So, should I even apply?

davezhan · 08-18-2008, 03:30 AM

Are my chances any good?

Ethnicity-East Asian, Grade-12, Gender-Male, State-Oregon

GPA--3.993 (one A- in physics), top 5% in competitive public school of 256 per class, most likely Salutatorian

PSAT -- 210 CR 55, WR 80, M 75

SAT I -- 2260 CR 680 WR-780 (11 Essay) M-800
percentiles are as follows for CR/M/W --> 93%/99%/99%

AP World 5
AP English Lang 5
AP Biology 5
AP Calculus BC/AB Subscore 5/5
AP Physics C: Mechanics 5
AP Physics C: E & M 4

SAT II World History -- 780 -- 94 percentile
SAT IIs to be taken -- Math 2, Biology, and Physics (hopefully will all be 800s)
ACTs will NOT be taken

Taking 4 AP Classes in 12th grade.

Extracurriculars--Boy Scouts, Cross Country, Track, Piano (6 yrs), Alto Saxophonist, Webmaster of several school club websites and my own websites of course (Self-taught), a bunch of school clubs (NHS, Mu Alpha Theta), even helped in a school theater production

Leadership positions--chess club president 4 years, math team treasurer, class representative, key club web editor, NHS web editor

Work & Volunteer Experience--Student Research Internship, red cross blood drive volunteer, tutor at school, Boy Scouts, Key Club (200+ hours)

Awards--Eagle Scout, Masonic Outstanding Junior, AIME Qualifier, local and regional competitions in science fairs, math competitions, piano, video making usually 1st-4th places...

Essays--Excellent (at least the commonapp ones)

Recs--Will be excellent

So to sum it up, my failures lie in not being a National Merit Finalist, Not scoring 2300+, not scoring at least 700 in CR, having less than 4.0, messing up in physics class and on physics AP test, not having great ECs, not having nationally commended awards.

Do I have a chance at Yale? How can I improve my chances?

geowash10 · 08-18-2008, 10:26 PM

i wouldn't call one A- a failure.
i wouldn't even call a score that falls in the middle 50% range of accepted yale students a failure.
sure, you have a good chance. your ECs are not a problem--they come second after your grades, which are great.

apply to yale regular if you just wanna see if you can get in.
apply to yale EARLY if you really love the school, and feel ready to apply without your senior year grades.

it's as simple as that.