Supplementary Materials

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions has created a website that will allow us to accept digital uploads of supplementary art and music submissions. Please read the information below on supplementary materials, and follow the guidelines for submitting supplementary art and music using the website links at the bottom of the instructions.

Note: Submissions of art and music will only be accepted via our online submissions website as either .jpeg, .tiff, .png, or .mp3 files, or, for music compositions, .pdf files. All other forms of supplementary material will continue to be accepted in hard copy.

Please follow the instructions below rather than those on the Common Application Arts Supplement form. You are not expected to submit that form to us.

You should think carefully before submitting supplementary material with your Yale College application. Many successful applicants submit only the items that we require. There are also cases in which too many submissions, or submissions that do not reflect a high level of talent, can actually work against a candidate. Because the Admissions Committee gives greatest weight to the documents required of all applicants, we recommend that students focus their energies primarily on those elements of the application.

Supplementary submissions make sense for students with clearly substantial and well-developed talent that cannot be adequately conveyed in the rest of the application. Due to the large number of applications that Yale College receives, we cannot evaluate all supplementary materials that are submitted. Admissions officers and faculty members will be selective in choosing which submissions to review.

We will accept audio recordings, musical scores, art samples, writing samples, scientific research papers, and links to personal web sites. All submissions of art, audio recordings and musical scores must be submitted digitally at our online supplementary materials submission website by the appropriate application deadline (November 1 for Single-Choice Early Action candidates; December 31 for Regular Decision candidates; March 1 for transfer candidates). **Materials submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Note: All applicants intending to submit supplementary materials must also check the appropriate box on the Yale Supplement to the Common Application, Section VI, titled “Supplementary Materials (Optional).” While we cannot evaluate videotapes or DVDs of performances, applicants may include a link to a web site or a brief YouTube video in the space indicated on the Yale Supplement to the Common Application. In all cases, applicants should review the specific instructions below to ensure that materials submitted are appropriate.

Supplementary materials other than art or music may be attached to the Common Application as Additional Information, or mailed to our office, clearly labeled with your full, legal name as it appears on your admissions application, date of birth, the name and state or country of your high school, and the subject of the material.

Please see the sections below for more specific information about the submission of art, music, academic work, or web supplements.

Please Do Not Send:

Submissions that do not demonstrate an unusually high level of ability.
Unnecessarily long or extensive submissions. Succinct submissions often make a stronger impression.
3-Dimensional submissions such as scrapbooks or sculpture.
VHS Tapes or DVDs of performances.
A YouTube video addressing the admissions committee directly, or personal web pages from social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace.
Anything that is not your own work.

Art

Images of your artwork may be submitted as a supplement to your application for admission to Yale College. All materials must be submitted as .jpeg, tiff, or png files at our online supplementary materials submissions website by the appropriate application deadline (November 1 for Single-Choice Early Action candidates; December 31 for Regular Decision candidates; March 1 for transfer candidates).

Here are some additional guidelines:

Submit no more than 20 images of your work that demonstrate the fullest possible range of your talents. Try to ensure that your technical and expressive abilities are equally represented. You are encouraged to include images of your drawings
When uploading individual files onto the supplementary materials website, please indicate the title, medium, size, and date of the work in the space provided. Also indicate if the work was done from life. (For example, “Girl with a Pearl Earring, Oil on Canvas, 17.5” X 15”, 1665. Painted from life.”).
Resolution of .jpeg, tiff, or png images should not exceed 768 pixels in height and 1024 pixels in width.
Only digital submissions in proper .jpeg, tiff, or png format will be considered. Applicants submitting artwork must also check the appropriate box in Section VI of the Yale Supplement to the Common Application, titled “Supplementary Material (Optional).”

Click here to access the online supplementary materials website.

Music

Yale College does not conduct musical auditions for applicants. Music faculty members will review selected audio recordings or scores from advanced musicians, whether or not they wish to major in music as undergraduates. Please consider sending musical materials only if your accomplishments are truly outstanding for a high school musician and if your playing or composing is a strong and important part of your application. Submissions that demonstrate an average or merely competent level of ability for a high school musician will not help your application and are discouraged.

All audio recordings must be submitted as .mp3 files at our online supplementary materials submissions website by the appropriate application deadline (November 1 for Single-Choice Early Action candidates; December 31 for Regular Decision candidates; March 1 for transfer candidates). Musical scores should be submitted as .pdf files at our online supplementary materials submissions website.

Here are some additional guidelines:

Submissions from instrumentalists and vocalists should consist of two or three pieces of contrasting styles ( e.g. Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, etc.) which demonstrate abilities in the areas of tone, technique, and interpretation. Singers should submit at least one piece in a foreign language. Do not present selections from method books. Whole pieces or movements (as opposed to excerpts) are preferred.
Submissions from composers should contain scores (.pdf) and matching recordings (.mp3)
Submissions of recordings or scores of popular music or jazz at a high level are welcome.
Although your recording need not be of professional quality it should be clear enough to enable the evaluator to arrive at a judgment without distracting interference. Live recordings from recitals or performances are fine, so long as the quality is high enough to discern the applicant’s musical abilities. Scores must be neat and legible.
When uploading individual files onto the supplementary materials website, please indicate the title and composer of each submission, including movements, in the space provided. (For example, “Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, Scherzo. Frederic Chopin.”)
Only digital submissions in proper .mp3 format will be considered. Applicants submitting recordings or scores must also check the appropriate box in Section VI of the Yale Supplement to the Common Application, titled “Supplementary Material (Optional).”

Click here to access the online supplementary materials website.

Academic Work

Students engaged in advanced scientific research may submit a research abstract or a full paper for possible review by a member of Yale’s science faculty. Full reports are generally more useful than abstracts. Students may also consider requesting a letter of recommendation from a research mentor who has been involved personally with the scientific work. The letter should come directly from the mentor and include your full, legal name (as it appears in your application) and the name and state or country of your high school.

Creative writers who submit work for possible review usually have very well developed talents. Some have been recognized at a regional or national level and many have successfully pursued writing opportunities beyond their English classes and school literary magazines. If you are thinking about submitting extra writing samples, you might consider sending a carefully chosen short piece rather than a long manuscript. Bear in mind that the required application essays are the most important “writing samples" in an admissions file.

All supplementary academic work and recommendations should be attached to the Common Application as Additional Information, or mailed to the admissions office, clearly labeled with your full, legal name as it appears on your admissions application, date of birth, the name and state or country of your high school, and the subject of the material.

Applicants submitting supplementary academic work must also check the appropriate box in Section VI of the Yale Supplement to the Common Application, titled “Supplementary Material (Optional).”

Web Sites

Students with a high level of talent best conveyed through a web site or a YouTube video may submit a URL where indicated on the Yale Supplement. This is an opportunity to showcase talents or abilities not covered in the categories above; this is not a forum to address the admissions committee directly. YouTube videos will be judged on substance rather than production value and should be brief. Please refrain from sending blogs, journals, or links to social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace. These will not be considered.