<p>I'm the child of a Yale alum and I have good stats -- but I know from perusing this forum that good stats are not necessarily good enough. What do y'all think about my chances at Yale, the rest of the Ivy League, and the top LACs (Swat, Wellesley, Vassar, Amherst)?</p>
<p>SAT: 2280 (800 writing)
SAT II: am taking Bio, Math II and Lit in June and expecting 750+ on each
ACT: 34
GPA: 4.0 unweighted/4.6 weighted
Rank: 1
APs: 1 in soph., 3 in junior year, 5 next year</p>
<p>For ECs, I don't really have many awards, but I am very "well-rounded": chorus for many years, an editor on the school paper, president of the honor society, Mock Trial.</p>
<p>I know that the odds are not in my favor at such selective schools, but do I at least have a shot? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>legacy hardly counts for anything...instead of a rejection, they'll appease you with a waitlist, so that your parents will still contribute money...not that I'm saying you're going to get rejected/waitlisted, though...</p>
<p>Regarding the val thing... there is a distinct possibility that I may get my first B ever (in my ENTIRE LIFE) this semester. I would still be ranked about #10 UW, and about #5 W in a class of about 700. Will my chances drop considerably if I am not the valedictorian?</p>
<p>Exigent, do you have a connection to Yale admissions or is that just conjecture? It is my understanding that being a legacy is a not-unremarkable advantage.</p>
<p>HopefulBulldog, you seem to be about as good of a candidate as one could hope to be. I'd say most of the people I know at Yale besides those who attended elite college preps were either valedictorian or salutatorian (and I believe statistically those two make up ~50% of the class) but that doesn't mean that being in the top ~1% is going to hurt you.</p>
<p>I'd say you have strong odds at Yale; if you write a compelling essay, there's no reason you shouldn't get in.</p>
<p>When you back out the 800 writing, which Yale isn't counting, you have a below average SAT score for the school. Legacies aren't given that much of a tip factor unless there's big $$$$.</p>
<p>Apply EA, but have all of your match and reach applications in BEFORE the EA announcement date of 15 Dec (appr). With solid scores and class rank, the legacy gives them a reason to accept you. Without good ECs, they also have a reason to reject you. Most likely scenario, deferred EA, then accepted or waitlisted. Waitlist is pretty much a rejection these days.</p>
<p>Suze, I've checked all the stats and my SAT scores are still solidly in the middle of the median 50% -- definitely not below average, plus I read that this year's average SAT scores took a dip, so for next year's round of admissions I'll probably stay about the middle or a bit above.</p>
<p>Yeah, I guess with odds of 1/11, it's hard to tell. Thanks for the encouragement, though (from most of you).</p>