My chances of getting into Yale?

Colleges & Universities Yale University
1

I did a string of college visits on the east coast a couple months back, and Yale ended up being a favorite. I was already seriously considering it, and the visit bumped it up to number one, and dare I say it’s pretty much my dream school now. But I’d like to know what my chances are. I want to make sure I have realistic expectations for when I get that decisions letter.

High School: I go to a private online school which has sent many students to top universities, including Ivy Leagues. This high school has a Gifted and Talented Academy for high-performing students, which I am a part of.

Income: about 60,000, but with severe medical costs, as my dad has a heart condition and my mom had two cancers.

GPA: UW - 3.93 W - 4.15 (But will go up by the end of senior year)

ACT - 35

SAT subject math 2 - 720

Clubs: My online high school does have clubs which are conducted through web meetings, but I’m not a part of any clubs, which I know is a disadvantage. I am, however, a part of NHS… at my old high school NHS was a club, at this one it consists of two classes and web meetings (but isn’t in the list of school clubs). So I’m not sure if that’s considered a club or not.

Extracurricular: I teach myself piano and violin (or rather I’m internet/Youtube taught) - my parents couldn’t afford lessons because of medical costs. I don’t know if this is good or bad in the eyes of admissions officers; on one hand, I’m definitely not as good of a musician as I would be with lessons, but on the other hand maybe it shows persistence and ability to self-guide my learning? I also do woodburning (a lot of people don’t know what it is, so look up photos if you don’t… basically it’s a kind of art). This past year I set up a website and started a business to sell my woodburnings (and according to selling trends so far expect to turn a profit in 2-3 more months), which leads me into my next extracurricular: web design and development. A few years back I began using internet resources to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which I used in the development of my website. I guess my last extracurricular is also my only sport: hiking. For most people it’s just a leisure thing, but I take my hikes pretty seriously lol. I usually do 5-8 hour hikes every weekend, and workout the rest of the week to stay in shape. I’ve hiked to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite (12 hours roundtrip), and hope to do Cloud’s Rest, which is even higher in elevation and longer hike.

Volunteering: Every Saturday morning since freshman year, I volunteer with a nonprofit which uses therapeutic horseback riding to help disabled kids. I help mostly with the horses: taking them out before program, grooming, tacking, and leading the rides. I’ve become sort of an informal assistant manager, where I help train both new volunteers and new horses.

Job: No job experience, another disadvantage

Awards: Yeah, none of these either, unless NHS and NSHSS (National Society of High School Scholars) membership counts as awards.

Unique coursework: I am taking AP Computer Science, which isn’t offered at most high schools, so I think it’s worth mentioning as a unique class. I also did Academy Project, in which students choose a project based on a personal interest, set goals, timelines, etc. I chose as my project to officially start a business selling my artwork with my own website (I’d been selling intermittently on etsy/ebay). Other unique classes was my NHS Community Service class and NHS Leaders4Earth class. The community service one is exactly what it sounds, while Leaders4Earth was learning about the environment (a little bit of an environmental science 101 class) as well as environmental community service (separate from community service class).

Academic interests/possible majors: Computer science, economics, political science

One glaring problem with my transcript: So, basically as I mentioned before my parents have been pretty ill, and it got to a point where they actually couldn’t take care of each other, and we had no other family. This was actually the reason I switched to online school in my junior year. I could have a flexible schedule and be home with my parents while doing school, take them to doc appointments, etc. But with this added responsibility I couldn’t keep both the rigor and pace of my classes. I worked my schedule out with my school, and ended up taking an extra year to graduate. I never failed/repeated any classes, just stretched them out over a longer time period. I definitely will explain this in my app, but I’m still really concerned about how bad that might look.

As a side note, I’d also like to know if the medical situation would increase my financial aid. 60,000 income isn’t hurting at first glance, but with our medical we really need significant financial aid. Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to read this and respond.

2

I forgot to mention AP exams: I got 5 in Psychology and 3 in Physics (I was quite disappointed with that one). I intend on taking AP exams for Computer Science and Calculus AB this coming spring.

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@jellybeanewbie , I have no crystal ball about admissions, especially when it comes to non-Traditional applications. I cannot help but be touched by your situation, and am sure that your grit in dealing with it will serve you well, whether or not you attend Yale. There is no need to apologize for a shortage of club activities. How do you get recommendations with an online school?

Re financial aid, Yale provides very good financial aid, generally.

I wish you luck in your application.

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I agree with IxnayBob on this. You do not have a job or a list of extras because your parents health is your extra. I would not only explain that but use what you have learned through the process to highlight who you are because clearly a lot of who you are will be as a result of your experiences. You can also have any of the social workers or doctors that have gotten to rely on you along the way write your letters of recommendation. I would treat the online high school like a home school situation so you will want to look into how your letters, guidance and transcripts fit into that picture. Quite a few of my daughters friends were home schooled. Clearly its not a disadvantage and you seem to have taken quite rigorous options along the way. In the end it is a lottery for everyone but it definitely sounds to me like you have at least a decent shot like the rest. Just do your research to figure out the best way to present it to the AO.

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Thanks for your responses. I realize it’s pretty much a long shot for everyone. I get recommendations pretty much the same way as regular school. I do have teachers for each class, and a school counselor. We communicate through email and phone calls, and I get feedback on assignments, so I have a relationship with them, and I simply ask them for recommendations.

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@jellybeanewbie , in that case, my recommendation is that your school counselor provide most of the context for your extra year and your involvement with your parents’ needs. IME, it works better coming from a counselor.