Yale University Class of 2022 SCEA Decision Results

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1

Good luck to everyone! Only a few more days!!!

Please replace the “[a” below with just “[” before posting.

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred [/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments :

MODERATOR’S NOTE:
This thread is for results only. Posts without results will be deleted.

2

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1580, 6/6/6, 1 try
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Bio M, Chem, Math 2 (all 800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/555
AP (place score in parenthesis): All 5s. Bio (8), APES/World (9). Physics C x2, Calc AB, Euro (10), Calc BC, Chem, Eng Comp, APUSH (11)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Honors Geology, hands-on animal science course (alpacas are mean), AP Stat, Eng lit, Bio, and Macro/government (1 semester each) Note the “only” 4 APs! This is low at my school and you do not need 6 or a language for guaranteed admission.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Physics Oly semifinalist (no score, they lost my school’s tests in the mail), National AP scholar, national merit commented (1 point short), Coca-cola semifinalist (NOT REPORTED, arrived too late), CSF life member/co-president

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Animal Rescue Club (founded, raised 1000 bucks in bake sale money), Tabletop Games Club (7 hours leading D&D a week), Arts magazine (poetry editor), Gay-Straight Alliance
Job/Work Experience: 2 years summer work at camp (mostly unpaid)
Volunteer/Community service: Animal shelter (250 hours+ 2 hour commute)
Summer Activities: difficult to get into free field research program, COSMOS, USDA AgDiscovery (another free program, they pay for lodging and activities for 2 weeks and it focuses on animal and wildlife science)
Common App (rating 1-10, details): 8/10, Wrote about a turning point in my life and used vivid detail.
Short takes: 9/10—Very strong.
Short answers: I feel like these were great writing but weak overall, maybe a 6/10 (slightly above average Yale app essays)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10—my English teacher said she mentioned how genuine I was and how I pursue what I enjoy, not what colleges want.
Teacher Rec #2: Probably a 8/10—haven’t read, but he said he mentioned my meme page so really it should be around and 11.
Counselor Rec: Probably around a 7/10—she said she enjoyed writing my letter and we know each other pretty well.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Pretty good, maybe a 6 or 7/10 compared to the average?

Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: Ecology, Environmental studies, Geology
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public, small program nestled on a huge campus.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 100-150K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection

Strengths: Academics, recommendations, summer programs
Weaknesses: Essays, extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments :

Hello future generations! In a few days, this thread will no doubt be littered with dreams, those fulfilled and crushed alike.

I would like to leave my reply with a warning: do your best not to go further. While these threads are a valuable resource, you will no doubt look at the bright green accepted students with envy or sorrow. “How could they be so good?” “I don’t have a fraction of these awards.”

You will proceed, like the stressed applicants before you, to 2021, 2020, and 2019. There will be glimpses of hope-- seemingly “average students” that get in, but you will leave each thread with stress.

Please limit your exposure to these threads, as well as college prep sites in general. I did not, and it made the SCEA wait that much harder. Remember confirmation bias-- acceptances are more likely to be posted. Remember that all of these awards don’t mean anything if you aren’t what they need that year or the admissions officers didn’t have coffee that morning.

I got in because I pursued what I loved—you don’t need Intel awards or all-state orchestra seats. If you can express that in your own way on your essays, you have a better shot.

This process is chaotic, heart-breaking, and most importantly out of your control.

Good luck.

3

**Decision: Deferred **
Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 35 C (36 E, 35 R, 34 S, 33 M, 12 essay/36 writing)
[I also took it one earlier time and got a 33C with a 27 S & all other subscores identical lol oops]
SAT II: 800 (US History), 750 (Math II)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (~98-99)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/269
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (5), APUSH (5), AP Spanish Lang (5), AP English Lang (5), AP Calc AB (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Macro (1st sem), AP Micro (2nd sem), AP Stat, AP Psych, Gov, DE Sociology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Scholastic Writing Awards National Gold Medalist for personal essay, National Finalist in MIT Inspire humanities research competition (one of six literature finalists selected nationwide), Four-Time Regional Gold Key for Writing, National Merit Commended, AP Scholar with Distinction

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (I’m copying & pasting these from EC section of my Common App verbatim… just with specific names taken out for anonymity)

  1. Editor-in-Chief of [an International Youth Literary Journal]: Run an international online literary magazine with submissions from 30+ states & 24+ countries. Manage 35+ staff members from California to Singapore
  2. Head Prose Editor for [Mid-size international lit journal]: Oversee and train a staff of ten prose readers for an international literary journal. Direct the evaluation of hundreds of submissions for publication
  3. Creative Writing: Write my own poetry, fiction & creative nonfiction. Notable publications include National Poetry Quarterly, Hypertext Magazine, Hypernova Lit, etc.
  4. Docent at the Guggenheim Museum: Engage visiting families in the children’s art studio, working with staff teaching artists to design educational activities based on featured exhibits
  5. Blogging for [two more lit journals]: Interview professional writers & help direct outreach for [one mag]. Review written submissions for [the other] and help develop their creative blog content
  6. Classroom Assistant at [Literary Nonprofit]: Helped teach creative writing workshops for local kids through an urban literary nonprofit, assisting students to create portfolios in multiple genres (Summer)
  7. Intern for the Poetry Society of New York: Managed blogging, social media & outreach for The Typewriter Project, a series of urban literary installations aimed to promote literary arts in NYC (Summer)
  8. Political Activism: Led outreach for Democratic senate campaign (11) & contribute to the editorial staffs of political publications, such as The Progressive Teen (11-12)
  9. President of National English Honor Society: Coordinate writing projects for members (school posters, book lists & writing competition submissions), as well as volunteer literary activities
  10. Debate Team Captain, Summer Lab Camp Counselor: Led new school debate team in argument research & strategy. Coached a policy debate lab at Hunter College & volunteered to judge monthly tournaments (10-11)

Job/Work Experience: I was a paid math tutor but I don’t think I put this on the application
Volunteer/Community service: Most of my stuff in the ECs lol
Summer Activities: Guggenheim, taught writing workshops, editorial intern, coached debate, etc
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App – 9.5/10; a little sentimental, a little poetic, a little feminist, and a lot nerdy, so very me
Why Yale – 9/10; basically talked about different humanities opportunities at Yale & resources I would take advantage of/programs I would participate in
Short Answers- 9/10, too short to tell much, but talked about the NYC subway/Virginia Woolf/feminist political writing/2000’s pop/political comedy marathons, which I felt were all important parts of who I am (??)
Excitement from learning- 9.5/10, I loved this one lol but I talked about a poem that my AP Spanish teacher read us about the non-linearity of time & tied it into the theme of the research thesis I did that was awarded by MIT
Something else you’d like us to know - 9.5/10, about working at the Guggenheim even though I’m terrible at making art (& learning how to embrace imperfection/vulnerability)
Why you picked what you wanted to study- 8.5-9/10, English/history/sociology, talked about how language can be used to make us more empathetic people but can also be abused politically to marginalize certain groups (i.e. refusing to recognize indigenous languages) & wanting to study these contradictions

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): The dean of one of my safeties said they both spoke to the fact that I was a “gifted writer," which is all I know for certain, but if I had to guess…

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10, APUSH teacher, she said that my writing was PhD level & that my papers for her class were publishable. We used to talk about politics all the time & now that she’s retired she’s like my little second-wave feminist mom & I love her with my whole entire heart
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10, AP English teacher, I have no idea what she ended up writing lol but obviously writing is my thing so I hope she validated the major themes of my overall application… I was also the only student to get a perfect score on one of her essays (she’s a harsh grader) so maybe that helps?
Counselor Rec: 8.5/10, Doesn’t really know me, but I was the only person from my school recognized by National Merit & I’m valedictorian, plus I gave him a brag sheet, so I hope that did the trick. I know he clipped in an excerpt from one of my APUSH papers that I was proud of & talked about my MIT award, but don’t know much else.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Probably 9/10. About an hour long. My interviewer was an English/Theater double major, very into Shakespeare, & now writes for US history textbooks. We talked a lot about humanities opportunities at Yale and our mutual interests. I think he could see me at Yale.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: I put down English on the app (with History & Sociology as secondary interests) but who knows
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nooope lol

Reflection

Strengths: Obviously really deep creative writing spike (with international ECs & national writing/research awards), GPA, ACT, AP scores, probably essays/teacher recommendations
Weaknesses: No hooks at all (white Jewish girl from NYC), Yale’s only accepted one student from my school (salutatorian 2 years ago), and little things (math/sci curriculum could’ve been harder – no AP lab science/AP Calc BC; SAT II Math 2 was a little low; two humanities recs)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t know. I really thought they’d like my focus on writing. Oh well.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: SUNY Binghamton, Adelphi

Still applying RD to Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Penn, Brown, Wesleyan, Hopkins, Tufts & Vassar. Applied to McGill but waiting to hear back.

General Comments: I did what I loved to the highest degree and that’s the person I presented to the adcom. That’s all you can do. I just wish it was enough for them.

4

[a][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred [/color][/size]**

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1550, 770 English and 780 Math
SAT II: 790 History, 740 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1st Decile (top 10%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Statistics (5), US History (5), English Lang (5), US Government (5), Calculus AB Subscore (4), Calculus BC (3
Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature, AP French, AP Human Geography, AP Comparative Government, AP Computer Science A, Dual Enrollment Gender Studies, Dual Enrollment Creative Nonfiction
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Two Gold Keys, one Silver Key in Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, SPI Travel Blog contest 2nd place, National Teen Poetry Award, local literary magazine writing awards

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):Euro Challenge and Fed Challenge Clubs (President, nationally ranked), Model UN (President), French Club (President), Marching and Concert Band (Assistant Drum Major, Soloist, Section Leader), political intern and activist
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: N/A
Summer Activities: New Jersey Scholars Program (highly selective, prestigious summer program that is free of charge), summer study abroad in Biarritz, France

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 8-10, about a protest that I organized. I related it to the sexism in my town and my leadership qualities.
Why Yale: 7-8, talked about an experience with my Yale tour guide.
Academic Interests: 9-10, about my feelings of being “stuck” in my small, suburban hometown and how Foreign Affairs and History extends beyond my hometown
Topic 1: 8-10, shared my summer research experience and my passion for the obscure
Topic 2: 9-10, related a really weird radio station to my openmindedness

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I waived my rights, no clue. I’m pretty close with both teachers so I think really good.
Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec: Not so close with her, but she knows my goals and probably put more effort into this than most other students’.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: I thought it went really well. He took half a dozen pages of notes and seemed really interested in what I had to say.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Global Affairs and History
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, 600 students
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection
Strengths: Definitely my grades, scores, and essays.
Weaknesses: I think maybe that I was too well-rounded, in terms of my extracurriculars. I also didn’t quite understand what Ivy Leagues were looking for at the time I submitted my application, and I’ve changed my application quite a lot since then.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See above. I’m a solid applicant and they’re probably just waiting to see if anyone is better, lol.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: University of South Carolina ($80,000 scholarship), waiting to hear back from a bunch others

General Comments : Don’t be hard on yourself! If you’re deferred, it means that you’re Yale material but they just needed more time. Don’t beat yourself up. For future applicants, I would recommend applying to your top schools last, after you’ve refined everything, written all of your essays, and are really familiar with the process. Sometimes submitting applications early isn’t that great, and you’d be better off having a perfect application for RD. Now, I have to stick with a less-than-perfect application for the larger, RD application pool. Good luck and congrats to everyone else!

5

[asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 790 math, 730 reading (writing I don’t know on hand); 1520
ACT (breakdown): none
SAT II: 790 Math 2, 730 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 13/530ish
AP (place score in parenthesis):
Human Geography, 5
U.S. History, 5
Physics I, 4
Psychology, 5
Calculus AB, 5
Language and Composition, 4

IB (place score in parenthesis): (I don’t really know yet)
Chem SL - 5
Math SL - 6
Senior Year Course Load: pretty light, few APs and IBs, and some fun stuff

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
not so major, but National Merit Commended
AP Scholar with Distinction
Human Rights Intensive Certificate through a summer college

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
History Club (President) for 2 years
Founder of organization in district bringing leaders from schools to teach tolerance and allyship to individuals
Founder of organization that brings music lessons into a local community center (underprivileged kids) every week for a few hours; won Youth Leader Award (local award) for my work through this organization
Teen court attorney for 2 years - defend or prosecute minors with class C misdemeanor charges, aid in sentencing
National History Day for 3 years, advanced to state and won award for outstanding African-American studies for 2 years and was published one year in the historical association’s publication (one of my papers was actually over a guest speaker at Yale like last year love her)
Peer Assisted Leadership - volunteer 4 hours a week teaching, reading, and reasoning with kids
I am in a band and we have performed a few times for charity events

Job/Work Experience:
Instructor at a local tutoring center (work about 10 hours/week at the moment)

Volunteer/Community service:
Founder of organization that brings music lessons into a local community center (underprivileged kids) every week for a few hours (2/3 hours/week)
Teen court attorney for 2 years - defend or prosecute minors with class C misdemeanor charges, aid in sentencing (3 hours/week)
PALS (4 hours/week)

There are very few volunteer organizations but I spent/spend a lot of time with each one.

Summer Activities:
2/3 week courses from beginning of 8th grade until junior year (civil rights, constitutional law)
2 months at summer college program taking courses in International Relations

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App - 9/10 - talked about my academic interest and how it relates to my life
Why Yale - 8/10 - talked about strength of African-American studies program and why I really like the supportive community
Others - ehh I don’t know

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 8/10 - somewhat generic, but it was very complimentary and talked about my academic interests in depth
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 - I didn’t read the rec, but I have had this teacher for 2 years and we have a great relationship
Counselor Rec: 7/10 - I didn’t read this rec and I don’t really know my counselor; the counselors are pretty overworked and I’m sure the rec was pretty generic
Additional Rec: none
Interview: I think it went really well! The interviewer attended Yale undergrad in the 60s and participated in organizations that I was very interested in. He and I hit it off pretty well and ended up speaking for around 2 hours.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: African-American Studies
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: large public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: >200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Brother attends (I don’t really know if sibling legacy applies but)

Reflection

Strengths: volunteer work, academic interest and exploration of academic interest
Weaknesses: test scores, rank, grades
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I DONT EVEN KNOW
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: University of Texas

General Comments:
I AM SCREAMING

6

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34C (34E, 29M, 36R, 36S)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank, but I have the top GPA.
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A (school doesn’t offer)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A (school doesn’t offer)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nada.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Swimming (captain), Model UN, Debate. I also do a lot outside of school involving local government.
Job/Work Experience: Intern at a major advocacy/lobbying group junior year.
Volunteer/Community service: ~100 hours, nothing too significant.
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App essay is about an 8/10, supplements were pretty good, imo. I’d give all a 9/10.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 - my chem/physics teacher apparently wrote a glowing letter.
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 - my 9th grade and 11th grade English teacher. I honestly have no clue but I suspect it was pretty good.
Counselor Rec: 10/10 - we have a great relationship.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: It was… okay. I did mine on campus when I was visiting other colleges. I’d give it a 7/10.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): DC
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope!

Reflection:

Strengths: Recs, ECs (sorry I didn’t expand on these, I want to maintain my privacy.)
Weaknesses: Perhaps my GPA and scores.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I haven’t done anything truly “extraordinary” and I’m not a URM. Honestly a little disappointed that I wasn’t deferred, but I think that even if I was deferred, I wouldn’t have made it in regardless. Good luck to the RD/deferred applicants!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

7

DEFERRED YAY

SAT: N/A
ACT: 36 C, 36 E, 36 R, 36 M, 36 S
SAT II: Never checked after I learned that most schools don’t require. My twin sis is applying to Georgetown so I took 3 and like 3 days later I learned NONE OF MY SCHOOLS WANT THEM
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
AP: EURO (5) US History (5) Bio (5)
Rank: My school doesn’t do this
Major Awards: National Merit Commended, AP Scholar, Brown Book Award, Best Delegate at Berkeley, Brown, UPENN, and Chicago

Subjective:
Model UN: (Secretary General, Office of Public Information): One of the top 5 high schools in the nation, I love my program so much! I started a program to bring inner city MUN programs to our conference which I organized and I got 1,200 people to come and ran 33 committees!
Biotechnology: Research on Infectious diseases at LA Biomed. Mentoring younger students in my school’s Biotech Program
Science Olympiad: Co-Head of Bio team

Job/Work: 24 hours a week retail, 5 hours a week at LA Biomed, and 2 hours a week tutoring

Volunteering:
350+ hours at local elementary school
Founded a club at my school to help kids make their own picture books

Summer Activities:
PR Intern, Model UN stuff to tutor kids in international issues

Recommendations:
One was my MUN advisor and Gov teacher, 10/10
AP Bio teacher, 8/10
Counselor: My school has 200 kids per counselor so I hope it was good? He’s a nice guy so probably 10/10 because he says he writes great ones for everyone

Intended Major: Engineering
State: CA
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Caucasian as can be
School type: Public
Income Bracket: Upper upper middle class?
Hooks: Not a one

Strengths:
Everything! I am super proud of my application. Loved my essays.
Weaknesses:
I would say extracurriculars but I don’t think there’s anything else I could do so like no weaknesses. No one in this thread has weaknesses! If anything I just think I have 2 very very polarized interests (polisci and bio) so I probably looked either very indecisive which I totally am in real life or like someone who is trying to do everything in High school especially alongside my scores. I also didn’t have a Why Yale essay that was super specific. BUT to all you Juniors looking at this, follow your passions! I got my score on the ACT 100% by luck I didn’t study and it just happened and there are a ton of radical humans out there with scores lower than mine getting in because colleges like Yale want a community, not just random kids who get high scores! A 36 or a 35 is not a magic ticket into any college you want and here is proof. Also on paper I am a privileged white girl. Yale gets a lot of privileged white girls.

Other schools:
I applied to 5 and I haven’t heard back from any. I’m planning on a gap year to hike the PCT so who knows I might be back next year if I get rejected/they don’t let me push back coming to college

SEE YOU GUYS MARCH 28!!!

8

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 770R 700M, 6/6/6W
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:Math 2(680) Bio(680)
Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): my school gives percents, 102.7
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/350
AP (place score in parenthesis): US Gov(4), my school has limited options so I have also taken 4 dual enrollment courses at a community college, all A’s
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc, AP Psych, 2 Dual Enrolment Classes, an elective.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  1. Cross Country 4 years (Captain 2)
  2. Track/Winter Track almost 4 years
  3. NHS (president)
  4. NTHS
    Job/Work Experience:
  5. Summer job at a local pool
  6. Co-op job through my school, I work every other day for 7ish hours as a Public Relations Assistant, similar to a paid intership
    Volunteer/Community service:
    Hand out water/clean up at local road races
    Participate in fundraising events for my athletic teams
    Summer Activities:
    Summer job as mentioned, did one of my DE courses over the summer this year
    Essays (rating 1-10, details): probably a 9 or a 10, considering I managed to get deferred with such low scores… I wrote about my experiences as a runner, including running a marathon, my passion for art/design, and a few other topics
    Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10, it was phenomenal
Teacher Rec #2: 8, good but a bit generic
Counselor Rec: 7-8, good but kinda generic
Additional Rec:
Interview:not offered one

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yep
Intended Major: Computing and the Arts/Art
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public Vocational (Commercial Arts is my program)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: ~60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: I think my essays were probably good, though I don’t want to speculate.
Weaknesses: TEST SCORE AHH SO BAD
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: really I thought I would get rejected, so the deferral came as a surprise. I think my essays were very unique, as am I. I don’t know how many applicants they get with Smurf-blue hair and have run marathons. I guess that might have made me interesting?
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted to Penn State University Park and 2 small local colleges. Applying to about 10 more still.
General Comments : so for anyone considering applying in the future with lower test scores, IT IS POSSIBLE!!! Of course I did not get an acceptance, but the fact that they are even considering me shows that the process really is wholistic. Just a side note, while I am on several athletic teams and wrote about it profusely, I am by no means expecting that I will be asked to run on teams for Yale. Average people have a shot too, so if you’re on the fence about applying, do it! You never know.

9

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1590 (first try)
ACT (breakdown): 35 - first try (36E, 34M, 36R, 34S)
SAT II: 800 (Math II), 750 (Chem), 740 (Bio), 740 (Spanish), 730 (Lit)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7 (4.2 weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 225/673 before school abolished rank (yikes…)
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 (Chem), 5 (Comp Sci), 5 (Spanish Lang), 5 (English Lang), 5 (Calc AB), 4 (Physics I)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Gov, AP Econ, Medical Microbiology, AP English Lit, AP Stat, Lifetime Nutrition & Wellness, AP Bio
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 2015 iGEM bronze medal, Girl Scouts Gold Award, Girl Scouts Silver Award, 1st place cash - NCIFT, Special award at regional science fair, DAR Good Citizens Award, National Merit Semifinalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Academy Ambassadors (Health Science), TEDx Curation Committee, NHS, CSF, WiSTEM
Job/Work Experience: Independent research at a local community lab, Research internships at two labs at the University of Texas in Austin
Volunteer/Community service: Girl Scouts, Founder of a technology education program at a local senior center, Abilities United (Social Skills coordinator for an organization assisting the developmentally disabled), hospital volunteering
Summer Activities: UT Research and shadowing doctors
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

  • Common App Essay (probably 6/10) - definitely one of my weak points I think. I talked about Girl Scouts and my Gold Award project but overall it seemed to flow weakly and showed little about myself. I later rewrote my entire essay during Thanksgiving break and submitted to the rest of the colleges I applied to, and I’m quite happy and confident with that one.
  • Why Yale (7.5 or 8/10) - when I wrote it, I liked it. When I went back to read it, I realized I tried to fit multiple aspects of Yale in the limited amount of words I had, so it definitely could have been better. However, I did connect it to my own personal aspirations well so it was not the worst essay…
  • Why your major (8/10) - not the best but I did include personal anecdotes to express my interest further
  • Why do you enjoy learning (10/10) - I wrote about my cooking adventures and how I spread stories of my culture and background through my “innovative” meals. I loved this essay and used it for many other schools.
  • Topic 3: extra info (7/10) - This essay resembled a flashback to my robotics tournament when I detailed a sequence of events from competing to winning…didn’t really show much about myself.
  • Short Answers (9/10) - Definitely thought my answers were creative and showed a different side of me that engaged in pop culture and humanities
    Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Waived FERPA, but probably a (6/10) from my physics teacher who writes 40+ recs a year
Teacher Rec #2: Waived FERPA, but probably a (8/10) from my English teacher who loved me
Counselor Rec: (Probably a 7 or 8/10) At first I thought it would be much less (like a 4) but I found out she really liked me when she selected me as our school’s representative for the DAR Good Citizens Award. Still, I waived FERPA so I don’t know how strong it was.
Additional Rec: Waived right to view, but likely a (7/10) from my research mentor
Interview: 7/10 - nothing super special but I think my interviewer did like me. In the beginning I was afraid she found me boring since she was a women’s studies major and here I was rambling about neuro research but at the end we had a nice conversation about books.

Applied for Financial Aid?: No, but I was planning to
Intended Major: Neuroscience
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large competitive public
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian) :frowning:
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): literally nothing

Reflection

Strengths: test scores, extracurriculars and awards(?)
Weaknesses: GPA and rank!!! Essays as well
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Definitely my GPA and rank! My school got rid of class rank in the middle of October after I had already sent my transcript to all my colleges. This was kind of annoying since my super low rank (225/673) is now on all of them; I attended a really hard high school in California before moving to Texas where I now attend a school that pretty much inflates students’ ranks. So whereas most of my friends have near 4.0 GPAs (which still only places them in the top quartile), I ended up with a cumulative GPA of 3.7 which definitely put me under.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

  • Accepted to: UT Dallas (Full Ride + $1000 stipend), UAB ($60k scholarship per year), Texas Tech (honors college and likely scholarship)
  • Rejected: Just Yale so far
  • Deferred: N/A
  • Waiting on about 15 more schools…

General Comments : I was definitely expecting a rejection and thus prepared for it in every way from memorizing the previous year’s rejection letter to watching rejection reactions on YouTube; it really paid off and I’m honestly not at all fazed by Yale’s decision. This could also, however, be due to the fact that for some reason I always felt a LITTLE strange applying SCEA to Yale. I realized just now how much the decision really reflected the importance of fit in choosing applicants; even when I visited for my interview, I bore a facade of excitement and marvel when in reality I really don’t think the vibe of the school resonated with me (not saying Yale is not a good place!! It’s just not for me, personally…) I also realized at this point from looking at my college list how much I had been chasing prestige; it’s only December but I feel kind of giddy ever since realizing I’ll be happy where ever I go…

…which brings me to this advice: If you’re reading this thread, you’re probably either a 2018 RD applicant or future applicant and I would just like to tell you that a rejection or deferral will ultimately mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Chances are, if you’re applying to Yale in the first place or considering to, your academic and extracurricular caliber will give you success wherever you go! Remember Yale assesses fit, and wherever you go, you will likely be happier than you would have been at Yale, so don’t stress and good luck!

10

**Decision: Rejected **
sat: 800
whats gud.

11

Decision: Deferred
SAT I: 670R, 800M 7/7/7 essay
SAT II: 700 (math II)

I have no idea how I didn’t get rejected but I’m glad there’s still a chance!

(oh and I am an Asian female, and not low income- I was a three-time immigrant though)

12

**Decision: Accepted **

literally whaaat i thought i was totally done for :\

sat 2350 (10th grade, one sitting)
math ii 800, physics 800, chinese w/ listening 800
a lot of APs (oops)

strengths: girl in engineering probably, good recs (especially from physics teacher), dance/music supplement, three intensely competitive summer programs
weaknesses: i kinda screwed up on my essays (yikes…), the interview wasn’t too great i feel, and i don’t have a lot of awards :frowning:
why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: barely anyone from my school applied to yale i think (but we’re a pretty huge STEM magnet school)

13

**Decision: Rejected **

Ranking: Non-Ranked
GPA: Not used in my school
Curriculum: IGCSE + IB
IGCSE: As and Bs
IBDP: 32/45

English is not my native language

TOEFL: 108
SAT1: 1530
SAT2: Physics: 800, Math2: 800

Strength: highly successful ECs and strong recommendations.
Weaknesses:

  1. the grading system of my school is really strict. I am one of the top students in my year group but the school didn’t explain it (because my school is non-ranking).
  2. Student from Asia
14

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34 C
SAT II: 800 M2 770 Bio-M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.33
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/106
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5) Statistics (5) European History (4) English Language & Composition (4) United States History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Spanish Language, AP English Literature & Composition, Honors Physics, Humanities (H), Independent Band, Independent Chamber Choir, Gym, Biotechnology (H)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended, Coca-Cola Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, Rotary & Elks Student of the Month, American Chemical Society Outstanding Chemistry Student (Aka nothing big…)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS (President), Class Officer (VP), Student Council (Treasurer), Varsity Tennis (County Qualifier), Boy Scouts (Life Scout), Marching/Pep Band (Student Leader), Newspaper (Co-Editor), Various Musical Ensembles, etc…
Job/Work Experience: Summer Playground Supervisor
Volunteer/Community service: Worked to improve the lives of Alzheimer’s and dementia patients at a local retirement community, Provide A Lunch (P.A.L.) Program at a local homeless shelter, Altar Server, etc.
Summer Activities: Keystone Boys State (City Manager, drafted bills, etc.), See “work experience”
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10- I talked about everything from Grey’s Anatomy to Mindy Kaling to ramen
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 11 (AP English Language & Composition Teacher- Her rec was so amazing and it made me tear up)
Teacher Rec #2: 10 ( AP Biology Teacher- Again, made me seem super unique and was very genuine)
Counselor Rec: 7 (Honestly I have no idea)
Additional Rec: 10 (Vocal Music Teacher- I’ve known her for 8 years and it was very personal)
Interview: 10 (Although it started off structured- we wandered off into conversation about New Haven and mental health)

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Statistics/Data Science
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: –
Gender: M
Income Bracket: –
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection

Strengths: Letters of recommendation, ESSAYS were super unique, different volunteer work
Weaknesses: ECs were all over the place (no regrets tbh), test scores were on par, no special national awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Essays are what got me in 100%
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Basically everything else.

General Comments : I never thought Yale would be in reach for me! I’m so excited to be part of the class of 2022!

15

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34 (33E, 35M, 35R, 32S)
SAT II: 770 Physics, 760 Chemistry, 760 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83UW (4.58W)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem (5), Physics C Mechanics (5), Calc BC (5), Lang (5), APUSH (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Lit, APES, AP Psych, AP Gov/H. Econ
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing national, a bunch of local stuff and community competitions

Subjective

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Internship with a nanotechnology education nonprofit
-Professional Sports Graphic Designer (peep my IG @likerdesign)
-Lacrosse: HS Varsity 3 years (C-senior), Club/box (C-junior, senior)
-Babysit my brothers like 12hr+/wk while my parents work multiple jobs
-Math Club (Secretary/Treasurer)
-Archi-Design Club
-Peer tutoring, design stuff on CAD to be 3D printed, other misc. hobbies
Job/Work Experience:
-Camp Counselor for 2 summers
-Math, Physics, and Chemistry Tutor
Volunteer/Community service:
-Volunteer every winter at a day camp for teens with disabilities (autism, Down’s, etc.) 40hr+/wk
-I did Heal the Bay a few times lol
Summer Activities:
-Camp Counselor (x2)
-Internship
-College Spanish
Essays (rating 1-10, details): as close to a 10 as I can get, tried to use some humor and other things. I’ll post it once I submit the rest of my apps.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: (History teacher 3 semesters) Did not view
Teacher Rec #2: (Math/Physics teacher 5 semesters) Did not view, but a wild card- either a 3 or a 10
Counselor Rec: Did not view
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Went really well, lasted for like 2 hours and was really natural and enjoyable actually

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering and Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper-Middle
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
-1st Gen. American
-I have mild-severe autoimmune disease (Ulcerative Colitis) which trashed my grades
-I was hospitalized with a freak/coincidental case of Myopericarditis (didn’t put it in my app, but talked about it in my interview; probably a mistake, but didn’t want to seem fragile)

Reflection

Strengths:
-Essays (especially my personal statement)
-Interview
-Getting sick/obstacles I overcame
-Well-rounded (STEM+Art)
Weaknesses: Grades but my GPA is only low because I got sick, [maybe] ACT
Why you think you were deferred: They probably need my 1st semester grades to prove my grades (when I got sick) were just a fluke
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A

16

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1430 (740 Critical Reading / 690 Math)
SAT II: 800 US History, 760 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.81 (4.07 weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 11/136
AP (place score in parenthesis): Art History, Calculus BC, Chemistry (3), English Language and Composition (5), English Literature and Composition, European History, Physics 1, Spanish Language and Culture, United States History (5), World History (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History and AP European History (self-study), Advanced Research in Physical Sciences, AP English Literature, AP Physics 1, AP Spanish language, AP Calculus BC, and Lincoln-Douglas
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Finalist for the Schmidt Vocal Competition, George London Award (both are major vocal competitions)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): National Honors Society, International Thespian Society (former vice-president, serving second-term as president), conservatory classical music precollege program, wilderness expedition this past year, Tanglewood Institute, and student government.
Job/Work Experience: None, but candidate for an internship at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab apparently!
Volunteer/Community service: Work with children with special needs five or six times a year as part of the student leadership cohort.
Summer Activities: Tanglewood, Phillips Exeter Academy Summer School, a Broadway camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9 - connected my mixed racial heritage to class through a musical idiom.
Yale specific: 10 - talked extensively about Directed Studies, my ambitions of becoming a culture critic, my love of opera and classic R&B, my love of fashion, political iconoclasm and viewpoint diversity, going to Argentina, my deep Christian faith, Logic the rapper, Aristotle… I said a lot!
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10 - my Physics teacher loves me and talked a lot about my reasoning skills and how adeptly I dealt with difficult logical problems, my musicality and how that makes me an excellent scientist.
Teacher Rec #2: 8.5 - my AP Spanish teacher and I have a very warm relationship, she admires my poise and character and talked a lot about that. Also went with her to Argentina and that definitely was in the letter.
Counselor Rec: 10 - amazing, spoke about my work ethic and relentless desire to get anything I wanted despite the obstacles and lack of support I sometimes faced from family/parents/friends
Additional Rec: 8.5 - voice teacher, talked about my love of Wagner and Verdi, New York museums and galleries, my “glorious sound”. I sent in music supplements.
Interview: 7.5 - Went well, we didn’t have too many comment interests but it was great interacting with someone from the university! Very kind and informative!

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes.
Intended Major: Classics.
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
School Type: Public charter high school
Ethnicity: White, African-American, and Hispanic (mixed)
Gender: Male.
Income Bracket: 100,000-120,000, upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first-generation college (my parents work very good jobs), classical musician.

Reflection

Strengths: My essays and recommendations were really well-written in the opinion of anyone who’s read them. I wrote my essays very carefully and my recommendations were vetted endlessly by counselors.
Weaknesses: Objective numbers: my stats are low for Yale but my essays and recommendations erased them, just as I hoped!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Essays and recommendations, my stats aren’t impressive.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nothing yet, we’ll see but I’m almost certainly going to Yale. All glory to God, couldn’t do this on my own. Congratulations to everyone!!!

17

[asize=4]Decision: Accepted [/size]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 35 C
SAT II: 780 Bio E, 720 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 11/400
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Various Environmental/conservation/sustainability awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): All based around my passion for environmental issues. I really don’t feel like writing them out :wink: Education, activism, research. Heavy leadership involvement.
Job/Work Experience: Internship at EPA
Volunteer/Community service: Environmental education, etc.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I didn’t feel good about ANY of my essays, but apparently they did the trick
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Strong, one was a little basic and cliche, but still good.

Interview: Amazing. Shared interests, long conversation, 1.5 hours

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Environmental Studies
State (if domestic applicant): FL
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male

Reflection

Strengths: Passion for environmentalism
Weaknesses: essays? test scores weren’t perfect, no crazy international awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My passion and dedication to what I love
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Chatham (Accepted) Vermont (Accepted) UF (Awaiting result)

General Comments : Can’t wait to be a bulldog next year! Boola boola :smiley:

18

Deferred

SAT - 1550
SAT2 - Literature 780, Math 2 - 770, Bio 750
Rank - 1/100 (but school does not rank)
GPA - school does not give

Full IBDP - predicted 42/42 (school does not predict the last 3 points)

ECs - strong Drama, community service, diversity related

US Expat living abroad

Recs - Amazing.
Essays - Thought they were pretty good.

No major awards (outside of school)

No interview.

19

[acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred [/color]

SAT I (breakdown): 740 M 720 R
ACT (breakdown): 34 (35 E 35 R 34 M 34 S)
SAT II: 780 US History 700 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.924
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): taken 5 so far
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Macro, AP Euro, AP Calc AB, APES, AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Awarded by big college as one of the top 10 young entrepreneurs in the country (not saying cause i will give myself away)
Eagle Scout
Academic All State Track

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
National Honor Society
National Spanish Honor Society
National Social Studies Honor Society
Prom Committee (Chair)
Basketball (Captain JV Year)
Club basketball
Track and Field
(Student ambassador) to China: only one in my grade selected. hosted student from our partner school and stayed with a family in Beijing for two weeks
Boy Scouts (Senior Patrol Leader)
College basketball club at my school (Founder and President): Pretty much a club where we meet once a month and talk about college basketball and make a tournament pool in March.
(Founding member) of local school club working to serve disadvantaged youth in my city

Job/Work Experience:
(Founder/CEO) Running my own sneaker and clothing resale service, over $30,000 in global sales
Intern with my city’s NBA team (again, not saying cause too much personal info). I do a bit of everything with them from scouting to salary cap analysis, and I probably should’ve played this more in my app.
Interned with district representative to congress over the summer

Volunteer/Community service:
Eagle Scout award
Food Bank and Salvation Army donations/helping with organizing
Boys and Girls club twice a week
Sandwich making for homeless shelter every so often
Teen board for pediatric cancer foundation
Founding member of local school club working to serve disadvantaged youth in my city
Presidential Service award

Summer Activities:
Intern with congressman
Sneaker and clothing reselling
Touring colleges (lit)

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common app 9.3/10: Wrote about my entrepreneurial endeavor in sneakers and the shortcomings that i’ve experienced, wove in personal traits and goals for the future and humanity as a whole. common theme was that when i was 6 i wanted some brand new red nikes but we coulnd’t afford them, and i began to sell shoes later and eventually bought the exact same shoes on ebay, and what i do helps other fulfill their “red shoe dreams” No essay is perfect, but i spent the entire summer grinding it out

Something else: 9.5/10: Wrote about how community is important to me and that i extensively participate in r/nba, which led to my growing interest in basketball and eventually landing my internship with my NBA team

Why apply to Yale: 8.7/10: excited about learning with like-minded students but also the other things (social, traditions, etc) that the college and New Haven has to offer (pretty basic stuff nothing special)

Community engagement: 9.99999/10: Freakin love this essay. I wrote about how I was a fire truck obsessed toddler and a rookie police officer/fire fighter took an interest with me. We kept in touch, and for my Eagle project, I created, organized, promoted, and executed a community engagement event with him dealing about the town’s department of public safety and what they have to offer.

What inspires you: I am inspired by a desire to better myself. When I make a major decision, I first reflect inward for positive affirmation and ask myself, “would the future me think this is a good idea?"

Teaching a course: Welcome to “People and Ideas that Have Unexpectedly Made the World Better,” where we will examine how intuitive people innovate to improve the world, despite socioeconomic barriers, circumstances, and limitations.

Who you inviting: I love popcorn so I would invite Charles Cretors, who developed the first commercial popcorn machine. I would ask him if he ever imagined popcorn would become ubiquitous to the movie-going experience and sporting events.

What you bringing to suite: My friendly, inclusive, witty and organized nature will foster a cohesive bond in our diverse suite to create a smooth transition and support our shared desire to grow and succeed at Yale and in life.

Why choose selected academia: I selected academic areas focusing on politics, social sciences and global humanities. I am fascinated by government and politics; my self-selected Bar Mitzvah theme was inspired by the 2012 Presidential Election. Traveling to China in 2015 as a student ambassador broadened my appreciation for global affairs and interest in Asia. I chose programs encompassing my favorite areas of study, and which will allow me to help others through a greater understanding of human sciences and how the world interacts. Along with innovation and diplomacy, such understanding will improve my personal relations and ability to advance worldwide social and economic development.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9.5/10:
AP Physics teacher and basketball coach. Named me captain JV year. I enjoyed his class, and he seemed to enjoy me
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10
History teacher. Have had him twice. Great guy, and have enjoyed his courses. Writes great recs in general
Counselor Rec: 9/10. Submitted approaching her deadline very close due to familial issues, but she has been really supportive of everything and a positive influence
Additional Rec: 8.7/10 (APUSH teacher)
Not sure if they got it because she is a traditionalist and made us give stamped envelopes for her recs, but she took a liking to me and writes solid recs

Interview:

Was actually with alum of high school. Connected about that, talked for over hour and a half about my values and morals, what i want to do in the future, my business, internship with NBA team, and life in general. Went really well, and she offered help when I called her about my deferral

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Ethics, politics, and economics
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Double legacy
Single mother household (does that count?)
Mom had cancer sophomore year

Reflection:

Not the result that I wanted, but I’m still glad that I’m in the running. Going to get a rec from the GM (the guy I mainly work with) of the NBA team that I work with, and another teacher

Strengths: Essays, non garden variety ECs, interview, ACT (maybe)
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: GPA, lack of leadership, possibly recs (can’t read them but I doubt they’re bad)

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Indiana(Kelley), Dean’s scholarship

General Comments :
sending good vibes to March 28th and New Haven

20

**Decision: Accepted **

SAT I : 1550 (790M, 760V)
SAT II: 710 US History; 800 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank: 4/110
AP: (5) Calc AB, (5) APUSH
Senior Year Course Load: History elective, jazz band, Spanish V honors, Calc BC, Microbio Honors, and English honors.
Awards: 5 performance awards from Jazz Ensemble

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Soccer, A Capella, rock band, got my pilot’s license last September, and independent studies in aviation and aerodynamics. I did all for the 4 years of high school, and soccer and rock band before high school.
Job/Work Experience: Internship at UCSF summer 2017 in microbiology and genetics. Assisted mentor’s PCR to analyze genomes of marine microorganisms.
Volunteer/Community service: Peer advisor at school; co-mentored group of 14 underclassmen in health ed and provided academic/social support.
Essays: Tried to be varied- talked about science internship, interest in music, writing philosophy in spanish, favorite parts of history and my city. Tone=positive, curious, sometimes self deprecating. Substance= geek stuff. I spent a ton of time on the super short answer ones too. 10/10

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I didn’t read any of them, but I was close with all of my recommenders.

Teacher Rec #1: Calc AB (10). This guy was super mathy and nerdy, probably a very geeky but good letter.
Teacher Rec #2: APUSH (10). This guy was smart and social, probably a funny letter.
Counselor Rec: (10). Very close with her since freshman year (my assigned mentor, very lucky)
Additional Rec: (8) Principal investigator at summer lab.
Interview: We talked a lot about singing a capella (he did at Yale too), working to become a pilot, and favorite parts of school. Honestly, I don’t think we really vibed heart to heart, but the substance of our discussion was good. (8-9/10)

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Astronomy
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Private school, 110 kids
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Upper
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy

Reflection

Strengths:
1)Essays. Especially the short answer one sentence ones; I put a lot of effort into making those dope. I went as deep as I could into my extracurriculars and tried to show my best emotions.
2)Rec letters. I chose the teachers that saw my best work and I was closest with, and I suspect their letters were lit.
3)Summer internship in lab. I worked hard to get it and it. Challenging but worthwhile experience.

Weaknesses:
1)Grades (they were on a downward trend from fresh to junior year. Fresh, got 4.0uw, but junior yr got 3.9uw.)
2) Extracurriculars. None of them demonstrated tons of leadership and overall weren’t super fancy

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Tried to appear well-rounded, but also deep in science and music and math and history

General Comments : I really did not think I would get in, but I am so happy right now. Number one lesson I learned is be really honest and reveal yourself in your essays.

Good luck to everyone awaiting more college news!!