NorthernLights91

Decision: Rejected

Objective:

• SAT I (breakdown): 2240 - Reading(740), Writing(700), Math(800)
• ACT: 34
• SAT II: N/A
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):2/176
• AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology(5), APUSH(4)
• IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
• Senior Year Course Load: Hardest possible. Lots of courses for college credit (not AP).
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): I listed National Merit Semifinalist, and some Science Olympiad medals (not major, I know)

Subjective:

• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Soccer and Hockey (4+ yrs, co-captain for one year each), Inaugural F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Team, Science Olympiad (4+ yrs), Jazz Band (2 yrs, 1st Trombone), Marching Band (4 yrs, 1st Trombone), Math Team (3 yrs), I'm teaching an after school computer programming class right now - I'm self-taught. Submitted a supplement - a program I made to download YouTube videos.
• Job/Work Experience: At a DQ and a CVS/Pharmacy, both for a year. I've been offered an internship this summer building automated manufacturing robots for a medical silicone-molding company.
• Volunteer/Community service: Lots of stuff through church and NHS. Spent a week last summer in Juarez, MX building houses and providing daycare.
• Summer Activities: Just volunteering and work.
• Essays: I thought they were great. I had several CCers review them and also some people from my school. Talked about how I developed an interest in computers and about how being a year younger than my classmates has influenced my goals and motivations.
• Teacher Recommendations: Didn't see one of them, but the other one was fantastic.
• Counselor Rec: She barely knows me, so I dunno.
• Additional Rec: N/A
• Interview: Went pretty well. She seemed genuinely impressed with some of the stuff I've done, and it was a fun conversation.

Other

• Applied for Financial Aid?: yep.
• Intended Major: Computer Science
• State (if domestic applicant): MN
• School Type: Small rural/suburban mix. Has never sent a student to an Ivy League school to my knowledge.
• Ethnicity: Caucasian, but I don't think I reported it.
• Gender: M
• Income Bracket: ~$150,000 - 200,000
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothin'

Reflection

• Strengths: Strong self-motivation, very interested in a specific subject. EC's were at least kind of competitive.
• Weaknesses: Nothing really makes me stand out. SAT could be better.
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think my stats are in the range where it all comes down to how good my admission officer's cup of coffee was on the morning he saw my application. I don't have any hooks that make me stand out from the other 26,000+ applicants. My intended major might have negatively influenced my app and made admissions officers think that my chances of matriculating were low. My school's small size and relative isolation from subjects that interest me (computer science) probably doesn't help as well. There isn't much space for a computer club or something similar in a school where ~1/2 of the student body lives on a farm of some kind.
• Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: All of my other applications were at state universities. Nothing too challenging to get into. Accepted at: U of MN, U of WA, U of IL, and U of MA.

General Comments: I love Yale, but it's going to be great to not pay for the next four years of college. With a full ride to the U of MN, I'm really blessed to have the financial freedom to choose practically any graduate school I desire. The current economic climate may have prevented me from attending Yale even if I had been accepted. I put everything I had into my Yale application, but sometimes things just don't work out the way I want them to. I wish the rest of you the best of luck, and no matter where you go, have a fantastic college experience!