<p>What do Yale adcoms drop dead over as they look through your application: lots of AP classes, high standardized test scores, dazzling teacher recommendations, or superb EC’s?</p>
<p>They don’t drop dead over anything.</p>
<p>they might drop dead over:</p>
<p>URM, 1600, 3x800, #1 in class, 4.3 GPA, tons of ECs, from South Dakota</p>
<p>yes, South Dakota being the operative phrase.</p>
<p>They’d be impressed, but they wouldn’t <em>drop dead</em> over it.</p>
<p>Or…
URM (Preferably Native American), Recruited Athlete, 1600, 800x5, 1 in class (at Andover or Exeter), Eagle Scout, Winner of Vivaldi VIolin Competition, Head of your Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council, and rich. Oh, and tons of MEANINGFUL ec’s.</p>
<p>you forgot a hamster</p>
<p>Here is what a Yale adcom will drop dead over:</p>
<p>An application letter rigged to fire a gun upon opening.</p>
<p>Seriously, there’s probably nothing they haven’t seen before…maybe if you cured AIDS or were elected to Congress or won a Pulitzer…actually on second thought, getting elected to Congress takes more money than brainpower, so scratch that one :)</p>
<p>and you have to be 25…</p>
<p>its pretty much impossible to be elected to Congress and apply to Yale as a senior. that would only work if you were a transfer</p>
<p>AP classes, and SAT scores dont mean anything these days</p>
<p>that’s cause everybody’s is so high and everybody takes alot of AP classes.</p>
<p>hence the important of more subjective factors (*hint hint) your essay</p>
<p>and <em>hint hint</em> hamsters</p>
<p>what’s with the hamster thing?</p>
<p>that’s the biggest mystery of all.</p>