Yale University: How to Get in

About Yale

University’s mission statement:

Yale University is committed to improving the world today and for future generations through outstanding research and scholarship, education, preservation, and practice. Yale educates aspiring leaders worldwide who serve all sectors of society. We carry out this mission through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community of faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

Yale College Mission Statement:

The mission of Yale College is to seek exceptionally promising students of all backgrounds from across the nation and around the world and to educate them, through mental discipline and social experience, to develop their intellectual, moral, civic, and creative capacities to the fullest. The aim of this education is the cultivation of citizens with a rich awareness of our heritage to lead and serve in every sphere of human activity.

The Undergraduate curriculum at Yale

All undergraduates complete their studies at Yale college. The college offers a more intimate learning environment, emphasizing collaboration and exploration. Students are required to complete thirty-six term courses or the equivalent in eight terms of enrollment to receive a B.A. or B.S. degree. To do that, students typically take four or five courses each term. To make sure that students get a chance to explore different topics and build the foundational knowledge required, students need to fulfill the distributional requirements and the requirements of their major program. 

Distributional requirements: These are essentially the core curriculum of yale college. There are six requirements that all yale college students have to complete, regardless of their major or field of study. They are designed to ensure that all students graduate having been acquainted with a wide variety of fields of inquiry and approaches to knowledge. Students fulfill the distributional requirements by taking a minimum of two-course credits in the following disciplines:

1. Humanities and arts
2. Sciences
3. Social sciences
4. Quantitative reasoning,
5. Writing
6. Language 

Students can fulfill the language requirement by taking one, two, or three courses, depending on their previous level of accomplishment in foreign languages, or by certain combinations of course work and approved study abroad.

The majors' requirements:  In addition to the distributional requirements, yale college students have to elect a major and fulfill the requirements of that program. The college offers over eighty different majors, and students can complete a double major or choose one of the many interdisciplinary programs offered at Yale college. All majors at Yale college require students to satisfy a senior project, such as an essay or senior departmental examination. Some more intensive majors have additional requirements, such as prescribed seminars, tutorials, or completing another project in the senior year.

Study or intern abroad: Yale College urges all undergrad students to consider studying abroad for a summer, a term, or a year during their college careers. The school stresses that students can't afford to remain ignorant about the forces that shape our world in these times of increasing globalization. Yale makes sure that students get to study the international world through special seminars and classes. It also encourages students to get a first-hand experience by traveling. 71% of the current graduating class listened and participated in studies, research, and internships abroad. 

What does it take to get into Yale?

 Yale Acceptance Rate:

Yale is a highly selective school, so it is no surprise that even though there is no minimum requirement for GPAs or standardized test scores, the latest statistics show that you need a solid academic background to be offered admission. In the most recently admitted class, the test score ranges (25th to 75th percentiles) for enrolled first-year students were 720-770 for the SAT-Verbal, 740-800 for SAT-Math, and 33-35 for ACT. 

The application process

Yale is one of the many schools that use common app. Common Application (often referred to as Common App) is a centralized online system for undergrad college applications used by schools in countries across the world. You will need to create an account on the platform if you don’t have one already and add Yale University to your list of chosen colleges. In addition to your personal details, test scores, academic background, and school forms, you will have to fill out the common app activities section, write a personal essay, and the supplemental essays required by the school. Let’s look at the key application components in detail:

Academics

Yale places a lot of importance on your academic situation. The admissions website clearly states that the single most important document in your application is your high school transcript. That said, if you’re hoping to get into college with a low GPA, don’t let this deter you. Yale tries to get a clear picture of your academic background and strengths by looking at various information. They consider your grades and the courses you took over your four years in high school. The aim is to find students who consistently took a broad range of challenging courses and did well in them. They also look for patterns in your transcript that could reflect your academic potential.

Yale relies on school profiles and guidance counselors to provide an understanding of your school and what it has to offer. This way, you are evaluated in the context of the school profile. In other words, the admissions board will understand that you can’t take AP or IB classes at a school that does not offer those options.

Still trying to decide between IB and AP? This infographic is for you:

In addition to your transcripts, Yale requires your standardized test scores. Many universities, including Yale, believe that standardized test scores are a great indicator of an applicant’s undergraduate academic performance. This means that your SAT score will be used to add to your academic profile. If it is competitive, then it will strengthen your application. If it is not, it could make you look like a less attractive candidate.

Additionally, if you are not a native English speaker or if you completed high school in a language other than English, you are required to take an English proficiency exam. Yale accepts IELTS, TOEFL, and the Duolingo test. You should take this test early on so that you can focus on the other application components instead of studying and preparing for this exam. You should definitely make some time to prepare for it so that you can get the best score possible. Yale’s most competitive applicants have TOEFL scores of at least 100 on the internet-based TOEFL, or 25 on each of the three sections of the Paper-delivered Test. 

Essays

First, you will need to write the famous common app essay, also called a personal statement. This 650-word essay will be sent to all the colleges you’re applying to, so make sure you do not include any references to specific schools or programs in this essay. Then you will need to answer a series of short answer questions called "short takes", and write supplemental essays of 250 words. This last set of college essays is specific to Yale and will be found in the university-specific section of the common app. The prompts for these are always made available to students early in the year on the school website, so make sure to take a look and make a note of them. We recommend giving yourself six to eight weeks to brainstorm, write, edit and polish your essays to make them as compelling as possible. 

Yale has provided the prompts below for the current application cycle. These are subject to change, so make sure you verify the school website for the most up-to-date information. 

If you’re not sure how to write a college essay, we encourage you to reach out to a college essay advisor. A good advisor will not write your essay for you, but they can help you through the brainstorming, writing, and editing process to help ensure that your essay is well written and engaging but still authentic to you! They can also catch mistakes or issues that the untrained eye might miss.  

Activities

The Common app activities section is extremely important. The Yale admissions committee wants to know how you spend your time outside of the classroom because it tells them more about who you are and what matters to you. Yale has hundreds of student organizations, and they want to admit students who will not only take advantage of these resources, but also contribute to Yale’s vibrant extracurricular community. The committee looks for students who have spent time pursuing meaningful opportunities and have positively impacted the people around them. This doesn’t mean that you need to be president of a national club or that your high school resume should be full of volunteer activities if that’s not what you’re passionate about. Instead, choose activities that you care about and are committed to.

Interviews

Interviews are not a required part of the application process at Yale, but we highly recommend that you accept the invitation to interview if offered the opportunity. Once you’ve submitted your application, alumni and student interviewers will contact certain applicants. Yale does not specify why not all applicants are interviewed, but they do confirm that interviews are not required for the admissions committee to evaluate your application and that you will not be disadvantaged if you do not get the chance to interview. At this time, all interviews are virtual, so you should prepare yourself for a video interview. Make sure you review common college admission interview questions and prepare your answers in advance. Your responses should provide the interviewer with additional information about you that you feel the admissions committee should consider.  

Check out this video for video interview tips:

Bonus tip: Write at least two interesting, thoughtful questions for the interviewer. This is a great way to make a good impression and tell them how interested you are in Yale. 

Recommendations

Yale requires you to submit two letters of recommendation from your high school teachers. These letters need to be written by teachers who taught you core academic subjects such as Math, English, Social Studies, Science, or a Foreign Language. These teacher evaluations are supposed to give the admissions committee some insight into how you think and learn, your intellectual curiosity, how you contribute to your school community, and what you add to the classroom dynamic.

Remember that the best college letters of recommendation come from those who know you well, so you should request these evaluations from the teachers that know you best rather than those who gave you the best grades. Ideally, you want to get recommendations from teachers who taught you in your junior and senior years because they would be able to write more insightful letters. Not only will they be able to discuss your performance in their particular classes, but they can also talk about your growth, potential, energy, relationships with classmates, and impact on classroom environments.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary materials are not required for your Yale application. In fact, Yale has stated that most successful applicants only submit the required application components. That said, if you have a considerable talent that cannot be conveyed adequately through the rest of your application, you may submit an audio recording, musical score, art samples, writing samples, scientific research paper, film, or dance video through Yale's Slideroom portal.  

 Additionally, Yale allows applicants to submit an additional recommendation letter. We recommend that you only do this if your third referee provides additional information or context about you rather than repeat the strengths and qualities found elsewhere in your application. If you choose to include an additional letter of recommendation, make sure it is written by someone who knows you well and has mentored you in some capacity— for example, a coach, work supervisor, or volunteer supervisor. It would be best to avoid recommendations from friends or family members, as they are not objective. 

 Yale admissions decisions

Yale applicants have the option of applying through Single-Choice Early Action or Regular Decision. Single-Choice Early Action applications are evaluated in the same way as are those who opt for Regular Decision. The main difference is that you would apply earlier and therefore receive a response from admissions earlier. Yale's early-action plan is non-binding, but it does stipulate that you may not simultaneously apply for Early Action or Early Decision to any other school in the United States. You should only consider this option if Yale is your first choice for colleges. You should also keep in mind that senior grades are not often available this early, so consider how strong your academic record is at the point of application. 

 Early applicants have to submit their application by November 1st, and in mid-December, Yale will send you its decision. There are three possibilities:

1. An offer of admission to the first-year class
2. Deferral for consideration in Regular Decision
3. Denial of admission

 Regular decision applicants have until January 2nd to submit their application, and they receive an admission decision by mid-April. Applicants will either be offered admission, put on the waitlist, or rejected. If your application is denied, you may apply again the following year, but keep in mind that Yale has a longstanding policy that a student may not apply to the College more than three times. 

All decisions are relayed through the Yale Admissions Status Portal and admitted applicants have until May 1st to advise Yale of their enrollment decision. 

Need a quick reminder of some of the key points we covered earlier? Check out this infographic:

Contact information 

Yale University Website

Yale College Website

Yale Email contact form

Mailing address: New Haven, CT 06520, 203-432-4771

FAQs

Disclaimer: BeMo does not endorse or affiliate with any universities, colleges, or official test administrators. The content has been developed based on the most recent publicly available data provided from the official university website. However, you should always check the statistics/requirements with the official school website for the most up-to-date information. You are responsible for your own results. 

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting

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