@fizzy110, yes, he’s a freshman at Yale. He applied SCEA and we were over the moon happy that he was accepted. Nothing so far has diminished our happiness. I wish you luck; it is a wonderful school, but if you’re a credible Yale candidate, you will have a number of acceptances to great schools.
OK, no Yale interview, yet I live in the DC metro area which must be crawling with alums. Do they pre-screen? Thank you.
They definitely don’t pre-screen. DC may be crawling with alums, but it’s also probably crawling with applicants.
@melissawilliams Is it possible to get an idea of your stats? For example, sat scores, gpa, and extracurricular. I just want to compare. UGH march hurry please!
@ackack, there must be a thousand replies from people who know saying that the interviews are assigned randomly. Occasionally there’s a special interview requested, but for 99% of the applicants, it’s determined by availability of interviewers, time constraints, and randomness. I know nothing about it myself, so I just take what the people who know (Tperry1982, gibby, T26E4, etc.) have to say.
Good luck.
@chal123 All my stats are posted in detail on the Harvard SCEA decision page (which you can see if you scroll down in my replies). URM, 2240 SAT, 710 history, 780 lit, 630 bio (lol). I applied with a 4.0 but it recently fell to a 3.98. Weighted GPA is a 4.69, but that must have gone up. ECs include editor of the newspaper, captain of mock trial, captain of debate team, quiz bowl team, president of NHS, etc. worked over the summer at a retail store. In the IB program.
I don’t really think this happened because of stats though (since many have way better stats). It probably was the essays and EC involvement, since those are where my strengths lie. I definitely appreciate that these top schools seem to care more about who you are as a person than what your test scores are. Wish you the best! 
LOL The visual on this… 
Thanks for responses. I get that interviews are not guaranteed, etc. and that it is dependent on the availability of alums. It’s just been my experience, 11 interviews in, that there is no shortage of alums of elite schools in my area, and I wondered whether Yale had some different philosophy with respect to assignments.
Yes, while all of the Ivies have different early action decision dates, they all release regular decisions on the same date, called Ivy Day. Trust me, lots of drama on that day as students count down to 5:00 EST. Some schools have e-mails that go out, others have a link. Yale applicants log into their Eli account and click - the coveted singing Bulldog shows that you are in. It was extremely stressful watching my D click on the link last year so I know how each of you feel.
Good luck. It is getting closer!!
I interview in the DC area and we try to do as many as we can. No we do not pre-screen but the Director of our alumni group schedules them as he gets them and if there are alumni available. There are plenty of successful applicants without interviews so don’t stress.
Good luck.
@Tperry1982 can you tell us how much the interview weighs in the decision?
It depends on the kid. Yale really does use a holistic approach. For a kid that is on the bubble with the admissions committee, it may tip the scales one way or another. If the kid is a definite NO or YES, I doubt that anything the interviewer says will change the outcome. But, when we do training, we have been told that sometimes the AdComs wait to see if the interviewer has the same impression of the student that they have from the paper in front of them. Sometimes this helps them in their decisions.
But, since every candidate is a unique package, the interview is just a piece of a very large puzzle.
If you’ve had straight As and A+ all through high school (school doesn’t rank or send GPA and then a B- in BC Calc, will that single factor affect admission?
@pipsicle, yes, that single factor will affect admission. Because, haven’t you read that Yale will only accept 4.0 students? I’m (I hope obviously) kidding.
Yale does holistic admissions. A B- in BC Calc will not get you denied, nor will it get you accepted. Relax.
Thanks @IxnayBob! Stressful days, these. Every little bit helps!
@tperry1982 Thanks for the response. Am hopeful that I hear of an interview soon, even though I know that they are not required, because I think, based on my application, that I am not an obvious no or yes.
I really don’t know whether to be reassured by the use of the holistic approach. On chance threads people on here are so fixated on test scores and grades. I thought the holistic approach meant a mediocre student (let’s define mediocre as a B/1800-2000 SAT), with “outstanding” extracurriculars and an amazing personality etc, has just as much of a chance as an A+ student with a 2300-2400. I’m always so confused when someone with a 2100 is told that they have no shot whatsoever at an ivy or other top school.
Perhaps it’s just a matter of the competition, as many kids these days have both 2400’s and great personalities/extracurriculars. I guess I’ve answered my own question, but I still don’t know what to think of holistic admissions.
@fizzy110, I think you are exaggerating the holistic aspect. I’m sure that it is exceedingly rare that a B/1800 student is accepted, regardless of their personality and ECs, much less their having the same chances as an A/2300 applicant. What we are trying to dispel is the thought that a B in sophomore German means you might as well forget about any Ivy acceptances.
Btw, only 300-400 get 2400s each year.
@IxnayBob
Haha “B in sophmore German”, that actually clarifies things a lot. I’ve also applied and been accepted at top schools in the UK, and found that experience a lot less intimidating because UK admissions has the reputation of being purely grades based, and you know quite clearly beforehand if you have any chance or not. I guess the processes are really not that different, if you have the grades you have a chance. Except in the U.S, since it is more competitive (largely due to limited space), schools are more concerned with who the student is beyond academics, and what they can contribute to the school’s community etc.
@fizzy110 Holistic admissions means that it’s possible for that 1800-2000 SAT kid to be admitted. But statistically, they are few and far between. It’s just the nature of the huge pool these days. You can be pretty assured that if Yale chooses an 1800 SAT kid, that person has something SPECTACULAR to add to campus life – because he or she is literally the 0.5% out of the hundreds of other rejected 1800 SAT students who were fantasy applicants.
“2100 is told that they have no shot whatsoever at an ivy or other top school.” That’s an over-reach statement. Period. There is a shot – albeit a very small one. But better than that 1800 SAT kid, you can be 100% certain of that.
And you can also be assured that the 2400 kid who is rejected has been found wanting in some fashion in the grand scheme of things. You may be unsure of the process but put yourself in the admissions’ shoes. Do you just put everyone’s stats on a massive spreadsheet and make offers to numbers 1 through 2000? Holistic admissions sadly, draws its roots from efforts to discriminate against Jews and gay men. However, as the Ivies came out of the darkness of the “old-boy” networks – it’s been a remarkable tool to, in my opinion, bring these schools into the forefront of higher education. Think about it: why do YOU want to go to Yale? Because it has a large endowment? Great resources? Or because it gathers together an amazing student body? I’d suspect the last is the most salient, especially for you as a undergraduate consumer. I think the “issue” you have may be the subjective nature of it and the many factors that are unquantifiable – that’s valid. But it doesn’t mean it’s not been stupendously successful for schools like Yale and its peers.