Posting for my son (accidentally had posted in SCEA thread instead! OOPS!)
**Decision: Accepted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): did not submit
ACT (breakdown): C 35 M 36 E 35 R 35 S 34 (one sitting) - can’t remember essay but it was meh
SAT II: Physics 800 Math 2 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank by academics alone but top 3 in class of 75
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics (5) APUSH (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP CS, AP Chem, AP Calc AB, Honors Latin 4, Art of the Essay (1 trimester) Literature and Neurology I and II (2 trimesters), Independent Research project (ongoing)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMS, US Presidential Scholar candidate (did not finish application to go on), Elks MVS State, Yale Book Award, Cum Laude Society (since Jr. Year), NLE Gold x2, NLE Silver.
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
JV/Varsity Basketball 2 years (Coach’s Award 2015)
JV Soccer 1 year, Varsity Soccer 3 years (Coach’s award 2018)
Varsity Swim 2 years (won championships 2017 and 2018) (Coach’s award 2018)
Varsity Rowing 3 years (co-captain 2 seasons), State champions 2016, (MVP 2017)
Club Sculling, 3 years, various regional medals
Winter Erg Camp, 2 years
SWAT leader (similar to Yale Freshman Counselors, VERY selective leadership role) 2 years
Honor Committee 2 years
Peer Tutor 3 years
Co-Founder Fall Crew team (HUGE accomplishment since it was originally against school policy to have two seasons of one sport, so he and his co-captain had to work with admin and coaches to make it work)
Big Buddy
National Latin Honor Society member
Mock Trial (captain 2017), State Finalists 2015
Many more leadership activities were mentioned by his GC on the LOR but he only listed some of them on his Common App
Job/Work Experience:
Soccer Referee (4 years, summers only)
Volunteer/Community service:
Too many to count, but only listed Peer Tutoring, SWAT, Honor Committee, Summer Club volunteer (through our homeschool co-op), Food Pantry holiday food distribution (2x a year, 4 years - since toddlerhood, actually, since this is something we’ve done since he was old enough to walk), and a few other service projects he was part of
Summer Activities:
Club Sculling, 3 years
Rec soccer, 3 years
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App Essay 10/10 - learning about culture through crossword puzzles with grandma
Engagement in community 8/10 - his role in some ECs
Write about something you would like us to know 9.5/10 - how “little moments” in life are what makes it meaningful, and how he intends to take that outlook into college as he experiences life outside his “bubble.”.
Why Yale? 10/10 in 125 short words, he was able to capture exactly what it is about Yale that fits perfectly with who he is as a person.
Short answers
What inspires you? 9/10
Who would you invite to speak? 9/10
Create a class: 10/10
Why do these (majors) appeal to you? 10/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Waived FERPA so did not read, so these are just assumptions
Teacher Rec #1: Latin teacher, mentor 10/10 (he’s known him all four years and they share deep, mutual admiration and respect)
Teacher Rec #2: Precalc/AP CS teacher 9/10 (probably closer to a 10, but she can speak first-hand of DS’s passion for Math/Physics and his self-motivation to learn beyond the classroom as well as his desire to help others by spending countless hours tutoring peers on his own, outside of the peer tutoring program)
Counselor Rec: She LOVES him, so I’m assuming it was amazing! She interviewed faculty, coaches, and administrators to get quotes from them as to who DS is as a person.
Additional Rec: None
Interview: I think this was the CLINCHER!!! His interviewer is a very influential person and was an expert in the field of a course my son is helping to pilot at his school. They spent a LONG time talking about this. His interviewer also was the alumnus who chose the book for DS’s Yale Book Award, so that was a pleasant surprise! It went REALLY REALLY well and I suspect his interview carried a lot more weight than the average alumni interview due to the person’s status. Just a hunch…
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?:A BIG YES!!!
Intended Major: Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
State (if domestic applicant): NH
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Private Day
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~ $65,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
Reflection: Since I’m writing for my DS, I will share my personal opinion: I originally did not think his essays were that strong. I had serious doubts and we had in fact discounted Yale as a possibility altogether. Going back, especially after reading the letter of admissions where it talked about the community aspect of Yale and how important it is, I realized his essays, LOR, and his lifelong pursuit of meaningful community engagement made him an ideal fit for Yale! It does often feel like it’s a crapshoot, but after going through the process with DS, I can definitely see that there is a method there that we aren’t always aware of. Colleges are definitely looking for something specific - something even they themselves don’t always know, let alone those applying! But when they see it, they recognize it, and it makes the difference between a YAY and a nay I also became acutely aware of how difficult rejection is - after all, DS did get a couple of dream schools, and they stung, A LOT. And yet, again, looking back, I can see that they weren’t the right fit even though we thought they were. Would he have thrived in those schools? Most likely - most kids do even when the fit isn’t perfect. But when you’re talking about these ridiculously low admit rates, fit often times becomes the ONLY thing that distinguishes one candidate from the tens of thousands of others. I did not fully understand that as I do now on the other side of the process.
Strengths: ECs, essays, LOR, interview all tying together showing a great fit for Yale, URM (not foolish enough to think that it doesn’t play a role, even a tiny one)
Weaknesses: Lack of national awards?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think it came down to being a qualified applicant who lived out the Yale philosophy in life, long before Yale was even considered, and that came through in the application
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted - Colby, UDelaware Honors, Hamilton, WPI, Boston College
Rejected - MIT (deferred EA, then rejected), Princeton
Waiting to hear back - Tufts
General Comments :
Be yourself! Do not change who you are just because you think it will get you into college. Everyone is looking for a “way in” instead of just being who they are and just letting things come naturally. DS had a strong work ethic from childhood and he always worked to do his best in all areas of life. He also valued others greatly and made people and connections a priority. This is who he was at age 2, at age 17, and everything in between. Faculty, counselors, interviewers, and peers would all paint the same picture of who he is because he is genuine. And that’s all you have to be - just be genuine and stop thinking so much about what you need to be to fit. Instead, think of what school will fit who you are naturally, and you’ll end up at the perfect place for you!