applying regular decision for the yale university class of 2020; i know my gpa started off at a rough start, but i’m hoping the positive trajectory will be enough
transcript:
only rigorous class listed; all gpas are weighted
3.2 -freshman year
honors geometry
3.4 -sophomore year
honors french II
3.9 -junior year
honors french III
honors british literature
honors us history
4.3 -senior year (1st quarter)
ap english literature
ap french
ap psychology
ap statistics
honors calculus
test score: 27 ACT
extracurriculars at school:
model united nations -founder of club and president
diversity club -founder of club and president
varsity golf -captain
french club -president
peer connection (selected membership) -founder of committee that focuses on students with racial/religious issues
freshman seminar mentor
tells jokes every week to entire school -selected from 120 students
outside of school:
arabic classes for high school students once a week (2 hours) at yale university
volunteers at orphanage in morocco (30 hours per summer since freshman year)
member of international relations club at yale for high school students
awards/academic recognition:
national french exam placed in the top 10 nationally and instate both sophomore year + junior year
national french honor society
additional information:
first person in family to go to college
child of immigrants
hook (parent is a professor)
trilingual (english, arabic, french)
Can you retake ACT? Your 27 is a practical impossibility. You should form your target list with help from your guid counselor. No very selective colleges should be on that list, I’m afraid
Based on what you’ve written, your projected cumulative GPA will be 3.6 weighted. Meaning it’s about a 3.2 unweighted. That, plus your sub-32 ACT make you unviable for more selective colleges. Please meet with your HS guidance counselor to craft a wise college target list. That first “attending college in the US” won’t be a factor whatsoever. You’re clearly from an educated household.
Given your projected 3.2 unweighted GPA, Yale Admissions Officers are going to wonder if you can do the work on their campus. AO’s don’t want to admit a student and set them up for failure, so they will be looking closely at your teacher recommendations, which according to Yale is the second most important part of your application after your transcript.
What are your teachers going to say about you in their letters of recommendations? Are you one of the brightest student’s in their class? Do you lead classroom conversations? Do your fellow classmates look up to you for inspiration? Are you a role model that others seek to emulate?
I would think the very top students in your high school would get the most stellar recommendations, which sometimes leaves teachers struggling for compliments that are sincere, such as “ctgirl1001 is a hard worker and determined student.” That kind of recommendation, coupled with your GPA, makes Yale an ultra high reach for you.
I imagine Yale is looking for the exact same thing. My best guess is that successful academic recruits to Yale need to have at least what Yale is looking for from their recruited athletes.