so the cycle continues....

Colleges & Universities Yale University
1

<p>this is not so much a chances thread, as it is an appeal for information regarding how to improve my application for EA consideration next fall. I know that these things get tedious to read, but any feedback would be GREATLY appreciated.</p>

<p>White Iranian-American Male, Long Island, NY
17yrs, Bilingual (English + Farsi)
Prospective Major: Physics</p>

<p>Stats:
Anticipated Rank: 2/~280, relatively under-achieving public high school
SAT: 700M + 750CR + 800W = 2250
SATII: Bio-M: 750, IIC: 800, Physics: 800
AP: Env. Science: 5, Biology: 5, Phys. B: Will find out in July. 5 Anticipated</p>

<p>Toughest courseload available, taking 4 AP’s next year including CalcAB and Physics C</p>

<p>‘Legacy’: Neither parent attended school in US. Sister -> Cornell U. '07, Brother -> Cornell U. '02, SUNY Buffalo Medical School</p>

<p>EC’s: (Abridged)</p>

<p>Science:
Columbia University Science Honors Program: Attend weekly classes in NYC on Particle Physics and Astronomy</p>

<p>10-Day long internship at Brookhaven National Labs last summer building and learning about cosmic ray detectors. Installed them in my HS and collected data throughout year. Will be going to BNL again this summer for a much longer period of time, continuing and expanding my work. </p>

<p>Volunteer Environmental Educator (Through Stony Brook U)
Attended weekly workshops learning about Long Island’s groundwater system, and the importance of groundwater conservation. Visit lower schools in district to teach kids about responsibility and conservation…will be doing a few public demos as well.</p>

<p>Music:
Guitar: 10 years private study in classical, jazz and contemporary styles
HS Jazz Ensemble (9, 10), All-County Jazz Ensemble (11, 12) LIKELY All-State Jazz Ensemble Next Year (Received perfect score on entrance evaluation)</p>

<p>Bass: Self-taught during last summer at director’s request to fill empty position. HS Jazz Ensemble (11, 12), HS Orchestra and Choir Accompanist</p>

<p>Trombone: 8 years study, HS Wind Ensemble Principal Seat</p>

<p>Computers:
Experienced programmer. ASP, VB, SQL
M.I.S Technican for my school district, working 10 hrs/week…Will be taking over responsibility for district web site
Co-Founded online community site w/brother, net. 180K/year
Started independed online community site, net. 16K/year</p>

<p>Misc: Varsity Track and JV Tennis in 10th grade, 510 hrs. volunteered at local hospital from 9th grade to present, DECA Club, Math Team, Academic Team</p>

<p>…I used to feel fairly confident about my chances, but some the results that have been posted this year have managed to completely destroy that feeling. If you’ve read this far, I would GREATLY appreciate anything you have to tell me. Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>First of all, I cant stand all of these over-achieving students postings all of their results, extracurricular etc… but I guess we were all once in this position, not knowing whether we would qualify or not… Basically I think you have a great portfolio, I am not an admissions officer so dont think I have any authority, knowledge, or experience whatsoever, cause I dont. I think you have a really good chance, however you never know what these people are looking for, but anyway you seem to be on the right track, keep up the good work, and start working on your essays and apps over the summer those can be a pain. good luck</p>

3

<p>I’m too lazy to be specific, but I think you present a unique combination of things to Yale, and therefore I think you have a good chance. One thing you cannot underestimate is the importance of demonstrating interest (in my experience, at least). Since you are planning to apply EA, I am assuming this shouldn’t be a problem. Visit. (Shouldn’t be difficult, considering your location.) Get in contact with professors and - more importantly - your regional admissions representative. Talk to him/her at the nearest Yale information session. Let Yale see your enthusiasm, your passion, and your uniqueness (all of which I believe you have), and I think you’ll turn out just fine. ;)</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>(and as for ‘ridiculous overachievers,’ that thought came into my humanities-centered mind when I saw your math/science scores. :))</p>

4

<p>thanks for the feedback.</p>

5

<p>You have excellent chances!</p>

<p>You make the first cut.</p>

<p>Let me tell you how to ensure for yourself the best chance:</p>

<p>1-Retake the SAT. a 700/750/800 is excellent but surprising for a physics major with an 800 Physics. An 800 Math shouldn’t be too hard for you. Take it in October (maybe you could qualify for presidential scholar too)
2-Yale loves science people now. Please emphasize that.
3-Write an essay that reveals who you are and is not pretentious. Read some classic essays and spend a lot of time on your essay, starting this summer (since you are applying EA)
4-Be sure to visit <a href=“http://www.yale/asc[/url]”>www.yale/asc</a> and read the tips on interviews and sample interview reports that got people rejected.
5-Just be real!</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

6

<p>you’ve offered some great advice encomium. my decision to not retake the sat had several reasons behind it. 1) i’m not convinced that i can raise my math score significantly…i’m prone to making silly mistakes. At the same time, i’m not sure i can maintain the relatively high verbal and writing. 2) i think a solid first-time score makes me look nicer overall than several re-takes with marginal improvements. 3) i think my sat II scores will quell any doubts about my math abilities 4) i loathe long tests</p>

7

<p>Think it over. </p>

<p>You don’t have to maintain the verbal and writing, they mix and match. I went from a 700 to an 800 math for no apparent reason from March to October, and I’m not at all a math person (far from it). It might be worthwhile–even for qualifying for presidential scholar, etc.</p>

<p>(Look at this way, you have what I see as a 1450 with an 800 writing (I am an OLD Sat person)…at your point last year I had a 1450 with a 790 writing. A 1450 is good but not unusual and I’m convinced retaking and going up to a 1560 helped me significantly at the vast majority of schools)</p>

8

<p>you raise some good points, and i’m seriously considering re-taking now, in october once this end-of-year mayham has died down a bit. </p>

<p>btw: i looked through that site you gave me regarding yale interviews, and the information is invaluable. thank you very much.</p>

9

<p>I don’t know, when I read your post (OP), I had a good feeling for some reason. Your ECs aren’t particularly astounding, but they make you seem like you would be a really interesting person. I liked the combination of classes, research, and teaching in science I also liked how you divided up your ECs by interests, rather than clubs: science, music, and computers. This 1) makes it easier to read 2) shows you have definite interests, not just for college. Your application, I think, would seem really genuine, and I think you have a good chance!</p>

10

<p>as a fellow Persian, I wonder if that helps at all…</p>

11

<p>You should definitely retake the SAT, especially since you’ve taken it only once. In general, you can take it up to three times before colleges start getting wary or suspicious.</p>

<p>In my case, when I retook the SAT, my score went nowhere (1440 to 1470), but my ACT score improved significantly (32 to 35, equivalent to going up about 140 points on the SAT).</p>

12

<p>I retook the SAT during the fall of senior year for kicks to raise my verbal score, and it went up 50 points. I somehow managed to drop my math score 80 points, though, so there was a net loss… But it did make for a nice combined score while my one-sitting score definitely didn’t improve, heh.</p>

<p>And as mentioned by someone else, Yale really loves science people now. If you can do a little more science research, you’ll have a good shot of getting into Perspectives on Science if you’re admitted. PoS (ok, it’s officially called PS, but whatever :)) comes with an optional summer research stipend after freshman year, which is pretty kickin’.</p>

13

<p>once again, thank you for all the wonderful responses and advice.</p>

<p>i am being told over and over that my passion for the sciences will be a big plus for yale. what exactly does this mean? will it help my admissions chances, and if so, by how much? also, what in particular can demonstrate that i am a serious student of science with the intention of taking advantage of all resources offered to me as far as undergrad research goes? there are only so many hours in the day…</p>