<p>I’m not a Yale admissions officer, so I can’t tell you a definitive answer. What I do know is there are no automatic academic cut-offs (that would be impossible because a 3.7 at one school would be more impressive than a 4.0 at another school). My understanding is that the transcript is the most important thing and if it doesn’t cut it, perfect SATs and stellar ECs won’t save you. There is obviously flexibility when you have stellar ECs, but only so much. As I said before, many applicants have great transcipts, so they have to look at other elements of the application, but it is the #1 thing.</p>
<p>I have perfect scores (so far) on my transcripts. However, my grades don’t really speak about who I am. They only prove that I can handle difficult material well. If I didn’t have AP’s I think that high school would be unbearably boring. Who I am, and what I stand for is exampled in my participation with the outside world. Is that true for anyone else?</p>
<p>I would like to think its true for most people. It shows a lot more drive in my opinion if some of your bigger EC commitments are from outside your school. It implies youre not just joining clubs left and right to get into a good college…teehee.</p>
<p>Good, because I am not. As a matter of fact, I don’t have enough time to devote to things that are not my passions. And, I am not doing them to be accepted into college.</p>
<p>Most, (but not all) of the many Yale students I know can be characterized as follows: (I have given this some thought.)
Who gets in?
Yalies have “something extra”, a special “depth”… a quirk…an additional real talent, besides the one they are pursuing academically. This “other” talent is often something rather offbeat. Almost all have done serious independent, creative work out of school. They travel, a lot. They are funny and serious.
They are people people. They are multifaceted. They are a little neurotic.</p>
<p>MIT is definitely not all about the test scores.</p>