<p>I have a friend who is applying to Yale and she is very assured that she will get in, despite the fact that her academic excellence does not equal others in our school that are applying there also, because she has faced unusual circumstances in her life, such as facing domestic violence, living in shelters and such. I mean, I do feel bad for what she has gone through and I guess it does make her a “special” candidate, but I find it to be a bit unfair that she will get in becuase of those circumstances.</p>
<p>Yes, unusual circumstances play a role. However, they don’t guarantee that she’ll get in. </p>
<p>Don’t judge and say its unfair that those circumstances will help her out. It’s not fair that she was put in them in the first place. All they will do is try to even out the field and will explain why her test scores or grades might not be as high, of if they are high, then it will be very impressive that she was able to overcome her circumstances and still achieve great things.</p>
<p>is she white? it won’t be as helpful if she is, but it is still something</p>
<p>i agree w/ lindseylujh that extenuating circumstances like those should be considered. she very well may be as smart or smarter than someone with great SATs and straight As, she just didn’t have the luxury of paying thousands of dollars for SAT classes or spending all of her spare time studying. this is partially why i am against affirmative action as it is now, it automatically assumes that minority students are underprivilaged but does not give any benefits non-minorities who truly are. i think affirmative action should be based more on socio economic class, not race.</p>
<p>I think unusual circumstances could show her strength and attitude and maybe boost her chances, but by no means should she be assured that she’ll get in. I myself went through an unusual circumstance that affected my grades, but I really don’t know how admissions officers will look at that. No one can ever take admission at Yale for granted (unless you own the place )</p>
<p>I think in general if someone is “very assured” of getting into a school like Yale regardless of circumstance, their potential acceptance is somewhat questionable. Either they are misinformed or have potential personality flaws, IMHO.</p>
<p>Wow, some ****ing friend you are. Your friend has gone through such difficulties in her life, and you are prodding on the fact that she shouldn’t get into a school because of it? People DON’T WANT to to have to go through such life traumas believe it or not.</p>
<p>I agree, JUST being in such cases shouldn’t guarentee you a spot, but if they made it this far in life and have endured all of it, and are applying to such schools as fairly qualified applicants, why shouldn’t they get a spot?</p>
<p>This thread is almost 5 YEARS old and the OP hasn’t posted since 2005. Digging up old threads for information is great, but please don’t BUMP them up and offer advice or ask questions of the OP.</p>
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