'Chancing' Never Gets Old! Why Stop Now?

Colleges & Universities Yale University
1

<p>I know, I know. “GREAT. Another selfishly obsessive prospective college-goer, wanting US to read all about HIS life. Why isn’t it all about me for a change?”</p>

<p>Or something like that.</p>

<p>Nevertheless, if ANY of you darling CCers might shed a glance or two at what I’m about, I would very much appreciate such a notion.</p>

<p>landry37:</p>

<p>Objective:
GPA: 4.0 Unweighted
SAT: 2390 (CR 800; M 800; W 790)
Subject Tests: Literature 770; Mathematics 2 800; Biology E 800
Class Rank: 1/341 (Mid-sized Public Catholic-affiliated School)
Most difficult course load available</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extra-curriculars:
Model United Nations (2-year Participant)
Completion of Grade 9 Royal Conservatory Piano with Honours (submitting an Arts Supplement, which includes ‘Clair de lune’ - Debussy, ‘Nocturne in F# Major Op. 15 No. 2’ - Chopin, and ‘Gravy Waltz’ - Oscar Peterson)
Swim Team (Captain)
Arts Show Committee (co-founder; regular piano performer, about 3 shows per school year)
Cross Country (Co-captain)
Rugby (3-year participant)
School Newspaper (Regular Contributor; mostly Editorials; Assistant Editor)</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience:
First Aid Instructor / Examiner
Head Lifeguard / Head Swim Instructor (2 Years)</p>

<p>Volunteer / Community Service:
English as a Foreign Language Teacher
First Aid Instructor
Ecotourism camp volunteer - manual labor
(First three are upcoming projects; I’ll volunteer in Tanzania for 3 months as a part of my ‘Gap’ Year and will be doing a combination of those three things)
FeedFour: a project that my two friends and I recently started, and is spreading fast enough among fellow college classmates. It’s only just starting to get off the ground now, but essentially we’re going around the downtown core of our City (Toronto, Canada), and providing meals we’ve made ourselves to as much of the Homeless population as we can. Maple Leaf(^TM) meats is providing us with the means to make lots and lots of sandwiches for these people. What sets us apart from other soup kitchens etcetera is the fact that instead of just giving food and sending people on their merry way, we sit down and have a conversation with whomever we’re helping out. It’s really a lot of fun, and it shows in a more-than-money way that we care. This activity, even though it’s fairly recent and doesn’t have a lot of time to grow, is what I’m hoping will stand out in my application. However, I’m really doing it because it’s taught me a myriad of valuable lessons. I hope to expand this at Yale, as their surrounding community is ideal for our program… but I digress;
Tutor: High school level Mathematics, Sciences, and English. About 200 hours total.
Swim Team Coach: For my old elementary school. Around 150 hours.</p>

<p>Essays:
CommonApp about how my sister and I nursed an injured hummingbird back to health.
Yale supplement: so far I’ve had the ten closest people to me read them over and tweak them so that they all sound like me. I’ve made sure they’re still the original essays, though.</p>

<p>Teacher / Counsellor Recommendations: I still keep in touch with my three favourite teachers as well as my counsellor even though I’ve graduated. My one teacher and I brainstorm recommendation ideas together, so I’m certain they’ll be fine.</p>

<p>Additional Recommendation: From a family friend, Tom Chau (you can Google him), with whom I researched innovation for mechanomyographic control of upper extremity prosthesis (I am starting to understand what I’m researching, but it’s mostly the process that’s important).</p>

<p>Other:
Financial Aid: Applying for it.
Intended Major: Undecided - between A LOT (ie. Music, English, International Relations, Environmental Studies / Engineering, it could be anything at this point.). I know this is generally frowned upon, but honestly, why try to show depth in aptitude for any one given subject in high school? High school barely scratches the surface of subjects; you can much more easily discover what you enjoy in college.
International Applicant: Canada
Ethnicity: 3/4 Caucasian, 1/4 Trinidadian (African Canadian) - Grandfather was from Trinidad.
Income Bracket: $120-140K
Hooks: URM (sort of), First generation college</p>

<p>There you have it!
If you’d like me to gauge your own chances, I’d be more than happy to oblige.</p>

2

<p>By the way, I realize that it’s more appropriate to say that I’m Caribbean-Canadian, but I just wanted to express that I’m a quarter black lol</p>

3

<p>To keep it simple, I’m pretty sure (80%… which is very high) you’re in. :)</p>

4

<p>your stats and ECs are very similar to a friend of mine. and he is a current sophomore at yale :] i’d say good shot.</p>

5

<p>Eh your sat score is a little low. I’d probably apply to a couple community colleges to be safe. Why even post chances?</p>

6

<p>There is seemingly not a single flaw in your application. If you don’t get in, just accept that there is no formula to the process.</p>

<p>But just about no one has a better chance than you.</p>

7

<p>Hahah, just because there are people that have done WAY more than me. I don’t hold any major awards, my volunteer work is only just starting to be recognized regionally, and I’m spread quite wide; little depth in any one given category. I know that this phrase is thrown around a lot on CC, but I don’t necessarily show ‘passion’ for any one given area.
There are Olympians, professional cartoonists, international Mathematics Olympiad finalists, filmmakers, software designers, UN Representatives, and a plethora of other wonderful people at Yale. What am I? Why should I get a spot in the incoming class?
(I do appreciate the optimistic replies, though) ;)</p>

8

<p>I think Legacies would have a better shot :P</p>

9

<p>^Sure, but there are only so many African American valedictorians with a near perfect SAT.</p>

10

<p>That’s true, but remember, I’m 3/4 white! However, in Canada, the valedictorian is not chosen based on rank, and although I submitted a speech, one of my good friends beat me out. We DID help each other out with the speeches, though. Anyways, I wasn’t valedictorian, but I was runner-up. That doesn’t really count for anything, though. :S</p>

11

<p>Wait, sorry to rehash this thread, but are Valedictorians in the US chosen based on rank?</p>

12

<p>Yes- #1 in the class is typically valedictorian, based on GPA.</p>

13

<p>Generally speaking, sure, #1 is valedictorian. However, at my school, we now have a process where the top 5 kids based on rank are evaluated by a committee of school board representatives.</p>

<p>Also, I think that your application is stellar. My only comment is keep it short when describing your community service, and be sure to check at see that you aren’t exaggerating your hours of service. I’m not saying that it was intentional (or even true for you), but many times, people have a tendency to think that they do far more community service than they actually do. Just check your hours carefully.</p>

<p>And just because you don’t have any major awards, that isn’t to say you lack passion. I consider myself very well balanced (much like yourself), and in many ways this also shows passion.</p>

<p>I’d love to hear about the mechanomyographic research. If you don’t mind, please PM me with more info.</p>

14

<p>Im just curious, does Yale discriminate against Canadians who apply for FA? It is not clear at all in the websites.</p>

<p>Im interested because I have a few French Canadian friends who are applying into US and asking for FA.</p>

15

<p>no, yale is need-blind, even for internationals.</p>

<p>to OP: it would be a serious anomaly if you didn’t get in. even then, harvard, princeton or stanford would most likely accept you, so you’ll always have something decent to fall back on.</p>

16

<p>Brilliant. Obviously ivy acceptance is tricky and sometimes seemingly random, but I’d say you’re as close to guaranteed as it gets.</p>

17

<p>My only question is…How?, how in the world do you do all of that stuff, its people like you that make me think that I have no chance of getting accepted, and I consider myself to be a decent applicant. So I guess in a way that is a compliment to you. I can barely find the time for three activities after school due to the amount of homework I get. You my friend, are either otherworldly, a great liar, or just ridiculously smart. Enjoy your time at Yale.</p>

18

<p>OP, </p>

<p>so u took a year off after your 12th grade? Is that why you have time to pursue those activities?</p>

19

<p>Everyone else has already said what I was going to say about your chances, so I just want to say that both Clair de Lune and Nocturne in F# are on my list of top 5 favorite piano pieces ever. Props.</p>

20

<p>I’m going to tell you to take the replies so far with a grain of salt. Plenty of people with similar stats got rejected, and, honestly, nothing you’ve described quite jumps out at me. Your EC’s look like they’re all over the map, so it’s somewhat difficult to really convey “passion” (whatever that means). Your biggest crutch is probably your URM status (if you can even call it that). I would aim for REALLY perfecting those essays. </p>

<p>I don’t mean to be rude or anything. It’s just that prospective applicants often overestimate chances. I’m not going to say you don’t have a good shot, but I will say that for places like HYPS, even a good shot could easily yield a rejection.</p>