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sopranosenior · 12-17-2007, 12:43 AM

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

Deferred EA? No.
SAT I (breakdown): 800 CR, 640 M, 800 W
ACT: none
SAT II: U.S. History 720, Literature 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/446
AP (place score in parenthesis): U.S. History (5), Language and Comp. (5), Calculus I (5), U.S. Government and Politics (5), Chemistry (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus II, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Music Theory, AP Literature and Comp., Programming in JAVA, Chamber Choir, self-studying AP European History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): (My State) Distinguished Scholar, National Achievement Semifinalist, National Merit Commended, AP Scholar with Distinction, various state and regional awards in chorus

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Chorus (school chamber choir, MD All-State 4 years in a row, participation in other honors ensembles, Superior ratings at District and State Solo and Ensemble Festivals, organize fundraisers for school chamber choir, travel with school choir to NYC Heritage Festivals for 2 years, earned Gold Rating qualifying for 2008 Festival of Gold in NYC, blah blah lots of awards), Dance (LOTS of time commitment here and I've been doing it since elementary school - I dance for my studio's competitive showtroop, and I spend at least 8 hours a week at the studio, often more up to 11 or 12), Mock Trial (lead defense attorney), Theatre (again with the time commitment)
Job/Work Experience: Summer Internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Planetary Geodynamics Lab, work as legal secretary at law firm
Volunteer/Community service: eh, work on political campaigns during 2006 elections, but I didn't really talk about this, it wasn't a big deal, and I think it's silly to pump it up when other people are doing serious volunteer work
Summer Activities: NASA GSFC internship, travel to Beijing (talk about interest in East Asian Studies in essay), intensive dance camps for dance studio, Explo at Yale
Essays: one really good, one pretty good
Teacher Recommendation: glowing
Counselor Rec: don't know
Additional Rec: none
Interview: none

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, legacy, was told I had unusual/interesting EC's and a good internship

[b]Reflection[ /b]

Strengths: extra-curriculars, recs, courseload, AP scores. I don't have a lot of EC's, but the ones I do have I'm intensely involved in.
Weaknesses: rank, GPA
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: again, strong EC's, AP scores, essays, but everyone who got deferred/rejected had those too, so I really can't say. It's really a roll of the dice - they have a certain amount of spots and way too many qualified people to fill them. I have to say I'm still really proud of my answer to the "Why Yale?" essay, one of the few things I was completely happy with on the app. I agree with the post a little above me, who said in addition to the usual standards, they were probably looking for people who seriously wanted Yale, and not just the general qualities of HYP. There has to be a reason beyond "brilliant academics" - you can get that several places. My advice.

General Comments: I feel terrible reading posts of people who were rejected/deferred with better SATs than me, or more national awards of recognition, over even more time in their EC's.

12-17-2007, 12:43 AM	#37
sopranosenior New Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 23	Decision: Accepted Objective: Deferred EA? No. SAT I (breakdown): 800 CR, 640 M, 800 W ACT: none SAT II: U.S. History 720, Literature 750 Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8 Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 10/446 AP (place score in parenthesis): U.S. History (5), Language and Comp. (5), Calculus I (5), U.S. Government and Politics (5), Chemistry (4) IB (place score in parenthesis): none Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus II, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Music Theory, AP Literature and Comp., Programming in JAVA, Chamber Choir, self-studying AP European History Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): (My State) Distinguished Scholar, National Achievement Semifinalist, National Merit Commended, AP Scholar with Distinction, various state and regional awards in chorus Subjective: Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Chorus (school chamber choir, MD All-State 4 years in a row, participation in other honors ensembles, Superior ratings at District and State Solo and Ensemble Festivals, organize fundraisers for school chamber choir, travel with school choir to NYC Heritage Festivals for 2 years, earned Gold Rating qualifying for 2008 Festival of Gold in NYC, blah blah lots of awards), Dance (LOTS of time commitment here and I've been doing it since elementary school - I dance for my studio's competitive showtroop, and I spend at least 8 hours a week at the studio, often more up to 11 or 12), Mock Trial (lead defense attorney), Theatre (again with the time commitment) Job/Work Experience: Summer Internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Planetary Geodynamics Lab, work as legal secretary at law firm Volunteer/Community service: eh, work on political campaigns during 2006 elections, but I didn't really talk about this, it wasn't a big deal, and I think it's silly to pump it up when other people are doing serious volunteer work Summer Activities: NASA GSFC internship, travel to Beijing (talk about interest in East Asian Studies in essay), intensive dance camps for dance studio, Explo at Yale Essays: one really good, one pretty good Teacher Recommendation: glowing Counselor Rec: don't know Additional Rec: none Interview: none Other State (if domestic applicant): Maryland Country (if international applicant): School Type: public Ethnicity: African-American Gender: Female Income Bracket: 200k+ Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, legacy, was told I had unusual/interesting EC's and a good internship [b]Reflection[ /b] Strengths: extra-curriculars, recs, courseload, AP scores. I don't have a lot of EC's, but the ones I do have I'm intensely involved in. Weaknesses: rank, GPA Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: again, strong EC's, AP scores, essays, but everyone who got deferred/rejected had those too, so I really can't say. It's really a roll of the dice - they have a certain amount of spots and way too many qualified people to fill them. I have to say I'm still really proud of my answer to the "Why Yale?" essay, one of the few things I was completely happy with on the app. I agree with the post a little above me, who said in addition to the usual standards, they were probably looking for people who seriously wanted Yale, and not just the general qualities of HYP. There has to be a reason beyond "brilliant academics" - you can get that several places. My advice. General Comments: I feel terrible reading posts of people who were rejected/deferred with better SATs than me, or more national awards of recognition, over even more time in their EC's.
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