Deferral - What can I do to increase my chances?

<p>Decision: Deferred
[li] Intended Major: Chemistry</p>[/li]
<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 690 CR, 800 M, 780 W (9 essay) –> 1490 // 2270
ACT: 35 C – 36 E, 36 M, 34 R, 34 S (8 Essay)
SAT II: 800 Chem, 800 Math II, 740 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (3); World History (4), Chem (5), Physics B (5), Calculus AB (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Band, AP Cal BC, AP Lit, AP Bio, AP Gov’t, AP Language, Honors Senior Thesis
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): All-State Band (1st band 3rd chair); Superior Rating, Solo and Ensemble; </p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Jazz band (lead trombonist), Marching Band (section leader), Concert Band (section leader), Quiz Bowl (assistant captain), President - Band Council, Vice Pres. - Science and Engineering Club
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: 141 Hours of volunteering
Summer Activities: Band Camps (1st band 1st chair at all of them), Honor Band trip to Hawaii, volunteering, swim team
Essays: common app - a band experience (all-state audition) and how my passion in music has led me to take honors senior thesis (we write a 60 page paper in this class); yale - essay about my dad and his impact on me
Teacher Recommendation: Both excellent
Counselor Rec: excellent
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A </p>

<p>Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Chem
State (if domestic applicant): Arkansas (Little Rock)
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 75K - 100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none, really, i guess </p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: GPA, ACT scores (Maybe SAT - CR is iffy, i guess), SAT IIs, band stuff
Weaknesses: maybe i could have had a couple more ECs and leadership stuff </p>

<p>This is what I posted in the decision thread. I got deferred, so I still have a shot. What do you guys recommend that I can do to maybe have a better chance for RD? I was thinking about sending in a CD of me playing my trombone (etudes, solo work), but I never did it. I think doing that would have helped. Do you think that if I do it for this go-around that it would help at all? </p>

<p>Would retaking the SAT help any? I know I can break 2300 if I take it again (CR would go up), but I don’t know if it’s worth it. I don’t think my standardized test scores kept me from not getting accepted (considering people with higher scores than me got rejected). </p>

<p>Any input you guys have would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>I was defered as well…having no idea what is going on…</p>

<p>At this point I don’t think there’s anything you can do. Your test scores are great and were definitely not the reason you got deferred. If anything, it’s likely that Yale just had other candidates that had something else that stood out to them that did not in your application. Remember that what Yale looks for is the well-rounded individual that has something unique to offer to enrich the Yale community. Unfortunately if this was not already in your application, there’s nothing you can do at this point to change that. I wish you the best during RD and given the info you’ve posted I’d say you definitely still have a chance.</p>