<p>SAT: 730 math, 720 reading and writing (2170)
Subject tests: 770 physics, 760 bio, 730 math II
GPA: unweighted 4.0, my school doesn’t weight.
classes: I’ve taken all honors up to junior year, when I took AP physic(5 on the exam)
(my school only allows one AP junior year)
this year I’m taking
AP calc BC
AP bio
AP spanish
AP gov
I have 100 average first quarter in calc, spanish and bio</p>
<p>EC/titles:
ukulele club
swimming for three different teams since I was 6
(started varsity swim in 7th grade)
top point scorer on the varsity team every year
national honor society
national hispanic recognition program
Lat summer i went to ecuador and worked in an orphanage and also shadowed three doctors
violinist in the chamber and symphony orchestra at my school
taught children how to swim last school year, and every summer since 9th grade
taught violin to children</p>
<p>I know my SAT is very weak, but I only took it once because I wanted to focus on keeping my grades high. I’m in the top 5% at my school.
I’m a hispanic female, so I’m hoping that will help me?
What do you think?</p>
<p>Ah hem. Unless their parents are planning to pay for a new building, NOBODY’s chances are “great.” NO ONE is “probably in.” @thegrant might look over the admitted students threads for Ivy League schools that are posted every spring. They are very telling.</p>
<p>OP, you are competitive. Being Hispanic compensates a little for your SAT scores. Your long-term commitment to swimming is a plus. You have 3 different ECs that indicate a commitment to helping kids, and that’s very good. If you can, you might choose an essay topic that lets you expand on that.</p>
<p>If Yale really is your first choice, I think applying early is reasonable.</p>
<p>Write a killer essay. Do NOT write about your trip to Ecuador. The “Mission Trip Summer” is an incredibly common theme for college essays. You will not distinguish yourself with that one Try to be more creative. It would also help if you were a leader in one of your activities…captain of your swim team? President of a club? started something on your own? It looks like you are a good member and team player, but how have you distinguished yourself from the crowd? </p>
<p>I am sick to death of the advice that one needs to be a “leader”. I strongly believe that it means next to nothing to be the captain of the sports team. Being captain of a team means often means little more than being a senior who’s a good sort of kid and well-liked. Sure a school like Yale wants some people that will grow up to be Senators or the next President. But creating a class full of “leaders” is about as useful, and about as interesting, as creating a class full of classic majors, or computer geeks, or tuba players. </p>
<p>@iswim1097, as WasatchWriter says, I think applying SCEA is reasonable. You know the odds, but I personally think Yale needs another chlorine-soaked ukulele player. </p>
<p>Good luck, but be sure to have researched alternatives. </p>
<p>ETA: re the “leader” stuff; you were the points leader on the varsity swim team, surely that counts as much as getting elected captain in a popularity contest, doesn’t it? </p>
<p>My son had very similar stats:<br>
SAT: 2210
Subject tests: Math 790, Chem 760, can’t remember the last one but it was 740
Finish HS with 11 AP and scored 5 in all
GPA: unweighted 4.0, weighted 5.2 (Val)
EC’s: 8 years of club competitive swimming including 4 years varsity
3 years of water polo varsity
NHS, All American Academic, 2 consecutive years named scholar athlete of the school (almost 4,000 students)
Over a 150 community hours
He applied to 12 schools and was accepted to 11 including Yale, Columbia, Penn, Brown, Cornell, Duke, Rice and 3 public schools. Hispanic with both parents not college graduates.
He did write a killer essay and even though he did not read his teachers recommendations I know they were great. The only school he was rejected was Princeton SCEA!!! but he knows he messed up on the supplemental essays. He’s now at Yale and loves it and he’s playing water polo club. Good luck with your applications. I’m sure you’ll ended up where you need to be</p>
<p>You aren’t wasting your time. I think you are competitive. Now… that does NOT mean you will get in. But it is worth a shot for you (and I would say so if I thought it wasn’t).</p>
<p>OP, you will get into multiple very selective schools (as long as you apply to a number of them). Yale may be one of them. I think it’s worth applying SCEA, but if you don’t get in, you will still get into very good schools RD.</p>
<p>A note on leadership: having a leadership title is not as important as being able to demonstrate that you actually led somebody.</p>
^^ And colleges expect teacher recommendations to highlight a student’s leadership ability. I’ve written this on other threads, but I guess it needs repeating: </p>
<p>If Yale is your top choice, definitely apply early. Your stats are strong and you seem dedicated. A 2170 is fine. It’s all down to how the admissions office sees you at this point. I hope you’ve written great essays. Best of luck.</p>
<p>On the topic of leadership at Yale, I happened to see this today when checking my application:
“Many years ago, former Yale President Kingman Brewster wrote that selecting future Yale students was a combination of looking for those who would make the most of the extraordinary resources assembled here, those with a zest to stretch the limits of their talents, and those with an outstanding public motivation – in other words, applicants with a concern for something larger than themselves. He said, “We have to make the hunchy judgment as to whether or not with Yale’s help the candidate is likely to be a leader in whatever he [or she] ends up doing.” Our goals remain the same today. Decade after decade, Yalies have set out to make our world better. We are looking for students we can help to become the leaders of their generation in whatever they wish to pursue.”</p>
<p>But this seems to be the prevailing ideal: In selecting future Yale students, President Brewster wrote, “I am inclined to believe that the person who gives every ounce to do something superbly has an advantage over the person whose capacities may be great but who seems to have no desire to stretch them to their limit.” Within the context of each applicant’s life and circumstances, we look for that desire and ability to stretch one’s limits.</p>
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