Linguistics major for Yale [3.9 GPA, 1560 SAT]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Demographics: northeast, hypercompetitive public school, ~180k income, first gen

Intended Major(s): linguistics

ACT/SAT/SAT II: 1560 (considering retaking)

UW/W GPA and Rank: 3.9UW (I’m currently a junior so this is a conservative estimate - most likely around a 3.95 in actuality).

Coursework: AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores, etc

freshman: all honors + AP Spanish Lang, compsci

soph: all honors + AP Spanish Lit, journalism

junior: APUSH, AP Calc BC, AP Lang, AP bio, AP german, journalism

scheduled for next year (senior): AP euro, honors multi, AP lit, AP french, journalism

Awards:

  • couple poetry awards

  • invited to speak at few prestigious linguistics conferences

  • many litmag publications (actual litmags - think adroit, etc)

  • scholastic things

  • very prestigious journalism + one very prestigious writing camp

  • nsli-y

Note: this section should be much better by the time of applications

Extracurriculars:

- LANGUAGES: Self studied Russian (TORFL C1), Spanish (DELE C1), Italian (CELI C1), German (Goethe B2), Mandarin (HSK 5), Portuguese (CELPE B2) to complete fluency. Also self-studied Latin and Sanskrit to complete fluency (but obviously no proficiency exams for those) - can also understand Greek, but definitely not fluent in it. ALL OF THESE SCORES ARE OFFICIALLY TESTED BY CEFR-ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS.

- MAJOR NONPROFIT: Rose to a very high leadership level in the world’s largest international indigenous language revitalization/documentation nonprofit. Increased language roster significantly, coordinating between universities across South America, Russia, and Italy to organize endangered language documentation through leveraging Spanish, Italian and Russian skills. Invited to speak at various major linguistics conferences and indigenous rights groups about my work. 6hrs every week for 9-11 (and will continue thru 12).

- FENCING: 6x Junior Olympics finishing in top 10% of age division, B-rating for foil. Technically it might have been possible to get recruited but it’s extremely draining. 12hrs every week so crazy time commitment

- LITERARY TRANSLATION: Published numerous translations of (what were previously untranslated) works of classical & Soviet Russian literature. Lot of poetry by classical poets like Mikhail Lermontov, and lot of full-on 300-page novels by Soviet authors like Valentin Pikul. 4hrs every week.

- WRITING: Published creative fiction (primarily short stories) and essays (about translation, linguistics, etc) in very prestigious literary journals and magazines (think yale review, guernica, threepenny). Decent amount of time here?

- BLOGGING: Writing about linguistics and classical literature on Substack. I primarily talk about how details of foreign classics are often missed in translations w/ examples - for example, I have a post on how much different Anna Karenina reads in Russian as compared to Pevear’s translation. Have been working on this since 6th grade and I spend roughly 2hrs/week here with weekly posts.

- SANSKRIT: I teach kids Sanskrit at the local mandir (Hindu temple). Honestly not too sure I’ll mention this because I lowk did this for fun. Like 1hr/week.

- WEBNOVEL TRANSLATION: I translate Chinese webnovels from Mandarin into German, Spanish, Russian, and Italian. Have amassed something like 750k views total.

- SCHOOL NEWSPAPER: Editor in chief of school newspaper. I also promoted the paper a lot and got it way more popular.

- SCHOOL LITERARY MAGAZINE: President of school’s literary magazine club; was responsible for growing it a lot

- SCHOOL RADIO CLUB: President of school’s radio club. Hosting podcasts, news segments, and just general talkshows for roughly 2hrs every week.

Essays/LORs/Other: I’m a junior, but good at writing so hopefully will be good. LORs should also be upper-decent, but I’m a bit hesitant about those. Overall, I’d say a conservative estimate for the essays and LORs will be around a 7-8/10, but most likely better.

Schools: List of colleges, ED/EA/RD, etc

Honestly, primarily Yale(!!!), UChicago, Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, etc. Yale is definitely my top choice, but it might be more strategic to apply ED to Columbia as compared to applying REA at Yale?

Please chance me as brutally as possible, and if there is any information left out of the post, just let me know.

Thank you so so much in advance.

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These colleges are all reaches due to their very low acceptance rates.

If you want to major in linguistics, why isn’t University of Massachusetts on your list.

I will add…it’s very easy to choose reach schools. I would suggest you identify two sure things for admission and affordability that you like to attend. Once you have those…THEN deal with reach schools.

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If your first choice is Yale, do not apply ED to Columbia. Apply REA to Yale!

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I already have safety schools! However, the way it’s looking at the moment is that if I don’t get into a reach, I’ll most likely go into something entrepreneurial right away instead of wasting my time at a safety. Of course, I’ll still definitely apply to safeties/targets too!

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Definitely!

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My younger kid applied to three colleges that were considered “safety schools” for her. She got a fabulous undergrad education and went on from there. She certainly never felt like she was “wasting her time” and neither did we.

Look at the UMass linguistics program. It’s one of the best in the country.

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You might ask @dfbdfb. He is a linguistics professor, I believe.

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Oh, I’m well aware of UMass. The issue is, I’m not in-state for UMass, and 40k a year for no real prestige is not worth it. I’m not trying to look down on people who are going to safeties, it just doesn’t look like something for me (assuming nothing changes drastically by December)

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Thanks! How should I try to reach out to them?

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Your choice. But I’d say one of the top linguistics programs in the country should NOT be overlooked.

Will you be receiving significant need based aid at those reach schools? If not, they will cost a lot more than $40k per year.

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I am sad that someone so accomplished would consider attending “a safety school” beneath them. There’s NOTHING you still have to learn- even if you are interested in entrepreneurship long term- can you understand a balance sheet? Do you understand how and why currencies fluctuate and how to develop appropriate risk strategies for doing businesses in multiple countries? Do you understand the various paths that countries like Brazil, India, China have taken towards industrialization and post-industrialization and what that has meant politically, socially, economically?

I find it hard to believe that at age 18 you’ll have the entire world figured out without a college education.

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I am sad that someone so accomplished would consider attending “a safety school” beneath them.

I don’t! Read the last part of this comment.

can you understand a balance sheet? Do you understand how and why currencies fluctuate and how to develop appropriate risk strategies for doing businesses in multiple countries? Do you understand the various paths that countries like Brazil, India, China have taken towards industrialization and post-industrialization and what that has meant politically, socially, economically?

It is actually really funny that you mention that, because yes, I actually do! I trade options and have managed to grow my Fidelity account from $750 to $20,000 since freshman year. I actually do also study economics - especially economic history! - on the side as well, since my plan was originally to double major in linguistics and economics. If you really want me to, I can absolutely explain all of those things to you!

I find it hard to believe that at age 18 you’ll have the entire world figured out without a college education.

I don’t think I do! My parents aren’t willing to pay for anything but a reach, though, so it’s either get into Yale, UChicago, Princeton, etc. or go to my state school. While Rutgers isn’t necessarily bad, I would hate to be trapped in the same exact place as hundreds of my other classmates who have put in a fraction of a fraction of the effort I have. As such, I would prefer to skip college altogether rather than go there.

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Will you be receiving significant need based aid at those reach schools? If not, they will cost a lot more than $40k per year.

My parents can definitely pay, although they - justfiably - are not willing to throw out 40k a year for a school that lacks tangible prestige. They have no problem paying for, say, Yale, UChicago, or Princeton, however.

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Other than a chance to summarize your wonderful bio and accomplishments, I’m not sure what your goal was in posting.

You may get into Yale! Or you may not!

There are many, many interesting and accomplished students who get into Columbia-- early and RD, and many more who do not.

Shoot your shot. But counting on a successful career as an entrepreneur by skipping college because you don’t want to be with students who are… lazy? Not sure the point you are making, but yours is a risky strategy.

Most products and services at some point rely on being able to market successfully to a wide market segment. Bill Gates didn’t get to be a billionaire by marketing software to CS geniuses; he made software which “ordinary people” could use effectively with minimal training. Steve Jobs didn’t get to be a billionaire because Apple products became the favorite status symbol of the Ivy League. He became a billionaire because he understood what HS drop-outs, teenagers, soccer moms, and yes- Rutgers students and alums and faculty want and are willing to pay extra for.

Why did Warren Buffet invest in half the things he’s made a zillion dollars on? Because he never moved out of his modest home in Nebraska and he understands what regular people eat and drink.

Good luck with admissions and your parents.

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So you don’t want an education? You are simply paying for prestige??

What is the entrepreneurial thing you want to do - and why not just do it then?

Spending $50 or $80K a year for something seems silly - just to say - I have prestige.

Learning is learning - no matter where you are. That’s what you should be paying for.

Or am I missing something?

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If my name is spoken, I will show up. Makes me a forum devil, I suppose.

Anyway, linguistics. Of the rejective colleges you listed upthread, Chicago has the most name recognition for undergrad linguistics, just speaking in general. You don’t mention being interested in the computational side of lx, and that’s a big thing for Yale’s program. Harvard lx has long had solid coverage of historical lx, which seems more in line with what you’ve done (and where a knowledge of Sanskrit can be useful), but if you’re more interested in translation theory, that isn’t quite the same thing. Columbia lx went through a period of massive upheaval earlier this century, and their revived major concentration is still fairly young, which isn’t a problem but does mean that it isn’t really well known yet. And note that you have to apply to major in lx at Princeton once you’ve already taken classes—you can’t simply declare a lx major there.

But honestly, the best-regarded lx majors generally are—with a few notable exceptions like Penn and Stanford and Macalester—located in Big Public Universities. If you want a solid, comprehensive big-name lx major, you should be looking at, yes, UMass as mentioned upthread, but also Ohio State, Maryland, UNC, NC State, UTAustin, Illinois, Indiana, Washington, Oregon, UCLA, Berkeley, Arizona, Arizona State, Wisconsin…Notice a common thread here?

Disciplinary strength does not tightly correlate with USNWR rankings, and that is arguably even more so the case for lx than for most fields outside of the fine arts or engineering.

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Nope. That attitude will get you nowhere.

You are a fantastic candidate and will likely get into one of your reaches. But please don’t have this attitude. If you end up at a state flagship with a higher acceptance rate, for example, you can get a fabulous education surrounded by world-class professors (because that’s who get jobs at state flagships) and some super-smart students. A school’s quality is not determined by how many people it admits – there are lots of other factors. If you know you want to study linguistics, you should also consider UW-Madison, U of Kansas, Ohio State, UCSB, and others. Here’s a CC thread that might be of help: Best Colleges for Linguistics? - #25 by parentologist

“Safety” just refers to admissions rate. It had nothing to do with the quality of education you receive, or how much you can get out of your time at a given school.

You and your parents have to ask yourselves – are you paying for a name on a diploma or for an education? Not everyone gets the name they want. But whether you get an education is entirely up to you.

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What kind of linguistics are you interested in? I see interest in foreign languages and literary translation, but that is a somewhat different field of study than linguistics. What specifically are you interested in in linguistics and what are your post-graduation goals? If you are interested in literary translation as a career goal, a linguistics degree may not be the best preparation.

Although I can say that one of the Slavic linguistics profs is fantastic - he was on my dissertation committee back in the day and I can’t say enough good things about him. I think he teaches in the Slavic department there, however, although he also offers classes in general linguistics.

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Wait! Stop the presses!

You pulled off nearly 200% annual gains, year after year, for three straight years? Maybe you should ditch linguistics and become a hedge fund manager.

I work at an investment management firm, and the professionals there—with their fancy finance degrees, CFAs, and decades of experience—would kill for even a fraction of those returns.

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My nephew did this four years. Then margin caught up. Had to get a real job. Had an accounting degree fortunately.

It’s very odd of course as you note and $2k will buy maybe 3, 4 months tops of living expenses -living modestly.

OP needs a losing streak - just to be humbled because life is humbling.

But given if this is the entrepreneurial path, how will Yale help ?

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