Application advice from '10-'11 HYS admit
Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 9:33 am
I was accepted to one or more of HYS (every school I applied to, in fact). Just thought I'd share some wisdom from my cycle, both from observing others and from my own experience. In no particular order:
1. I definitely felt that I outperformed my numbers, and I think applying extremely early had something to do with it. But don't send off a marginally satisfactory application just to get your first acceptance. You'll probably interact with Admissions folks in the coming months, and your application package is "you."
2. No other person saw even a word of any part of my applications before I sent them off. Not asking others to edit your PS and other essays definitely goes against the conventional wisdom here, but it helped me speak in my own voice. (Just make sure your voice is wholly grammatical before taking this approach.)
3. Don't be surprised 1) to get an absolutely huge scholarship from one school and comparatively little financial aid from a peer institution, or 2) to get a "huge" acceptance and miss out on named T14 schollies.
4. Some Admissions officers follow their schools' application threads. Just so you know.
5. Admitted students have a lot more leverage than one might think. If you want something, ask for it. This includes conversations with big-time faculty members you'd like to work with.
6. Won't say what school I chose, but there are perfectly good reasons not to attend H, Y, or S if admitted (even without a Hamilton or Rubenstein). Anyone who insists otherwise hasn't been in your shoes.
7. Don't provide Admissions offices with an email address that's remarkably similar to every username you've used for everything ever.
8. HYS acceptances do serve as proxies for candidate quality. If you're seriously considering attending a lower-ranked T14 for some reason, informing that school of an HYS acceptance as tactfully as possible can only help you.
9. There's no such thing as yield protect if you have legitimate reasons for wanting to attend a certain school in spite of "superior" acceptances. Communicate these reasons at every stage of your interactions with the school. Also keep in mind that if you're YP material and are fortunate enough to be admitted, you'll almost certainly land a huge scholly.
10. Admissions officers will hear your voicemail message if you miss their calls. Make sure your voicemail sounds professional.
11. Including one or two really impressive pre-college accomplishments (especially if you're coming straight from college) isn't going to kill you. (Edit: I listed two. Neither one was academic, and I really think they helped to round out my application.) When you find that TLS and your instincts are at odds, seriously consider that your instincts might be correct.
12. A cancelled LSAT score after an already decent score won't hurt you. In fact, I think it may have worked in my favor ("he/she must have consistently scored better than this in practice tests--why else retake?"). Dunno that I would recommend this as a strategy, though.
1. I definitely felt that I outperformed my numbers, and I think applying extremely early had something to do with it. But don't send off a marginally satisfactory application just to get your first acceptance. You'll probably interact with Admissions folks in the coming months, and your application package is "you."
2. No other person saw even a word of any part of my applications before I sent them off. Not asking others to edit your PS and other essays definitely goes against the conventional wisdom here, but it helped me speak in my own voice. (Just make sure your voice is wholly grammatical before taking this approach.)
3. Don't be surprised 1) to get an absolutely huge scholarship from one school and comparatively little financial aid from a peer institution, or 2) to get a "huge" acceptance and miss out on named T14 schollies.
4. Some Admissions officers follow their schools' application threads. Just so you know.
5. Admitted students have a lot more leverage than one might think. If you want something, ask for it. This includes conversations with big-time faculty members you'd like to work with.
6. Won't say what school I chose, but there are perfectly good reasons not to attend H, Y, or S if admitted (even without a Hamilton or Rubenstein). Anyone who insists otherwise hasn't been in your shoes.
7. Don't provide Admissions offices with an email address that's remarkably similar to every username you've used for everything ever.
8. HYS acceptances do serve as proxies for candidate quality. If you're seriously considering attending a lower-ranked T14 for some reason, informing that school of an HYS acceptance as tactfully as possible can only help you.
9. There's no such thing as yield protect if you have legitimate reasons for wanting to attend a certain school in spite of "superior" acceptances. Communicate these reasons at every stage of your interactions with the school. Also keep in mind that if you're YP material and are fortunate enough to be admitted, you'll almost certainly land a huge scholly.
10. Admissions officers will hear your voicemail message if you miss their calls. Make sure your voicemail sounds professional.
11. Including one or two really impressive pre-college accomplishments (especially if you're coming straight from college) isn't going to kill you. (Edit: I listed two. Neither one was academic, and I really think they helped to round out my application.) When you find that TLS and your instincts are at odds, seriously consider that your instincts might be correct.
12. A cancelled LSAT score after an already decent score won't hurt you. In fact, I think it may have worked in my favor ("he/she must have consistently scored better than this in practice tests--why else retake?"). Dunno that I would recommend this as a strategy, though.
