Would Yale take a flier on a kid?

lookingforward
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 01:35:56 +0000

It’s a matter of showing adcoms. What feedback a kid gets in hs is from people who know him. Adcoms don’t have that benefit, they’re strangers dealing with 30k+ applications. The app/supp is your vehicle.

“a serious, accomplished student with strong intellectual interests and creative gifts”

This either shows in the app/supp or not. The student chooses the targets, whether to apply and how. The college wants what it wants and does the admit choosing. Activation (and in the right ways) is one of the key points. Not merely “potential.”

“but not someone who has made curricular and extra-curricular choices solely for the purpose of resume building”
This presumes, imo, that there’s something wrong with a variety of good choices, worthy pursuits. That what the student wants reigns supreme- and exclusive.

Fine. But dont expect Yale to reach down and choose a kid who only did what he wanted, if it doesn’t match what they look for. Proceed with caution. I advocate more awareness. This isn’t cold blooded resume focus. It’s real life. And numbers. There’s no guessing or sympathy vote- there are thousands of other kids who did explore breadth as well as depth, did take and master the expected courses, and showed their “potential” through those choices and accomplishments.

Since you’ve phrased this as a hypothetical, reduced to minimal descriptors, we don’t know what rigor (besides some AP- and not even which,) ECs outside theater, what achievements, what rounding, what interpersonal strengths, etc. What assets to Yale and it’s freshman class. Theater and dance won’t be enough.

They read the entire app package.