Yale is one of the most well-known, and well-respected, universities in the world. A member of the famed Ivy League, Yale brings together outstanding minds and nearly extensive resources to provide undergraduate students with exceptional opportunities. Yale has a tight-knit community on its New Haven, CT campus, and 75% of undergraduate students (and 100% of first-years) live on campus. The acceptance rate is about .
Yale isn’t test-optional, but they are when it comes to requiring standardized testing as part of your application. You have four choices as a first-year applicant. You can submit results from the SAT or ACT, or you can submit AP or IB scores for all AP and IB courses taken. This policy allows for the fact that no single standardized test can best serve all students, so you get to pick what works for you. If you are going to submit an SAT, it needs to be near perfect, or at least a 1520. The same goes for an ACT score, clocking in at a minimum of a 34. Please note that those are absolute minimums. No, Yale doesn’t set a bottom threshold, but if your SAT or ACT scores don’t hit those guides you should consider going the AP or IB route.
In this post, we’ll be focusing on the pieces of you that aren’t summed up by numbers. More specifically, we will be digging into the supplement. Read on for a step-by-step guide to the Yale supplement.
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Yale an extensive supplement with lots to do. As you work through the supplement, though, remember to keep the two questions Yale admissions officers ask themselves in mind: “Who is likely to make the most of Yale’s resources?” and “Who will contribute most significantly to the Yale community?” Now, let’s get into the supplement.
Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the provided.
This one is easy. You simply need to pick up to three things that fit two criteria (and preferably both). They need to be things that you have pursued actively in school and things that you have pursued concertedly in your free time. Don’t overthink it strategy-wise, but do think hard about what you love.
Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)
We love this supplement, but don’t ‘tell them’ — show them. Hook the reader by immersing them into what you love through a focused story. The key here is focus. If you try to get everything you love into 200 words, that won’t work. So, pick one thing, ideally within or adjacent to your prospective major, and lean into it hard.
To do this, we advise our students to make the story very impactful by also making it very small. It could be a subject in the lab, an aspect of history, a political theory, and economic moment, or something in nature. Whatever you pick should genuinely resonate with you and make you feel authentically excited. Remember, too, that you can use sophisticated writing techniques like dialog, vivid imagery, and metaphor.
Reflect on how your interests, values, and/or experiences have drawn you to Yale. (125 words or fewer)
This is a “why us” in a compact package. Interestingly, they aren’t asking about what you want to study. Instead, they are curious about why you want to study at Yale. So, start by looking into yourself. Why is it, truly, that you want to call Yale home? If you have a personal story, put it here — but we advise against centering any answer on legacy. If you are legacy, they will know that from other details in the application. Using this space to focus on that would be a waste of space. Instead, focus on the personal and emotional and pragmatic stuff. Maybe there is a specific lab you hope to work in, a department full of professors you admire, or a tradition that makes you feel like Yale is a place you could happily call home.
200 CHARACTER PROMPTS (about 35 words)
These are very short, and are sort of ‘go with the gut’ responses…but not really. We work with our students to brainstorm, draft, and fine-tune strong responses that make a big difference for their applications.
What inspires you?
This is similar to the “what excites you” question, but is only two sentences. First, do not reiterate anything you said in that “what excites you” answer. Don’t even get within spitting distance of the theme. Do something totally different, and it doesn’t need to be directly connected to your major. For example, if you play guitar you could talk about learning a new song. Or, if you are learning a new language, it could be something in the way the language works that you find inspiring. Or it could be a person who makes you excited about life. The options are endless, and picking the right one for you is all about authenticity.
If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?
This is broad, but there’s only one way that we advise to answer it: write your response as a course title and short description, a book title and blurb, or a description of the art piece. In your response, make it real.
Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence?
This doesn’t have to be someone you know, or someone that you know well. It can be a teacher, mentor, coach, or community member, but could also be a leader in your future field. Remember, too, that the impact is more important than who they are.
What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?
Good question, Yale. This is where to put something small but important to you that is far away from academics but important to you personally. Whether it’s weekly walks with a grandparent or a passion for acrobatic silks, this is the place to show a ritual, hobby, or quirk that they won’t know otherwise.
SHORT ESSAY
For this essay, you pick one of the three prompts below, and respond in up to 400 words.
Option 1: Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?
This kind of question has been around for a while, but has become wildly popular for this year in particular. Dozens of schools have added what we are calling a ‘civilized disagreement’ question, and we understand why. They are trying to create a more balanced, solutions-oriented, and honestly peaceful campus community. This question is an initial filter for that.
With that in mind, we don’t hate this question — but it’s also not our favorite out of the three options that you have to pick from.
If you do pick this prompt, make sure that no one comes off poorly because the only person who will come off badly if you do try to position your conversation partner as ‘in the wrong’ is you. This is true regardless of what the argument is. Remember, you do not know the politics of your application reader, so you cannot assume that they will take your side if you frame a response to this prompt as an argument with a winner and a loser.
Instead, write about an experience of coming together and finding common ground. This could be over the dinner table, out volunteering, or engaging with a customer at work. Wherever you are, you need to both equals.
Option 2: Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.
We like this prompt a lot more than Option #1. It offers an opportunity to tell a strong narrative story about a community that matters deeply to you in a powerful way chock full of detail. This prompt lets you take advantage of the 400 words Yale is giving you, and we want to see you take advantage of that.
And Yale defines community broadly, so you can talk about anything from a team or club to religious group, neighborhood crew to coworkers. You could write about a group you volunteer with at the food pantry each week, or even an online community. The key, though, is to use a specific story about an experience to share why this community matters to you to and how it has impacted your life. Immerse the reader into your world and make them want to be part of the community alongside you.
Option 3: Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?
This prompt is okay. We like it more than the first option, but less than Option 2. Sometimes, though, it is the best pick for a student who has had a complicated or remarkably different childhood, upbringing, or lived experience. What this prompt isn’t, though, is a hardship test.
Schools like Yale introduced these types of questions around when the Supreme Court ruled that they couldn’t ask certain questions of applicants. We understand why. They want to learn the kinds of things that would bring a greater diversity of backgrounds and lived experiences to campus, and this is the most specific way that they can ask.
If you pick this prompt, all the same rules apply as for Option 2. Tell a story. Bring the reader into your experiences through vivid imagery and storytelling techniques. Don’t be overdramatic, but do be specific.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Applicants are to submit evidence of their great work through a creative, research, or academic portfolio, including creative writing. The breadth of what they allow you to submit is awesome, and nearly every applicant should have something to put here. Be careful to read the instructions for each type of submission, though.
A short, focused supplement is much more powerful than an extended supplement that they don’t actually have time to read. More is not more when it comes to your application. Overloading the admissions officials with information does not improve their impression of you. Instead, it can come off as presumptuous and self-important. So, be thoughtful, and if you aren’t sure re-read .
INTERVIEWS
Yale does interviews for first-year applicants, but you cannot request . Rather, if they want to do an interview you will receive an email from an alumnus or with a current Yale senior after your application has been submitted. The interviews are evaluative, not informative. This means that they are meant to give the admissions office decision-makers a stronger sense of who you are, not simply an opportunity for you to ask questions about Yale. This makes them similar in seriousness to a job interview, and admissions officers read a report from your interview alongside your other application materials.
If you don’t receive an interview scheduling request, that doesn’t mean that you are out of the running for getting into Yale. So don’t freak out if you don’t hear anything. However, Single-Choice Early Action applicants are given priority for interviews.
Applying to Yale is a marathon, so keep the end goal in mind. If you try to rush this, it will not work. Take your time, draft thoughtfully, and edit meticulously.
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