Any chance on Earth?

Coquettish
Sat, 03 Dec 2005 19:01:57 +0000

Howdy CC friends,

I would appreciate your opinion on my admission chances to this lovely institution.

I’m a female from Virginia…which is, in my opinion, the middle of nowhere. I mainly applied to Yale because it is in CT, which is in New England! I lean left on the political spectrum, and Virginia certainly does not offer a haven for liberals :-(

I would eventually like to study Biology, possibly with a neuroscience concentration, and journalism.

Quantitative data:

Old SAT: 730 Math; 730 Verbal; 1460 composite
New SAT: 720 Math; 740 Verbal; 790 Writing (11 essay); 2250 composite
SAT subject tests: 750 United States History; 730 Math IC; 740 Math IIC; 690 Biology (Molecular) ***I did Bio at the beginning of my AP Bio class before we had covered Photosynthesis and Respiration…surely, there’s something wrong with that ;-/
AP: AP US History 5; AP Calc AB 4; AP French Language 4
GPA: 4.8 (weighted); 4.0 unweighted; I’ve maintained straight As so far.
Class rank: Top 2% of large, competitive high school (~500 per graduating class)

I’m taking 5 AP classes as a senior, including Calc BC, Bio, Environmental Science, English, and Government. This is a very demanding schedule for seniors at our school.

Extracurricular activities:
–Three-year involvement in prize-winning school newspaper; Staff writer; Front Page Editor; current Deputy Editor-in-Chief; requires more than 5 hours of work per week (large staff; large newspaper)
–Four year member of French Club; current President; our club conducts regular French Club-esque activites such as Mardi Gras Celebrations and French movie nights as well as community service projects.
–Multicultural club; four-year member; current President; outreach to minorities in school as well as fundraising for impoverished children in India
–Two-year member of Interact Club; active member; Angel Tree, Habitat for Humanity, local marathons, etc.
–12 years of classical piano (at least 5 hours per week)
–Two years of competitive swim team (5-12 hours per week depending on time-consuming swim meets)
–Key Club, Robotics, track, colorguard, and FDA (Future Doctors Association) - (I participated in these for one year; Colorguard was a pain because it is a segment of the marching band of my school and required literally 30 hours a week).

Community activities:
–Gallery education/exhibit interpretation at local science museum; I have accumulated over 200 hours and absolutely love this job; I get to play with hissing cockroaches and liquid nitrogen; I wrote one of my college essays about my volunteer job.
–Volunteer at local nursing home (assisted with events, festivities, etc.); over 50 hours
–Volunteer at local botanical garden (horticulture, garden greeting, language translation, etc.)
–Volunteer at local university labs (over 200 hours of service); took care of lab animals and equipment
–Piano concerts at local nursing homes

Work Experience:
–Job at local mall (~15 hours per week)
–Academic tutor at school (multitude of subjects)
–Red-Cross certified babysitter (~10 hours each week); I love children!

Awards and honors:
–First place in state-wide science fair; presented research to undergraduate-level fair
–Second place in regional science fair; progressed to state ISEF competition
–National Merit Commended
–AP Scholar
–High PSAT scores (3 consecutive years)
–National Honor Society
–Math Honors Society
–French Honors Society
–Journalism honors society
–Beta Club
–Superior rating in annual piano competitions
***I have more, but they’re kind of specific.

Independent scientific research is an important facet of my application. Since freshman year, I have undertaken research at local colleges and universities and have been mentored by accomplished professors. I have volunteered over 250 hours for this effort. My research revolved around alcohol tolerance and marijuana usage, which was pretty interesting. I intend to continue conducting research in college.

For two summers, I have also traveled abroad to participate in educational programs. I won’t list the countries or the programs, but one was two months long and absolutely amazing because of the diversity of the participants. I actually wrote about this experience for one of my college essays.

Because of journalism, I have numerous publications; I have also written for the local newspaper. I also was selected for a prestigious workshop this past summer. I was rated the best journalism student, so my work was nominated for advancement to the national competition level.

Essays: I think I’m a pretty decent writer, so they’re ok. I’m not sure if they will POP OUT to the admissions office, however, since everyone that applies to Yale is mind-boggingly accomplished. Nonetheless, one’s about my volunteer job and the other about my overseas camp experience.

Recommendations: One from two-year Calc teacher; one from Chemistry teacher; I think they should be pretty good; the one from the Chemistry teacher will be better though because he thinks I’m a “poster child.” Whatever…I also submitted a supplemental recommendation from my newspaper adviser, which I thought was well-written and nice…He related me to “Emerson’s Scholar,” which sounds like a complimentary thing.

Supplementary materials: CD of piano playing (Chopin!), journalism articles; science project research abstracts

I also sent along a resume a month after I submitted my application. Hopefully, they’ll look at it. ;-)

Alumni interview: Went really really well in my opinion. The guy (who was very elderly) went to Yale undergrad and then Harvard. He literally spent 2 hours talking to me and seemed tickled by the things I said. He also seemed quite tickled by things HE said…lol. He was just a really talkative guy and was EXTREMELY knowledgeable about EVERYTHING I brought to the table. Anyways, he was very interested in my culture and wrote me an e-mail later telling me that out of the 15 years he had served as an alumni interviewer, he had only encountered 2 or 3 individuals that seemed to offer all I have to offer.

I applied to Yale EA, but am realistically anticipating a deferral. Although I do have admirable accomplishments, my test scores are not (bad) but sort of average. What do you think my chances are for Regular Decision? How do I stand at some of the other Ivies?

Thanks guys! :-D