Would Yale take a flier on a kid?

penandink
Sat, 03 Nov 2018 01:09:19 +0000

What are we debating here? If you don’t understand what Yale looks for,

Discussing the range of “what Yale looks for” was the point of the OP and is the point of this continued discussion. No amount of research reveals with absolute precision “what Yale really wants.” Of course the statistics and most anecdotal evidence point to certain things being generally true, but the question posed was more about a student somewhat on the margins of those generalities.

You seem to be looking for reasons to diminish the very brief description offered of this student, who represents a type as much as a actual person. It was meant to describe a serious, accomplished student with strong intellectual interests and creative gifts, but not someone who has made curricular and extra-curricular choices solely for the purpose of resume building. The OP invited opinions about the extent to which those choices, along with other factors, limit (or eliminate) any possibility of serious consideration for acceptance at Yale.

Maybe you work in the Yale admissions office? If so, thanks for the lecture and good luck to Yale. If not, then your view that Yale can and does cherry-pick kids who all hit the mark in every conceivable area is another view to be considered in this discussion. Maybe you’re right and it is just as cold blooded and rigidly resume-based as you describe. I thought perhaps Yale was a little more willing to look at many factors, assuming that the applicant met the basic standard for academic preparation and ability. That, in fact, IS “what they say,” even if they don’t fully practice that.