my chances?

Colleges & Universities Yale University
1

<p>i tried doing this in yahoo answers but everyone called me a showoff. my grades are good but my ec’s arent too great. any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. i’m a junior in alabama.</p>

<p>Rank: 3 of 640
GPA: 4.00 unweighted, 4.55 weighted
PSAT: 226
SAT: 2070 (but i know i can do better and will try again)</p>

<p>Grades:
AP Chem: A+
AP US History: A
AP Macroeconomics: A
AP Bio: A+
AP Calculus BC: currently taking, A+
AP Environmental Science: currently taking: A+
AP English Lang/comp: currently taking: A+
Will take in 12th grade:
AP Physics
AP Lit/Comp
AP Gov
Calculus C at local college (i maxed out in math by end of junior year)</p>

<p>EC/awards:</p>

<p>JV tennis: 9th grade
Varsity tennis: 10,11, and probably in 12th grade
Highest GPA in Tennis Team Award: 2008 and will probably get it in 2009 and 2010
Junior Patriot Tennis Award: 2007 (good attitude and enthusiasm in tennis)
Treasurer in Church youth group: 2008-2009 and will probably be officer next year too.
Mu Alpha Theta Club
Aiming for 100 hrs of volunteer work in library
Top Eleven: 2006-2007
Principals award (all a’s): 2006-2007
National Language Arts League Competition: 1st place in my grade in 6th, 7th and 8th grade in Herbert Hoover Middle School
President’s Award for Educational excellence: 2007 (not as impressive as it sounds, like 50 people got it in my grade in my middle school)</p>

<p>thanks.</p>

2

<p>You’re grades, rank, and GPA are all great. Your SAT can go up a bit but there’s not much more you can do grade wise. Work on some more EC’s if you get the chance for anything exciting.</p>

<p>I’ll break your resume down:
JV tennis: Meh
Varsity tennis: Athlete… ok thats helpful.
Highest GPA in Tennis Team Award: Means little.
Junior Patriot Tennis Award: Small fry.
Treasurer in Church youth group: Minor positions, better than none.
Mu Alpha Theta Club: Yawn.
100 hrs of volunteer work in library: No one cares about the hours on this minor level. Layndry list.
Top Eleven: Huh?
Principals award: I won 2nd grade honor roll… does that count?
National Language Arts League Competition: Decent.
President’s Award for Educational excellence: Yawn. Generic</p>

<p>Verdict: Qualified but Unhooked. Apply!</p>

3

<p>Congratulations on your success thus far. However, I would say your record is a fairly unknown quantity so far.</p>

<p>Clearly your coursework is rigorous and grades excellent. However, if I were an admissions officer, I would want to see corroborating scores on your AP exams: mostly 5’s with possibly one or two 4’s. </p>

<p>If you do score at this level on your seven AP exams, you’ll receive an AP Scholar with Distinction designation. You’ll almost certainly be a National Merit Semifinalist by the time you apply, too. Both of these will be nice national-level awards to cite on your application, although for a Harvard applicant they just get you in the mix.</p>

<p>Naturally an SAT score more in line with your PSAT will help, too. Don’t forget to take at least three SAT subject exams, too, preferably in June after your classes are ending when your knowledge will be freshest. High scores on these (for Harvard, 750+) will also validate your grades. I would suggest you take a diversity of them (not, say, all science) aligned with your AP coursework.</p>

<p>Your tennis activities and awards simply tell me you are playing at the varsity level and are a good team member. The grade awards really add nothing-your GPA already says you get good grades. If you have conference or state-level success at tennis, this should be mentioned.</p>

<p>Don’t mention the grade school/jr. high awards. I don’t think they will be considered significant. The only time I would consider mentioning a pre-HS achievement would be state or national competion successes that do not exist at the HS level, such as the National Spelling or Geography Bees.</p>

<p>If you have a math or science aptitude, you should consider participating in some of the state and national HS competitions in these areas. Successes there are worth adding to your application. I think the fact that you are seeking math opportunities outside your high school speaks well, especially if you are interested in the quantitative fields. If you do a good job in that Calc C course next year, consider asking the instructor for a letter of recommendation. Pursuing math might also make a good essay topic if it really is a passion of yours.</p>

<p>Once you have your SAT retake, SAT subject and AP exam results, you will be in a better position to evaluate your chances.</p>

4

<p>hey thanks for evaluating my stats. so what kind of ec’s do you suggest i should do? i’m thinking of doing some sort of summer program over the summer, but i’m not which one to do. i applied to the Science engineering Apprentice Program at Redstone Arsenal, AL, but it is hard to get in. ([AEOP</a> - About SEAP](<a href=“http://www.usaeop.com/programs/SEAP/index.htm]AEOP”>http://www.usaeop.com/programs/SEAP/index.htm))</p>

5

<p>push the math thing. any extracurriculars/awards with math will be extremely helpful at yale, because it is considered to have the least strong math program and thus has the least strong math-type applicants applying out of HYPSM (not that this is saying much bad, yale of course has extremely strong programs in everything)</p>

6

<p>awesome academic performance, really impressive. but i think your SAT score does not match your GPA~~ well done so far.</p>

7

<p>SAT could be better… and ECs definitely need work for Yale. Try participating in local community service programs or try starting one. Leading school organizations such as clubs is a good way too. </p>

<p>However, your stats are solid: if not accepted to Yale, then you’re definitely good enough to be accepted into a top tier school.</p>