): no idea how to rate them… I picked people who really appreciate my contributions to the classroom and think highly of me, so I hope they’re good.

Teacher Rec #1: 10 probably (she loved me & thought I was super smart) Math studies teacher
Teacher Rec #2: 8?
Counselor Rec:9
Additional Rec:
Teacher: 6-8?
Successful alumna family friend: 9
Interview: 8?
I have no idea how this went for other people so I don’t have much of a gauge
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: chemistry
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type:public
Ethnicity:white
Gender:female
Income Bracket:100-200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Uncle=alumn, mom=taught in the psych department for a few years, close family friend= alumna, prominent in his field and wrote me a letter of rec, Girl in STEM, gay (is that even a hook?)
Reflection

Strengths: scores, commitment to performing
Weaknesses: GRADES/ RANK
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: scores & connections kept me from a rejection, but grades aren’t good enough
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted @ UVM, haven’t applied anywhere else

45

**[color=green]Decision: Accepted[/color=green]

Objective:

[ul]
[]SAT I (breakdown): 2330 (800 W, 760 CR, 770 M)
[]SAT II (place score in parentheses): German (800), Biology M (760)
[]GPA: 3.89 UW, 4.45 W
[]AP (place score in parentheses): German (5), US History (5), French (5), World History (4), Biology (5), English Lang. (5)
[li]Senior Year Course Load: French course at local university, 4 APs (English Lit., Art History, Physics 1, Calculus BC)[/li][/ul]

Subjective:

[ul]
[]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): music (a couple different orchestras, school orchestra is competitive, but I didn’t try out for regionals or anything like that), art (a LOT of awards, commissions, exhibitions, etc.)
[]Job/Work Experience: art-related, pretty big stuff, got a rec. from one of my employers
[]Volunteer/Community Service: art-related, nothing BIG though. some music-related volunteering, too.
[]Summer Activities: art-related programs and commissions. one summer program gave me a merit scholarship (which I included on my application)
[]Essays: VERY polished - over nine drafts for each one, with a bunch of different readers I trusted!
[]Teacher Recommendations: one was definitely good, other one may have been lukewarm…
[]Counselor Rec: definitely very good, she loves me!
[]Additional Rec: from an employer, so I got to read it - it was GLOWING. she basically said I was the most amazing and inspiring person she’s ever met!
[li]Interview: I had two - one with a professor at Yale that a family friend arranged for me, and one regular on-campus interview with a current senior. Both of them went really really well.[/li][/ul]

Other

  • []State (if domestic applicant): NY
    [    ]School Type: Public
    []Ethnicity: White
    [    ]Gender: Female
    []Income Bracket: a lot lol
    [    ]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None!

Reflection

[ul]
[]Strengths: scores, ECs, interviews, essays
[]Weaknesses: other applicants from my school had higher GPAs in harder classes! also, my volunteering wasn’t very intense.
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I worked hard, I fell in love with Yale, I love what I do, and I started thinking about college early, which allowed me to package everything together in a way that made me a really appealing applicant. Also, my parents have the money to send me to expensive art programs and live in a well-off town - I’ve faced hardships, but a lot of other things have come very easy (which no one should ever forget).
[]Where else you are applying or have already applied: YALE!
[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Be passionate. Take tests early (before senior year). Take days off to unwind. Find what you love, and show Yale how much you love it. I’m so happy :)[/li][/ul]

46

Decision: Deferred

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2380 (800CR/780M/800W/10E)
ACT (breakdown): did not send
SAT II: 770 Biology E, 760 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 100.0): 99.1
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/455
AP (place score in parenthesis): not offered
IB (place score in parenthesis): not offered
Senior Year Course Load: Intro to Calculus Honors, Physics Honors, American History II Honors, Art 12, Advanced Computer Applications, English 12 Honors, Christian Existence Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, New York State Senate Proclamation, New York State Assembly Citation

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honor Society (corresponding secretary): 11-12, JV/Varsity Soccer (captain): 9-12, Mentor for incoming students: 12, Retreat Staff Leader: 11, Tutoring in lower income area: 9-12, School community service club: 10-12, Travel soccer: 9-12
Job/Work Experience: Busboy 10-12, Camp Counselor 11
Volunteer/Community service: stuff mentioned above
Summer Activities: Soccer, Work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App- 8/10 about experience playing soccer overseas, Short Answers: 7/10 some were very strong, others were fairly weak, Additional Essay: 7.5/10 about how my mom’s experience as a child of a young mother and being a young mother inspired me to work hard
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10 teacher liked me a lot, didn’t know me too well outside of class
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 teacher liked me enough, didn’t know me too well outside of class either
Counselor Rec: 9/10 had counselor as junior year teacher, knows me fairly well
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: not offered

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): NY
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: a lot
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: SAT, grades, community service
Weaknesses: lack of amazing extracurriculars, not able to distinguish myself from the typical applicant enough
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Yale has a ton of amazing applicants
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere yet

General Comments: Congratulations to everyone accepted. I’m still a little salty but I’ll get over it. I knew Yale would’t be just handing acceptances out. Definitely don’t regret applying SCEA. To anyone debating over playing it safe or going for that reach school, go for it. Even though I didn’t get in I would have lived with regret my whole life if I didn’t try.

47

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2170 (730 Reading, 750 Math, 690 Writing)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 800 Bio, 780 US History, 740 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (4), Spanish (5), English Language and Comp (5), US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: BC Calc (Ap), AP Chem, Honors English, Spanish V, Computer Science, Acting
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Diversity club (Leader my senior year), went to Student diversity leadership conference, tons and tons of theatre in and out of school (including an acting intensive at NYU),
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Teen board leader on a local organization against social isolation that recently launched a couple of national campaigns
Summer Activities: Summer acting intensive, Archeological dig at the Athenian Agora (I was with bunch of college students it was like the most fun thing ever)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): My common app i’d give like a 7, it was just about me learning to accept criticism as a writer, it felt a little bit trite. I really liked my Yale one though, it was about a bunch of weird life lessons I’d learned being in my school’s drama program. I’d give it about a 9, it was probably the most genuine college app I wrote
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 My junior year APUSH teacher who I absolutely adored. I used to watch like a bunch of history channel documentaries in middle school and he liked me because I could throw out answers to his most random questions. An old student of his recently published a bestseller (Queen of the Tearling) and thanked him in the acknowledgements and he let me borrow his advanced readers copy.
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 My physics teacher. We both loved Game of Thrones so we bonded over that. Also again I could answer all of his random questions. I had a few not so good labs in this class so I’m not entirely sure how the rec turned out
Counselor Rec: 9/10 She wrote to my parents saying that my rec was one of her favorite ones to write
Additional Rec: 9/10 My drama teacher who I’ve known for 4 years wrote me like a character rec I guess. It’s something she does for all the students who make it to her senior class. I’m also really close friends with her daughter.
Interview: 7/10 this was sort of the wildcard. My interviewer was kinda crazy and wouldn’t stop talking about climate change and I was also just so so so nervous.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Anthropology/archeology
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Half Mexican, half White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: The top one
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I mean I’m Latina but I’m like 3rd gen and my parents are doctors

Reflection

Strengths: I’m a really good student
Weaknesses: Procrastination, bad taste in men
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I’m a really strong student and I think doing an archeological excavation + teacher recs were sort of like my strong point. I also wrote a damn good essay. But ya there probably are people who deserved it more than me.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: I decided not to apply anywhere else after I got in

General Comments:
My school is kind of like the California equivalent of an east coast prep school in terms of sending like at least 20% of the students to a top ten school each year. Out of a class of 75 two got into Yale REA, which I’m pretty sure is kind of obscene.

48

**Decision: Accepted

Objective:
• SAT I (breakdown): Almost 2300 (one sitting, junior year)
• ACT (breakdown): 35 (one sitting, junior year)
• SAT II: 800, 800
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1%—school doesn’t rank, but one of the top 3 students, possibly the top
• AP (place score in parentheses): Five 5’s, two 4’s (plus will take five more in May)
• Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous possible (and beyond highest AP level in math and one other subject)
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Yes, with very large financial award

Subjective:
• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Two main ECs, one unique and the other typical (both involving leadership)
• Job/Work Experience: Yes, extensive, paid, and unique
• Volunteer/Community service: Yes, extensive and unique
• Summer Activities: One short summer program each year (1-3 weeks), plus work involving unique EC each summer
• Essays: Very good, and main one was unique
• Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t see—probably great
• Counselor Rec: Didn’t see—probably great
• Additional Rec: Yes—great, and from foremost person in the world qualified to address unique EC activities
• Interview: Great—all interviewers were fascinated by and focused on unique EC
• Supplementary Material: Yes—examples of unique EC

Other
• Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
• State (if domestic applicant): California
• School Type: Very large public school
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Male
• Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): Upper middle class
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None (except unique EC)

Reflection
• Strengths: Unique, extremely well-developed EC outside of high school
• Weaknesses: Only a couple of EC’s at high school (little time because of outside commitments)
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Unique EC (with top level of achievement possible, either for a teenager or an adult, in various areas)—know this for a fact
• Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Harvard, Yale (early), Princeton, and Stanford—chose Stanford

General Comments: I filled this out for my son, who preferred not to have all details posted, including a fifth top-tier private school he was accepted to. My advice: Be yourself; follow your “passion” (if you have one—if not, don’t fake it); take the most rigorous course load you can; get top grades; do well on the SAT and/or ACT (aim for 2250+ on former and 35+ on latter, but no matter what, don’t take either one more than twice!); enter local, state, national, and international competitions and hope to place in some; don’t worry if you’re not an athlete; don’t get your heart set on one or two schools—keep in mind that you can be happy and successful anywhere. My son had several other less-than-top-tier schools he was very interested in and would have been happy to attend—and, because of his EC, we (his parents) actually wondered whether he should put off college or even skip it altogether. But he really wanted to go, and we think he’ll get a lot out of it (though it will slow down his EC career, as high school did). Please don’t private message me asking for further details about his EC, since he would prefer to keep that information confidential. Good luck, everyone—even with his outcome, we found this process very stressful and difficult, right up to and including making the final decision about which school to attend. The good news is, no matter where you end up, you’ll be happy the college admissions process is over!