<p>For those who have not yet applied RD or are intending to apply next year and beyond, I have some myths to clear up. While reading this, bear in mind that I am a totally unhooked admit from a wealthy public school that, nevertheless, has gotten about 2 people into Yale in its history.</p>
<p>MYTH #1: Don’t exceed essay word limits by more than a few words.
Response: Both of my essays were ~700 words, and they worked for me! I would advise not adding extra words for the hell of it, but I definitely WARN AGAINST cutting out words and subsequently detracting from your essay’s quality in order to reach 500.</p>
<p>MYTH #2: Don’t send a supplementary letter of recommendation.
Response: I sent one, and it worked for me. Bear in mind, however, that I assume that this recommendation letter was excellent. So, if you have a third person that you think could write you an amazing recommendation, send it in!</p>
<p>MYTH #3: Don’t send a resume–this annoys admissions officers!
Response: I sent a resume because I thought that several of my activities needed more complete explanantions. It was very long (4 pages?) but very readable…and it worked. And by the way, I am almost certain that it was my extra-curricular involvement that got me in (in addition to good grades/scores…but those are given, as you all should know)</p>
<p>MYTH #4: Don’t take Math Level I and Math Level II as 2/3 required SAT IIs.
Response: I took them both, mainly because I thought that buying an SAT II prep book in a subject I didn’t take just to study for a standardized test would be a waste of time. Also, I have very little interest in math/science, but these SAT IIs still worked for me. My best advice is to simply take the three tests on which you think you can score the highest. I don’t think the specific subject of the test matters.</p>
<p>If other admitted students did supposedly “taboo” things with their applications, feel free to posts more MYTHS and Responses on this thread. I know that, if this were up several months ago, many of my anxieties would have been calmed. I hope this helps some of you!! Best of luck applying to Yale!</p>
<p>Agreed…You have no way to know whether you can be called an exemplary applicant (using yourself as the example of the successful applicant)…as nutmeg said, you may have gotten in despite those bits.</p>
<p>But other than that…congrats on getting admitted!!! You’re awesome!</p>
<p>Well, I did all of the above as well except for Math I/II (I sent the ACT) and was accepted EA. So even if it was an acceptance “in spite of”, I don’t think it hurt my app in a big way.</p>
<p>nutmeg every year there is more than enough qualified candidates to fill up the spots, so if there is even one thing that annoys them a lot, they can might as well take someone else</p>
<p>stupak, thats what had me worried. many of those supposed myths had almost convinced me that I seriously screwed up app and my chances. yet I write this now as an admit despite the dreaded post-limit essay and supp. rec. This site is very informative, but with all that info comes an excess of useless fluff. beware. Congrats to fellow 11ers!</p>
<p>webviper, i’m not sure but i think you’re under the impression that i disagree with the OP. i am in total agreeance with him. i did 3/4 things he did, and got admitted too. i think there are far worse things to pi. ss off an adcom than do those “dreaded myths”</p>
<p>stupak, I understood your agreement. I share in the consensus that those myths are mere toys of speculation. I did a couple of those things too, and yet, here I stand.</p>
<p>This is ridiculous, and I say this at a current Yalie. I saw all of those being done by people and they got rejected. Don’t presume that because one or two of you did it and got in, this makes it okay.</p>
<p>There is a reason the admissions office tells you certain things. You might have had a strong enough application that this didn’t matter. But to presume that your application is a strong enough reason that these myths don’t exist is preposterous and I hope you don’t come here with that sort of attitude.</p>
<p>You are not the first to ever say those myths are false and get rejected. Others weren’t the first to get rejected and do all those four things above.</p>
<p>I am not questioning whether those myths are right or wrong. I’m just asking you not to assume they are wrong because in your class, they didn’t affect you.</p>
<p>On the supplemental letter of rec–I don’t think this is a big no-no. If you have someone who is going to write you an excellent letter and if it from a different perspective than from your academic recs, I think it’s fine. Admissions presentations I have seen have said as much.</p>
<p>What I have warned against is sending in other types of supplemental materials. Just because you play an instrument doesn’t mean you should send in a CD. Just because you’ve done research, doesn’t mean you should send the abstract. Just because you’re an artist doesn’t mean you should send in your portfolio. You should only send in this stuff it is of extremely high caliber, not just for your school, but for the insanely talented Yale applicant pool. I see some posters who want to send in all sorts of stuff that, from what I can tell, is overkill bordering on ridiculous.</p>
<p>AdmissionsAddict- I sent in my research abstract that was accepted at an American Association for Cancer Research conference (and I presented it there), but that’s not exactly the same as being funded by NIH or being published in Nature. Was that a mistake I should avoid for future applications? (I was deferred EA from Yale, btw.)</p>
<p>webviper and jegan: thank you for understanding the purpose of my post.</p>
<p>i don’t RECOMMEND doing these things, nor do i assert that any or all of them will help you (after all, i didn’t see them deliberate over my app), i am just posting this as anecdotal evidence to calm the nerves of future applicants who do the same. </p>
<p>and honestly, reyes, admissions DOESN’T tell you not to do these things. they are just assumed to be taboo, in most cases. </p>
<p>no one has to take what i say as 100% truth, but all i know is, if this post were up a week/several months ago, i would have been a LOT less nervous!!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice on the essay, onetimequestion! I’m currently a junior and plan on applying next year Also, I can relate with you about your school - my high school is the wealthiest in our area, yet we’ve only sent one kid to an Ivy (Harvard - and he was a recruit!) in its 50 years of existence.</p>
<p>One question though - are you a math/science major?</p>
<p>Nope. I have minimal interest in math/science, actually, yet my three SAT IIs were Math Level I, Math Level II, and Chemistry. I took those three out of convenience–they didn’t require any extra studying.</p>
<p>I put down political science, history, and ep&e ( a combination of politics, econ, and philosophy) as my prospective majors. In high school, I was VERY dedicated to several international relations/politics groups as well as my school’s newspaper. My ECs were very focused on politics, in general, and my essays were very different: one spoke of my passion for politics (with an anecdote) and the other showed the zaniness of my personality. I was very honest, didn’t “dress up” my activities, and just seemed like a “person.” I presume all of that helped me.</p>
<p>Well, you are certainly a breath of fresh air and a shining ray of hope to me then! I love politics, history, econ, and the language arts. I also like how you wrote an essay about your personality and didn’t sugar-coat it. I think now I know what direction I want to steer my future essay…one that -truly- reflects me as a person, imperfections and all. Anyway…thanks and I hope you have a great time at Yale! :)</p>
Also, I can relate with you about your school - my high school is the wealthiest in our area, yet we’ve only sent one kid to an Ivy (Harvard - and he was a recruit!) in its 50 years of existence.</p>