<p>Hi-
Well I’m only a sophmore in high school so I don’t have to make any decisions about college quite yet but I’ve been thinking seriously about applying to Yale and I have a couple of questions:</p>
<li><p>So far I’ve gotten straight A’s all through high school in the most advanced classes offered (I’m planning on entering my schools IB program) but what else do colleges look for academically? Oh and junior year should I take only the SATs or the SAT II as well?</p></li>
<li><p>I have a dad and two grandfathers who went to Yale, how much does this improve my chances?</p></li>
<li><p>I play two sports for my high school and I participate in a few other clubs (but I don’t have any “leadership” positions in them or anything), what else should I be doing to improve my chances?</p></li>
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<p>I’m not an expert but here are my thoughts:</p>
<p>1) Academically keep up the straight A’s. Colleges like consistency as well as excellence although you’ll realize pretty quickly that straight A’s is pretty common in the applicant pool. Just be careful not to slack off too much when you take your IBs and you’ll be fine.
1b)As long as youre prepared it’s never too early to take either SAT or SAT II. It’s better the earlier you take it so that you don’t feel crammed in the last few months before apps. (10-12)
2) Legacy it helps but I don’t know how much sorry lol.
3) It’s good to show that you’re well rounded. This may sound cliche but try to focus on your interest to find your leadership position.</p>
<p>Pretty early to be thinking of college. I’m not so sure if it’s good to be stressing out already though. Have some fun if possible. If you focus on the things that you like to do, then you’ll find your “hook” and some leadership positions.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s too early to be thinking about college as long as it’s not making you a stress case. You’re much better off asking these questions now than waiting until your senior year when it’s too late to change your profile.</p>
<p>Tops grades in your high school’s hardest classes are necessary. I’d take the SATs early enough that you have plenty of time to take both sAT I and SAT II twice. That means doing both your junior year.</p>
<p>Your legacy status may tip you into the pool of accepted students if all other things are equal with other qualified applicants. Do not place too much emphasis on your legacy status. I think what kind of alumni your father and grandfather have been matters. If they’ve been relatively uninvolved with the school since graduation, both in terms of volunteering for Yale and giving money, then your legacy status will mean less. As between two equally qualified legacy candidates, I think Yale would choose the student who parents/grandparents have shown greater loyalty to the school. Please make sure your father and grandfather understand that times have changed TREMENDOUSLY since they applied. A lot of alumni think that a 4.0 kid with good SATs who is student body president/editor of the school paper/etc. should be a shoe-in. That may have been that case 25 years ago, but no more. </p>
<p>That brings us to what else you should do to be a competitive applicant. My sense, as a long time alumni interviewer, is that the pool is more competitive for well rounded applicants than for candidates who have a talent that they have taken to a very high level–like being nationally ranked in something, be it a sport, debate, music, whatever. A lot of these talents need to have begun to have been cultivated long before high school. That being said, the majority of accepted applicants are probably the well-rounded type. A couple of sports and a couple of clubs is not enough, however. You need to pursue a couple activities more in depth than others and be in a leadership position. A variety of activities that reveals a multifaceted personality and diverse talents would be good.</p>
<p>Is there a college nearby? Take classes there junior and/or senior year and get top grades. Showing that you can earn As in college classes as a high school student is great. Can you figure out something cool to do with your summers? While I think that colleges understand that a lot of kids need to work and that you can’t get very impressive jobs as a high schooler, it would be nice to show high level commitment to volunteer work, do scientific research, an internship with a local politician, etc. A lot of people do expensive summer programs. Sometimes they look good, sometimes it looks like you just paid for an experience that isn’t half as impressive on your resume as you think.</p>
<p>The big thing is to find something that helps distinguish you from the crowd of high GPA/high SAT/top person in their high school. Also, take your college essays seriously and put a lot of thought into them. This is where your personality shines. I’m sure there’s lots more to say, but these are the basics from my years of interviewing.</p>
<p>AdmissionsAddict, do you think the adcoms cut some slack to lower-income students? For example, I’m a student whose parents make less than 30K annually combined, so I necessarily couldn’t afford a very expensive summer program, yet I DID volunteer extensively and my summers were NOT inactive.</p>
<p>Similarly, I didn’t apply to an elite private school in the Northeast, but from a suburban public HS in the South.</p>
<p>Samian–I think the admissions officers actively want lower income students. In addition to racial diversity, Yale also wants geographic and socio-economic diversity. I think if all things were equal, you would be chosen over a student whose parents made $200K.</p>
<p>I think volunteering extensively during the summers serves you better than paying a lot of money for some summer program that really wasn’t that challenging/just an excuse to party in a different city or country.</p>
<p>The majority of Yale students attended public high school, so no disadvantage there.</p>
<p>The admissions officers understand how the world works. They know that some parents can pay for test prep classes, tutors, fancy summer programs, all sorts of enrichment activities, etc and that others can’t. I would bet that doing well when your parents didn’t do all that stuff for you looks better than doing well when you had all the advantages.</p>
<p>So Yale adcoms are going to take kindly to low-income students who dedicate their summers to extensive volunteer work. Excellent. That makes two more check marks on my meager list of things that will improve my chances of admission.</p>
<p>Hamonrye: If you’re now looking for ways to spend those three months between June and September may I suggest a summer crew through the Student Conservation Association. That is if you’re feeling up to it. You get to spend 4 weeks in the of the most rugged backcountry you’ll ever see in your life, meet kids from across the nation, work like crazy, and go a full month without bathing. It’s a guranteed good time. I’ve done every summer since 9th grade, and it’s definitely something that’ll set you apart from the pack.</p>