How to Get Accepted at Yale

aspiringyalie
Sat, 14 Mar 2015 01:51:44 +0000

Hey guys! I am a freshman, and my dream school for college is Yale. I realize that it is extremely early, and that my current demographics are in no way indicative of what the outcome will be, but I was hoping for some insight on what extracurriculars and activities I should do, in order to make myself more competitive for the Yale Early Action pool, in a few years. I am seeking an outside perspective as to what I need to do additionally to set myself apart in this extremely competitive pool.

I am planning to apply to the NCSSM online program, because I think I will be more competitive at my base school than NCSSM, and I think I have a reasonable chance of getting in, as students with far lower grades and extracurricular activities have been accepted.

These are my current statistics, and my planned path for the next few years:

ACT: (not taken yet, but after prep, I will probably have either a 33 or 34)
SAT: (also not taken yet, but after prep, should be approximately a 2150-2250)
SAT II: Planning to take World History, Math Level 1, United States History, Biology, Math Level 2, Chemistry, & possibly French
Unweighted GPA: Currently, a 4.0, but will probably be around a 3.98~, after I take AP Calculus BC and AP Chemistry, which I think I will make As, instead of A+s in.
Rank: 2/583, but I will be 1/583, because current person who is 1 is not taking enough APs next year, and mathematically, I will be overtaking his rank.
*Note: My school does not give 4.0 for grades 93-100, you must score a 96-100 to get a 4.0 in classes, so my unweighted GPA will probably be lower.
Current Weighted GPA: 5.0
Planned Weighted GPA (if all goes well and I make 96s in all classes, except 93s in AP Calc BC/AP Chem): 5.6013

Course Schedule:

Freshman Year:
PE- 98
French 2- 100
Honors Math 2- 100
Honors English 1- 100
Honors Math 3- 100
Honors Civics & Economics- 100
Honors Biology- 100
Honors French 3- 96
AP World History- 99
AP Human Geography- 99

Sophomore Year:
Honors English 2
Honors Chemistry
Honors Pre-Calculus
AP Biology
AP United States History
AP Physics 1
AP Psychology
AP Statistics

Junior Year:
AP English 3
AP Calculus AB
AP Microeconomics
AP Macroeconomics
AP US Government & Politics
AP Physics 2
AP Chemistry
Honors French 4

Senior Year:
AP English 4
AP French 5
AP European History
AP Environmental Science
AP Physics C: Mechanics
AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism
AP Calculus BC

If I am accepted to NCSSM Online, I will take these classes (all of which are on a 6.0 scale), in addition to other classes:
Junior Year:
Climate Change Biology
Introduction to Applied Chemistry and Engineering

Senior Year:
Science, Catastrophe and Culture
Computational Chemistry

Extracurriculars:
Track and Field (4 years)
Varsity Tennis (maybe, 3 years, starting next year)
Public Forum Debate (5 years, competed on high school level as 8th grader)
Student 2 Student (4 years, President 10-12th grade)
Math Club (4 years, officer 10-12th grade)
Key Club (4 years, officer 11-12th grade)
Student Government (4 years)
National Honors Society (2 years, 11-12th grade)
UNICEF (3 years, 10-12th grade)
Starting own club in 10th grade (service-based club)
Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council (1 year, 8th grade)

Summer Programs:
National Debate Forum Debate Camp (3 years)
NC Governor’s School (planned, summer after junior year)

Awards:
Placed at multiple local debate tournaments (2nd place, 2nd place, 5th place) in Varsity Public Forum Debate
Octafinalist in Varisty Public Forum at TFL State Tournament
Triple-octafinalist at George Mason Patriot Games National Tournament in Varisty Public Forum

Demographics:
Male, Caucasian
North Carolina
Large, relatively competitive school
Upper-middle class income bracket

Recommendations:
Counselor recommendation should be stellar, and I plan to have two great teachers’ recommendations.

QUESTIONS:
What more do I need to do, in terms of extracurriculars? What should I do in my community as a service activity, that could serve as a hook? Do I need to pick up an arts activity, such as piano lessons? Do I need to do an internship after my junior year, pertaining to anything that I would like to go into (i.e. Law or Medicine)? Do I need to get a summer job? Ultimately, what do I need to do to help me get accepted at Yale? What am I lacking, and what do I need to help ensure that I have a chance of acceptance?