Linguistics major for Yale [3.9 GPA, 1560 SAT]

When posters like these later lament that they did not get into their Ivy reaches, I have to wonder if the attitude concerns that others have mentioned here come through on their applications. :woman_shrugging:

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@slithering, a few thoughts…

  1. If prestige is important to you and you want to aim for the Ivy+ schools, I have no problem with that. If they are comfortably affordable, then go ahead and shoot your shot.
  2. I tend to give extra weightage to the opinion of experts because they know their field well. @dfbdfb is an accomplished linguistics expert so I would pay attention when he says that UChicago is the bigger name in linguistics than Yale, that Harvard has better coverage of historical linguistics, and that many of the best-regarded programs are at publics like UMass, Ohio State, Maryland, UNC, etc.
  3. The Ivy+ schools are unpredictable and while you’re highly accomplished it’s always possible that you may face a complete shut-out. In such a case it doesn’t have to be Ivy+ or Rutgers - some of the less selective, but well-known-in-linguistics schools @dfbdfb listed are great choices to add to your list (not replace).
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I agree with others that if Yale is clearly your top choice, and if your family can afford it (either full pay or based on what the NPC predicts) then I would not apply ED anywhere else, and would most likely apply REA to Yale.

I think that you are a competitive applicant at any university (including Yale of course). Your problem is that so are something like 80% of applicants. You know what the acceptance rate is. However, if Yale is your top choice, and if this will come across in your essays, then I would definitely apply. I think that your chances are no worse that the overall 4% acceptance rate and might be a bit better (but probably not massively better, it is a reach for essentially everyone).

Regarding safeties, I know quite a few graduates from both U.Mass Amherst and from Rutgers. Frankly nearly all of them have made both universities look very good. The first three graduates who I met from these schools (actually from Rutgers) were fellow students in a master’s degree program at Stanford so you can definitely get a bachelor’s degree at a university ranked somewhere similar to U.Mass and Rutgers and then have a chance to attend a highly ranked graduate program.

I would recommend that you take a close look at the specific program in your intended major at both reach and safety schools. Whether you should apply to anything other than safeties and reaches depends upon how large the gap is between the two, and whether you would regret having not applied to matches if you are denied from your reach schools.

One wild thought that is good in linguistics and where admissions would be quite likely for you is McGill. Admissions is very stats based on Canada and your stats are great. You are likely to need to have some proficiency in French to graduate, but it appears that you might already have this covered and they can certainly teach you French if you don’t. Given how strong you appear to already be in multiple languages it seems unlikely that you could live in Montreal for 4 years without picking up quite a bit of French.

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This was fun, people, but it was a mostly fictitious profile.

Closing.

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