Yale Essay Guide

Yale University’s campus sits in central New Haven, CT. The campus’s beautiful pseudo-Gothic architecture will make you feel immersed in a Harry Potter-like world. Founded in 1701, Yale is the 3rd oldest higher education institute in the United States and one of the world’s best research universities. 

 Yale recorded a record low admissions rate this year of 4.62% for the class of 2025, one of the lowest of U.S. universities. The yield in 2023 was 72.4%. That means that 72.4% of students who were admitted chose to attend Yale. (Note: that’s a very high yield. If students get in, they want to go!). The middle SAT range for the class of 2023 for reading and writing was 720-770 and math was 740-800. 1420-1570 and the ACT the range was 33-35. 18% of the class of 2022 are first generation college students.

 Here is the geographic, racial/ethnic, and high school breakdown of Yale’s student body:

 Yale takes a holistic approach to the admissions process. This means they will consider your application essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, rigor of high school classes, GPA, test scores, personal qualities, and talents. Less important (but still considered!) are the interview, first-generation or legacy status, geographical residence, racial/ethnic status, volunteer work, and paid work experience. One important point is that Yale does not look at demonstrated interest as a part of the application process. This means that admissions officers do not consider whether you have visited the campus or attended information sessions in the application process. These are still great things to do in order to learn about the school, but they will not have any influence on your application. 

Yale has tons of activities to do and places to go around campus. Highlights include the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Marsh Botanical Gardens, the Yale Farm, and Sterling Memorial Library. You can study public health in Buenos Aires or Rainforests in Australia with Yale’s vast study abroad programs. Traditions such as the Freshman Screw, Spring Fling, the Yale-Harvard football game, and Yale symphony orchestra Halloween concert reflect a fun side to the university’s atmosphere. Yale is known for its excellent residential college program. Incoming first years are placed into one of 14 “colleges” within the university where they will live for the rest of their time. Each college has specific community traditions, and its own dining hall, library, computer cluster, buttery, fitness center, and music practice rooms. A few colleges even have special facilities, such as Berkeley College’s Woodshop and Morse College’s Fabric Arts Studio. These are only some examples of the many amazing programs offered by the university--make sure to explore the Yale website and do your research before applying. 

Yale offers two options to apply for first-year applicants: single-choice early action and regular decision. Let’s break down each of these options so you can choose what’s best for you. 

Single-choice early action is a less common decision plan that could be right for you if Yale is your first choice. Single-choice has a November 1st deadline--quite a bit earlier than normal, so make sure you are prepared to apply then. You also need to have taken hard classes and done well in Junior year of high school. Yale won’t see your Senior fall grades if you apply early, so if you want them to, consider waiting for regular decision. Another factor in applying early is that you cannot apply to another private college/university under their Early Action, Restrictive Early Action, Early Decision, or Early Notification plan. You can still apply to non-binding rolling admission programs, public institutions, another college’s Early Decision II or Early Action II program, and any institution outside of the United States.

Regular decision is the most common decision plan and is right for you if you are still taking standardized tests, want to show an increase in your grades or class rigor your senior fall, or have some other activity or award that would be great to show on your application and will not be ready until the January 1st deadline. 

What happens after you apply?

Depending on whether you apply early or regular, you can receive one of the following admissions decisions:

1) You are admitted! You have usually until May 1st to accept or decline. 

2) (early only) You are deferred, and your application will be reconsidered during regular decision. 

3) You are not offered admission.

4) You are waitlisted. 

Now that you know about your options to apply, let’s take a look at the essay prompts. 

Yale’s supplemental essays are broken down into two shorter, 125-word essays, four 35-word prompts, and two longer 250 word essays. The key to crafting compelling application essays is creativity, memorability, and expressing parts of your unique self.

Let’s start with the shorter essays. In addition to two 125-word essays, Yale requires a series of five 35-word essays. With such a short word count, you need to choose what to say, and perhaps more importantly, how you say it, very carefully. Don’t ignore these short essays and save them to the last minute. They can mean a lot, and if you make them memorable and exciting, they can make a big difference in your application. 

Yale is looking to understand what you might want to major in. Feel free to pick anything you are interested in! The important part of this question is not what you pick, but how you answer why do these areas appeal to you. Think about this question deeply. Why are you passionate about biology, or architecture, or history? What do you hope to do at Yale and beyond having studied that subject? Write something honest, professional, and memorable. Don’t be afraid to write multiple drafts of this question. You can explore how different answers feel to you, and pick what sits right in your heart. 

Essay Example: Chemical Engineering, Computing and the Arts, and Art

I have always been interested in an array of things that do not traditionally combine: watercolor painting and vector calculus, sewing and website coding, origami and health disparity research. Chemical engineering would allow me to combine my love of STEM and design: a melding of my artistic and technological passions with my fascination with pharmaceutical development. I know that Yale is a place I can do it all: majoring in Chemical Engineering, I will find a way to merge science and art and continue exploring my interdisciplinary passions. 

It’s worded slightly differently, but this is the traditional “Why Yale” question. As with any “Why Our College” answer, make sure you do your research. Pick out specific details about Yale’s culture, community, programs, etc. and remember to connect your answer back to yourself. Admissions officers don’t want to hear about the fantastic liberal arts offerings at Yale; they want to hear why you are excited about those offerings. Take the time to understand why you personally would want to attend the university. Write about that, and make it interesting, well written, and memorable. 

Essay Example: 

Last summer, my brother snuck me into Yale CEID. I was enthralled by the 3D printers, laser cutters, focused students, and a sewing machine. I’d worried about college ending my sewing opportunities, but in this creative haven was...a man walking up to us. I panicked, fearing sibling-of-a-student-status wouldn’t warrant my fiddling with the Brother machine. But, Professor Wilen smiled, kindly offering community crocs for toe protection. The faculty at Yale encourage students beyond the classroom: they foster creativity. At Yale, I envision forming meaningful relationships, engaging with inspirational peers, and maybe 3D printing a sewing machine during the CEID Summer Fellowship. Yale is supportive, creative, and thriving, a place where I could contribute, grow intellectually and emotionally, and be entirely myself: a home.  

This is a perfect opportunity to talk about something not already present in your application or expand on an aspect of one that is important to you. Try to write something meaningful. Whatever thing you choose, connect it back to something about your personality or background. You can talk about how inspiring the first rocket launch was because you hope to major in aerospace engineering, or how your sister’s kindness towards her friends has helped you become a great friend to your own. Try to tell a story and reveal more about yourself through your answer. Be creative; you can write about almost anything! Feel free to also write a short list of things.    

Essay Example: 

The world’s first heart transplant. 50 years later, the procedure saved my brother’s life. As an aspiring physician, I am inspired by the incredible path medicine has come and will continue to take.   

This is a perfect opportunity to share something interesting about your passions. Make sure that your answer helps to paint a picture of who you are. Do you love physics and would want to speak to an amazing physicist? Write about it! Maybe you are obsessed with Disney movies and want to talk to an animator at Pixar. Come up with an intelligent question. What are you genuinely curious to ask? This is another opportunity to give the admissions office a more complete picture of who you are and what you are passionate about. 

This is a fun question! Think about your hobbies and interests. What could you teach a class about? The mechanics of riding a mountain bike? Analyzing how humor works in SNL skits? Feel free to pick something fun or funny, and make it memorable (but still appropriate!). You can sneak in a little description of the class if you enough characters left over.

Yale’s two longer supplemental essays are a more traditional length for college supplements--100 to 250 words each. Let’s look at each prompt in depth.

Yale emphasizes intellectual vitality among students. They want students who care about learning and truly enjoy it. This is a great place to talk about an interest not present in your activities list or go into depth on one of them. Notice that the prompt states “beyond the classroom.” This means that you can write about anything from art history class to volunteering teaching baseball to researching 3D printed medical devices on the weekend to perfecting how to bake a soufflé. Think about the last day you lost track of time and didn’t realize until hours later. What were you doing? When was the last time you went on a deep dive into Google? How about when you stayed after class to ask your teacher questions about the lesson? What could you give a Ted Talk about? Any of these could make great topics. Don’t feel pressure to make your topic academic (although it certainly can be!). It’s more important to discuss what you are enthusiastic about learning. That will make your true voice and self shine for the admissions counselors. Yale wants students who contribute to class discussions and are engaged and enthusiastic learners.  

Essay Example:

 Every week, the time I’m most content is while biking to work. Cheap airplane earbuds are popped in my ears as I struggle to keep up with cars up San Francisco hills. I’m not much of an athlete, but I’m always immersed enough in the sound of my latest audiobook (last week was Obama’s memoir), to keep going. There’s something special about audio books. For me, nothing can replace hearing someone telling their own story. I’ve been listening to audiobooks for years, and I find myself continually drawn to the words read off the page. Audiobooks (and maybe re-watching The West Wing 5 times) have spurred my interest in political speeches. I realized that hearing someone’s beliefs--in the case of the politician, their platform--from their own lips can be a transformative experience. Watching old debate recordings from the 90s, I’m captivated. I spent freshman summer researching the history of political speeches and the psychology of convincing audiences through oration. Two years later, I published my own book on speeches, including advice from a public speaking professor and interviews with my state senators. I’ve always been drawn to hearing people share their truth. From my own audiobooks to speeches to Yale classrooms, I hope I can share my own.      

This is a very broad prompt with three options of questions, and that’s great news! Yale is giving you the opportunity to tell them about something they don’t already know. Think through your application. What have you not written about yet? What aspect of your personality or life do you still need to share? Write about it here. Don’t write about something already present in another essay. Don’t write about something you think “the admissions office wants to hear.” Do talk about something that you care about. Pick one of the prompts that inspires you. Is there a community you were engaged with that you want to discuss? How about a role model that you look up to? Share something personal and memorable. Help the admissions office understand who you are. 

Essay Example for 2A: 

Carrying heavy stage-lights 35 feet above the floor, my feet trembling on wire mesh that bounces like a trampoline with each shuffle forward isn’t an ideal Saturday morning for a person afraid of heights. Yet, I found a family amidst the medley of people who devote their after-school and weekend time to theater. The people I met through tech crew inspire me: they are unafraid to be themselves. Cue by cue, I developed friendships and became more comfortable with myself. I am quiet, and tech crew (despite filling backstage roles that necessitate it) is not. Tech crew taught me to use power tools to build massive set pieces, deal with mid-show disasters, stay calm under stress, and balance communication between cast, crew, and orchestra. As Tech Director for the student-run musical, I designed a set for Willy Wonka, with rotating platforms, a candy boat, elevator, inventing room, and slide. I appreciate people behind the scenes—from preparing the school stage to cleaning bathrooms. I helped run assemblies, hung the new light system, worked with a local school to build their Chicago set, and painted a repurposed Wonka-TV for the club fair. Tech is a pool of mentors: my first year, I was excited to learn how to drill from seniors and we are still in touch. And years later, I swapped places with them. Now unafraid of the towering grid, I know the thrill that preludes a show, finger hovering above the board “go” button, ready to illuminate the stage. 

Again, make sure to be creative, memorable, and express who you really are. Feel free to have a parent, teacher, or friend read over your essays when you finish. Extra eyes can catch typos and offer great advice. Most of all, stay true to yourself and what you will add to the Yale community. You’ve got this, and PathIvy is always here to help. 

Good luck!

Written by PathIvy Content Team