Physics, Admission, and Prediction

Do I have a good chance for early action to Yale with these credentials?

I have Eight A*s in my O-level(Junior High) in Mathematics,Physics,Chemistry,Biology,English Language,Urdu language, Islamiat, Pakistan Studies(History + Geography)

I have straight A*s in my high school transcript as well.I have A*s in Physics,Mathematics,Computer Science and Chemistry
So GPA is maximum.

My SAT 1 score on the first attempt is 2160(Maths 700,CR 720,Writing 740) I am to give three SAT 2 subjects in October.

Co-curriculars:
⦁ Selected Amongst top 50 physics students nationwide through the National Physics Talent Contest.This competition serves as a selection process for the Pakistan team at the International Physics Olympiad,the most elite high school physics olympiad in the world.
⦁ Took Online courses from MIT Opencourseware on (Classical Mechanics) and (Electricity and Magnetism).Also took the course in Discrete Mathematics by Prof.Arthur Benjamin and 'The Inexplicable Universe' By Neil Degrasse Tyson at The Great Courses.
⦁ Won Silver Medal at the International Kangaroo Mathematics Contest in year2011 Resources and Information. is the most popular high school mathematics olympiad in the country and about 1500 top students participate in it.
⦁ Won Gold Award at the online mathematics competition on (Page on worldmathsday.com) in 2010.World Maths Day is an online international mathematics competition, powered by educational resource provider 3P Learning (the same organisation behind the school resources Mathletics, Spellodrome and IntoScience).In 2010, World Maths Day created a Guinness World Record for the Largest Online Maths Competition.

Extra curriculars:

⦁ Co-founder of an online technology magazine BUZZDIGITA. BUZZDIGITA features articles on latest developments in the field of technology.It also publishes reviews on the products,which are under the radar but have great potential.Most notable articles include What If UFOs exist?,Blackphone-The Next Big Thing?,Hour of Code-Need of the Hour? etc.
⦁ Authour at BUZZDIGITA
⦁ A computer programmer in Visual Basic and C Sharp
⦁ Secured 1st position in Chief Minister's(Punjab,Pakistan) English Speech Competition in 2008.

Leadership Experiences:

⦁ Head of technology event 'BIT By BIT' at JT Innoventions 2014,the primere high school science olympiad of the nation.The event constituted of an IT quiz and a marathon typing contest.
⦁ President Science Society 2011-12
⦁ President Urdu Society 2010-11
⦁ General Secretary Young Journalists' Society

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I was asked to answer this question on the website Quora.com

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First of all, congratulations on your outstanding academic performance. You have demonstrated through your grades, courses and testing that you could be successful at any university in the world, including Yale.

If I were reading your application here are some of the things I would be comment on and highlight.

Your academic program and grades prepare you well for study in the areas of computer science, and other STEM fields. Since Yale does not get as much high praise in these fields as the humanities and social sciences this might be a slight plus factor when looking at your application.

In addition, you have taken a number of on-line courses that support your interest in these fields of study. I would make sure you find a way of getting the certificates to the admission office. You might reach out to the admission officer in charge of Pakistan and ask them the best way to do this. In doing so, you accomplish two things. First, you will provide useful information and second you will get your name in front of the person who will read your application. If you do this, then you may also include a pertinent question about research options or your course of study. But if you do this don’t ask something that could be gleaned from the Yale webpage. Make sure it demonstrates you know the program, school, and even some of the professors.

It is hard to know how much on-line courses will help your application. Schools are still a bit up in the air about how to value them. The deans of admission I have talked to say they will look at them positively, but it is hard to tell from the outside how much they will value them. (I hope they will give you a significant plus as I have found the on-line courses I have taken have been informative and useful.)

Your activities underscore your interest in and success in the fields you intend to study in. A few years ago, a Yale admission person said in a discussion at international conference of admission officers and college counselors that it is better to be “themed” when applying to Yale. I don’t know if this is still true but that is what he said. If you don’t know what this means let me explain. Themed means you have demonstrated that you are particularly focused on something. It could be fine arts or it could be a specific area of interest, but in your case it appears that you are focused on computer science. You have classes, grades, and activities that all support your interest so this should help you get themed as a particular kind of student who would add to the mix of students they hope to admit. (The admission cliché : they want to enroll a well-rounded class of mostly pointy students).

While I have underscored all the positives so far, there are a few things that would come to mind as I evaluated your application. The first one would be your testing. While a 700 math score is good, it is not off the charts and is actually a bit low for a student interested in STEM fields. Therefore, your scores on the SAT subject tests will be very important.  If you can get a few 800’s that would certainly help. I know this sounds like a lot and it is, but it is not at all uncommon for international students to present such scores. This is particularly true from applicants from China, Singapore and India, but I have seen many 800 scores from students from Pakistan over the years. SAT subject tests are actually better predictors of success academically that the SAT I. Should your scores not top 700 (and perhaps even higher) then your chances of admission will drop significantly. I hate to pressure on you this way, but you need to know this.

With respect to your activities and awards, there are some things here that will help you get the attention of your admission reader. I do, however, have some questions and a few pieces of advice. In your comments you list:  “Selected Amongst top 50 physics students nationwide through the National Physics Talent Contest. This competition serves as a selection process for the Pakistan team at the International Physics Olympiad, the most elite high school physics Olympiad in the world.”  When did this take place? If this happened in the last year or two this will be a significant plus. If this happened before that it will be noted but will not be as strong an achievement since readers tend to focus on what you are doing now.

In fact, most of the recognition you have received in national or international contests took place more than 2 years ago. My question might be summarized this way:  what have you done lately. Your website is beautiful and it contains some interesting stories but I don’t know what you have specifically done with it. Since you are writing stories this will not necessarily be interpreted as having skills in a STEM field. Are you programming too? It is hard to  give you high marks for the website without detail about what you do.

I have the similar question about your role as “Head of technology event 'BIT By BIT' at JT Innoventions 2014, the premiere high school science Olympiad of the nation. The event constituted of an IT quiz and a marathon typing contest.” I don’t know what this means. The typing part of the contest is not all that impressive and I don’t know what the IT quiz actually tests.  It does not appear that you took part in the quiz itself. If you did, how did you do? I think you can leave off your award for English speaking in 2008. It’s too long ago to make much of a difference to an admission decision.

I do not know whom you are asking to write your recommendations, but whomever it is make sure they add detail and substance to the abstractions. In other words, someone who writes "this is an exceptional student" but does not back this up with some sort of example or proof of some sort will not add that much to your application. Most recommendations are filled with superlatives. It’s what you have done to earn these abstractions that matters most.

Of course your essays will play a significant role in your evaluation. If you decide to go with the themed approach then you should write your PS on your passion for CS and Science, but it has to be in the form of a compelling story that answers the specific prompt. On the other hand, you might consider trying to demonstrate why your background would be an important addition to the class at Yale. For example, I read a great essay from a student who talked about his experience at KGS. They mirrored the words in the wonderful novel Mothsmoke. I have also read exceptional words from a student who wants to be a bridge-builder between Pakistan and the West. He was writing in preparation for going for an interview for a Rhodes scholarship and he had wonderful details about this topic). No matter what you write about make sure it captures the reader’s attention and demonstrates that your voice will add to Yale community in some way.

I have no way of knowing right now what your chances might be. Over 90% of the applicants do not get in, so from a statistical perspective, no one’s chances are great. It is hard to know how your application will stand out from others applying from Pakistan. Schools try to get a mix of students from many different countries, so you will be in an already tough pool (international) and it may be that there are some exceptionally fine students applying from Pakistan that will make it difficult for you to stand out among them. They don’t have quotas about countries but they do pay attention to how many students they offer admission to from a particular country.

If you do get an interview, make sure you have done a lot of prep first. Find something to say that will make you a subset of one. By this I mean you have a story or experience that will stand out and that no one else has. It does not have to be dramatic, but it does have to be memorable. Try to turn the interview into conversation rather than just a question answer session. To do this you have to relax and be prepared and also ready to ask questions too.

I hope you get the offer you are looking for, but no matter what you are going to get into some great schools and this matters more than the name Yale.

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After posting this answer, I received the following comments from this student:

"Thank you for taking the time out to write such a detailed review of my application.I will definitely focus on the suggestions that you have given me and utilize them to strengthen my application.I want to tell you that I was selected in the top 50 physics students in January 2014.And I also want to mention that my website is basically an online technology magazine that publishes reviews,news and updates from the field of technology.I will reappear in  SAT1 in November and then send those scores too as Yale accepts November SAT scores for Early action too. And I want to major in Physics with a minor in Computer Science..which I might late on change to a Double major.I plan to do a PhD in Physics."

Here is my response: "The physics award in 2014 is the one you want to highlight. I would suggest you get a very strong recommendation letter from your physics instructor/mentor; in addition, you might reach out to a faculty member at Yale to ask a good question or two about his or her research and how you might use your skills/experience  to get involved early in research.

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How would you answer this  student's question?

Do the accomplishments of this student merit a space at one of the most prestigious schools in the US? For some not familiar with the competition to get into top schools these days, it might come as a shock to know that this student may not receive an offer of admission. He is the top student at his school, has 4 A Level courses with grades of A (A levels are the top courses offered through the British system of education and 4 As means he is eligible for serious consideration at Cambridge or Oxford). His testing is strong and he would add a diverse perspective to the campus. He has an international background, many strong outside activities and awards, and has experience creating on on-line magazine.

A generation ago, a student like this would likely to be admitted to almost all schools around the world. But competition is now global and applications to top schools have, in some cases, more than doubled in the previous 20 years. In addition, there are too many variables that are still unknown to predict with any accuracy what might happen over the next few months. I hope he gets good news.

But even if he does not get into his top school, he will be admitted to many great universities. Should he do well at any of these schools his chances of being admitted to top PhD programs in physics (his ultimate goal) would be very good.