are CC's stats actually inflated?

Colleges & Universities Yale University
1

<p>hi,</p>

<p>so i’ve been browsing a bit (actually, a lot, i’m so neurotic haha) and i’ve noticed that a lot of people tell each other in chance threads not to be so harsh if someone doesn’t have a 3.9+ and 2300+, because “cc stats are inflated,” and that it’s only natural because “only the most competitive students will seek out this kind of forum.”</p>

<p>so, i’m asking, are they actually inflated? i would not be terribly surprised if yale’s average accepted GPA hovered around a mid to high 3.9, but if they are inflated, what actually is the average GPA? from what i’ve seen, most students at the toughest prep schools usually have a 3.9, if not a 4.0. are there unhooked people who actually get in with 3.8’s?</p>

<p>i’m hoping they are, because i’m an unhooked asian with a low 3.8 or more precisely 7 B’s if we’re talking semesters (albeit, i go to a tough un-ranking prep school and had some problems sophomore year), and i’ve pretty much seen about 2 unhooked asians in the class of 2012 EA thread (speaking of decision threads, where’s the 2012 RD decision thread?!) that got in with a 3.8 or lower. one had a 3.75, actually, which i took to be a typo since a chance thread 2 months before decision day listed a 3.85, and the other one just listed 3.8. the other 3.8’s were from the 2013 EA thread, an african american student, the other from a white legacy.</p>

<p>(there are, however, plenty of 3.6-4.0 unhooked people of all ethnicities being deferred)</p>

2

<p>more importantly, will this transcript suffice? (assume the last 2 A’s are for electives; the numbers in brackets is the GPA on the 4.0 A /3.0 B scale INCLUDING the non-academic electives for THAT YEAR)</p>

<p>9th [3.93]:
semester 1:B+, A-, A-, A, A, A, A
semester 2:A-, A-, A-, A-, A, A, A</p>

<p>—moved to tough prep school which is on trimesters—</p>

<p>10th [3.57… ouch]:
t1:B, B, B+, A-, A-, A, A
t2:B, B+, B+, A-, A-, A, A
t3:B, B, B+, A, A, A, A</p>

<p>11th [3.95]:
t1:B+, A-, A-, A, A, A, A
t2:A-, A-, A, A, A, A, A
t3:A, A, A, A, A, A, A</p>

<p>cumulative, 3.82 uw.</p>

<p>please forgive me for being so paranoid about my grades…</p>

3

<p>Chance threads are sort of meaningless.</p>

<p>It’s perfectly accurate to say it’s ‘good’ to have high grades/stellar ECs/awesome recs yadda yaddaa…</p>

<p>But no one on here REALLY knows how to quantify any of that. </p>

<p>Just do your absolute best in everything. That’s a tall order, yeah, but you’re applying to Yale.</p>

4

<p>Maybe… CC Yale EA applicant statistics show that we had a higher acceptance rate than the norm. However, don’t put too much emphasis on statistics. They will get a glance at most by frantic adcoms. I think the essay is the deal maker in any application. 7 B’s is sorta a lot… I hope Yale is familiar with your school rigor and system. </p>

<p>Oh and…
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/126481-official-yale-ea-decisions-class-2010-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/126481-official-yale-ea-decisions-class-2010-a.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/163263-official-yale-rd-decisions-class-2010-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/163263-official-yale-rd-decisions-class-2010-a.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/275050-official-yale-scea-decisions-class-ohleven-11-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/275050-official-yale-scea-decisions-class-ohleven-11-a.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/315947-official-class-11-regular-decision-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/315947-official-class-11-regular-decision-thread.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/484228-decisions-up.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/484228-decisions-up.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Knock yourself out… I’ve been keeping tabs on every admissions cycle for top schools in the last three years. Going through these never reassured me in the slightest. Ever… Only made me feel woefully inadequate and hopeless.</p>

5

<p>^ Same.</p>

<p>Also, to hell with eigen anything. </p>

<p>Wikipedia is oodles better at explaining things than my book.</p>

6

<p>^ Same.</p>

<p>Also, to hell with eigen anything. </p>

<p>Wikipedia is oodles better at explaining things than my book.</p>

7

<p>double poster ladies and gentlemen!</p>

8

<p>They’re not inflated necessarily… they might just be ■■■■■ posts. Keep that in mind.</p>

9

<p>chair2-</p>

<p>I think your real question is “Could someone be admitted with grades like mine?” The answer is “probably”. It might also be “Do I have a chance of admission?”, to which the answer is a little murkier.</p>

<p>Even if you had straight A’s on the most challenging coursework your school has to offer, and assuming you have similar test scores, in the mind of an admissions officer this would only support the inference that you can handle the coursework. Admission to a school like Yale will likely turn on whether or not they also think you can bring something to the Yale community that other candidates with perfect and near-perfect academic records do not have. Do you think you have this? It doesn’t have to be national awards nor outstanding leadership nor superior athletic skills nor some element of demographic/geographic diversity. It could just be an remarkable set of personality traits or a record of overcoming severe setbacks. It does have to be something that can be demonstrated in your application either by record or essay or personal recommendation – hopefully in multiple and mutually reinforcing such ways.</p>

<p>If you think you have this, then what elements of doubt your earlier grades might create for a reader of your application can be overcome in these ways:

  • An upward trend in your grades (which your record thus far demonstrates but must continue), especially in increasingly demanding courses.
  • Excellent test scores (on all standardized tests: SAT/ACT, Subject, and AP/IB exams)
  • Letters of recommendation from your teachers and counselor, especially one who has witnessed and is willing to attest to your maturing performance.</p>

<p>If an admissions officer sees these, s/he is likely to conclude you’re not an academic risk and ignore your earlier somewhat weaker grades. Then s/he will be able to evaluate both the additional value you might add to campus and the additional value a Yale education might provide to you.</p>

<p>So, I would suggest you concentrate on the things you can control (like your current grades, future course selections, and extra-/co-curricular activities) and evaluate your situation next Fall when application time comes around.</p>

10

<p>“…So, I would suggest you concentrate on the things you can control…”</p>

<p>These are sage words.</p>

<p>Doris Davis told me that at both Yale and Cornell, adcoms held in primary importance those things an applicant has control over, and in secondary importance those things they don’t.</p>

11

<p>thanks for the responses, guys. a few more quick questions too:</p>

<p>No2EULA, would you consider my weak grades something i could have controlled? they’re probably in my control, but the moving thing was not and i don’t know if the consequences, namely the grades, would be considered ‘in my control.’</p>

<p>Descartesz, the whole cohesive improvement theme plus a specialized skill sounds like the only way in. i’m going to try my hardest to achieve that theme, but would it be too direct to ask your teachers to include things in their recs? also, i’m a pretty avid artist (some awards, hoping for some national recognition) with a fairly strong portfolio and hopefully a strong supplemental rec–do schools like Yale sort of actively recruit kids with specialized talents that make them mind B’s less?</p>

12

<p>

</p>

<p>That’s what she said… :slight_smile: </p>

<p>OMG… I need some sleep.</p>

13

<p>chair, I PM’d you.</p>

14

<p>@ Gryffon:
[bro]

  • double High five, chest bump*
    [/bro]</p>

<p>“…but the moving thing was not…”</p>

<p>In Yale’s Admissions FAQ (Seriously, that page is awesome), they present the scenario of someone getting sick and having a drop in grades.</p>

<p>All said and done, if you have circumstances you want Yale to know about; Have your guidance counselor tell them, either in the recommendation or mid year report.&lt;/p>

15

<p>

</p>

<p>Yale does not “recruit” artists in the same way it recruits athletes. (Someone with the name recognition of, say, Lang Lang, might be an exception.) A really good art portfolio can help your application, but first you have to get past a certain gate with the basic academic elements. For the vast majority of applicants at the most selective schools, if you don’t make the first cut on the big three – grades, rigor of curriculum, and test scores – the admissions committee will not send your art portfolio on to the art faculty for review. Fine arts faculty just doesn’t have time to review the portfolios of students deemed inadmissible on academic grounds. </p>

<p>So your portfolio will not make Yale “mind your Bs less.” But a few Bs on a transcript are not an automatic deal breaker at schools like Yale. It all depends on the rest of your academic profile.</p>

16

<p>^ And if you don’t believe him about the Bs, google “Yale interview Scott Clarke”</p>

<p>Then ctrl F : transcript.</p>

<p>Look around for him talking about Bs.</p>