I love all the people talking about what Yale “wants”. They want people who stand out in some way, and that doesn’t mean grades or a particular subject matter. You look at one or two kids on their individual merits, which are impressive, but in the aggregate these kids are a dime a dozen. When I first started doing interviews many years ago now, I couldn’t understand how the kids weren’t getting in. After a while, I was getting a much better eye on who got in, and these were the same kids who had stood out to me in my hour meeting. And they’re the same kids that the teachers remember and I’m sure submit the most targeted write ups for. There is nothing wrong with 95% of the others - lovely kids, they all could succeed, but when you meet them in bulk, there’s just a sameness about them. Only once in the last five years was I surprised about an acceptance, and never stunned by a denial. Nice kids, all of them.

I know of 2 students (one of whom is an athletic recruit) admitted to Yale from Wakefield HS in Arlington.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Social Studies.
Full financial scholarship,
1500 SAT. 4.00 GPA

what high school?

+1?

URM?

Go back to the start and re-read the thread.

Two Blair magnet kids got into Yale

4 in from B-CC. Two double legacies, two not legacies.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Social Studies.
Full financial scholarship,
1500 SAT. 4.00 GPA

what high school?

+1?

URM?

My child got in without a hook.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Outright rejected. 1570 SAT, 3.97UW/4.83W at magnet. Nat'l & state awards, Capt of sports team, unique/complimentary ECs w/ regional/state recognition, various service, Nat'l Merit, AP scholar/distinction, club pres.

Such a bummer. Wondering were there that many applying from this area? Or, should we worry about a rec?

Seems they cut over 50% this year, took fewer and deferred much fewer. Knocked the wind out of kid's sails a bit. Did not expect an admit, but thought they'd at least get deferred.

Public school, right?

Yeah. Not legacy either. We're just boring middle class.

Yea. Nobody in public gets into Yale without a hook.

Not true...depending on how you define a hook.

At least 1 legacy admit from Whitman. 3 years ago the sibling was also accepted as a legacy admit.

A person I walk with on Tuesdays knows someone who they met while picking out their dog at the breeder that said someone in their book club heard a rumor of someone who has a kid who is an athlete who once played in the state orchestra and sat next to a legacy who knew my brother in law's parents grandson from pre- k got deferred.

Anonymous wrote:The three boys we know accepted were all legacy admits.

Thanks for acknowledging that.

Anonymous wrote:So far 4 TJ kids got in Yale

6+

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Same for my kid. High stat for everything. Magnet. Asian-American male. Wanted CS. Full Pay.

But, I am thinking that perhaps this may turn out a blessing in disguise because he has also applied to state schools and quite possibly will get into one. A kid with this kind of stat going to even a lower rated school remains the same kid. If he can save 300K in college cost then that is an immense leg up for him. As for the CS bit? He will still do the CS easily but will need to be creative in how he gets his first job and what he learns by himself. That should not be a problem for him because he is really a genius in CS. Yes, it will be a long RD road and the next 15 days are going to be awful because he will be back at the drawing table. But, que sera sera. Till date, every adversity has been a blessing in disguise. We are the luckiest family and so this will be no different from before.

Honestly, while Yale is prestigious, there are a ton of better options for really bright kids who love CS. Georgia Tech, University of Illinois, Berkeley, CMU etc.; all would provide a much superior CS education.

Yes. And he may want a graduate degree. I have a lot of family members who went to big state schools or middling private schools for STEM, did really well, and were able to get into top grade programs. One real advantage of STEM is that the material taught is basically the same everywhere and it’s easier to objectively assess the strength of students across programs. Humanities is much more variable and harder to assess which is why there is such a pipeline from too undergrad schools to graduate programs in humanities and professional programs like law and business.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Social Studies.
Full financial scholarship,
1500 SAT. 4.00 GPA

what high school?

I think you mean which high school
I'd rather not say.

Full scholarship for a 1500 SAT? Doubtful unless we're talking about an athlete.

You don't understand FA, PP.

"Scholarship" from Yale means FA.

It doesn't matter what your SAT is, it's need-based.

To PPP: Congratulations to your child!!!

Anonymous wrote:Same for my kid. High stat for everything. Magnet. Asian-American male. Wanted CS. Full Pay.

But, I am thinking that perhaps this may turn out a blessing in disguise because he has also applied to state schools and quite possibly will get into one. A kid with this kind of stat going to even a lower rated school remains the same kid. If he can save 300K in college cost then that is an immense leg up for him. As for the CS bit? He will still do the CS easily but will need to be creative in how he gets his first job and what he learns by himself. That should not be a problem for him because he is really a genius in CS. Yes, it will be a long RD road and the next 15 days are going to be awful because he will be back at the drawing table. But, que sera sera. Till date, every adversity has been a blessing in disguise. We are the luckiest family and so this will be no different from before.

Honestly, while Yale is prestigious, there are a ton of better options for really bright kids who love CS. Georgia Tech, University of Illinois, Berkeley, CMU etc.; all would provide a much superior CS education.