<p>I agree with a lot of what Jordi offered. Definitely work your butts off in the next few weeks left of the school year and make sure your grades are good.</p>
<p>To be honest, though, for the most part, the academic portion of your application is done because you can only really control your end-of-year grades, and if you apply SCEA, senior grades might be irrelevant (although you should still work hard to show Yale that you’re still doing well).</p>
<p>I think the most important thing is to spend time on your essays and thinking about who is going to write your recommendations. I firmly believe that my essays and recommendations catapulted me into Yale, more so than my grades and ECs alone would have done. The essay is where you get to show the admissions officer WHO YOU ARE and what makes you unique. I’m sure that academically you are qualified to go to Yale (otherwise, I doubt you’d be applying). But what makes you more special than the next person? Think about this and make sure that comes through in your essays and application. That is what will capture the admissions officer’s attention and say, “Wow, this kid would really be great for Yale!” (I know this is all clich</p>