As a Yale Ambassador, I have met with hundreds of students to answer questions about college. While I don’t work in the admissions office, I have done extensive research and taken two classes which discussed Yale’s admission policies at length.
Due to school shutdowns, I was unable to meet with students this spring break. Instead, I have compiled answers to FAQs I’ve gotten at my information sessions.
I answered these questions as I normally would have at an information session. For information about what life ‘at Yale’ is like during COVID-19, see the Quarantine Diaries.
Why did you choose Yale?
Actually, I wasn’t even planning on applying to Yale until a Yale Ambassador came to speak to my school. I had the impression that Yale was snobby and pretentious. But when I met a current student, I realized that she was just a normal person. She showed us pictures of what Yale life was like. Somewhere between pictures of her testifying before congress, going to fancy college dinners, and just hanging out in her residential college, I was intrigued.
I visited Yale in my junior year, and I loved it! I actually met up with the Yale Ambassador that presented at my school, and she showed me around campus. We snuck into the Yale Law School Library where Bill and Hilary Clinton first met, went for Dimsum, and spent some time in one of her favorite coffee shops on campus.
In my college application process, I’ve learned that a lot of colleges promise you the same thing. As cool as I think Yale’s residential college system is, there are other schools that have that too. Yale is a top tier school, but so are many others. Honestly, I think I would have gotten a great education anywhere I would have chosen to go, but I love the culture at Yale.
When I wrote my “Why Yale” essay, I talked about how they have the highest proportion of non profit organizations to people in the country. I liked the idea that it’s the kind of place where people care about their community and organize to meet needs. Yale is a place where I can go into a dining hall, randomly meet someone, and talk to them for three hours. I’ve met some of the most genuinely amazing and talented people there. I feel so lucky to work with them.
Were you academically ready for Yale?
I get this question almost every time I present, but I feel like this question is never the one students mean to ask. What they really want to ask if I think they can make it at Yale.
I struggled with a fear that I wouldn’t be ready. In high school, teachers were always reminding us that college professors wouldn’t be as lenient as they were being. I think I always wondered if I could measure up to someone who went to private school.
Once I got there, it was a real adjustment. I had never written a paper or taken a midterm/final before. I had to learn to do things everyone else seemed to already know how to do.
Everyone starts Yale at a different academic starting point. Some high schools didn’t offer AP classes or didn’t offer as many as my school did. Others offered study abroad options.
Something that gave me comfort in those times is this: Yale believes that 75% of its applicants are qualified to do the coursework.
Over time, I realized that I already had the tools to do my coursework. I just had to learn how to apply them. It’s okay not to know how to do that yet, you’re going to college to learn!
There are also great tools such as writing tutors and workshops to help you with the adjustment. I still go to a writing tutor every week, and I think it helps me learn more from my assignments than I would otherwise.
How is financial aid?
Yale meets 100% demonstrated financial need which they calculate based on an algorithm that takes into account the total cost of attendance and your family’s financial situation. Since 2019, families with an annual household income of $75,000 or less are eligible for full financial aid.
If you’d like an estimate that is specific to your financial situation, you can use Yale’s net price calculator. They’d like to say you can get a cost estimate in 3 minutes. In my experience, it’s more like 20 minutes because it requires you enter a lot of information about your family’s taxes most people wouldn’t just know.
My financial situation senior year was very tumultuous and should not be used as a norm. I will say that my package at Yale was the best out of any competitive school I got into. I’ve heard that ⅔ of people appeal their financial aid package. I would recommend it if you’re not satisfied. The worst they can say is no. When I appealed, Yale gave me an additional $10k.
I’m not going to lie, there’s a lot of bureaucratic red tape surrounding this process, but after going through the process with students at other schools, I think that’s a universal experience. All things considered, Yale has generous aid.
Will visiting Yale’s campus help my chances of admission?
While some colleges check if you’re opening their emails or if you show up to campus for a tour, Yale does not track demonstrated interest. Visiting campus may help you write a better supplement about why you want to go to Yale. However, it doesn’t actually change your chances in the eyes of admissions.
Do people have time to have a life outside of classes?
After three semesters of setting my own schedule and watching my friends set theirs, I think the answer is “yes, if you want to”. Before I matriculated to Yale, someone told me that the Yale experience can be whatever you make it. That has proved to be true. Personally, I’m a pretty busy person through the week due to extracurricular activities and my job at the library, and I still have time to go to college teas or hang out with people without scheduling it. I know both people who are busier than I am and people who are less. It’s really up to each person to decide what they want to commit to.
Classes require different amounts of work, and if you make certain choices like, for example, pick classes that have midterms all on the same week, you’ll have some really hard/busy academic weeks throughout the semester. But nothing about Yale coursework is inherently prohibitive to having a social life.
How hard is it to adjust to life on the East Coast/life away from home?
It was both easier and harder than I expected. I can say that the things that I was specifically worried about—namely the weather, making friends, being homesick and adjusting to life without a car–were all easier to adapt to than expected. However, there were other things I didn’t anticipate having to adapt to like differences in worldview due to differences in the ways my classmates and I were raised. I think people take their own perspective for granted, and when they’re suddenly exposed to people who grew up in very different contexts, there can be tension, but I think that experience is part of “the college experience” and important to go through.
If you’re starting college soon, check out this post with advice for college first years!
How important are ACT/SAT scores?
According to Jeremiah Quinlan, Dean of Admissions, ACT/SAT scores are used as a predictor of how academically ready students are to handle Yale coursework. Studies have shown that they’re a good predictor of first-year grades. The theory is, while schools may have a variety of grading policies and teachers, standardized tests like the ACT/SAT are the same across the board. This is a hotly contested topic. Some schools, such as the University of Chicago, have gone test-optional in response to concerns about fairness.
Generally, test scores are important for showing that you’re academically competitive, but Yale accepts a range of ACT/SAT scores. There are no testing minimums meaning your application won’t be thrown out just because your test scores aren’t high enough. You don’t need a perfect score (I didn’t!) The admissions office reads every application cover to cover and researches every high school they receive an application from. Typically, the test scores won’t be the factor that makes or breaks your application.
This is not an exhaustive list! Choosing/applying for college can be super confusing and stressful, but I’d love to help! If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can get in touch by emailing contact@dearyall.net.
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