I am looking to apply to the program next year. I am worried about my gpa. I struggled my freshman year of high school and finished with a 2.95 unweighted and a 3.2 weighted. I took 5 accelerated/honors courses and two regular. Sophomore year, I was a lot better and I took 3 aps and 4 honors. I finished with a 4.00 unweighted and a 4.72. This year as a junior I took 6 aps and 1 honors class and finished with a 4.93. As a senior I’m going to be taking 7 AP’s. I’ve taken 9 aps so far and I have gotten a 5 on every one of them except for AP Us history and AP Lit. I have a 36 on the ACT and a 10 on the writing along with a 1560 on the SAT(790 math and 770 reading). I’ve taken three subject tests; math II(800), Chemistry(780), and Physics(780). I am an eagle scout and a nationally ranked fencer. I am captain of my school fencing team and I also do debate. My problem when applying is that I have a 3.65 unweighted GPA. This is low for a lot of the schools that I am applying to. The reason for this is that in my freshman year, I had to help my schizophrenic uncle because both my parents work from 7 am to 6 pm. I am not sure whether I should address this in one of my supplements or talk about it in the interview. I also don’t know whether or not to submit by ACT or the SAT. Also, does being international and applying for aid affect my chances of getting into the school? Does it matter whether I apply in the first window or the second window of the application? Does demonstrated interest atte, and if so how should I demonstrate my interest other than making sure that my supplements are really good? Lastly should I just send my Yale Application to Yale-Nus or should I submit it through the Yale-nus portal and does it make a difference? It would also be great if anyone that has applied successfully to the school could share their Stats. I know this is a long post and I am sorry if this is formatted incorrectly, it is my first time on college confidential.
Hello!
As far as I am concerned, Yale-NUS doesn’t put that much emphasis on grades. The admissions officers will also be able to see your progress, which in my opinion could be a very good thing! Going from 2.95 to 4.0 in just a year is really impressive, so I think you shouldn’t worry about it that much, concidering how good your ACT and SAT scores are.
Also, definitely talk about your schizophrenic uncle. I think it is a story that can reveal a lot about you, especially during the interview. I’d personally address it!
I don’t think being international and applying for aid will affect your chances in any way. Or at least I hope so, because I am in the same boat.
I suppose it doesn’t matter whether you choose first or second window. That’s what the website also says. However, I would personally opt for January 15th.
I think demonstrating your interest and enthusiasm about the program could deffinitely make a difference. A way to show it is by asking questions about the college during the interview! But you probably already know that, it’s a really basic piece of advice, so sorry if what I’ve said hasn’t been that helpful.
And lastly, I would also like to know which application path is the “best” one. Sending everything through Yale saves you a lot of work, but this is an application you create for Yale and not Yale-NUS (it wouldn’t feel right to me to send my Yale-specific app to another school). An alternative is to apply to Yale-NUS through the common app, so if anybody has been admitted this way, I would love to hear their story!
Hi,
I’m an international student (I’m from India) looking to apply to Yale-NUS this year. I’m specifically interested in majoring in Life sciences. What do you think my chances are with the following stats?
SAT: 1550 (800 EBRW, 750 Math)
SAT Subject Tests: Yet to take the test
School Courseload: English, Physics, Chem, Math, Bio
(I do the ISC board, which is an Indian curriculum)
Converted GPA (weighted): 4.0 on a 4.2 scale
Current average in school: 85% (this is the bit that worries me)
Topped my school in the grade 10 ICSE Board Exams and won several merit awards for my academic performance.
Have consistently won the annual General Proficiency awards in my old school for academic achievement from 2014-2018
Extracurricular Activities:
- National level debater
- Won speaker awards and team awards in numerous local debating tournaments
- Several awards in Model United Nations, including winning Best Delegate two years in a row at Harvard MUN India
- Member of the Organizing Committee and Executive Board for several school Model UN conferences
- Learnt music for 8 years, passed several music exams (Grade 6 Musical Theatre, Grade 4 Classical Singing, Grade 3 Music Theory, Grade 3 Piano)
- Participated and won awards in several local and national level quiz competitions
- Participated in several national and global science fairs. Was one team out of 10 teams selected across India to be a part of the Intel Girls in Technology Showcase 2017
Please be brutally honest - do I have any chance of getting accepted?
@blrcollegekid24 I think your stats are impressive! Don’t worry about your current average in school - as I already said, Yale-NUS doesn’t seem to put that much emphasis on grades (and 85% doesn’t sound like a bad score to me).
Your ECs show how well-rounded you are and pertain to your desired major, which is also a huge advantage. In all brutal honesty - I think your chances are pretty high!
Of course, I am saying this from the POV of someone who is yet to apply, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. However, what you’ve accomplished is far more impressive than what I have, so I totally believe you could get accepted.
What is a “NUS” ?
@Publisher It means National University of Singapore, which is one of the founders of Yale-NUS!
Hello! USA student here. What do you think my chances of getting in are?
ACT 33
GPA (4.0 scale) 3.87 UW, 4.27 W
AP scores: 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3
Taking 5 more APs this year.
4 statewide awards in art and foreign language, 1 school-wide in community service.
I list 10 extracurriculars on my common app but am only on the board of two.
Thank you!
Hi! I’m a Korean student attending an international school in Taiwan, and I have also submitted my application a while ago. I’m a little worried if my stats are too mediocre… I touched on a wide range of activities but I’m not sure if it shows my scientific abilities enough.
1st choice major: Environmental Studies / 2nd: Life sciences
SAT: 1510 (R&W 720 / Math 790)
SAT2: MathII (800) / Chem (770; oof) / Bio (760; big oof)
ㄴI also do have SAT Chinese (740) which I decided not to submit… Kinda worried because I mentioned my foreign language abilities on the essay
Weighted GPA (4.0 scale): 3.94 (transfer, different curriculum) / 4.21 / 4.49 / 4.8 (S1)
Unweighted GPA: 3.81 / 3.80 / 3.83 / 4.0 (S1)
Cumulative GPA (G10-11 weighted): 4.35
AP: Environmental Science (5) / Statistics (5) / Chem (4; oof)
Senior AP: Bio / Calc BC / Lang&composition / Psych
TOEFL: 109 (oof)
ㄴ I didn’t submit this yet. Should I?
Only the three honors on top was included in my common app. I don’t think I ever mentioned the other honors on my essay but I did include stuff about MUN and dancing.
- Volunteer in a local weekend Korean school [G10-11] - Internship in a chem-related lab [G11] - Math tutor (+ an attempt to establish a school-wide tutoring system) [G11] - Yearbook photographer [G11] - MUN (both as a delegate and a chair) [G9-12] - Badminton club [G10-G12] - Design Thinking (a problem-solving program in our school; leader this year) [G11-12] - School newspaper writer (in charge of science articles) [G11-12] - TA (pre-calc & chem) [G12]I tried to weave my higher-grade activities into my major but I’m not sure if it will work out so well. Besides, I don’t excel in any of my academics. Do you think I can at least be shortlisted? Yale-NUS is my first choice to attend…
Has anyone who apply in Round 1 got an interview invitation?
Thanks
@Cly2019 @kaikys
Has anyone got an interview invitation for Round 1?
If yes, when did you send in your application?
@maddy09 Not me 
Is 2020 interview is still running? I haven’t heard anything from Yale NUS, I guess that I have no chance to get in???
no interview means you are not getting in. i didn’t get the interview too. sad.