<p>Evil<em>asian</em>dictator, please clear your PM inbox because it’s full and you can’t receive any</p>
<p>zutsuit: those are all really nice things to say, and I am very confident about my essays, test scores, and transcript, and reasonably satisfied with my extracurriculars. But it’s naive to think you “deserve” to get in and therefore will. There are many other things in play</p>
<p>My inbox is cleared for you MallomarCookie.:)</p>
<p>Has anyone not received a confirmation email/interview email? I submitted my apps on 10/29 (they were downloaded on the 30th), but still haven’t got any form of confirmation from Yale. Am I the only one who hasn’t? Gosh, I’m panicking…maybe they haven’t received my apps?</p>
<p>If they say “downloaded” then they received your app. Just wait.</p>
<p>uh oh, I just realized even though I submitted the CSS on time, the copies of my parents/my income tax forms are on my desk… will that be a problem if I send them via snail mail on Monday?</p>
<p>I doubt it’ll be a problem…they don’t look at financial aid until after decisions, I think.</p>
<p>MallomarCookie – I didn’t say that I or anyone else “deserved” to get in…sorry if you took it that way. What I meant to impart is that I feel that we are all qualified, but, like you said, many things come into play. Fingers crossed for all of us :D</p>
<p>No no, I didn’t mean it that way either, in the cynical sense. I meant to say, even if we ARE actually deserving of acceptance in the traditional sense, we still have to understand that we might not get in and that such a case wouldn’t just be a mistake or aberration. Rereading my post it does look like I’m being mean to ya but I didn’t mean to 
Good luck!</p>
<p>For some reason, my graduating class this year, when compared to previous graduating classes (whom I knew well), is more competitive and thus more catty towards each other. Rumors, Back-stabbing, Manipulation, etc. … are rampant.
Although it had been disturbing, it all had not yet affected me personally until today, when I discovered a classmate who has also applied to Yale SCEA preaching unfounded inferences about me in her classes in front of everyone.
I’ve been told that I shouldn’t worry or be bothered by it. But the idea that people have sunken to such low methods is disheartening.
Just curious- have any of you witnessed or are part of similar situations?
Or to keep it optimistic, are there schools with really supportive peers out there? Care to share some stories?</p>
<p>I publicly express my annoyance with people here at Exeter who are applying early anywhere, or anytime really, who are in a position to be uniquely advantaged because of upper class sports–Squash, in one instance, I said something about. Crew is true too but crew doesn’t require the athlete to have been doing crew for a terribly long time, so it’s easier for say FA people to be good at crew…</p>
<p>ALSO an instance when I know people from significant means are applying somewhere. People with buildings named after them. I don’t say that they are unqualified, just that I’m bothered by the advantages bestowed by wealth and privilege.</p>
<p>I don’t know about ‘low methods’ though. I mean, I don’t go on my website and write “such and such is a terrible person, do not admit!!!”</p>
<p>Maybe I should, you think it’d work?
:P</p>
<p>I’m supportive of everyone more or less… though there are some people with whom I don’t want to be going to school, some people I know would be taking up slots for other people I might like more! (people I don’t like going to go to school with now and don’t want to see for another 4 years!! 
)</p>
<p>I have no problem with the people with buildings named after them getting their kids in. At college, I’m sure you will be glad that someone shelled out all the money for that building.</p>
<p>At my school, it’s rare to see people being mean to one another over such issues. I htink there’s a fine line between being secretive–which, in my opinion, is only human–and actively going out and trying to screw someone else over. I’ve never really seen that. People at my school are pretty supportive of one another, and although people are secretive, everyone encourages (at least outwardly) everyone else’s efforts. </p>
<p>I do think it’s a little annoying that some people have more advantages than others in ways that aren’t really controllable…but there’s not much one can do about it. My friend’s parents are UPenn alum, and contributed a new chemistry building to the school. My other friend has 6 generations of legacy at Yale (he’s applying early too). A kid in my grade has a grandparent who was like President of the board at Penn or something, and he’s already been unofficially ‘guaranteed’ acceptance. It’s kind of hard to compete with that; luckily, I read somewhere that only 4-8% of the class each year at any given Ivy is filled with legacies and less than 2% are ‘development’ cases. So there’s definitely hope. I feel like kind of a hypocrite saying this though because I do have somewhat of a legacy at Yale, but I’m not sure if it counts. </p>
<p>Anb sorry if this post is really messed up spelling-wise…my parents are out of town this weekend… ;)</p>
<p>try 15%-20% legacy…</p>
<p>If it were 4-8 + 2 or so legacy / development I’d jump for joy, but onetime is right. It’s much higher than that.</p>
<p>I heard a figure quoted from a yale admissions officer (one degree separated, rather) that the percent of the class that is ‘unhooked’ --no athletics, race, legacy, or development–is 5% or less. Not a very friendly figure, even if that were a good deal higher.</p>
<p>I’d be happy to hear that Yale does at least have to admit some normal people, some people who HAVEN’T cured cancer. Right? Well, I hope so for my sake, and for everyone else who isn’t related to 100 Yale graduates and the president, isn’t filthy rich, isn’t a gay Jewish African-American, and hasn’t done four years of research with a rare species of monkey at the local zoo. I’m just hoping, once in a while, they admit someone a little more low-key. I guess we’ll see in 41 days. Anyone else completely terrified? :)</p>
<p>An adcom at Harvard said 13% of its undergrads are legacies.</p>
<p>Yes. terrified really is a great word.</p>
<p>I have a friend applying early to harvard who’s a double legacy, 2400, national art competition winner, state champion math team member, has done scientific research, varsity soccer, TASPer, etc etc. There’s basically no way she’ll ever get rejected, and she pretty much knows it. I’m not really jealous of people like that (the ones to whom everything comes so easily), but I am kind of in awe of the way advantage can stack up. I mean, she was born to brilliant, fairly wealthy parents (both UChicago profs who graduated from Harvard)…that’s an advantage that very few people have, and a lot of her success stems from it, i believe (not saying she’s not incredibly intelligent, she is, just that she’s also had a lot of privilege in her life). </p>
<p>point here is, i think the legacy advantage is more than we often consider. it’s not just a boost in college admissions, at somewhere like yale/harvard, it’s often “smart” genes, good economic standing, excellent schooling (usually private), lots of opportunity all around. these kids are tough to compete with for college admissions on about 239529 different levels. lol.</p>
<p>Yeah, you guys are probably right about the 4-8+2% thing being off…I read it in one of those college books that was written a few years ago when things were wayy different. </p>
<p>It’s terrifying but exciting too. And if you get in and you’re “low-key” I’m sure it feels all the more amazing. I imagine it also helps assuage the pain of rejection/deferral, because you know that it’s just so competitive, and that such subtle, almost uncontrollable things make all the difference. </p>
<p>I got both my Eli account info in the mail AND my interview today…everything is happening so fast! :)</p>
<p>40 days…(in like 40 minutes)</p>
<p>just to confirm… the alumni are supposed to contact YOU for an interview… you’re not supposed to contact them right?</p>