http://nypost.com/2016/02/07/former-yale-admissions-officer-reveals-secrets-of-who-gets-in/
Great Article!
Hey y’all due to severe family circumstances that I’m going to explain in my midyear report (counselor will too) I got a C and a B in my 4 AP course schedule this trimester. Does this basically screw me out of admissions at HYPS or will the explanation work out? I’m otherwise a straight-A student and working hard to get all A’s by the midpoint of this trimester and send that over to regular schools and to Yale if it decides to admit
No one here actually knows. It’s all up to the admissions officers…all of us have our fates in their hands.
Also, can anyone give me their opinion on something? I have a two day final right when admissions decisions come out. The first day of it is December 15th and the second is the 16th. Should I wait to open my decision? I don’t know if I have the amount of self restraint to, but I don’t want to bomb my final because of a negative outcome in the admissions process 
What would you do if you were in my position?
@yalehopeful017 I’m in the same situation. Will probably open it the night of the 15th after I’m through with studying or something bc I don’t think I could take 2 finals on the 16th without knowing the decision. I would be so distracted… I’d end up bombing my finals anyway if I tried to restrain myself!
I think you’d bomb finals crying. I would wait until finals are over.
If I understand correctly, you take part 1 of your final the 15th. See how it goes. If you feel your performance suffers because it’s all you can think about, then risk it. However, I’d suggest a disconnect if possible (i.e. drown yourself in review books, study sheets, and AWAY from the internet) for like that night. And think of seeing the result as your reward.
I know I’m definitely trying to finish all my other apps before the 15th because I’m gonna lose a lot of motivation the 15th 
My daughter has a similar issue. She has an AP Bio exam the morning of the 16th. It will be hard for her to resist looking at the Yale portal once the decisions come out. Any way it goes admit/deny/defer it will be hard for her to focus on her bio test. I wish Yale wouldn’t release the decisions until the 16th when most schools go out on winter break.
Yeah I agree, the timing must be really stressful! Do most schools release decisions from the early round on December 15?
Also, I got contacted for an interview (yay 
) Does anyone have any advice for how to prepare, or what questions the alumni might ask?
@chelliosiro How did they contact you? Did they send an email first or did they call directly?
They haven’t contacted me yet and I’m really worried
Talking about interviews, has any international student been contacted for the interview?
did you all get that email from Yale? the one about the campus reaction to the election?
@technogirl21 yes! i got so scared when I saw it in my inbox
@chelliosiro I think everyone’s interview is different, but the only question I wasn’t prepared for was “What is one thing that only you could bring to Yale?” I think I handled it fairly well, but I was pretty much grasping at straws. Pretty much standard interview questions other than that: why Yale, extracurriculars, why are you interested in your major, etc.
People tend to get out the 16th??? Our standard is the 23rd (full day) which isn’t even special this year because it’s a Friday but I think most early dates are December 15th (NYU is)
Thanks everyone for answering my question! If you’re in a situation similar to mine, good luck!
From what I’ve seen, most schools say mid December…but don’t necessarily provide a date. So it’d be around the 15th
@artetc yes, they sent me an email and didn’t call me directly. I think you still have time, I’m sure there is an alumni assigned to you they just haven’t had a chance to contact you yet.
@artetc I’ll be frank with you. It’s Nov 19 and the odds of your getting interviewed are slim at this point. Write ups are due on Dec 1st. Either your area ran out of volunteer slots (which are randomly assigned) or you were assigned to an irresponsible volunteer.
But as been oft-repeated, that’s not a detriment to your application. Don’t let it worry you. Trust me.