A Brief Question...Is this good enough?

Colleges & Universities Yale University
1

<p>Ok, so here’s my question…I received a relatively low SAT score (710 M, 710 W, 690 V, grand total: 2110). I got an 800 on Math Level 2, though. My course load has been pretty strong, as well…</p>

<p>Sophomore Yr:</p>

<p>AP Physics B
AP Calc AB
AP Stats
AP American Govn’t (1st semester)
AP Comparative Govn’t (2nd semester)
PIB French II
PIB English II
PIB Chem 1
Microeconomics (summer, dual enrolled)
Intro to Ocean Engineering (summer, dual enrolled)
Inventive Problem Solving in Engineering (dual, enrolled)</p>

<p>Junior Year:</p>

<p>Calculus II (1st semester, dual enrolled)
Differential Equations (second semester, dual enrolled)
AP Macroeconomics (1st semester)
AP French Language
AP Literature
IB Biology
IB Chemistry (tested out)
IB Mathematics (tested out)
IB History
Theory of Knowledge (2nd semester)
Nanotechnology (2nd semester, dual enrolled)
Innovative Materials for Infrastructure (summer, dual enrolled)</p>

<p>Senior Year:</p>

<p>AP Chemistry
AP US History
IB Biology HL
IB History of the Americas HL
IB French SL
IB English HL
Theory of Knowledge (1st semester)
Calculus III (1st semester, dual enrolled)
Organic Chemistry 1 (1st semester, dual enrolled)
Organic Chemistry 2 (2nd semester, dual enrolled)</p>

<p>I have gotten all A’s except for in AP Physics B I got B’s, so my GPA is a 3.96 (unweighted), 5.23 (weighted with AP and IB being worth 6.0), and I’m ranked #3 at the 5th best school in the nation according to Newsweek magazine…I’m also #3 in the county of about 14,000 total kids, I believe.</p>

<p>Then, as for my EC’s I’ve done a few major things:
-Volunteered in an Orphanage in Vietnam
-Worked at a camp for kids with Muscular Dystrophy (essay on this)
-Accepted for an internship in the Infectology Department of Scripps Florida (attempted to do gene modification on the Hepatitus C virus)
-Asked to be an intern at a local Industrial Chemistry lab and have worked there since September 2006
-Worked as a review session leader for Differential Equations at the local college. </p>

<p>Other than those, I have the normal EC’s:
-Junior Class President
-Envirothon Team Captain
-Environmental Committee Chair for National Honor Society
-Won awards in Foreign Language Competition for the County
-Varsity Water Polo Freshman, Sophomore, and Senior year</p>

<p>My essays are really strong according to the people I’ve let look at them (teachers, family, and friends)…and my recs are very good: My Calc II teacher who was also my 6th grade, Algebra II, and Geometry teacher and, thus, has known me since I was 11…my AP Macro teacher who I love, and the mom of the boy who I took care of at the Muscular Dystrophy camp has told me she wants to write a letter for me.</p>

<p>I guess my question, then, is will all of this other stuff be strong enough for Yale, despite the awful scores. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I plan on taking the ACT this September and the remainder of my SAT IIs in October or November. Oh, and I will be applying EA. Thanks a lot!</p>

2

<p>score 34+ on ACT and you’ll be set. You don’t need SAT IIs if you submit an ACT. What are your AP/IB scores? 2110 is low for being #3 at the 5th best school in USA with all those AP/IB. Were you feeling well when you took it?</p>

3

<p>I also am surprised you didn’t do SAT IIs when you did your AP/IBs. It’ll be a pain now.</p>

4

<p>I got a 7 on IB Math, 6 on IB Chem, and a mixture of 4’s and 5’s on all other AP exams. I should have taken the Lit SAT II, but I think I should still be fine taking it when I do…as for other SAT II tests, IB doesn’t seem to be great preparation for them…AP classes are way better since both exams are written by Collegeboard. That’s why I decided to wait. I don’t really know what happened with the SAT…I did well on the PSAT and got a 226. I may take them again.</p>

<p>Does it look weird if you submit an ACT and no SAT anything? I have taken ACT practice tests and usually get a 33 or 34. I’m hoping I perform similarly on the actual test.</p>

5

<p>Excellent course load although your scores are weak. Just out of curiosity how did you take differential equations before Calculus III (normally a multivariable calculus/linear algebra course). Was it ordinary or partial? Regardless, you have some interesting ECs that may get you noticed and I particularly like how you have strong essays. They truly do make or break an application. I don’t think sending in only the ACTs will look weird although you do have an 800 Math IIC so it might seem a shame to not share that score. Perhaps you should re-take the SATs once more and see if you can boast up your score, or improve your super score. And on a final note are you taking official practice ACT tests otherwise Princeton Review or Kaplan will not accurately gauge your performance on the real thing.</p>

6

<p>In case you were wondering, yoshi, the book used for Differential Equations was called A First Year Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications by Dennis G. Zill…there were a few things I was lacking because I didn’t do Calc III first, but I caught up. I actually decided to take the courses in that order so that I could avoid a god awful teacher. The ACT exams are old exams…so they should be accurate. Thanks for your response, I appreciate it. :)</p>