<p>I am an African-American female at an urban public highschool (in the gifted megnet) in Los Angeles but I am from an upper middle class family. My stats are:</p>
<p>Academics:
-ranked in top 2% out of 990
-mostly A's with the exception of two B's (in SPanish freshman year and an indepedent study life skills class)
-SAT I
<em>first time: 1340 (680v, 660m)
*second time: 2250 (790m,790v,670w)
-SATII
*Biology: 730
*US History 770
*will take math 2c
-APs
*Spanish 2 (oops)
*US History 5
*Eurpean history 5
*Biology 5
*English Literature 4
*to be taken:
*</em>AP Calculus AB
*<em>AP Economics (will take two AP tests)
*</em>AP Psychology
*<em>AP Government (will take two AP tests)
*</em>AP English Composition
-Honors filled the rest of my schedule with the exception of Spanish (not offered in honors) and my PE classes</p>
<p>ECs
-captain of the soccer team 2 years (only freshman on varsity since freshman year)
-Jack and Jill (cultural/service organization)
*member since age 9
*treasurer 2 years
*parlimentarian 1 year
-Science Bowl
*on team 3 years
*captain 2 years
-member California Honor Society
-member California Scholarship Federation</p>
<p>Summers:
-before 9th grade Traveled through Europe playing with soccer team
-before 10th grade Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth summer program in Maryland
-before 11th grade UC COSMOS summer program at UC Davis
-Before 12th grade
*job as office clerk 2 days a week
*internship at USC Keck School of Medicine assisting with research 3 days a week</p>
<p>Volunteering- 250 hours
-Test Sucess Tutoring underpriveleged youth
-Cooking for homeless
-Ronald McDonald House
-many small projects with Jack and Jill</p>
<p>Awards Received
-national merit commended student
-national acheivement commended student (as of now)
-Who's Who Among American Highschool Students (know it doens't count for much)
-Second All-League Soccer team (2 years)</p>
<p>I know Yale is a "reach" for everyone but I am trying to decide whether I am qualified enough to apply EA. Any comments/suggestions would be helpful.</p>
<p>At my school no one ranked under 13th has ever gotten into an Ivy I am ranked 15th (the highest an African American has ever been reanked). Last year the valedicatorian at my school got wait-listed at yale. Do you still think I have a 70% chance? Is there anything I could do this year to increase my chances.</p>
<p>Get to know the adcoms at the different schools. Do they visit your school? If not, find out who they are in your area and contact them. I think you are in everywhere too.</p>
<p>Representatives of various colleges visit high schools and talk up their schools. They also represent areas. For example, where I live there is a representative of Yale. He interviews various candidates. Find out who represents Yale where you live and contact this person.
Go to <a href="http://www.yale.edu%5B/url%5D">www.yale.edu</a> Then go to admissions and look for the contact person. They will tell you who represents Yale in your area.</p>
<p>There were two upper-middle class (actually they are rich) African Americans from my kid's high school who graduated with similar stats. They applied to the UCs, USC, Penn and Stanford. In at all the schools.</p>
<p>"Mini do you think I should apply to Yale, my #1 choice, EA"</p>
<p>If it is your top choice, why not? You can still apply elsewhere when you get in (it is not binding ED) and make your decision in the spring; alternatively, after December 15th, you're done!</p>
<p>Do you need financial aid? If so, even if you are admitted SCEA at Yale, you should put in the applications to other schools. Then, WHEN you are accepted at all of the rest, you'll be able to compare offers, and use that leverage with Yale in the hopes of plying more out of them - it usually works.</p>
<p>Unfortunately I don't think I am eligible for financial aid. If I am it would be for a very small amount. I keep telling my parents to declare bankruptcy but for some reason they are reluctant:)</p>
<p>SCEA stands for "Single Choice Early Admission" - basically, it allows you to apply to ONE school, and get an answer in December, but not be bound to attend it. Some schools (like Yale) have it in place of Early Decision (it was a way they could try to get a leg up on Harvard.)</p>
<p>Anyhow, if it is your first choice, even if you aren't sure, it's fine, because it is non-binding. Over four years, Yale will set you back about $190k, give or take, as well all the other top privates. Berkeley in-state should be around $90k (before state scholarships) - DStark will have a better sense of that.</p>
<p>Sewcurious, they were offered a free ride at USC, I believe (I heard this second hand). They are going to Stanford. No need based aid. I am not aware of any scholarship offer from Stanford.</p>
<p>I don't believe they were offered a scholarship to go to Berkeley.
They also applied SCEA to Stanford. </p>
<p>Berkeley has many scholarships but most go to people that need money. That doesn't sound like you.
You may get a regents scholarship but if your family makes money over a certain amount the scholarship is only worth $1,000 a year.</p>
<p>I do know somebody that was offered nothing from Berkeley and is going to UCSB on a full scholarship. It is also easier to get money from UC Davis.</p>
<p>I bet there are tons of schools that will offer you money.</p>