<p>My DREAM school is yale and as a sophomore Im trying to build up my application as best I can. I feel I am well rounded but looking for suggestions to improve my chances?!</p>
<p>-Female
-Hispanic
-medium size public high school
-current gpa W 4.3 UW 4.0
-taking all ap course load next year
-president of youth and government delegation
-applying to be on california youth Supreme Court
-applying to compete in national judiciary competition
-jr. auxiliary at local hospital (on board as well)
-California scholarship federation officer
-200+ community service hours since freshman year
-mock trial </p>
<p>If you can call yourself a “White European” Hispanic who has enjoyed many privileges in life, start prepping now to try to get a 33 ACT or 2200’s on the SAT. Be in the top 5% of your class unless you attend a top high school with lots of high achievers. Apply for collegiate summer or after school programs designed for under-represented minorities. Try to do something extraordinary and/or unique above the school level. The Wow! factor counts a lot at Yale. Volunteering with little kids at a local center doesn’t count for much. Winning an Intel award or singing in the All-City Junior Opera would be more impressive. If you come from a low income family, apply to Questbridge. Clearly, an Hispanic whose parents never went to college and are poor is going to be evaluated differently than an Hispanic from a professional family background. If you can’t move heaven and earth, consider great schools right below the Yale level, such as Brown and Penn, for early decision.</p>
<p>Beware of having a “dream school” in only sophomore year. Speaking from experience, junior year changes you A LOT, especially if you are taking all APs. You may find that you will have different intellectual wants/needs in a college coming out of it. Also, take the time to really visit as many colleges as you can, because what you find on each campus may surprise you. For a long time, my dream school was Oberlin, and I was determined not to go an in-state school and thought that the Ivies were too snobby and elitist for my liberal, WOC self. THen I visited Oberlin at the end of junior year, found that it was a horrible fit, and ended up liking Wesleyan (in-state). Now I have been accepted at Yale, and it is currently my number-one choice. Things can change so much in 1 or 2 years, so please don’t load yourself down trying to get into one school. It may turn out that Yale really is right for you, and in that case, go for it. But my advice is don’t focus too much on any one school right now. I always cringe when I see younger high-schoolers getting themselves worked up before their time.</p>
<p>Do the things you are doing as well as you can. That’s really the advice for all questions like this. I agree that it’s best not to have a dream school at all–instead, develop a strategy (but it’s too soon even for that, except for do the things you are doing as well as you can). Keep on being Hispanic, of course.</p>
<p>Agree with Hunt but it would be helpful if you could convince your parents to move to Wyoming. What is is about Yale that you find attractive? The size? The urban campus? The suite/Residential College living system? Rather than think about what you could do to get into Yale, spend your time finding a range of schools with those desirable attributes so you know you can get into somewhere that will make you happy.</p>
<p>Be careful with the use of “dream college.” I didn’t have a dream college until after my acceptance letters.
But anyways, as for my recommendation, just be passionate about something. Invest yourself in your activities. Don’t think that the GPA or the number of activities on your application will be your golden ticket into colleges. Quality over quantity!
And as for the previous post, yeah, New Haven is an interesting place. It grows on you, though. :)</p>