Hey kids… Just a mom talking here, but for those of you who are applying next year, does it seem to you as though no one is attending Session 3? Perhaps the competition is a little lighter? If you were my kid, I’d urge you to consider this next summer…
Hey guys!
I got waitlisted :neutral: and I filled out the waitlist form for fst ase and ple. My initial 3 choices.
Does anybody know if waitlisted people have any actual chance of getting in?
Also I requested a lot of aid so would that reduce my chances of getting off the waitlist?
I’m devastated, could really use some help.
Also, this may sound ridiculous but is there something I could do now to maybe improve my odds? Like a mail etc.
Congrats to everyone who got in!
Is it worth going here? I got rejected from Wharton LBW, my top choice and am stuck with this program. Is it worth my money?
Hey everyone. Ok, I wasn’t going to do this but I just learned that to PM someone I have to post 15 times and I’m 6 posts away. So I was like, I might as well upload my stats (this feels so weird) ???
Decision - Accepted Politics, Law, and Economics Session II
Unweighted GPA: I don’t have a GPA at my school but I had all A’s and one A-
PSAT: Didn’t submit them. They weren’t bad but they weren’t stellar so I just decided not to
Class rank: N/A
Awards: I’ve won two scholarships (one local, one national), a school award, maybe something else but nothing impressive tbh
Extracurriculars (not in order):
Diversity Council
School Newspaper
The third one was this really weird extracurricular that I doubt other schools have but we bring speakers in and organize events that have to do with human rights, ethics, media, etc. It’s pretty cool
Recommendations:
Chem Teacher - I think they really like me but they don’t know a ton about me outside the classroom (7/10)
English teacher - I think this rec was really good and this teacher knows me well because I’ve submitted personal writing assignments to them (9/10)
Essays: I never really had anyone read my essays which wasn’t a smart move I think. Regardless, I think my essays were definitely the reason I got in. My social justice essay was probably the best but the others were great too.
Overall my stats and extracurriculars aren’t that impressive but I think my writing was really good and for humanities programs like the ones I applied to, writing will probably make you stand out.
@highschoolboyig I too am waitlisted. Can we do anything to make the cut.
Hey! @longinghyphen The thing is, YYGS has an unranked waitlist. So they might just get out names through lucky draw. Also, there have been instances where applicants were accepted only days before the program began, making it virtually impossible to attend. Another factor for you to consider is Financial Aid. While FA may still be available they won’t give you a lot of it for sure. So it’s up to you to decide whether it is worth spending so much money on.
@Dev5 If SDSE was your first choice of program and they gave you a hefty tuition waiver. It’s definitely worth it. But if SDSE was like your backup choice. I am not so sure if the program will benefit you as much. It’s definitely worth considering only if you get a great scholarship.
@STK12345 The bad part is. Even if you want to do something about you being on the waitlist. YYGS won’t let you submit any more LORs or Essays etc.
To all those who were Waitlisted. You may get off the waitlist on April 11th. But FA will be another factor to consider. If you have the money and if you get off the waitlist, it totally is a great program.
@Dev5 I think it depends on your definition of worth it. If you are looking for a really interesting academic experience, then it’s worth it, I think. If you’re looking for a college app booster, I’ve heard that most summer programs don’t help (but they don’t hurt either).
I think the real deciding factor should be affordability. If this program will be a financial burden and you’re on the frits about it anyways, then you might as well not go. Unless you really really want to go and think that it’s manageable. I was just lucky to have a full-tuition scholarship.
Yea, money is not really an issue. I just realized as an Indian male from California I should be grateful I got in. The acceptance rate for us guys is way less than the normal since we are not really ‘diverse’
@longinghyphen I hope you don’t mind that I took inspiration from your post because I am also in the same boat. (lol)
Decision: Accepted
2019 YYGS Session: Applied Science & Engineering (ASE) - Block 1: June 16-29, 2019
Objective:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.25
Rank: 4 out of 472
AP: AP United States Government and Politics (5)
Major Awards: Second Place in the Earth & Environmental Science Senior Division ($50 & medal), the Mauro Montoya Memorial Encouragement Award ($25), and State Qualifier at the 2018 Central NM Science Engineering Research Challenge. (Science Fair Project: Creating an Effective Biodegradable Plastic)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Club and high school swimming (9 years), NM MESA (10th Grade Representative), Model UN and NM YAG (2 years), and NHS (1 year)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Service Learning (130+ hours)
Summer Activities: Last summer, I took two courses at my local community college, placed well in the New Mexico Swimming 2018 Long Course State Championships, and attended the 2018 UNM ENERGY Academy & UNITE Summer Program.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): All three were a 9/10. I spent multiple weeks brainstorming, writing, and revising my essays with my awesome English teacher.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 8/10; I did not get to read her recommendation, but my math teacher knows how hard I work.
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10; The recommendation I got from my social studies teacher was stunning.
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes (I received a full tuition waiver)
State (if domestic applicant): New Mexico (State of Residence)
Country (if international applicant): Ecuador (Country of birth)
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Latino
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$70,000
Hooks: 1.5 generation immigrant
Reflection:
Strengths: I have a good work ethic, and I make good connections through networking.
Weaknesses: My extracurriculars are just a little lackluster.
Why I think I was accepted: My essays were excellent and I made sure to make myself stand out.
General Comments: I really did not know that I was going to be accepted, and I am so thankful for all the support I received from my community. I encourage everyone who got rejected to persist with your efforts to reach your goals and dreams because y’all deserve the best. 
@AJ57893 No problem. I’ve literally been posting/replying so much and I finally got to 15. Apparently, I’ll be able to start PM people tomorrow. And your stats are awesome, way better than mine!
I got into LPC (Literature, Philosophy, Culture, Block 2) as a Chinese-American junior from California. I only did my essays about a month to a few weeks before the deadline and had no review (bad decision), but I think the essay content was good enough. My social justice essay was about ethnic communities and their views on mental illness, which is a topic that hits close to home (lost a good friend to suicide last year).
I have a 3.92 unweighted GPA, 4.18 weighted, and I got a 1510/1520 on the PSAT and a 1570 on the SAT. My recs were from my support counselor (odd choice but I know her well) and my French teacher (level 3 and AP).
My extracurriculars were pretty lackluster— I haven’t done much competitions in the past and my outside activities weigh heavily on music and dance (some auditioned orchestras, colorguard, district musical, etc). I do enjoy creative writing a lot, so that definitely helped with the essays and content.
Basically, this was the first time I did an application entirely on my own, and I’m proud of where it got me 
(yes I got rejected from Stanford Humanities but you win some you lose some)
@KshitijD101 Come on, I don’t think an institution like Yale could ever use lucky draw to decide which applicant should get off the waitlist for a prestigious program like yygs.
They don’t want to give me more financial aid because I can fundraise instead. Fcking bs. Guess that I’m not going.
If there is a Facebook group for SDSE lmk
Does anyone know if they can increase your financial aid? I got into SDSE but I didn’t get enough fa so I may not go 
@soyelcherk I asked for an increase in fa on friday and today they replied with a no and told me to fundraise