<p>makes sense to me, J mom.</p>
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<p>Usually, when I hear about applicants with “lots of” or “numerous” extracurriculars, I hear about those applicants being deferred or even denied. The applicants who get in in the early round are most often applicants with a clear focus area in which they achieve at the national or even international level. (I mean a focus area beyond grades and test scores.) Now in my fourth year on CC, I’m surprised that applicants don’t immediately notice the difference between many ECs and top level performance in one or two ECs.</p>
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<p>Source for this? </p>
<p>Here are score tables to show the rarity of getting all three sections with scores of 800 in one sitting, contrasted with the rarity of getting scores of 800 in one section or another. </p>
<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools; </p>
<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools; </p>
<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools; </p>
<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
<p>I agree with J Mom.</p>
<p>J Mom, I think it’s extremely likely. All the colleges play these sorts of games, though they wouldl never admit it. And given Yale knew it would be seeing a ton of HP earlies, they may very well have chosen to be ‘strategic’ in their decisions.</p>
<p>However, I completely agree with tokenadult and others on the importance of focusing your app presentation on 2 or at most 3 major ECs, and finding a way to group a lot of items into those, so that you can show strong, substantial commitment and accomplishment in a couple of areas. Having done 50 things leaves the admissions office with little clear picture of who you are. For instance, while I have no idea exactly where the OP’s main EC accomplishments lie, if we assume for a moment they are
a) music b) enterpreneurship with specific interest in sports and c) community service, it would be MUCH better to group all those ‘numerous’ activities into those themes so the picture is substantive and your passions clear.</p>
<p>Agree with tokenadult. He need focused ECs and show leadership in EC. If his music achievement is at high level, he need list detailed and specified awards not just “best of east coast”. How do you know that he is a National Merit finalist yet? If he put this kind inaccurate statement in his application, it will definitely hurt him.</p>
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<p>Good catch. The timing is wrong for that statement. I agree that assuming what hasn’t actually been awarded damages credibility.</p>
<p>This “friend” posted NMF – it’s possible that the applicant listed NMSF correctly on his resume. </p>
<p>DS decided long ago that he was going to pursue one or two major areas of interest, and the heck with what colleges want (or what we all think they want). No music, no drama, no art, no sports. Not his thing. Initially, I thought this was a risky stance, but by junior year, things began falling into place quite nicely, and now I think it is an excellent strategy.</p>
<p>His major interest in middle school and success in it led to an EC (an external competition) which he began at the end of 8th grade, which led to recognition within the school; other opportunities ensued, and as he moved up in the ranks in the external competition, leadership positions, research and teaching opportunities developed. Kids who win national and international honors don’t explode onto the scene senior year; it’s the result of tilling the fields and planting seeds over many years. It was clear that DS’s passion had a long and consistent progression, both objectively (his activity resume/awards) and subjectively (as expressed in his essays). It was also clear he wasn’t doing these things to impress colleges.</p>
<p>Kids in competitive entry full IB programs have to be especially vigilant to develop leadership and focus in ECs. I know it’s hard to do in that program – the workload there in extremely intense.</p>
<p>And it’s all about the essays, folks. Make every word speak. It’s not just UChicago that wants fabulous essays. This is your chance to let the admissions folks hear your voice.</p>
<p>Hmmm…</p>
<p>If, the applicant in his application equated 1st chair in the All-Eastern Honors Ensemble with being the “best” clarinet player on the East Coast, (or if he came across with that attitude) then that is a potential reason right there.</p>
<p>whoa, i’ve got a 3.85 gpa and the exact same test scores and nowhere near that many ECs and i got in… but i did have a lot more awards & honors and a crapload of APs, plus research experience… it’s a crapshoot. i had going for me that i went to a small private school in the midwest; he may have had his location/school working against him because the east coast is more competitive, or his recs/essays could have been bad, or both. </p>
<p>however, i do have to say that this looks like a pretty rare case. there must have been extenuating circumstances, because from the information you’ve given (which isn’t, granted, the whole hog) your friend looks pretty impressive. he was deferred, right? if so he has a good shot at rd.</p>
<p>omg, what crazy good stats. i think though, that essays, recs, and interviews play a huge role in admissions. those are the ones that make the dent/the impression on the officers of you as a person and not just numbers. i’m not saying you friend didnt do well there, but those are really important too…</p>
<p>here’s an idea: he forgot to go into detail about his ECs, and the Yale admin ppl didn’t buy it. his ECs are kinda crazy to the point of incredulity unless he can actually prove or write about it</p>
<p>to those dismissing his musical talent, as just that, talent…
1st chair clarinet at all eastern?
that’s freaking.
unbelievable.</p>
<p>An All-Eastern 1st chair is great, but there are a lot of very talented musicians at Yale, so it simply doesn’t have the “wow! Admit this one now!” factor that it might have at other schools, particularly since his instrument is the clarinet.</p>
<p>I think it’s very hard to say why he wasn’t admitted. His application is nice, he sounds like a lot of people I know at Yale. Which may be the problem, as he probably sounds like a lot of other people in the application pool too. It may well be that the decision ultimately ended up being based on some very minor factor that made him marginally less attractive than some other similar people. He’ll probably get accepted somewhere great RD unless there is some fundamental problem with his recs or essays.</p>
<p>Generally, I would say his application, as you have written it, seems a bit unfocussed. Although he’s done a lot of things well, it’s not really clear where his personal or academic interests really lie. As others have pointed out, people who are accepted, particularly ED, often seem to have done one thing that allows an adcom to say “yes, this person is going to bring something to Yale” It can be a particular skill or talent, or an experience, or just their general attitude, that is desirable. He doesn’t seem to have any amazing national or international awards or to have made a real difference in anything he has done, and since he goes to a top school, with all the benefits and opportunities that brings, maybe they just expected to see a little more from him, more of a sense that he will make the most of the benefits and opportunities that Yale will offer him.</p>
<p>Op, didn’t quite get the answers you were looking for hmm?? lol</p>
<p>Op is a ■■■■■ hes always making stuff up…he was looking to stir controversy…
probably wanted people to say “your asian blah blah” just look at his past thread…i doubt this friend even exists.</p>
<p>zangly</p>
<p>An all-eastern first chair is no easy thing to get and quite an accomplishment … but, it is what it is - not more. </p>
<p>It is absolutely not a designation as the best anything on the east coast - and it doesn’t claim to be. The selection process is not set up that way. </p>
<p>To make a claim that this selection somehow anoints one as the best on the east coast is simply not true - and Yale would know that. It does not matter if one was knowingly lying or simply ignorant - it would look bad either way.</p>
<p>Is he as smart as George W Bush? Duh!</p>
<p>Re: Post #23 Source for “60% perfect SAT’s rejected by Yale”–that was told to a group of us parents at a “local” school, by the head of Yale admissions, or maybe someone second rank standing in for that person. (It was several years ago, but I certainly remember the point!)</p>
<p>(I don’t yet know how to make those quotes come out in gray boxes).</p>
<p>He sounds like he was rejected because he was Asian.
That is pretty common at Yale.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t make baseless assumptions like that. If you were accepted and actually look through the admit site for students, there is a large group of Asians among the hundreds. The are by no means a minority for the early pool.</p>