Yale College
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
P.O. Box 208234
New Haven, CT
06520-8234   USA

Physical address:
38 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, CT
06511

phone: 203-432-9300
FAX: 203-432-9392

Contact us

Equal Opportunity
Statement

Applying to Yale College

What does Yale look for?
Students and parents often look for a specific answer to the following question: If a candidate presents A, B, and C, will he or she be admitted to Yale? Unfortunately, so many factors are at play in the selection process that outcomes for most candidates in the pool are impossible to predict. We estimate that over three quarters of the students who apply for admission to Yale are qualified to do the work here. Between two and three hundred students in any year are so strong academically that their admission is scarcely ever in doubt. The great majority of students who are admitted, however, stand out from the rest because a lot of little things, when added up, tip the scale in their favor. The difference between a successful and an unsuccessful candidate at Yale is often painfully small.

What does matter in the admissions process? Yale is above all an academic institution, and thus academic strength is our first consideration in evaluating any candidate. The single most important document in the application is the high school transcript, which tells us a great deal about a student's academic motivation and performance over time. We look for students who have consistently taken a broad range of challenging courses in high school and done well in them. There are no score cutoffs for standardized tests: the median scores for admitted students on the verbal and mathematical portions of the SAT generally fall in the low-to-mid 700s, and the ACT composites in the low 30s, but successful candidates present a wide range of test results. While there is no hard and fast rule, it is safe to say that performance in school is relatively more important than testing. A very strong performance in a demanding college preparatory program may compensate for modest standardized test scores, but it is unlikely that high standardized test scores will persuade the admissions committee to disregard an undistinguished secondary-school record.

High school teachers can provide extremely helpful information in their evaluations. Not only do they discuss your performance in their particular class or classes, but they also often write about such things as your motivation, intellectual curiosity, energy, relationships with classmates, and impact on the classroom environment. Obviously it is important that you solicit recommendations from teachers who know you well.

Just as teacher recommendations are meant to give the admissions committee a glimpse of what you are like in the classroom, the counselor recommendation can provide us with a picture of your place in your high school class and in the larger school community. Your counselor can help us assess the degree of difficulty of your program, tell us what a particular leadership position means at your school, provide information on your background, and, in general, provide the sort of textured comments about you that would help your application come to life.

The Yale application tries to get at the personal side of the applicant through the use of two essays whose scope is broad enough to accommodate most writers. We encourage you to take the writing of the essays seriously and to write openly and honestly about activities, interests, or experiences that have been meaningful to you. What is most important is that you write in your own voice. If an essay doesn't sound like the person who writes it, it cannot serve him or her very well as a personal statement. As with every document in the application, we read essays very carefully and try to get a full sense of the human being behind them.

In the end, everything in an application matters. The good news is that so many little things figure in an admissions decision that it is fruitless to worry too much about any one of them.

Which standardized tests does Yale require?
Yale requires either the SAT I or the ACT. Students who submit scores for the SAT I are also required to take two of the SAT II Subject Tests. They may take any two subject tests of their choosing. The middle 50 percent of Yale's entering class this year had scores between 700 and 790 on both the verbal and the math sections of the SAT I.

In evaluating SAT or ACT results, does Yale consider scores from previous test dates?
Readers of your application will see all of the test results that are in your file, and they will supply the admissions committee with the highest scores you attain on each section of the SAT I or on the composite score for the ACT. However, if you take a particular test more than once, the readers may note for the committee that results have been achieved from repeated testing, and committee members may ask at any time to see all testing data.

Does Yale require the writing sample on the ACT and SAT I?
Yes.

Can I apply for entrance in the spring semester?
No. Students may begin a course of study at Yale only in the fall semester.

Are interviews required? Are they evaluative?
In many parts of the United States and around the world, Yale Alumni Schools Committees (ASCs) serve as liaisons between prospective Yale students and the Undergraduate Admissions Office. As admissions applications are processed, each ASC receives the names of local applicants and schedules individual interviews over the course of the application season. Although the interview is not required, we strongly encourage applicants to take advantage of the opportunity if they are contacted. An interviewer can help students learn more about Yale and can share additional information about a candidate with the Admissions Office.

** Please note that students will not be offered alumni interviews until after they have submitted their applications to Yale.

While ASC interviews are available in most parts of the United States and in many other countries, there are places where we are not able to offer them. If an alumni interview is not available in your area, do not worry. It will not hurt your chances for admission. Each year many candidates are admitted without the benefit of an interview.

  

Common Questions

Applying to Yale College

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I applied to Yale using the on-line application. Is it OK if I fill out the paper application and send it in just in case of an error in the electronic transmission of my documents?
No. Doing so could cause serious delays in processing your application. The electronic transmission of applications is very reliable, so don't worry.

Who should write my teacher recommendations?
It is important that your recommenders be teachers who can write about your recent academic work in rigorous academic subjects. We strongly encourage students to ask 11th and 12th grade teachers to write for them. Given Yale's extremely competitive applicant pool, it is probably a mistake to ask a favorite ninth-grade teacher to write, or to seek out a coach or chorus director as a recommender unless he or she has also taught you recently in an academic course.

Yale does not specify that the recommendations come from teachers of particular subjects. It is a good idea, however, to have the two letters come from teachers of different subjects. Choose teachers who know you well and who can give us a sense of both your academic and personal strengths.

Is it OK if I submit supplementary letters of recommendation?
We strongly discourage students from submitting more than the two required letters from teachers and the letter from a guidance counselor or college advisor that accompanies the School Report Form. Additional letters can have the effect of cluttering an application file, often repeating what has been said elsewhere, and can leave a reader wondering which letters are the most important recommendations. Three, four, or even five letters from teachers rarely do more work for a candidate than two.

That said, we try to be flexible about the need, in isolated cases, for students to submit an additional letter. If you feel there really is a need to send an extra recommendation, one that will add substantially to your application, be sure it is labeled "supplementary" to avoid confusion.

I'm at a new high school for my senior year. Who should fill out the Secondary School Report? Can I apply under the Single-Choice Early Action plan?
A School Report Form must be submitted by the school you are currently attending, meaning, in this case, your new school. We will be interested in how you have negotiated the transition from one school to another – how readily you engage a new set of teachers and new school community, for example. If you are concerned that your new college counselor has not had time to get to know you very well, you may ask the counselor from your previous school to write a letter as well. We will also need a complete record of the grades you have received in all years of high school. (It is helpful for us to see the exact grades you received. If your new school translates 80's and 90's from your old school into A's and B's on your transcript, please request that a transcript be sent to us directly from your old school as well.)

Because of the uncertainties of moving from one school to another, it is probably not a good idea for senior-year transfers to file early applications. Our admissions committee, for example, may well want to see grade reports for the first semester at the new school before making a decision. In most such cases, it is better to apply Regular Decision.

Is there an advantage to applying Single-Choice Early Action to Yale?
Historically, the rate of admission among early applicants has been higher than the overall admission rate. On the other hand, this higher rate reflects the fact that many of our strongest candidates apply early. We would therefore offer this advice: you should apply for Early Action if you have a strong interest in Yale and if you are comfortable early in your senior year with the credentials you will be presenting to the Admissions Committee. An Early Action applicant must meet the same criteria for admission as an applicant in the regular pool. A thoughtful college search and a careful assessment of your readiness to present the strongest possible application as early as November 1st are of far greater importance. Candidates who need more time, for whatever reason, will always be better served by Regular Decision.

What do you look for in the personal statement?
Because our essay questions are open-ended, some students say the hardest part in writing is knowing where to start. We suggest that you choose a topic that is representative of you as a person and allows you to share with us something that is important to you. Don't feel the need to come up with a "gimmick" or an original topic. Gimmicks usually fail, and many successful candidates write about fairly common topics, such as music, sports, community service projects, and family relationships. The key is not finding the perfect essay topic, but in making the most out of the topic that is particularly meaningful to you.

The best essays are thoughtful and reflective. Take some time to think about what it is that you want us to know about you, and reflect on how this thing or person or experience has impacted your life. We understand that in a mere 500 words you cannot possibly tell us everything about yourself. Please don't try! The essay is not meant to be a comprehensive autobiography. Rather, it is an opportunity for you to share with us something meaningful about yourself and your experiences.

Take the time to carefully review your essays before submitting them. Obviously, we expect that your grammar and spelling will be correct.

My essays are more than 500 words each. Is that OK?
We ask that you respect the word limits we suggest. Will we read the words beyond 500? Yes. But if your essays are much longer than 500 words, understand that you will not help yourself by seeming to have ignored our request.

I want to submit a separate piece of paper for the Short Answer question on page APP-4 of the Common Application. Is this okay?
Yes, but as the question suggests, please keep your answer short. You will have an opportunity to expand this question into a full essay as part of the Yale Supplement (Part V on page 2 of the Yale Supplement). You can successfully respond to the Short Answer in two or three well constructed sentences.

Will applying for financial aid hurt my chances of admission?
Absolutely not. An applicant's ability to pay for a Yale education is not considered during the admissions process. This policy is called need-blind admission. Yale is strongly committed to equality of opportunity, and need-blind admission ensures that the College will be open to students of personal and academic promise from all segments of society and all parts of the world. An application for financial aid will have no bearing on the Admissions Committee's decision. This policy applies to all candidates, regardless of their citizenship.

I have dual citizenship. Am I better off applying as an American citizen or as an international student?
The same application is used for all candidates, and it asks you to list your country or countries of citizenship. We are interested in your citizenship chiefly for reporting purposes, but it has no bearing on your chances of admission.

I was very sick first semester of junior year, and my grades suffered. Once I recovered, my grades improved. How can I let Yale know about my special circumstances?
Ask your guidance counselor to address any special circumstances in his or her letter. Some students also choose to write about particular challenges in their personal statements, but it is always a good idea to have your counselor explain the situation.

I have visited campus three times. Does that count in favor of my being admitted?
Not at all. Unlike some schools, we do not track your contact with us or your visits to Yale. Similarly, it is not necessary to be in regular contact with the Admissions Office. Admissions officers are happy to answer your questions, but excessive e-mailing, for example, can be very distracting.

Some forms on the Common Application do not have a box to check to indicate whether I am applying for Single-Choice Early Action or Regular Decision. What should I do?
On the front of any envelope sent to Yale that contains application materials, please indicate whether those materials are meant for review under Early Action or Regular Decision. This will expedite our filing process and ensure that your application materials are matched to your file.

The application asks me to supply an e-mail address. How important is this?
Very! We use e-mail to convey important information, including inquiries about missing documents and incomplete application files. If you supply an e-mail address, please be sure that it is functional and that you check it regularly. If you do not intend to check your e-mail account during the application season, or if you have a software application that will filter our e-mail messages, then leave this part of the application blank so that we can communicate with you via U.S. mail or telephone.

There's not enough room on the Common Application for me to list all my extracurricular activities. What should I do?
You are welcome to submit a separate piece of paper listing your extracurricular activities. However, please follow the same format as set forth in the Common Application. Admissions officers are accustomed to reading about activities in a certain format, and it is distracting when students submit resumes that are inconsistent with the Common Application form. Even if you plan to attach a separate statement of extracurricular activities, be sure to complete the extracurricular section of the Common Application.

Keep in mind that for purposes of college admissions, "more" isn't necessarily "better." Students who present extremely long resumes without an indication of what is really important to them run the risk of diluting their activities. Focus on those activities that are most significant to you.

I am not an artist or musician, and I have not engaged in any original research. Am I at a disadvantage for not submitting supplementary material? Should I submit something else?
Please do not feel any pressure to submit supplementary material. For the vast majority of our applicants, we evaluate the quality of extracurricular activities and talents through self-reported activity descriptions, essays, and comments made by recommenders. For a very small number of exceptionally talented artists, musicians, and researchers, we may find it useful to refer tapes/CDs, slides, and/or abstracts to the appropriate Yale academic department for evaluation. Unfortunately, we are unable to evaluate DVDs or video tapes, so please do not send them.

I am applying to Yale under the Single Choice Early Action program. Can you explain the rules about applying to other colleges under their various early notification programs?
If you are an applicant to Yale under the Single Choice Early Action program, then you may not apply to any early program that notifies candidates in December. However, you may apply to another college's early notification program under certain conditions. First, you may apply to a public university's "rolling" admission program if the program is non-binding (a program is non-binding if you have until May 1 to respond). Second, you may apply to a college with a scholarship "deadline" only if the notification of admissions occurs in the regular admissions cycle. Finally, you may apply to another college's "Round 2 Early Decision" program if notification is after January 1. If you are admitted through another college's "Round 2 Early Decision" program, you must withdraw your application from Yale.

May I apply to Yale more than once?
It is a longstanding policy of the Admissions Office that a student may apply to Yale College no more than three times to either the freshman or transfer admissions program, or a combination of both.