Do I have hope?

Colleges & Universities Yale University
1

<p>Should I harbor hopes to get in? I don’t have any shining accomplishments, and I’m an ORM. </p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown M/CR/W/Essay): 2310 (M-730/CR-780/W-800/10) One sitting
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II (subject, score): Math II-800; Biology E-780; Chinese-780
Unweighted/Weighted GPA: UW-3.83; W-4.69
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6th out of 229
AP/IB (place score in parentheses): US Government (5), US History (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP French, AP Physics C, AP Biology, AP Calc BC, AP English Literature, AP Statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): US Academic Decathlon National level bronze in speech and interview, ACDA Eastern Children’s Choir, ACDA National Women’s Choir
Common Awards (AP Scholar, honor roll, NM things, etc.): NHS, National French Honor Society</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (name, grade levels, leadership, description): US Academic Decathlon (9-12, president); Key Club (9-12, vice president); varsity girls tennis (9-12, captain, all-conference honorable mention); karate (6-12, black belt, student teacher)
Job/Work Experience: Unpaid intern at local chamber of commerce (nothing special)
Volunteer/Community Service: local choir (6-12, 250+ hours, student president); Key Club (175+ hours)
Summer Experience: Girls State (girls nation alternate)
Teacher Recommendation #1: Knows me well, should be 8 or 9 out of 10
Teacher Recommendation #2: Knows me, don’t know if generic or not
Counselor Rec: She said it was “kick-ass” (her words, not mine), but might be generic
Additional Info/Rec: Choir director sent rec, generic
Interview: Haven’t had one (yet.)</p>

<p>Writing (Subject, 1-10 rating, details):
Additional essay: really good, creative topic, 9 out of 10
CommonApp Personal Statement: Influential teacher; 8 out of 10, nothing spectacular
CommonApp Activity Essay: Academic decathlon and the power of teamwork; 8 out of 10</p>

<p>Other
U.S. State/Territory or Country: NJ
Citizenship: Canadian (applying as international student)
School Type: Public (pretty terrible; ranked 75-100)
Ethnicity: Chinese (-cries-)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket Range: applying for financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation, recruited athelete, development): None</p>

2

<p>Your GPA and SAT scores indicate that you are certainly a qualified applicant. Beyond that, so much of the applications process is subjective and comes down to how an admissions director “feels” after reading your teacher recommendations, guidance counselor report and essays, and compares them to all other applicants. So, should you have hope? Yes, you should always have hope! But, your hope also has to be tempered with the cruel reality that 94% of students get rejected from Yale.</p>

<p>My son and daughter attended a highly acclaimed middle school where the principal proudly proclaimed that she was a Yale reject. All through her middle school and high school years, she dreamed of attending Yale, but instead went to Wesleyan, where she discovered her passion and love for teaching. She used to say that if she had gone on to Yale, she probably would have done something else – and that would have been okay, but none of the students thriving at her school (including mine) would have benefited from her leadership and experience. As you go through life, remember that as each door closes, there are many other doors that are wide open. All you have to do is walk through them – and who knows where it will take you. Jeffrey Brenzel’s epilogue to the college process really sums it up: [Epilogue:</a> After Colleges Accept You | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.yale.edu/after-colleges-accept-you]Epilogue:”>After Colleges Accept You | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions). Best of luck to you!</p>

3

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<p>Please drop that. As a Chinese alumnus I find it grating. You’ve accomplished a ton. And no doubt your ethnicity helped you with some of that success. I brook no patience for Asians who bemoan applying to top schools and their supposed discrimination.</p>

<p>Honestly, you look very viable and I wish you the best of luck in you pursuit of Yale and other top schools. But please don’t continue down that path of “boo hoo, I’m Chinese”. It’s only a request – I have no right to tell you what to do. But good luck to you.</p>

4

<p>T26E4, I am proud to be Chinese (beyond belief. I’m not kidding.) I agree that I cannot use my ethnicity as an excuse, but one cannot deny that competition is markedly more fierce because of it.</p>

5

<p>You definitely have a chance. As the other poster said, your SAT and GPA mean your application will be given a look, and the rest comes down to feel/fit. They might want some more choir people (no idea if colleges really look for this) this year, or they could think that your essays and recs are wonderful enough to get you a spot. Good luck</p>

6

<p>lol I’m an asian chick applying from Canada too, I feel your pain hun.</p>