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Yale Supplemental Essays 2024-25 — Prompts & Advice

July 10, 2024

Yale’s acceptance rate of 3.7% for the Class of 2028 is not the type of number you want to simply glide past as you proceed through the application with blind optimism. It is not our intention to inject unnecessary anxiety and fear into the highly selective admissions process (you likely already have plenty of sources for that). Rather, we feel it is in your best interest to process the implications of the fact that there were 57,465 applicants to Yale in the 2023-24 cycle—many of whom were valedictorian or salutatorian of their respective high school class and brought 99th percentile SAT/ACT scores to the table, along with a dizzying list of extracurricular achievements. However, in the end, only 2,074 individuals were admitted. One thing all of those individuals had in common is that they composed stellar Yale supplemental essays.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into Yale University? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into Yale: Acceptance Rate and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

It will take perfect(ish) academic credentials to make it past the hyper-competitive “first cut” in the Yale application process. From there, you need to find a way to stand out from your place in a crowd of impeccably credentialed high schoolers. The numerous essays and short answer prompts required by Yale present one of the best opportunities you will have to stand out in the eyes of the admissions committee.

Yale Supplemental Essays for 2024-25

Yale supplemental essays: academic interests.

1)  Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study.   Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the  list  provided.

In this space, you are simply being asked to pick the three areas that you are most excited about and align with your background. There is likely some degree of overlap in your three areas of interest or, at least, some interdisciplinary connection that you envision. If so, you’ll have a chance to explain those connections in the next short answer…

Yale Supplemental Essays — Continued

2) Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)

This is the place to succinctly and effectively explain why your area(s) of academic interest have sparked your interest. Your answer should contain a narrative that shows the depth of your interest, when it began, how you have cultivated it, and where you see it going in the future. Common mistakes here include citing that you want to go into a particular area because it is prestigious, well-compensated, or will satisfy your parents.

Instead, focus on things like: How did you become interested in your chosen topic or idea? What books have you read on the subject? Which podcasts have you listened to? What museums have you visited? What interests and excites you most about it? Perhaps the words of former Yale President, Kingman Brewster (who has the most  Yale  name ever) best capture what this prompt aims to uncover: “I am inclined to believe that the person who gives every ounce to do something superbly has an advantage over the person whose capacities may be great but who seems to have no desire to stretch them to their limit.”

Yale Supplemental Essays: Short Takes

1) What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

When penning a “Why Us?” essay, you want to avoid areas that will be touched upon by tens of thousands of your peers. These include the following: how “prestigious” Yale is, how highly it is ranked by  U.S.   News , or how beautiful the campus is. Rather, you want to be incredibly specific in citing reasons why Yale is the perfect academic and social home for you. This will likely include discussing particular:

• Academic programs
• Residential College experiences
• Study abroad opportunities
• Undergraduate research programs
• Yale’s mission and values.

All applicants must respond to the following four short answer questions. Responses should be no more than 200 characters (roughly 35 words).

1) What inspires you?

This can be relevant to the area of academic interest cited in the first Yale essay, but you want to avoid being redundant. This may be a bigger-picture idea, mission, or goal that undergirds much of what you want to do with your academic, career, and personal future. On the contrary, this entry can be completely outside of your academic/professional interests. It could be about a historical occurrence, the natural environment, or a philosophical/religious idea that you find inspirational. It could be focused on a musical artist that moves you, your pet cat, or a work of fiction. There are limitless possibilities to this one—if you follow your heart/gut, include the all-important “why,” and write with passion, you’ll nail this one.

Yale Supplemental Essays (Continued)

2) Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence? 

When you think about who has shaped your life—beyond your family members—who comes to find? Is it a friend, a teacher, a mentor, a coach, or a coworker? How has this person influenced, challenged, encouraged, or inspired you, and how has that impacted you as a person?

3) If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?

Yale has expanded its horizons this year to include books and art alongside college courses. If you opt to stick with the college course direction, know this is a chance for you to showcase the unique and distinct area where you are a genuine expert (or hope to become one). Make sure that the topic of your course is not overly broad (or currently offered). For inspiration, research some of the more interesting elective courses actually offered at Yale such as: The Criminal Mind, Is That Racist?, The Search for Extraterrestrial Life, and Cocktail Culture: The History, Ethics, and Aesthetics of Drink.

If you opt to discuss a prospective book or original piece of art, think about what type of book or artwork you would create. Chapbook? Biography of a particular historical figure? Novel that centers on a mother/daughter relationship? Sculpture involving found objects? Pen-and-ink drawing of your childhood home? Whatever you choose, your answer should reveal something about your interests, passions, or background.

4) What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

This is an opportunity to share something genuinely unique about yourself that may not shine through anywhere else on the application. The key to answering this one is to pick a key aspect of your personality/background that truly reveals something deep and meaningful about you. To accomplish that, first inventory what already appears on your application before deciding what’s not present. Is it your love of running? Thrifting? That you cook dinner with your sister every Friday? That you grow your own vegetables in the summer?

Furthermore, as you brainstorm, consider the following avenues:

• Your role in your family.
• Your role in your social group.
• A formative experience.
• A favorite food, place, object, item of clothing, etc.
• Cultural, religious, community influence.

Yale Supplemental Essays: Choose 1 of 3

Finally, you’ll have the opportunity to choose one of the following three prompt choices, which require a response of 400 words or fewer:

Option #1: Reflect on a time when you exchanged ideas about an important issue with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?

It’s no secret that we live in a polarized culture, where there seems little room for constructive dialogue between individuals with competing viewpoints. This is a chance to show that you are an open-minded, intellectually curious, truth-seeking young person who is willing to engage in conversations/debates with people who hold opposing positions on important topics. One key thing to remember when addressing this prompt is that you don’t have to be the hero of the anecdote—in fact,  you may be one who learned to expand your thinking. Most importantly, though, you’ll want to reflect on why this particular conversation was so important to you.

Option #2: Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

First, remember that you are the boss of this prompt—you get to decide what “community” means to you, whether that’s a religious or ethnic community, your neighborhood, a sports team, club, or class, an online forum, your beach clean-up crew, or your four crazy, lovable aunts who constantly seem to be over dispensing advice and making lasagna. Pretty much everyone applying to Yale is deeply involved in a number of activities, both formal and informal, so your mission will be to bring your involvement to life. After you’ve described your chosen community, you’ll then, of course, need to tackle the ever-important “why?” Why do you appreciate this particular community? How has it impacted you?

Option #3: Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?

This is an opportunity to share something about your background that you feel will positively impact Yale’s residential community. To do so, consider discussing how your role in your family, important aspects of your upbringing, or a particular cultural, religious, or community influence either impacted your core values and beliefs or helped develop a particularly important attribute.

How important are the Yale supplemental essays?

The Yale supplemental essays are “very important” to the evaluation process. Seven other factors are “very important.” These factors are: rigor of coursework, class rank, GPA, recommendations, talent/ability, character/personal qualities, and extracurricular activities. Clearly, Yale places enormous value on the quality of your supplemental essay.

Want personalized essay assistance with your Yale supplemental essays?

Lastly, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Yale supplemental essays, we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

Need further essay assistance? Consider checking out the following:

• Common App Essay Prompts
• 10 Instructive Common App Essay Examples
• College Application Essay Topics to Avoid
• How to Brainstorm a College Essay
• 25 Inspiring College Essay Topics
• “Why This College?” Essay Examples
• How to Write the Community Essay
• College Essay

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Yale University 2024-25 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Early Action: Nov 1

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 2

Yale University 2024-25 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 1 list; 6 short answer questions; 1 additional short essay of 400 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s):   Why ,  Short Answer , Community ,  Oddball

How to Write Yale Supplemental Essays

Short Answers dominate the Yale application. So, in brief, they’re looking for confidence. When an essay must clock in at under 200 words, you don’t have time to waffle. There’s no room for you to circle your main idea with broad statements. You’ve got to get straight to the point, and clearly. The successful applicant will choose precise words that can do double — even triple duty — telling your story (literally), bringing vivid details to life, and highlighting your overall intelligence. Keep reading to learn how to write winning Yale supplemental essays! 

Yale Essay Prompts Breakdown

Short answer questions, students at yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. as of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably please indicate up to three from the list provided..

There’s only one trick to generating a straightforward list of your academic interests: be honest. If you already know what you want to major in, or have it narrowed down to a few departments, you’re set! Don’t waste time trying to strategize. Choosing anything other than your true interests would be a misrepresentation of who you are and a disservice to you and the admissions office. This assignment will no doubt be most challenging for the undecideds, but to help you narrow your focus, try to tell a story with your choices. How can you use this to reveal something about what you value and what excites you intellectually? You could try to illustrate a general inclination (art history, studio art, and American studies). Or if you really feel like you could go any direction, try to show a balance, picking majors across domains that link to each other in a way that still makes sense (biology, psychology, classics)—you’ll thank yourself when answering the next question.

Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)

You’ve only got 200 words, but if you chose wisely (and honestly) in the previous question, answering this one should be a cinch. Whether you listed one or several interests, your goal is to tell a cohesive story about your intellectual curiosity. Ideally, you should try to recount an anecdote that illustrates your engagement with your chosen field, or demonstrates your ability to link seemingly disparate fields. Perhaps you’re interested in both religion and astrophysics because each offers a way for you to contemplate our place in the universe. But while you may be tempted to wax philosophical, you should beware of veering into overly abstract territory. This is a great opportunity for you to explain how your intellectual interests relate to who you are as a person. Don’t waste it!

What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

This is a short version of the Why essay, the mini Why. Yale wants to make sure you are psyched for the full college experience at their school. So, we’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: DO. YOUR. RESEARCH. As a top school, Yale attracts many applicants based on its reputation alone, so it won’t do you any good to go on and on about the world-class education you will receive. Yale admissions officers know — and they know you know. Locate specific opportunities within your department and related programs and centers that really make your heart sing with excitement.

And make sure you talk about yourself! Yale doesn’t need a summary of its website (even if you write about a forgotten page deep in the Math Department website). Talk about your academic and professional goals and how Yale will help you achieve them. What unexpected classes might you want to take to sate your curiosity? How will you drive yourself to succeed? Don’t forget to include details about personal growth. If you think you can accomplish this and that on campus, what experience do you have to back up those claims? What about the Yale experience will enrich your life overall? Which extracurricular activities and organizations will you take advantage of? Do they offer quidditch ? If so, you should definitely play. Figure out why you’re applying to Yale over all the other schools out there – and then deliver it with eloquence and confidence.

Applicants applying with the QuestBridge Application will complete the questions above via the Yale QuestBridge Questionnaire, available on the Yale Admissions Status Portal after an application has been received.

Applicants submitting the coalition application or common application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):, what inspires you (200 characters or fewer).

200 characters is not a lot of characters, especially when it comes to a concept as broad as inspiration. You don’t have time to describe what the word means to you, and admissions officers don’t have time for vague answers (“nature”) or trite ones (“my mom”). First and foremost, have fun with this prompt. Think of the 200 character challenge as a game. Then, get specific. What experiences have launched some of your best ideas? Although you won’t have time to relate the whole story, you can draw upon your personal experience for a hyper-specific, memorable answer like “the color of fresh drosophila eggs” or “Goldie Hawn’s crazy eyes in Death Becomes Her .” You get the idea.

If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be? (200 characters or fewer)

The previous question asked you what inspires you, and this one is asking you what you can do. What are you good at? It’s time to show your stuff. Reach beyond the traditional academic areas and toward skills you may have cultivated on your own time (e.g., gardening, rock climbing, baking, etc.). Then, think about how you might share this talent with others, whether that be through a course, book, or artwork. Maybe you’ve been making TikToks reviewing your favorite YA novels for some time now. Would you teach a class on the politics of the modern heroine in YA fiction? Perhaps you could talk about marine life for hours on end. Would you write a book on the idiosyncrasies of giant isopods? There is no right or wrong answer here, so write about the subject that interests you the most!

Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence? (200 characters or fewer)

Since you have so much to say in so few words, our advice is to summarize this person’s accomplishments succinctly and leave room to offer admissions deeper insight into their influence on you, what you value, and the kind of person you aspire to become. The person you choose to write about can be someone in your local community—a friend, a teacher, a community leader—or someone you haven’t yet had the chance to meet IRL. Maybe there is a renowned scientist who inspired you to pursue your chosen field. Perhaps an artist or thought leader has altered your understanding of what it means to be human. No matter who you choose, remember that this should say more about you than it does about them, so stay the course!

What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application? (200 characters or fewer)

This is one of the hardest prompts! What do they want to know?! Where do you start? Birth? School? Puberty? First, take a breath and calm down. Think about why they’re asking you this question and it will all fall into place. While many applications look similar, with impressive grades, extracurriculars, and teacher recommendations, this essay makes it so you can stand out from the crowd with your personality. Do you have a very sarcastic sense of humor? Do you make more dad jokes than your own father? Do all of your friends refer to you as the “artsy” one? Yale wants to know that you’re more than your transcripts, so take this opportunity to share a piece of yourself that they wouldn’t otherwise get to see. This prompt also lends itself to recycling previously written essays for other schools quite well, so you might want to consider revisiting it once you’ve made a dent in writing your supplemental essays for other schools.

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer. 

1. reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. why did you find the experience meaningful.

Engaging with others in meaningful conversations about important issues can be intimidating and challenging, and the Yale admissions committee knows this. Nevertheless, we have all experienced standing up for our beliefs in some capacity, so scroll through your memory to identify a time when you had an uncomfortable conversation with friends, family, or even mere acquaintances. Maybe you engaged your grandparents in a conversation regarding the Black Lives Matter movement. Were you able to clearly communicate your perspective? What did you take away from the discussion? Perhaps you learned that one of your friends was a passive supporter of an organization that you vehemently disagree with. How did you broach the subject and what was the outcome of your conversation? You don’t need to have changed someone’s mind (or your own!) to impress admissions here. You just need to show that you’re not afraid to engage with those who may have different opinions than you. College will present you with a plethora of opportunities to meet and interact with people who are very different from you, so show Yale that you’re game to learn, listen, share, and grow.

2. Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

“A community to which you feel connected” could be anything: your family, a club at school, your dance troupe, women in STEM… you get the idea. If you’ve been wanting to spin your 8-bit video game obsession into an essay, this prompt is offering you the opportunity to describe your community of old-school gamers. Whatever community you choose, remember to define your place within it. Who are you to your fellow community members? How does being in this community add to your life or identity? Why is it meaningful? As always, try to be as concrete as possible as you develop your story, giving examples as you go. Just brainstorming your topic may remind you of a video you made or photo you took that you can use as a jumping off point. You might even consider digging through old photos and notebooks as a way to brainstorm!

3. Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?

This is a fabulous prompt because it’s just about as open-ended as it gets. If the other two essay prompts didn’t speak to you, this one is here to save the day! Yale wants to know what has made you into the person you are today. What you focus on here can really run the gamut, but it should be something that you feel will help you to contribute to Yale’s community in a unique way. Is there anything you can teach your classmates about your hometown, traditions, culture, identity, race, or ethnicity that they might not already know? What has influenced your identity? What do you believe and how will your worldview bring something of value to the community at Yale?

Why Choose College Essay Advisors for Yale Essays

College Essay Advisors has over twenty years of experience guiding students one-on-one through the essay writing process for Yale University. We take a holistic approach to these essays and short answers, considering each student’s application package as a whole. It’s incredibly important to us that each student’s voice is preserved, and we pride ourselves in helping students to write successful Yale University supplemental essays that differentiate them from similarly qualified applicants.

Fill out a contact form below to work with an Advisor on your Yale supplemental essays and short answers!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yale requires one (1) supplemental essay and six (6) short answers for the 2024-25 application cycle.

Yale asks for:

• one (1) essay of 400 words or fewer
• one (1) essay of 200 words or fewer
• one (1) essay of 125 words or fewer; and
• four (4) short answers of 200 characters or fewer each

200 characters is not a lot, which means the challenge of answering these questions lies half in generating honest, unique, and clever ideas, and the other in being concise. Humorous answers can also make an impact here. Think of as many ideas as you possibly can for each short answer and get them all on the page. When narrowing down your choices, think about representing a range of your personality traits and interests.

Although you can elaborate on an idea, activity, interest, or community that you mention or allude to in your Common App essay, you should not write about the same topic in your Yale supplements. Admissions is giving you an opportunity to add layers to your application, so take advantage of that and reveal something new about yourself in your Yale short answers and essay.

The supplemental essays are very important in Yale’s admissions process. These essays give admissions insight into who you are and what is meaningful to you and, in such a competitive environment, may be the difference between acceptance and rejection.

Applicants will want to avoid silly grammar mistakes , repeating the prompt in their response, and telling rather than showing (e.g., saying you are determined without giving an example of a time you displayed determination).

Authenticity is key. These essays serve to help admissions officers get to know you better, so stay true to who you are and what makes you tick. It’s wise to think about your application as a whole (imagine the same person reading all of your documents in one sitting!), so try to paint a robust picture by writing about different aspects of your life, interests, or character.

We recommend focusing on one topic or idea that excites you in the 200-word essay, but you can feel free to mention multiple academic interests in your “Why Yale?” essay.

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– CEA Parent, Yale University, Class of 2026

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How to answer Yale's supplemental essays

School-specific supplementary essays provide an opportunity for you to share additional insight about yourself that may not have been captured in the main Common App essay. In this post, I will present approaches to Yale University’s supplementary questions. ​​Ideally, these strategies can be applicable for a range of supplementary questions beyond just Yale. 

A note on length: 

These essays must be 200 characters or less. Keep in mind that this is very short - only about 35 words. The readers are looking for whether you can express an idea concisely, clearly, and poignantly. It’s your job to capture their attention and interest in only a few sentences. This will require you to have one clear message and identify the most powerful details to support this message and convey who you are - every word is precious! 

To approach essays with such a small character count, spend some time thinking about what you want to say. Then, answer the prompt without considering a character limit - get all your ideas out. Next, read through your answer and identify the core idea - at the most basic level, what are you trying to say? Write this down. Next, delete anything that doesn’t add anything to this core idea - you’ll be surprised by how much “fluff” we include when we write! Ask yourself, "Is this response equally strong without this sentence?" If the answer is yes, delete it. Keep doing this, and as you refine, continue to ask yourself - what am I saying with this sentence? How is this exposing more of myself and my strengths? Don’t get caught up in stylistic elements, focus on being direct and clearly answering the question. 

Now let's take a look at each of Yale's supplementary questions.

1. What inspires you? 

This question is looking for a glimpse into what makes you excited, what motivates you, what drives you. It should be personal! First, spend some time thinking about what inspires you. Start broad, and write down what comes to mind. It can be abstract, a person, an activity, art, anything. Perhaps there is something important to you that you didn’t include in your Activities list, or you didn’t have enough room to describe. Second, think about which things you identified convey parts of yourself that may not be captured elsewhere in your application - because of the personal nature of this question, there’s a good chance that many of these things did not come across in your application. Third, pick one thing and reflect on how and why it inspires you. How has it influenced your life so far, how has it influenced your goals and desires for your future, how has it influenced how you view the world? Finally, answer the prompt by starting with what it is that inspires you, and adding detail around the above questions. 

2. Yale’s residential colleges regularly host conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What would you ask them to discuss? 

This question may seem overwhelming at first - it’s similar to the classic “if you could have dinner with anyone who would it be?” question. This question is essentially asking, what issues do you care about, what do you find interesting, and who do you respect/admire? Some people may have people that immediately come to mind, while others may have a very difficult time with this. You can think about approaching this prompt in two ways - one, you can think about specific individuals who have an interesting perspective/experience to share. You can think about people from politics, the arts, academia, social movements, business, and media. Alternatively, you can start by thinking broadly about what type of conversation you would want to have. What perspectives, insights, or experiences would be interesting and/or important for people to hear about? This does not need to be academic, these conversations are designed to give students unique and diverse perspectives from areas they may have no exposure to otherwise, so feel free to be creative! Doing a little bit of research into some past conversations can also help to spark some ideas. Once you decide on a person and topic, mention the person with some description of who they are, the topic you would have them discuss, and your motivation/reason for doing so - why would it be important/interesting for people to hear this talk? Ideally your reader will want to!  

3. You are teaching a new Yale course. What is it called? 

This question is an opportunity for you to articulate your academic interests and passions. Ideally, this will align with some other aspects of your application such as your academic history and activities. However, you should also feel free to be creative - how can an academic interest be approached in an innovative way? Perhaps multiple fields of study that you are interested in can come together in this class. First, identify an area/s of study you are interested in. Next, think about how this could translate into a class. What is the setting? Maybe it has elements of classroom-based study and community-based activity. What are the assignments, if any? Who is teaching the course? Next, select a name for the course - don’t stress too much about the name, but try to make it convey what the course is about and also concise. Next, write the prompt by starting with the name of the course and providing some detail around what the course would look like, with the above questions in mind. 

4. What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application? 

This question can be taken in many different directions. It can be an opportunity for you to elaborate on your personality, a unique skill or interest that may not have fit anywhere else in your application, or an experience you had that is meaningful but doesn’t fit into any application “bucket”. It doesn’t have to be overly serious or “impressive”, but it should enhance the picture of yourself painted by your application. Start by thinking about your application, and all the information about yourself you have already provided. Is there anything missing that immediately comes to mind, or that you wish you could have mentioned? You can also think about your interests, hobbies, extracurriculars, family, friends, etc. and see whether anything strikes you as important about yourself that you would like to convey to the admissions committee. This can also be an opportunity to discuss your identity, culture or heritage. This prompt will benefit from some thinking and self-reflection. It is important that what you select gives insight into who you are while also being specific so that you can adequately convey the idea with limited space. Don’t try to combine multiple things together that aren’t in your application - choose one thing, and use your space to show the reader why it’s so important that they know about it! 

Emily graduated from Yale, where she majored in English and was a varsity athlete. She then worked for a technology startup and a human rights nonprofit before pursuing her MD at Columbia University.

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How to Write the 2024-25 Yale Supplemental Essays

Ivywise on-demand: a look inside yale with former admissions directors.

Join IvyWise college admissions counselors Christine and Scott, both former admissions directors at Yale, for an inside look at Yale.  Whether you are beginning the college search process or finalizing your list, this is a great opportunity to learn all about Yale from those who used to recruit and admit students to the university.

With its lengthy history and unparalleled academic rigor, it’s no surprise that Yale tops many students’ best-fit lists, with an acceptance rate that has dipped below 5% in recent years.  Given the competitive nature of Yale’s admissions process, every component of your college application is going to be crucial, including supplemental essays.

Like many colleges, Yale University has a number of writing prompts that students are required to answer as part of their submission. Keep reading to learn more about the 2024-25 Yale supplemental essays to make sure your writing sets you apart from the pack.

Table of Contents:

How Many Supplemental Essays Does Yale Have?

How to tackle yale’s short answer questions, how to write the yale supplemental essay.

• Yale Essays the Worked

Yale University requires one supplemental essay as well as responses to several short answer questions.  Students who apply through the Common Application or the Coalition Application must also respond to four additional short answer prompts, each with a maximum character count of 200. Additionally, applicants must choose one of three supplemental essay prompts to respond to in 400 words or fewer.  

Given Yale’s competitive admissions process, the bar for each supplemental essay is exceptionally high. If you want to learn more about  how to get into Yale , keep reading for tips on how to tackle each of their short answer and supplemental essay prompts.

Short Answer Prompt #1

Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided. 

Yale admissions officers are looking for several key elements in your response:

• You have thoughtfully considered your academic interests and goals.
• Your interests align with the academic programs and resources available at Yale.
• You are intellectually curious and open to exploring different fields and new directions.
• You have genuine enthusiasm and passion for your chosen disciplines.

As you respond to this prompt, briefly explain why each area interests you and how it relates to your goals. Mention any relevant experiences or aspirations. Use this opportunity to highlight specific programs, faculty, or opportunities at Yale that align with your interests.

Short Answer Prompt #2 

Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it?

The admissions officers want to get a sense of where each applicant’s genuine academic passion lies. They want to know why mechanical engineering appeals to a student or why they are drawn to theater. To answer this short answer question successfully, make sure your response makes it clear exactly where your academic interests lie, and, more importantly,  why  you are interested.

Once you’ve articulated the discipline(s) you want to study and the academic goals you have, you’ll have an opportunity to dive deeper into why you are passionate about these interests. Colleges are always looking for students who are enthusiastic and committed to the subjects they’re focusing on, so make sure your passion for the field you wish to study shines through.

Short Answer Prompt #3

What is it about Yale that has led you to apply?  

Many colleges ask questions along the lines of “why this college?” because it is an ideal opportunity to evaluate a student’s interest level. The best answers should be tailored to the college you’re applying to and convey your expertise in the institution. Don’t be afraid to name specific professors and courses you’re interested in taking, majors you would wish to pursue, and student-run clubs that you would be eager to join. You want to make sure you’re emphasizing  what Yale is known for   as it relates to your criteria for your undergraduate experience and demonstrate that you’ve done your research.

Common and Coalition App Short Answer Prompts

Students applying to Yale via the Common Application or Coalition Application must respond to the following questions in 200 characters or less:

• What inspires you?
• If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?
• Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence?
• What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

Your responses to these questions will give admissions officers a clearer picture of who you are as a person. Feel free to be creative and authentic — just as long as you’re also brief!

H ere are a few best practices for writing responses to Yale’s supplemental essays:  

Supplemental Essay Prompt #1

Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?    

This question is asking you to demonstrate your ability to work with people you may disagree with and genuinely consider opinions that differ from your own. Think of an example that shows your willingness to listen and hold important conversations with other people in a respectful way. The trick here is to balance your own convictions with the understanding that you are not always right about everything and are excited about the opportunity to embrace others’ perspectives, whether you end up changing your own mind in the end.  

Supplemental Essay Prompt #2

Reflect on a time when you have worked to enhance a community to which you feel connected. Why have these efforts been meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

Unlike some of the other supplemental essay questions, this query is designed to prompt students to write about something more personal and reflective. Take some time to think about a community that is meaningful to you and pinpoint how you have made a positive impact on that community and its members. Remember to be as specific as possible in the small amount of space you have to work with, and don’t be afraid to toot your own horn in the process!  

Supplemental Essay Prompt #3

Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?

As with the previous question, admissions officers are looking for a deep, honest, and personal reflection. Select an experience that has had a significant impact on you and reflects your values, passions, or challenges. Explain how this experience has shaped your character, outlook, and aspirations, then highlight how your personal journey will allow you to contribute to the Yale community in a meaningful way.

Yale Essays That Worked 

Looking for some inspiration for your Yale supplemental essays? While it’s important to make sure your own voice shines through, it can be helpful to read through a few successful supplements to get an idea of what to aim for, especially given the low  Yale admission rates .

Here’s one example of a Why Yale? essay that aligns with what admissions officers are looking for.

Actor and math major. Theater geek and football player. Critical and creative thinker. What draws me to Yale most is that they don’t limit one’s mind with “or”s. Instead, they embrace the power of “and” the strength that comes with duality.

Wandering through the Beinecke Library, I would prepare for my multi-disciplinary Energy Studies capstone that explores the correlation between hedonism and climate change, making it my goal to uncover implications in environmental sociology. I would study with Assistant Professor Arielle Baskin-Sommers, who would guide my class as we explored the emotional deficits of depression, utilizing neuroimaging to scrutinize human perception. After class, I would head to Walden Peer Counseling, where I would integrate my peer support and active listening skills to foster an empathetic environment for the Yale community. Combining my interests in psychological and environmental studies is why I am proud to be a Bulldog.

Ace Your Yale Supplemental Essay with IvyWise

There’s no doubt that acing the Yale supplemental essays takes effort. Students need to start drafting their responses well in advance to ensure they’re presenting themselves in the best light possible. If you’re looking for personalized college admissions assistance , our team is here to help.

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3 Tips for Writing Stellar Yale Supplement Essays

College Essays

Yale admits just over 4% of their total applicant pool every year. If you want to be one of those admitted students, you'll need to write amazing Yale essays as part of your Yale University application.

In this article, we'll outline the different types of essays you need to write for your Yale University application and teach you how to write a Yale supplement essay that will help you stand out from the thousands of other applicants.

What Are the Yale Essay Prompts?

Yale University requires you to submit multiple short answer questions and one essay, depending on whether you are submitting the Common Application , QuestBridge Application, or Coalition Application .

You will choose from a selection of topics for the longer Yale supplement essay questions. The prompts are the same for both the Common and the Coalition application, but the number of prompts you'll choose to answer is different depending on which application you use to apply.

You'll also complete short answer questions regardless of which application you're using. It’s important to note that Common, Coalition, and QuestBridge applications all require short answer questions, but only Common and Coalition applications require a second set of short answer questions and a supplemental essay.

The short answer questions for the Yale essays range in word limit from 35 words to 250 words. These essays are specific to the Yale application—you won't find them on any other college or university's application.

Although they are short, the Yale supplement essays are just as important as the longer essays.

The Yale supplemental essay questions offer you plenty of opportunity to show off your qualifications as an applicant and wow the admissions committee.

2023-2024 Yale Essay Questions

Applicants who fill out the Common Application or the Coalition Application will answer one of the following three prompts:

Essay Prompt #1: Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful? (400 words or fewer) Essay Prompt #2: Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you’d like. (400 words or fewer) Essay Prompt #3: Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you? (400 words or fewer)

Yale Supplement Essay Prompts Analyzed

Now that you've read through the Yale supplemental essay prompts, let's take a closer look at how to answer them. 

Essay Prompt #1

Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful? (400 words or fewer)

This essay asks you to reflect on your ability to engage with opposing ideas and to modify your own —or to hold firm, if need be! It's a tall order, but a very, very important subject. Whether you changed your mind a little, a lot, or not at all, this prompt asks you to explain why the discussion, itself, was meaningful to you. 

Yale admissions officers want to know that you can participate in a healthy exchange of ideas with others without compromising yourself or shutting down the conversation. This is very important , as it's a huge part of collegiate life!

For this essay, you'll need to think of a pretty specific scenario. Maybe you had a class conversation about a controversial subject, or maybe you talked to a parent, relative, or friend about a subject you disagreed on. Did you know going into the conversation that you disagreed? How did that affect the way you spoke? What was the tone of your conversation? How did it resolve (or did it)? Most importantly , what did you take away from the experience and how did it impact you?  How has it shaped your belifs and the way you interact with others who do not share them? 

Essay Prompt #2

Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you’d like. (400 words or fewer)

This essay provides a great place to let the committee see a side of you that has nothing to do with academics. There are so many possible answers here: family, sports teams, religious school, AV club, and even virtual communities are viable options to write about. Whatever community you choose, be sure to pick one that has made an impression on you and to which you feel connected.

Have fun with this Yale essay. Don't feel pressure to talk about how much charity work you do—chances are a lot of applicants will go that route and it will seem inauthentic. (Unless charity work is actually your jam. If that's the case, go for it!)

You also have the opportunity to define “community” on your terms here. If you have a unique experience with a group of people that may not look like a traditional community to outsiders, writing about that experience can help you stand out in the admissions process. For instance, if your football team came together with a rival team to provide hurricane relief and bonded in the process, that would be an out-of-the-box take on community connection to highlight in your essay. 

However you decide to define “community,” make sure to explain why the community you choose is meaningful to you . Before putting pen to paper, consider making a list and reflecting on why this particular community holds meaning for you. What values, traditions, or shared experiences within the community are special to you? How has this community impacted your personal growth? Your beliefs? Your worldview? Answering these questions about your community is a great place to start!

Let your voice shine through in this one and don't be afraid to be creative. Since you have a larger word allotment you can show off some of your prosaic chops. Don't try too hard though! Be yourself—the committee will appreciate you for it.

Essay Prompt #3

Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you? (400 words or fewer)

This essay gives you an opportunity to consider your past, explore what you learned and how you grew, and explain how it will help you bring value to Yale . Just like with the last prompt, you have the freedom to pick from a wide range of experiences. This could be an event, a relationship, a passion, or even a challenge you faced.

Once you’ve picked the “element” you want to focus your essay on, take some time to think about how the experience impacted you. Did you learn a lesson from it? Were you able to build any valuable skills? Did it change or help you develop important personal values? You don’t want to choose just anything to write about, here—you want to choose something that had a profound effect on you and who you consider yourself to be.

Last but definitely not least: you’ll need to explain how Yale and its community will benefit from having you on campus . Draw connections between what you learned from your experience and how you’ll encounter classes, peers, teachers, and others on campus. Whether it’s contributing to academic discussions, participating in extracurricular activities, or fostering a positive campus culture, show how your experience will impact your time at Yale in a positive way.

2023-2024 Yale Short Answer Questions

There are three required Yale short answer questions.  Every student applying to Yale must answer these three prompts:

• Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.  

Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)

What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

Yale Short Answer Questions Analyzed

The longer short answer prompts listed above are required of all applicants. The prompts are the same for both applications. Remember, all three prompts are required.  

We’ll break down how to respond to each Yale short answer prompt next.

Yale Short Answer Question 1

Students at Yale have plenty of time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.

First off—follow the directions here exactly. ONLY use areas of study from the list provided in the above link and be sure to mention no more than three.

Here, Yale is giving you the opportunity to show some range in your interests, but keeping your writing brief and honest is key.

Less is more here—don't be afraid to only list one interest. Although it may be unrealistic to choose a major before you enter college, there is no harm in expressing what excites you right now. You will not have to stick to this major throughout your Yale career, unless of course you want to. Since you're just listing one to three subjects from the list provided and nothing more, this "short answer" question is just that: short! 

Yale Short Answer Question 2

This prompt asks you to show that you have independent intellectual interests and take the initiative to connect them to your academic goals. Your answer to this question should showcase the curiosity, passion, and drive that you’ll contribute to the Yale community!

A good answer to this question will include the following elements: 1) a topic or idea that you're curious about, 2) how you engage with that topic or idea, and 3) which major(s) you think will best help you pursue your topic or idea.

So, start out by describing your topic of interest or idea. For example, say you're interested in how tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons promote key education skills like literacy and mental math. Think about what excites you most about your topic or idea and explain those things in your response.

You'll want to briefly explain how you engage with your topic or idea as well. For instance, maybe you play Dungeons and Dragons at a local gaming store every weekend, and you notice lots of middle-schoolers are dropped off by their parents to play games. These observations could have sparked your questions about literacy learning and tabletop gaming! Including some of the context will help ground your response in a story that admissions counselors can connect with.

You also need to explain why you're drawn to your idea or topic. If it's the tabletop gaming we discussed above, maybe you'll talk about how you struggled with reading as a young student and playing tabletop games helped you develop your skills. Including an explanation of why you're drawn to your topic or idea is an important component of your response.

Finally, make sure you connect everything back to Yale. How will Yale help foster your commitment to studying tabletop gaming and literacy? Which major(s) or minor(s) would best support your intellectual endeavor? How will your curiosity help you make a significant impact as a Yale student? And why is Yale the only school that can foster your creativity and turn it into success? At the end of the day, admissions counselors want to better understand why Yale is the best place for you to explore your interests!

Yale Short Answer Question 3

This short answer question seems simple at first glance—and if you know how to hack it, it can be! Known as the “Why Yale?” essay, the question above is asking you to show Yale admissions why you’re a perfect fit for their school . Essentially, this is Yale's version of a "Why This College?" essay!

So how do you convince Yale that you absolutely belong there in 125 words or fewer? You do your research, take inventory of your future goals, and use your best writing skills to convey that your values are aligned with Yale’s values. 

To write an effective response to the “Why Yale?” question, start out by learning everything you can about Yale . You’ll want to focus your research on discovering things about Yale that really spark your excitement and feel truly meaningful to you. Doing your research on Yale’s identity and traditions will help you explain why you belong there!

Once you’ve done your research, think about the places where your values align with Yale’s values . Your answer needs to show that you and Yale make a perfect match—that you’ll play off of each other’s strengths, and that you’ll bring that missing piece that Yale needs to be complete. 

While you want to be honest and genuine here, the purpose of this essay is for you to convince Yale admissions that you’re prepared to support Yale’s mission and that Yale is the perfect place for you to grow and flourish. So pick a couple of specific, unique-to-you reasons why you want to go to Yale, and explain them in your best, error-free prose in this short answer response. This is your big opportunity to show why Yale is the only school for you!   

Are you using the Common App or Coalition App? There are additional short answer questions for you!

2023-2024 Yale Short Answer Questions (Common and Coalition Applications

Every applicant must respond to four Yale-specific short answers if you're using the Coalition or Common App.

The Yale short answer questions are just that: very short. Some only require 35 word answers. We will talk about how to answer these questions later. For now, let's take a look at the prompts themselves:

What inspires you? (35 words or fewer)

If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be? (35 words or fewer)

Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence? (35 words or fewer)

What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application? (35 words or fewer)

All of these short takes must be 35 words or fewer and 200 characters (letters, spaces, and symbols/numbers) or fewer. That means you'll have to think hard—and edit harder!—to make word count.

2023-2024 Yale Short Answer Questions Analyzed (Common and Coalition) 

In this section, we'll be looking at the short answer Yale supplement essays in depth.

Remember, every applicant using the Coalition or Common Application must answer all essay prompts, so you don't get to choose which essay you would like to write. It is important that you answer each of the Yale essay prompts strongly as they are all of equal importance.

Let's take a look at each Yale short essay question and see how to write something meaningful for each.

Caution! Due to its small word requirement here, you may be tempted to be witty or sardonic in your answer. Resist the urge! Again, go with authenticity rather than cleverness. If something charming or funny arises from your answer naturally, check with your guidance counselor, English teacher, or another trusted editor before turning it in. Humor can read as flippant and the application committee could think that you are not taking your application seriously.

Good answers to this question range from inspirational people, to remarkable landscapes, to fine dining. There is no correct answer, so have fun answering!

Think about what this prompt is asking: what inspires you? What gets you excited and motivated? Avoid trite answers at all costs. Don't say how inspired you are by "the world in all its vastness." Instead look inward, and think about when you have felt the best about yourself, and most energized to do the things you love. What made you feel that way? Who? And how did you act on that inspiration?

Another fun one! Once again: no cliches, no obvious answers, and no comedy.

Here’s a chance to show off something you feel you have mastery over. Instead of projecting into the future when you are a famous playwright and have the chops to teach a class or write a book about fantastical realism in modern theater, pick something that you know about right now.

Maybe you speak a second language. Maybe you collect insects or press flowers. Maybe you are an expert at self-care for busy students. This question is not designed to get a better sense of your ambitions or goals. Here the committee wants to learn about the abilities and passions in which you already feel confident. 

This short answer is a snapshot into your character and the meaningful connections that have shaped your journey. There are two key limitations here: your response has to be 35 words or fewer, and you have to focus on someone you’re not related to. Think hard about influential people outside of your family: mentors, teachers, friends, or even people from your larger community.

For the best response, pick someone who has had an important impact on your life and who you’ve become. Focus on a quality this person has, a lesson they taught you, or an experience you had together that you can use to talk about how they’ve influenced you in an important way. Nothing is off the table here—this could be a piece of advice your academic advisor gave you, a hard-working coworker you modeled your work ethic off of, or a shared experience with your best friend that formed an unbreakable connection.

Whoever you choose to write about, remember to keep it short, authentic, and insightful!

Yale Short Answer Question 4

This question gives you the opportunity to (briefly!) share a part of yourself that you wish had made it onto your application. Maybe it's an event you coordinated that didn't quite fit into any category on the app, or maybe it's something you're deeply passionate about. Resist the urge to say something goofy or lighten the mood, and, instead, dig deep to think of an example that makes you quintessentially you.

How to Write a Great Yale Essay

Regardless of which Yale short answer question you're responding to, you should keep in mind the following tips for how to write a great Yale essay.

#1: Use Your Own Voice

The point of a college essay is for the admissions committee to have the chance to get to know you beyond your test scores, grades, and honors. Your admissions essays are your opportunity to make yourself come alive for the essay readers and to present yourself as a fully fleshed out person.

You should, then, make sure that the person you're presenting in your college essays is yourself. Don't try to emulate what you think the committee wants to hear or try to act like someone you're not.

If you lie or exaggerate, your essay will come across as insincere, which will diminish its effectiveness. Stick to telling real stories about the person you really are, not who you think Yale wants you to be.

#2: Avoid Cliches and Overused Phrases

When writing your Yale essays, try to avoid using cliches or overused quotes or phrases.

These include quotations that have been quoted to death and phrases or idioms that are overused in daily life. The college admissions committee has probably seen numerous essays that state, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Strive for originality.

Similarly, avoid using cliches, which take away from the strength and sincerity of your work.

#3: Check Your Work

It should almost go without saying, but you want to make sure your Yale essays are the strongest example of your work possible. Before you turn in your Yale application, make sure to edit and proofread your essays.

Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. Make sure to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit.

It's a good idea to have someone else read your Yale essays, too. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend. Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check and make sure you haven't missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it possibly can be.

Recap: The Key to Yale Essays That Work

The Yale essays cover a wide range of topics. Regardless of the question you're answering, remember to follow these basic dos and don'ts as you're writing:

• Be authentic and honest
• Be specific when citing people, places and things
• Strive for brevity and simplicity; less is more!
• Be yourself, and do your research—both will shine through in your essays!
• Base your essays on what you think the Yale application committee wants to hear
• Use cliches or broad sweeping statements
• Try too hard to be funny and original—be genuine and your positive attributes will be visible to the committee.

What's Next?

Trying to figure out what to study in college? Have no fear— our guide will help you choose the best major for you, one step at a time .

Really want to get into Yale? Using an acceptance calculator will help you figure out your chances of getting into the schools at the top of your list so you know how to up your odds.

It's a great time to start researching scholarships . It's never too early to start thinking about how you're going to pay for college!

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Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

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Essay topics.

All first-year applicants will complete a few Yale-specific short answer questions. These required questions are slightly different based on the application platform an applicant chooses. The 2024-2025 Yale-specific questions for the Coalition Application, Common Application, and QuestBridge Application are detailed below.

Short Answer Questions

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application , Common Application , or QuestBridge Application  will respond to the following short answer questions:

• Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the  list provided.
• Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)
• What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

Applicants applying with the QuestBridge Application will complete the questions above via the Yale QuestBridge Questionnaire, available on the Yale Admissions Status Portal after an application has been received.

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application  will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):

• What inspires you?
• If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?
• Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence? 
• What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer. 

1. Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?

2. Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

3. Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?

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How To Answer Yale's 2023/24 Supplemental Essays: Tips & Insights

What's New in 2023/24

What Are Yale's Essay Prompts?

Answering the Short Answer Questions

Answering the Short Essay Questions

General Guidelines

Dive into Yale's 2023/24 supplemental essay updates, grasp the intricacies of each prompt, and garner insights on penning standout answers with our comprehensive guide, enriched with expert advice and links to exemplary Yale essay samples.

Yale’s 2023/24 Supplemental Essay Updates: What's Changed?

Securing a spot at Yale University , with its acceptance rate between 3-4% , is undeniably challenging . In such a competitive landscape, your supplemental essays become instrumental in distinguishing your application.

Every academic year, elite institutions like Yale refine their application process to ensure they holistically understand their applicants. For the '23/24 admissions cycle, Yale University has introduced some significant changes to its supplemental essay questions .

Previously, applicants were posed with questions about hosting a guest speaker in Yale's residential colleges and suggesting a title for a new Yale course they envision teaching. These have now been replaced.

The current cycle invites you to highlight personal academic interests and directions, and share unique insights into who has inspired you or influenced your personal growth.

The longer essay section appears designed to help Yale see how you engage with campus and community life. While this section retains two past themes — discussing opposing viewpoints and community involvement — a fresh prompt has been added. This third option encourages applicants to reflect on personal experiences that would enrich the Yale community .

These modifications underscore Yale's ongoing commitment to understanding its applicants' personal narratives, values, and potential contributions to a dynamic university environment.

What Are Yale’s Supplemental Essay Prompts for 2023/24?

For the 2023/24 application cycle, Yale University has introduced specific supplemental essay prompts to delve deeper into the profiles of its applicants in tandem with the Common App or Coalition App questions. These prompts are designed to uncover your academic interests, personal insights, and your unique connection to Yale.

Short Answer Questions — Academic Interests & Motivations

All applicants are required to address three core questions: one asks you to identify three academic disciplines of interest, another is a short essay about a topic of interest related to one of those academic disciplines, and the third is about your reasons for choosing Yale. The word limits are 200 words for the second item, and 125 words for the third item.

• Academic Exploration: Students at Yale often evolve their academic directions. As of now, which academic areas align with your interests or goals? Please select up to three from the provided list .
• Topic of Interest: Discuss a topic or idea related to one or more academic areas you selected above that genuinely excites you. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)
• Connection to Yale: What aspects of Yale have motivated you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

Short Answer Questions (Common & Coalition App Applicants)

For those using the Coalition or Common Application, additional short answer questions are capped at roughly 35 words or 200 characters. These questions probe into personal inspirations, potential academic or artistic contributions, influential figures outside of family, and unique aspects of one's identity not mentioned elsewhere in the application.

• Inspiration: What inspires you? (Approximately 35 words)
• Creative Endeavor: If you could teach a college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art, what would it be? (Approximately 35 words)
• Significant Influence: Other than family, who has significantly influenced you, and how? (Approximately 35 words)
• Unique Aspect: What's something unique about you not mentioned elsewhere in your application? (Approximately 35 words)

Short Essay

Lastly, in the essay section, Coalition or Common Application users will select one of three prompts , responding within a 400-word limit . The options in this section include discussing opposing viewpoints, reflecting on community ties, or narrating a personal experience that you believe will help you enhance the college community.

• Discussing Opposing Views: Reflect on a time you discussed a vital issue with someone holding a contrary view. Why was this experience significant to you?
• Community Connection: Reflect on your membership in a community that resonates with you. Why is this community meaningful?
• Personal Enrichment: Reflect on a personal experience that you believe will enrich your college community. How has it molded you?

These prompts provide you an opportunity to present a comprehensive picture of your personality, background, values, and aspirations — ensuring Yale gets a multifaceted view of who you are.

Seeking some inspiration? Explore these Yale essay examples to understand what makes an application stand out!

How This Student Got Into Yale

How to Answer Yale’s Supplemental Short Answer Questions?

Three short answer questions about academic interests.

• Academic Exploration: Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please select up to three from the provided list .

Short Answer Question 1

“students at yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. as of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably please select up to three from the provided list. please select up to three from the provided list. please indicate up to three from the list provided.”, academic exploration — choosing one to three disciplines from the list provided..

Yale's reputation for academic rigor and intellectual engagement is renowned. The university fosters an environment where students are encouraged to explore various academic interests before settling into their major(s) . This flexibility is a testament to Yale's commitment to producing well-rounded individuals who are not just experts in their fields but also possess a broad knowledge base.

Be genuine when deciding whether to indicate one, two, or three disciplines from the list. There’s probably little to gain from selecting a discipline if it won’t tie into responses to other questions or essay prompts and doesn’t have any connection with academic interests and motivations you want to emphasize.

You may want to preview the other two questions in this section, as well as the remaining short answer and essay prompts — making sure to select a discipline from the list if you anticipate talking about it in other responses.

Short Answer Question 2

“tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. why are you drawn to it”, - 200 words or fewer.

The subsequent question offers an opportunity to delve deeper into a specific academic topic or idea . This is your chance to demonstrate genuine passion. Instead of providing textbook answers:

• Discuss unique perspectives or insights you've developed about the subject.
• Share personal experiences or projects that have enriched your understanding.
• Reflect on contemporary issues or debates within the subject and where you stand.

1. Unveiling Your Academic Passion

Yale's second short answer question is a direct invitation to showcase your academic passion. The university, renowned for its intellectual vibrancy, seeks students who are not just academically competent but also deeply passionate about their chosen fields of study .

2. Diving Deep into Your Chosen Topic

This question is your space to "nerd out" and demonstrate genuine enthusiasm for a specific topic or idea. Reflect on:

• Personal experiences or projects that deepened your interest in this topic.
• Contemporary debates, research, or developments in the field that excite you.
• Unique perspectives or insights you've developed about the subject.

Avoid merely regurgitating textbook knowledge. Instead, offer a fresh take or a personal connection to the topic.

3. Connecting Past, Present, and Future

While the previous prompt may have focused on your broader academic interests, this question allows you to home in on a specific topic . You can:

• Draw connections from past experiences or studies that ignited your interest in this topic.
• Discuss how your current engagements (like readings, projects, or discussions) have further fueled this passion.
• Envision how deepening your understanding of this topic at Yale will benefit your future aspirations.

Yale's second short answer question emphasizes depth over breadth. It's an opportunity to delve into the intricacies of a specific academic topic that excites you . You can convey to the admissions committee why this topic resonates with you and how it aligns with your academic journey at Yale by showcasing genuine passion, thoughtful engagement, and a clear understanding of the subject.

Short Answer Question 3

“what is it about yale that has led you to apply”, - 125 words or fewer, 1. decoding the "why yale" question.

Yale's third prompt is a classic " Why this school? " question, albeit phrased with a twist. It's not just about why you want to attend Yale but what specific aspects of Yale resonate with your aspirations and interests .

2. Beyond the Generic

Avoid generic answers that could apply to any top-tier university. Yale's admissions officers are looking for applicants who have genuinely understood what makes Yale unique .

3. Research is Key

To craft a compelling response:

• Dive deep into Yale's academic programs. Are there specific courses, professors, or research opportunities that align with your interests?
• Explore Yale's extracurricular landscape. Are there clubs, organizations, or events that you're excited to join or initiate?
• Reflect on Yale's community and culture. What aspects of Yale's student life or traditions resonate with you?

4. Envisioning Your Yale Journey

Discuss how you see yourself fitting into the Yale community:

• How will Yale's offerings help you achieve your academic and personal goals?
• In what ways do you plan to contribute to the Yale community, both in and out of the classroom?

The "What is it about Yale?" question is an opportunity to demonstrate your genuine interest in the university and how it aligns with your goals . By showcasing a deep understanding of what Yale offers and articulating how it fits with your aspirations, you can convey a sincere desire to be a part of the Yale community.

5 Tips for the "Why This School?" Essay

Additional Short Answer Questions (35 words)

For applicants using the Common or Coalition App only.

Short Answer Question 4

“what inspires you”, - approximately 35 words, 1. understanding the question's intent.

The question aims to delve into your intrinsic motivations and passions . Yale wants to understand what drives you, what makes you tick, and what fuels your academic and personal pursuits. This is not just about what interests you but what deeply moves and motivates you.

2. Being Authentic and Specific

While it might be tempting to provide an answer you think the admissions committee wants to hear, it's crucial to be genuine. Reflect on moments, people, books, artworks, or experiences that have profoundly impacted your perspective or aspirations .

3. Connecting to Your Broader Application

Your answer should ideally resonate with other parts of your application. Discussing a related inspiration can create a cohesive narrative if you've mentioned a particular interest or activity elsewhere.

4. Avoiding Clichés

Steer clear of overused phrases or generic inspirations unless you can provide a unique twist or a deeply personal reason for why something commonly cited truly inspires you.

Question 4 offers a window into your inner world. By sharing what genuinely inspires you, you give Yale a glimpse of your passions, values, and potential contributions to their community . Ensure your response is both authentic and reflective of your unique perspective.

Short Answer Question 5

“if you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be”, 1. channeling your creativity.

This question is a playground for your imagination and intellectual fervor. Yale is keen to understand the depth of your interests and how you might bring a unique perspective to their campus.

2. Intersecting Passions

Reflect on the subjects or hobbies that resonate with you. This question allows you to merge different areas of interest to create something novel. If you're a history buff with a penchant for drama, perhaps you'd write a play set during the Renaissance. If you're passionate about biology and art, maybe you'd create an intricate sculpture representing cellular structures.

3. Beyond the Ordinary

While authenticity is key, strive to think outside the box. Consider topics or ideas that aren't just personal but also bring a fresh perspective or address contemporary issues. For instance, if you're intrigued by psychology and technology, you might design a course on "The Psychological Impacts of AI on Human Interaction."

4. A Nod to Yale's Ethos

Yale is a hub for innovation and interdisciplinary exploration. Your response should echo a spirit of inquisitiveness and a hunger to delve deep into subjects, reflecting how you'd enrich the Yale community with your unique insights.

Yale's Question 5 is more than just a query; it's an opportunity. You're offering a window into your intellectual and creative soul by suggesting a course, book, or artwork. Craft a response that's not just distinctive but also deeply reflective of who you are and what you'd bring to Yale.

Short Answer Question 6

“other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you what has been the impact of their influence ”, 1. identifying your influencer.

This question seeks to understand the people and experiences that have shaped you outside your immediate family . It's a chance to highlight mentors, teachers, friends, or even public figures who have left an indelible mark on your life.

2. Depth Over Popularity

While it might be tempting to choose a well-known personality, ensure that your choice genuinely reflects a deep personal connection . It's not about the prominence of the influencer but the depth of their impact on you.

3. Narrating the Journey

Discuss specific moments, lessons, or interactions that encapsulate the essence of their influence.

• Did a coach instill resilience in you?
• Did a teacher ignite your passion for a subject?
• Or did a friend's kindness redefine your understanding of empathy during a tough time?

4. Beyond the Obvious

While the direct influence is essential, it also reflects on the ripple effects. How did their influence shape your actions, decisions, or perspectives in broader areas of your life?

Yale's Question 6 is an introspective journey into the people who have molded your character and values . Yale aims to understand the external forces that have shaped your journey through this prompt. As you craft your response, focus on authenticity, detailing who influenced you and how their influence continues to resonate in your life.

Short Answer Question 7

“what is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application”, 1. unearthing the hidden gems.

This question offers a unique opportunity to share a facet of your personality, experience, or aspiration that hasn't been covered in your application. It's a chance to provide a fuller picture of who you are.

2. Beyond Academics and Extracurriculars

While your academic achievements and extracurricular activities are essential, this prompt seeks insights into your character, passions, or experiences that aren't necessarily tied to school or structured activities .

3. Personal Anecdotes Shine

Perhaps there's a hobby you're passionate about, a quirky tradition you uphold, or a personal project you've embarked on. Whatever you share, find a way to make your short response shine a spotlight on something unique, about yourself — perhaps something ingratiating, humorous, or compelling .

4. Reflect on the Why

It's not just about stating the 'what.' Be sure to share how this aspect of your identity, psychology, experiences, or personality shapes your values, your aspirations, or how you interact with others in friendships or in community settings.

Yale's Question 7 is a canvas for you to paint a more comprehensive picture of yourself . It's an invitation to share something special that make you unique. As you respond, ensure that what you share is relevant to an admissions context and offers a fresh insight into something that makes you unique and may make your application more memorable.

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How to Answer Yale’s Supplemental Short Essay Questions?

Applicants submitting the Common App or Coalition Application will respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer.

Essay Prompt 1

“reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. why did you find the experience meaningful”, - 400 words or fewer, 1. the essence of intellectual engagement.

Renowned for its academic rigor, Yale University values students who can engage in meaningful discussions , especially when faced with opposing views. This question seeks to understand your ability to engage in such dialogues, emphasizing your intellectual curiosity and interpersonal skills.

2. Narrating the Experience

Begin by setting the stage.

• What was the issue at hand?
• Why was it important to you?
• Who were you discussing it with?

The depth of your reflection on this experience is crucial. It's not just about the disagreement but about understanding and learning from it .

3. Showcasing Growth and Understanding

Discussing an opposing view can be transformative. Reflect on how this conversation changed or solidified your perspective . Did it teach you the value of understanding different viewpoints or the importance of effective communication?

4. Beyond the Conversation

This prompt isn't just about a single discussion; it's about how you approach disagreements and challenges in general . Reflect on how this particular experience is indicative of your broader approach to challenges and learning.

Yale's Question 1 is an opportunity to showcase your ability to engage in meaningful, constructive dialogues and to learn from them . It's about demonstrating intellectual curiosity, respect for diverse viewpoints, and personal growth.

Essay Prompt 2

“reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. why is this community meaningful to you you may define community however you like.”, 1. defining your community.

Begin by clearly defining the community you're discussing . This could be based on ethnicity, shared interests, geographical location, a shared challenge, or any other binding factor. Remember, the definition of 'community' is broad, and Yale gives you the freedom to interpret it in a way that's most meaningful to you.

2. Your Role and Connection

Discuss your role or membership within this community . Have you been an active member, a leader, or an observer? How have you engaged with this community, and how has it shaped your identity or perspective?

3. The Significance of the Community

Delve into why this community is meaningful to you . Is it a source of support, a platform for shared experiences, or perhaps a space where you've faced challenges and grown from them? Reflect on the emotions, experiences, and lessons this community has offered you.

4. Personal Growth and Reflection

End by discussing how your connection to this community has influenced your personal growth . Has it taught you the value of diversity, the importance of support, or perhaps the strength in unity? Reflect on the broader implications of your membership in this community and how it might influence your future endeavors, especially at a place like Yale.

Yale's Question 2 is an opportunity to showcase your understanding of community, your place within it, and the personal growth that arises from such connections . It's about demonstrating empathy, understanding, and the ability to connect with diverse groups of people.

Essay Prompt 3

“reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. how has it shaped you”, 1. identifying the experience.

Start by pinpointing a specific personal experience or element of your life. This could be a unique cultural background, a challenging obstacle you've overcome, a hobby or passion you've pursued, or any other experience that has significantly impacted your life.

2. The Value to the College Community

Discuss how this experience or element of your life will enrich the college community . Perhaps your unique background offers a diverse perspective, or maybe a challenge you've faced has equipped you with resilience and adaptability. Consider how your experience can contribute to classroom discussions, group projects, extracurricular activities, or casual dorm conversations.

3. Personal Transformation

Reflect on how this experience has shaped you as an individual . Has it instilled certain values in you? Has it changed the way you approach challenges or interact with people? Dive deep into the personal growth and self-awareness that emerged from this experience.

4. Future Implications

Consider how this element of your personal experience will influence your future at college and beyond . Will it drive you to join certain clubs, advocate for causes, or pursue specific academic interests? How will it continue to shape your journey?

Yale's Question 3 is an invitation to introspect and share a facet of your life that not only defines you but also adds value to the diverse tapestry of a college community. It's about showcasing self-awareness, growth, and the potential for future contributions.

General Guidelines for Answering Yale's Supplemental Essay Questions

• Research and Specificity : Yale's prompts often ask about your interest in the university or a specific program. Always back your claims with specific details. Mention professors, courses, clubs, or traditions that resonate with you. This shows genuine interest and that you've done your homework.
• Show Self-awareness : Yale values introspective students who can reflect on their experiences. Whether discussing an intellectual interest or a community you belong to, always tie it back to your personal growth or what you've learned about yourself.
• Diversity of Thought : Like many top-tier institutions, Yale values diversity in all its forms. This doesn't just mean ethnic or cultural diversity but also diversity of thought, perspective, and experience. Highlight experiences or viewpoints that make you unique.
• Be Authentic : It's tempting to write what you think the admissions committee wants to hear, but they can spot inauthenticity. Be genuine in your responses, even if it means discussing failures or weaknesses. Authenticity often resonates more than a polished facade.
• Quality Over Quantity : With word limits on these essays, it's essential to be concise. Focus on depth rather than breadth. Dive deep into one or two experiences or ideas rather than skimming over several.
• Narrative Storytelling : Engage your reader with narrative storytelling when possible. Instead of just stating facts, weave a short story that captures the essence of your experience. This makes your essay memorable and showcases your writing skills.
• Proofread and Revise : Always proofread your essays multiple times. It's not just about catching grammatical errors but also ensuring that your essay flows well and effectively conveys your message. Consider getting feedback from teachers, peers, or mentors.
• Connect to the Bigger Picture : Always tie your responses back to how you'll contribute to the Yale community and how Yale will facilitate your personal and professional growth. This shows forward-thinking and a commitment to being an active member of the university.

Remember, the supplemental essays are an  opportunity to showcase aspects of yourself that aren't evident in other parts of your application . Use them wisely to provide a holistic picture of yourself and why you'd be a great fit for Yale.

Looking for inspiration? Dive into these  Yale essay examples  to see what successful applications look like!

Final Thoughts

Embarking on the journey to Yale is about more than showcasing academic excellence; it's about weaving a narrative that deeply resonates with the admissions committee. Your supplemental essays offer a unique lens into your character, aspirations, and the distinct contributions you'll make to the Yale community.

Every Yale hopeful possesses a unique story. This is your golden opportunity to narrate yours. Approach your essays with authenticity, introspection, and a genuine enthusiasm for your narrative.

If you're uncertain whether your essay truly encapsulates your essence or if it will distinguish you amidst the sea of applications, our essay review service is here to assist. Our seasoned experts will meticulously review and provide feedback, ensuring your essay strikes a chord with admissions officers. Explore our ebook , which features essays from students who secured places at elite institutions for added inspiration. And for those aiming for Yale, our collection of successful Yale essay examples will offer invaluable insights.

For those at the onset of their college application journey, consider booking a free consultation with our experienced college counselors. We're committed to guiding you in crafting an application that amplifies your chances of walking through Yale's historic gates. Your dream of becoming a Yalie is attainable, and we're here to support you every step of the way.

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Key Resources & Further Reading

• Everything you need to know about US Application Supplemental Essays
• Acing your College Application Essay: 5 Expert Tips to Make it Stand Out from the Rest
• How to Tackle Every Type of Supplemental Essay
• 2023-24 Common App Essay Prompts
• What are the Most Unusual US College Supplemental Essay Prompts?

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6 Awesome Yale University Essay Examples

What’s covered:.

• Essay 1: Immigration Reform  
• Essay 2: Artificial Intelligence
• Essay 3: Shaping Education Systems
• Essay 4: Biomechanics
• Essay 5: Why This Major
• Essay 6: Why Yale
• Where to Get Your Yale Essays Edited  

Yale is one of the top universities in the country, and a member of the prestigious Ivy League. Earning a spot at this highly coveted university is no easy feat, but having strong essays is one step in the right direction.

In this post, we will share six essays real students have submitted to Yale. We will also be covering what each essay did well and where there is room for improvement. Hopefully, you will have a better idea of how to write your Yale essays after reading through these!

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Read our Yale essay breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompts.

Essay #1: Immigration Reform

Prompt: Yale students, faculty, and alumni engage issues of local, national, and international importance. Discuss an issue that is significant to you and how your college experience could help you address it. (250 words)

A chaotic sense of sickness and filth unfolds in an overcrowded border station in McAllen, Texas. Through soundproof windows, migrants motion that they have not showered in weeks and children wear clothes caked in mucus and tears. The humanitarian crisis at the southern border exists not only in photographs published by mainstream media, but miles from my home in South Texas.

As a daughter of immigrants, I have heard countless stories of migrants being turned away by a country they desperately seek to love. After seeing the abhorrent conditions migrants face upon arriving in the U.S., I began volunteering with Loaves and Fishes, an organization that shelters and provides necessities to undocumented immigrants. This year, my experiences collecting donations and working at pop-up soup kitchens have made me realize that the communities in South Texas promote true American values of freedom and opportunity. The U.S. government, however, must do better.

During my university career, I aspire to learn how our immigration system can be positively reformed by considering the politics and economics that shape policy-making. Particularly, classes such as Institutional Design and Institutional Change will prepare me to effect change in existing institutions by analyzing various methods to bolster the economy. 

Additionally, I hope to join the Yale Refugee Project that volunteers at the southern border and prepares asylum cases for court. With the numerous opportunities offered by YRP, I will be part of a generation of activists and lawmakers that builds a more empathetic immigration system.

What the Essay Did Well

This essay draws its strength from its roots in the applicant’s personal experience and its connections to Yale-specific opportunities. Here, we learn a bit about the applicant’s story, values, and fit for Yale, all well-encapsulated within the 250-count word limit. 

The essay starts off with a fantastic imagery-rich anecdote, a strong way to draw your reader in. The student quickly establishes not only the problem’s dire extent but also a personal connection; this issue resides in her own backyard. Here, she establishes that immigrant mistreatment is more than a faraway crisis to her, offering crucial background behind her passion for it.

Her attitude towards getting things done is evident through her concise writing. She succinctly describes the steps she has taken like “ volunteering with Loaves and Fishes ” and “ collecting donations and working at pop-up soup kitchens. ” She then goes on to plainly explain the classes and organization at Yale that closely align with her goals, making it quite easy to imagine the role she would play on campus. Being concise and intentional with your ideas maintains the reader’s interest as they grow to trust that each sentence will carry interesting content that differs from that within the sentence before it.

This essay is wise in that it honed in on very specific opportunities at Yale that align perfectly with the student’s passions. Notice how YRP’s mission mirrors that of Loaves and Fishes in their shared goal to better southern immigrant communities. YRM’s opportunities for helping immigrants through the world of law offer an almost “grown-up” version of the work this student has already completed; here, she shows a willingness to build upon her experience and to push herself even further.

What Could Be Improved

If there is one area of this essay that could be strengthened, it is the conclusion. As the word count is tight, this student doesn’t have space for an entire paragraph, so at the moment she used this sentence: “ With the numerous opportunities offered by YRP, I will be part of a generation of activists and lawmakers that builds a more empathetic immigration system. ” 

This sentence is more a conclusion for her discussion about the Yale Refugee Project, although alluding to a “generation of activists and lawmakers” and building a “more empathetic immigration system” suggests a forward-looking conclusion statement. That being said, it could be made stronger by separating the conclusion from the Yale Refugee Project and possibly tying back to previous ideas like the situation at the border or her call for the government to improve. 

Essay #2: Artificial Intelligence

Prompt: Think about an idea or topic that has been intellectually exciting for you. Why are you drawn to it? (250 words) 

Her name is Sophia. Described by many as compassionate, sexy, and a witty twitter icon, Sophia embodies success and holds a level of intelligence humans can only dream of. Sophia is not your average girl. In fact, she’s not a girl at all. Created in an artificial intelligence lab in Hong Kong, Sophia is the most famous android in the world. 

When I first read about Sophia the Robot and its apparent ability to feel emotions, I was intrigued yet perplexed. For years, A.I. has revolutionized technology, enabling tasks to be performed rapidly and skillfully. But the single characteristic I long believed separated humans and A.I. was humans’ ability to express emotions. Today, with emotional A.I. undergoing expeditious development, I find myself wondering what actually makes us human. Can only humans have a mind with consciousness and thought? Will machines be able to imitate the human mind or can they perceive emotions only through algorithms? How do humans learn to feel emotions? What is the mind? 

As a philosophy enthusiast, I am fascinated by the potential for A.I. to recreate the human mind. From Descartes postulating that the mind is identified by a self-awareness to early monists arguing that the mind is a purely physical construct, philosophical theories seek to understand the mysterious minds of humans that science cannot fully explain. In college, I hope to study the Philosophy of Mind and Artificial Intelligence in order to better understand our minds and the technology that is increasingly resembling them. 

This is an amazing essay because not only do we see this student’s fascination with AI, but we see the effect it has had on their outlook on the world. By the end of the essay we are left wondering “what is the topic that intellectually excites this student?” Is it AI or the philosophy of the mind? Seamlessly intertwining these two topics is quite impressive.  

So how did this student convince us of their fascination for two ideas? They showed us. Although they tell us “ I was intrigue d” about AI, we see their interest in their discussion of Sophia. Describing Sophia as “ compassionate, sexy, and a witty twitter icon ” makes the AI appear on a pedestal. Using cliche phrases like “ Sophia is not your average girl ” emulates a discussion you would have about a real person you are in love with, which becomes all the more humorous when we are told right after Sophia isn’t human. 

While this student employs descriptive writing, humorous cliches, and subverted expectations to demonstrate their fascination with AI, we see their interest in philosophy through the use of rhetorical questions. Similarly with the topic of AI, the student plainly states their interest in philosophy by referring to themself as a “ philosophy enthusiast. ” But we see that enthusiasm jump off the page when they ask four consecutive philosophical questions. Bringing the reader into their head is such an effective way to convey your inner-most thoughts without losing the reader’s attention. We are a part of this inquiry and suddenly become just as curious to the answers as the student is.

Through these varied writing techniques—another way to keep your essay interesting—both of this student’s fascinations are well-represented. The last line brings everything together in a neat package, explaining how they can explore both topics as one in college.

There is honestly very little this essay needs to improve upon, but one suggestion would be to include Sophia in the latter half of the essay. Since Sophia epitomizes the fusion of AI and the human mind, this is such a perfect symbol for this student. Adding a rhetorical question about Sophia (ie “ Does anything separate me from Sophia? “) or referencing their hope to understand Sophia’s role in humanity after a Yale education in the conclusion would be easy ways to keep the idea sustained throughout the essay. 

Essay #3: Shaping Education Systems

Each time we handed homework back, our primary school students would anxiously start counting and comparing the number of corrections. The warning that “ a mistake on the Gaokao will cost you thousands of places to your dream university! ” had already been drilled into their heads. 

The combined efforts of generous government spending and unreserved sacrifices of parents have guaranteed education for most Chinese children. After two summers of teaching English in rural Chinese schools, I’ve realised that the problem isn’t funding, but a redundant system.

My friend and I founded Project Take Flight to propose learning driven by curiosity rather than pressure, earned by exploring rather than memorising. After two weeks with quirky essay prompts, vocab games, improvised debates and a lesson titled ”How to Fail”, students’ creativity flowed and the stigma of making mistakes seemed forgotten.

But there’s a limit to the impact of two high-school students; education systems around the world need nation-wide policies that do not just provide the resources but also ensure they are used effectively. Putting students in school might equip us with the skills necessary in the “world of tomorrow”, but education at its best – the type I hope to experience at Yale – enables us to have a say in what that world will look like. I want to understand the processes of curricula development and policymaking through taking courses in Educational Studies alongside my major so I can contribute to shaping an education system where every student can learn for causes greater than themselves.

The prompt asks for an issue that is significant to you, and this student certainly did that! Although education reform is a fairly general topic on its own, the focus is on the work this student has done through the club they founded and the problems they have observed because of their hands-on experience. This is a good example of making a broad idea personal and therefore successful.

The student is able to show the difference between the traditional education system and the innovative approach they implemented with concrete examples. The mantra they include about every mistake affecting your chances of college echoes the sentiments of stressed high school students, but the fact it has been adopted by kids in primary school is this student’s way of demonstrating how broken the system is. They contrast the old with the new by showing how they made learning fun and stress-free with “ q uirky essay prompts, vocab games, improvised debates and a lesson titled ‘How to Fail’ .”

Although this essay hints at how this student wants to reform the education system, we are largely provided with very little about their actual plans. We have seen their ingenuity at starting Project Take Flight in high school, but we want to know how they will expand on their passion with a Yale education.

Rather than telling us “ I want to understand the processes of curricula development and policymaking through taking courses in Educational Studies, ” this student should have 1) included more resources at Yale and 2) described their idea to improve the education system. Admissions officers know you are young and can’t accomplish much yet, but they also know you have dreams—tell us about them!

Something like this would have accomplished both point more effectively: “ I want Project Take Flight to spread its wings and touch students all over the globe. Through the course Money in American Politics I will learn the tools needed to lobby Congress to adopt a student-focused curriculum. Working under Professor Nancy Close, I will acquire an expertise in child psychology to reform my proposed curriculum to best suit the needs of children from the New York city public schools to the rural villages of China that started it all.”

Essay #4: Biomechanics

Prompt: Yale’s extensive course offerings and vibrant conversations beyond the classroom encourage students to follow their developing intellectual interests wherever they lead. Tell us about your engagement with a topic or idea that excites you. Why are you drawn to it? (250 words)

My heel strikes the pavement, calf muscles flexed to brace for the mechanical load of the impact. As my weight shifts forward, I imagine horizontal velocity vectors extending directly ahead. The angle created by my knee increases as I hit the propulsion phase of my stride, and with a final drive of force, I push off from my forefoot.

I discovered my fascination with sports biomechanics in the USC Biomechanics Research Lab. In my research project, I apply scientific principles to running to prevent stress-induced injuries in athletes. By analyzing video frames of PAC-12 athletes in motion and linking them to force plate data, I seek to understand the forces behind running. Comparing these conclusions to the data of athletes after a stress fracture, I can deduce the tangible differences that increase susceptibility to injury. To accomplish this goal, I have learned to use Python and MATLAB to sync the video and force plate data to create graphs for analysis. I have also used sports analysis programs to identify the locations of joints in individual frames and create videos overlaid by force vectors. Through this work, I hope to use my passion for sports biomechanics to improve the health of athletes.

My interest in sports biomechanics also extends outside of the lab, where I see my knowledge in motion. Neighborhood runs are scientific feats where I analyze my movements with principles of physics. With every step, I seek to improve my performance, putting sports biomechanics into action as an athlete.

This is a very detailed essay that is able to convey complex academic ideas in a manner that is easily understood by the reader. Not only that, but the high level of detail also demonstrates the passion this student has for sports biometrics.

Right off the bat, the hook at the beginning brings a high level of energy and excitement to the essay: “ My heel strikes the pavement, calf muscles flexed. ” However, the introduction isn’t just for sheer shock value; they introduce the intellectual aspect of running. Details about “ horizontal velocity vectors ,” the “ angle created by my knee ,” and the “ propulsion phase ” immediately demonstrate the depth of knowledge this student has.

Their intellect only grows in the second paragraph with the multitude of details they use to describe their research project. Breaking down their process step-by-step allows the reader to appreciate all this student has accomplished, even if we know nothing about sports biometrics. We walk away from this essay blown away with this student’s abilities and a clear understanding of their intellectual vitality. 

This essay does an excellent job explaining how this student has explored their passion for sports biometrics, but a key detail is missing: why are they passionate about it.

They tell us about how their goal of pursuing sports biometrics is to “ prevent stress-induced injuries in athletes, ” but how did this become this student’s purpose? Maybe this student sustained an injury when they were younger that prevented them from playing for two seasons and made them feel like they had lost a part of themselves. That would have made a great introductory anecdote. Or perhaps organization is a cornerstone of their personality which led them to fall in love with charts and data analysis and sports biometrics allows them to combine the thrill of sports with their detail-oriented side. Whatever the reason is, this essay needed to include details that demonstrate why this student chose sports biometrics.

Essay #5: Why This Major 

Prompt: Why do these areas appeal to you? (Biomedical Engineering; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; Neuroscience) (125 words)

Tearing past layers of wrapping paper, I blink twice at the box in my hands: The Squishy Human Body. Little did I know that this strange seventh birthday gift would inspire a curiosity in biology and a desire to pursue medicine. Snapping open the plastic head, I would seek to understand the brain’s inner workings. Squeezing the rubber heart would turn into countless questions about the molecular properties of its tissues. Using the tweezers to remove the small intestine, I would perform my own surgeries, each time with improved equipment that I designed to fit the patient’s needs. I hope to continue my exploration of biology at Yale, working to understand functions on a cellular level while applying my knowledge to the field of medicine.

While this essay is short and sweet, it works! Focusing on a singular moment in time, a singular object, allows this student to tell us a lot about their passion for biology and medicine in a very limited amount of space.

The reader is taken on a journey through the human body—via the toy—and at each stop along the way we learn another detail about the student. This is a clever way to convey information, especially when you are tight on words. Using symbols and giving each sentence a specific focus helps the reader quickly take away the main point so we finish the essay feeling like we’ve learned a great deal about what this student wants to learn and do with their degree.

Additionally, this essay is a breezy read because of the use of action verbs keeping the reader in the moment. The repeated structure of beginning sentences with -ing verbs (“Tearing,” “Snapping,” “Squeezing,” “Using,” etc) suggests that these actions are currently taking pace. This is a nice trick to draw your reader in without wasting any space.

This essay could be even better if it told us more about this student in detail. Using the head, heart, and intestine as symbols for what they will learn and do in the future good, but including concrete details would make it great. We could see research projects they conducted, volunteer work at a hospital they engaged in, or clubs that they joined at school to demonstrate their hands-on experience with medicine. The whole point of  The Squishy Human Body is to give kids hands-on experience, so let’s see it!

Reworking sentences to be more like these would have made the essay stronger: “ Snapping open the plastic head, I found the brain I performed countless CT scans on to locate tumors. Squeezing the rubber heart, I see my report on addressing high rates of female cardiovascular disease.”

Essay #6: Why Yale

Prompt: What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

Coin collector and swimmer. Hungarian and Romanian. Critical and creative thinker. I was drawn to Yale because they don’t limit one’s mind with “or” but rather embrace unison with “and.” 

Wandering through the Beinecke Library, I prepare for my multidisciplinary Energy Studies capstone about the correlation between hedonism and climate change, making it my goal to find implications in environmental sociology. Under the tutelage of Assistant Professor Arielle Baskin-Sommers, I explore the emotional deficits of depression, utilizing neuroimaging to scrutinize my favorite branch of psychology: human perception. At Walden Peer Counseling, I integrate my peer support and active listening skills to foster an empathetic environment for the Yale community. Combining my interests in psychological and environmental studies is why I’m proud to be a Bulldog. 

A strength of this essay is how it acts like this student is actively a student at Yale, subconsciously tricking the reader into thinking that they belong. While many students in a “ Why School? ” essay say things like “ I want to ” or “ I would “, being quite literal in the sense they are viewing attending Yale as a future possibility. However, this student employs present verbs and specific locations to make Yale a current reality, for example: “ Wandering through the Beinecke Library, I prepare for my multidisciplinary Energy Studies capstone. ” While this approach requires more confidence, it can help you stand out from other applicants who approach Yale as a hypothetical.

Another positive aspect is how this student explains what Yale resource they are taking advantage of and how they will benefit from/contribute to it. Incorporating both of these is what gives your “Why School?” essay meaning. Admissions officers need to see you have done your research and found opportuniites that relate to you, but they also want to see what you will do on campus and beyond. This student applies this method of description to a class, professor, and organization to thoroughly demonstrate how Yale uniquely aligns with their goals.

One issue with this essay is it tries to cover too much, ultimately leaving many things unsaid. Take the introduction for example. While the notion of embracing “and” not “or” is a good way to demonstrate all the possibilities they can pursue at Yale, this student shares details about themselves that pique the reader’s interest, but unfortunately aren’t expanded on. We want to know about their coin collection and their Hungarian and Romanian roots, but they are never referenced again.

Although the Yale opportunities are slightly more focused around the idea of the environment and psychology, the essay lacks a clear link between the two topics until the last sentence. This makes the essay feel disjointed and overwhelming for the reader because we can’t process how all of this information relates.

To overcome this issue, the student could present the idea of the environment and psychology as their end at the very beginning, cutting out the other identities they present. Not only would this make the entire essay more streamlined, it would make the second paragraph far more manageable because the reader would go into knowing this student’s two interests. Yes, some interesting facts would need to be sacrificed, but when you only have 125 words you need to prioritize the main idea of your essay.

Where to Get Your Yale  Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Yale essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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How to Approach the Yale Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

Padya Paramita

August 17, 2022

As you embark on the road to writing your Yale supplemental essays 2022-2023 , it’s important to think about why you’ve chosen to apply, beyond the obvious fact that Yale is consistently one of the highest-ranked schools in the country. Is it the chance to combine your two favorite subjects through the “ Mathematics & Philosophy ” major that resonates with you, or is it the once-in-a-lifetime shot at studying reefs and rainforests for a semester in Australia that you can’t stop thinking about? Whatever it is about the home of the Bulldogs that calls your name, there’s no better way to let admissions officers know than through your supplemental essays. 

Yale highly values knowing what motivates your academic pursuits, and the supplemental essays provide the opportunity to show the school that you're curious, ambitious, and intellectually driven. To frame your aspirations in a way that highlights you as an impressive applicant, you need to take advantage of the Yale supplemental essays 2022-2023. To guide you through them, I’ve outlined each of the prompts, how best to approach them, and additional tips to make sure that you write outstanding essays that separate you from the particularly tough Yale applicant pool. 

Short Answer Questions

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application, Common Application, or QuestBridge Application will respond to the following short answer questions: 

Students at Yale have plenty of time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.

This question is your chance to show your focus directly. So, emphasize areas of choice that make sense alongside other parts of your application. The three majors you choose should definitely be connected. Within your major, try to be as specific as possible. Don’t just automatically say “biology.” Look through options that match your aspirations and consider options such as “Biology (Ecology & Evolutionary),” “History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health,” and “Biomedical Engineering.” Don’t choose a topic just because you think it sounds impressive. Admissions officers aren’t looking for any specific answers beyond what legitimately reflects your interests and goals.  

Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)

Now we get to why one of these areas appeals to you. Again, there are no specific boxes that your reasons need to check. 200 words is a very restricted limit, so don’t run around in circles. Think about something specific because after all they want one topic or idea.

What topics do you enjoy thinking about in school? It could be related to an environmental law, a physics formula, a mathematical equation. A good way to narrow down your options might be to ask yourself, “What can I give a five-minute presentation on right now?” 

Don’t talk in general terms such as “studying Environmental Engineering can help scientists understand the world’s issues better.” The question asks why the topic excites you . You could use a short anecdote to drive your point home. Use the topic to then elaborate on what an ideal undergraduate academic experience looks like for you, and how Yale’s programs are suited for you. 

What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

Now we get to the classic “Why Yale” question in the Yale supplemental essays 2022-2023 . When reading your responses, Yale wants to know two things : “Who is likely to make the most of Yale’s resources?” and “Who will contribute most significantly to the Yale community?” The key to answering this question is to keep it simple and specific while making sure your knowledge of the school comes through. You want to be presented as a one-of-a-kind candidate. Since the word limit is tight, you must pinpoint one or two things that makes Yale special – not in general, but in connection to your interests.

Are you excited by the chance to explore your love for film and media through courses such as FILM 233: Children and Schools in Global Cinema and FILM 320: Close Analysis of Film, while becoming an active member of the Yale Film Society? Or are you more drawn by the chance to enrich your advocacy for global health care through the Health & Community: Globalization, Culture, and Care comparative study abroad program across five different countries?

Keep your scope narrowed to features that can only be found at Yale so the reader knows you’ve done your research and are applying for the school itself, and not just the Ivy League name. 

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in 35 words or fewer:

• What inspires you?
• Yale’s residential colleges regularly host conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What question would you ask?
• You are teaching a new Yale course. What is it called?
• What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

Based on your answers to these four very short questions, admissions officers hope to gauge how you think and who you are. There’s no need to spend hours coming up with the “perfect” response because it’s all about painting an authentic picture of your personality. For any of these responses, you should avoid the most basic or common answers such as inviting Bill Gates or Barack Obama to be the guest speaker or wishing to teach a course called “19th Century Literature.” Your goal is to stand out and 19th Century Literature courses already exist in every university. They won’t make you memorable!

“What inspires you?” is an extremely broad question. With 35 words in your hand, you cannot get too elaborate. Don’t mention random disconnected things that are all over the place. It is easiest to stick to one answer here – for example, a piece of media such as a song or movie, or a goal such as achieving success in the future.

For the second prompt, you should spend more time thinking about your question rather than about the guest’s identity. This is a good chance to show admissions officers where your interests lie, what you’re curious about and whether you have the ability to ask a good question. 

In answering the third question, think about something more niche within your area of interest. You aren’t locked within traditional boundaries of academics – you could teach a social media course or poster-making class!

The fourth question is new. And it’s only 35 words or fewer so there’s not much space to dive deeper into one of your activities/awards. This could be a place a fun fact goes, such as “my full name means Poetry of Ultimate Knowledge” or “Once I swam the English Channel.” Something quick, quirky and memorable—you get the picture!

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer. 

• Yale carries out its mission “through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community.” Reflect on a time when you exchanged ideas about an important issue with someone holding an opposing view. How did the experience lead you either to change your opinion or to sharpen your reasons for holding onto it?

This is a question that determines the candidate’s maturity and willingness to stand their ground—or have their perspective shifted for the better—and if this applies to you, I believe this is a great way to show Yale that you are a strong potential member of their “ethical, independent, and diverse” community. Carefully consider the incident you chose—make sure it’s not something that comes across as too controversial or offensive. As long as you don’t show either of your views as extremely questionable, it’s okay to choose the options where your view was changed. However, you could also reflect on an incident where you did sharpen your reasons for sticking to what you believed in. No matter what, explain carefully why you made the decision.

• Reflect on a time when you have worked to enhance a community to which you feel connected. Why have these efforts been meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

When answering this prompt in the Yale supplemental essays 2022-2023 , think about a group or place that has impacted you—it could be your ethnic or religious community or it could be a club at school, or an organization outside of school that matters to you. Think about the role you’ve played in the community, how you’ve improved it, how it has shaped your perspective, and how you’d be different without it.

The heart of this prompt lies in explaining how your leadership efforts have been meaningful. Were there situations where you had to lead the community when others couldn’t? Have there been any changes that you’ve successfully implemented? Make sure your come out looking like a person who isn’t afraid to take on a challenge or step out of their comfort zone and genuinely make an impact.

Additional Tips for Writing the Yale Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

As you brainstorm and jot down ideas to compose your Yale supplemental essays 2022-2023 , keep the following tips in mind:

• Be succinct but confident – None of the Yale supplemental essays 2022-2023 have a significantly high word limit. While obviously the short essays should get points across in 35 words, the word limit for the longer essay questions isn’t too high either. So in a matter of a few hundred words, you have to confidently answer questions by convincingly telling a story, providing a clear picture of yourself, and outlining your goals in relation to the programs at Yale. Don’t beat around the bush. Get straight to the point and go through multiple drafts while actively reflecting on how Yale is the right school for you.
• Don’t misrepresent yourself – For questions that ask about your academic interests or ideas that you find exciting, it might be tempting to try and guess what Yale wants to hear. Definitely avoid that, as it’s neither fair to you nor your reader. Yes, there comes a lot of pressure with applying to a school as selective as Yale, but if you try too hard, you’re going to put a lot of effort into an application that is dishonest. You want the admissions officers to evaluate you based on your real interests.
• Make sure to be specific – For a few prompts in the Yale supplemental essays 2022-2023 , such as the role“Why Yale?” question, you might be misguided to list things straight from the Yale website to prove that you have done your research. Except, the website exists for everybody and if admissions officers wanted to read it, they’d pull it up on their web browser. Don’t just copy and paste cool features – tell the school something about yourself that they don’t know in connection to how you’d benefit from Yale’s resources. The goal of these essays is to see how you’d fit within the campus environment. Why do you think Yale is the best place for you ?

The best way to stand out from your peers in the Yale supplemental essays 2022-2023 is to emphasize qualities and experiences that are unique to you. If admissions officers come away from reading your responses knowing you’re making a well-informed decision, they’re more likely to go to bat for you. Ultimately, make sure your responses have highlighted the perspective you’ll bring and why Yale’s resources can help you achieve your goals. Best of luck!

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Yale’s Supplemental Essay Prompts

• Post author By Top Tier Admissions
• Post date September 14, 2023
• No Comments on Yale’s Supplemental Essay Prompts

Yale University , a member of the Ivy League, consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the nation. For the 2023-24 application cycle, to get to know their (many) applicants, Yale requires students to respond to a variety of short-answer questions, ranging from just 35 words to a more robust 400-word essay.

Firstly, Yale requires all applicants to indicate up to three academic areas of interest and explain why a certain topic in that field of study excites them (200-word limit).

Next comes the infamous “Why ____ college?” question, albeit in a different format. Yale asks students: “What is it about Yale that has led you to apply?” (125-word limit) This might sound like a no-brainer, but when it comes to answering the Why Essay prompt, your answers should demonstrate your knowledge of that college’s specific opportunities and strengths — and how they relate to what you have already done.

Try to avoid vague statements such as “academic rigor” or “institutional prestige.” Your answer should prove to the admissions office that you know why Yale would be a good fit for you and why you would be a good fit for Yale.

Essay Guidance

Get our expert guidance on your college essays.

While the long list of supplemental essay questions for Yale this year might seem daunting at first, it’s actually a great opportunity that can work in your favor. Essays, especially these short and quirky prompts, are where students can really highlight their experiences and demonstrate how they would meaningfully contribute to a campus community.

It’s also a great space to reference things that probably won’t show up elsewhere in your application.. This might include your hobbies, family responsibilities, or any academic disruptions you may have faced.

The rest of the prompts are only for students using the Common Application or Coalition Application .

There are 4 required short-answer questions limited to 200 characters each (about 35 words). Students will then choose one of 3 essay questions for a longer response (400-word limit).

YALE’S SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAY PROMPTS

Students at Yale have plenty of time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided. (Required for all applicants)

• Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200-word limit)
• What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125-word limit)

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):

• What inspires you?
• If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?
• Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence?
• What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to one of the following prompts (400-word limit):

• Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?
• Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.
• Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?

Is Yale University one of your top choices? Are you feeling overwhelmed by the amount of supplemental essay prompts? Not sure how to approach these questions strategically? Contact us to discuss our Essay Guidance Program or Personal Boot Camp .

By working on your applications NOW, you will be ready to reap the benefit of increased odds in the early round of admissions.

Top Tier Admissions is tracking supplemental essay prompts for all top schools here — we look forward to supporting you !

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How to write the yale university supplemental essays, updated for 2024-2025.

Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.

Explanation:

Although you are merely listing your three primary academic interests, consider how the list might lend insights into who you are. Remember that Yale values interdisciplinary study, so selecting a secondary or tertiary major from the list that would complement your primary interest in a unique way would add dimension to your response. Your first choice should be your primary intended major, and should be justified by related academic courses and extracurricular activities in your activities list. The second choice should not be too far afield, but should add further depth to your primary area of study (for instance, if you select “History” as your primary choice, you could include “Art History” or “Journalism” as your secondary selection). The third choice can either have obvious academic ties with your two other listed majors or be completely distinct, but be sure that it makes sense in the context of your overall application profile. For example, a prospective computer science major who has won multiple awards in the visual arts could certainly list Art as a third-choice major.

Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)

Before you draft your answer to this prompt, note that the question comes in two parts: the “what” and the “why.” Start your essay with an anecdote that engages your reader’s interest, establish your topic of choice, and provide evidence for your interest in it—a moment you realized your interest in your subject matter, or a discovery that substantially enriched your understanding of it. Perhaps you read a particular book, watched a series of documentaries, took a related course offered online or at a local community college or university, or contacted a professor whose research is related. Once you have shared briefly about the experience, reflect on your “why”—what does this anecdote show about your reasons for pursuing your academic interests? Keep in mind that demonstrating your initiative to pursue further knowledge in the field outside of your required academic pursuits will go a long way with the Yale admissions committee!

Canvassing in rural Georgia last summer, I met progressive Democrats, staunch Republicans, and devotees of every ideology across the political spectrum. Every address held a new story: a public park choked by waste, a cancer survivor now struggling to overcome healthcare hurdles, an ordinary workplace reeling from an act of violence. Though I previously believed quantitative approaches to answering the political science questions offer enough information about our electoral landscape—election results, coalition building, policy outcomes—I realized they leave out so much of the narrative: the humanity of our electorate.

Researching demagogue politicians with Professor Jones at the University of Georgia the following winter, I learned that public policy and pedagogical theory can be used to explain why some go as far as to elect candidates whose platforms violate their own beliefs.

I plan to double-major in political science and public policy at Yale to understand the socio-economic and demographic factors that influence misdirected voting and wavering political stances. In the long-term, I’ll use my studies to inform my political campaign and advocacy endeavors, and eventually use my education and experiences to reshape Georgia’s public education’s system’s pedagogical approaches to educating its electorate.

What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)*

The classic “why Yale” question only allows you only 125 words to describe both why you want to attend Yale and how you would be a good fit for the school. Your essay’s goal should be to help admissions officers’ visualize you on Yale’s campus. In order to do this, research is vital. With such a limited word count to work with, you should pick a handful of specific opportunities to write about, one of which should be related to the topic you professed interest in previously. Include details about unique resources, eminent professors whose work you’re familiar with, extracurricular and academic programs you’re interested in pursuing, or something that draws you to Yale’s student life and community. You may also consider opportunities that Yale offers within the broader local community. Perhaps there’s an organization based in New Haven that you imagine yourself volunteering for that other Yale students are involved in. Or, there’s a coffee shop that you loved during your visit where you could see yourself studying for a math exam. By this point, the admissions committee will know your academic interests, so use this opportunity to be creative and show them the type of student you will be outside of class.

I know that as a Yalie, I will get lost—on campus, in books, in conversation. I know because I have actually gotten lost at Yale—I was searching for Professor Claire Bowern’s lecture on endangered languages when I accidentally stumbled upon a rehearsal of the student comedy troupe Just Add Water.

I lingered so long I missed the lecture entirely. I already knew I wanted to study linguistics; I had read Prof. Bowern’s books and researched the Grammatical Diversity Project. That afternoon, I learned that Yale is not just a place I want to study, but a place I want to live: where intellectual rigor coexists with creativity, where I’ll be encouraged to explore every facet of my identity.

Short Takes

Please respond in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words or fewer), to each of the following questions:

1. What inspires you?

Answering these 35-word questions requires specificity and creativity. For this question, stay away from broad, vague or cliched answers such as “world peace” or “my grandmother.” For example, maybe you find inspiration in a photo album where you document the most important moments of your life, or you have a lucky bracelet from your childhood that serves as a reminder of the challenges you overcame. Think of several moments that have caught your attention and sparked powerful emotions when you were pursuing your academics, embarking on creative endeavors, or even building relationships with friends and family—and write about one in specific and engaging detail.

The biomorphic nature of Henry Moore’s semi-abstract sculptures inspired me to imitate nature in my practice; their grandeur mirrors my ambition. Despite their large worth, Moore donated many to public spaces, inspiring my collective practice.

2. If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?*

This prompt is a proxy for questions such as: What ideas do you care deeply about? What knowledge do you want to share and discuss with others? With this question, the Yale admissions committee wants to determine whether a student’s knowledge is more superficial or if they’re really fluent enough about what they love to get a reader excited about their own passions—even with limited words.

To answer this question, choose a topic about which you are either intensely curious or already very knowledgeable. If you choose a course, stay away from courses that you would see in a standard course listing, such as “Economics 101.” If you choose a book or an original piece of art, don’t worry about it being too serious or too silly—what matters is that it is something really creative and specific to you!

“Languages of Resistance” explores how marginalized communities use language to preserve cultural identity. Reading Baldwin, Fanon, Anzaldúa, and Alexievich, students will study language as a powerful tool for cultural preservation and justice.

3. Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence? *

While this prompt requires you to write about a person other than yourself, Yale admissions is actually seeking to understand more about you and your values by asking this question. Whose opinions, thoughts, or behaviors have influenced your own? Think critically about why this person has impacted you: what about them do you value, admire, or want to learn from?

When you draft your response, be sure to mention who the individual is, the influence they have had on you, and how this influence has modified your behaviors, beliefs, or values.

When the macroeconomics elective filled up last year, I found myself in theater. My inspiring teacher Mrs. Li brought out my gregarious side. I now enjoy myself when speaking in front of an audience.

4. What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?*

This prompt allows you to share any information that you believe is important to your application, but has not yet been conveyed through your essays, grades, or test scores. Perhaps you’d like to elaborate on an aspect of your application that would require more context to fully understand. Or maybe you have a quirk that gives a little more insight into your personality and unique way of thinking. Whatever you choose to write, be sure to use this answer wisely—you shouldn’t brag about all your amazing accomplishments, but rather give more context or add information that you think would be valuable to your application. Feel free to let your sense of humor shine through!

I rank everything. Fast-casual restaurants, Taylor Swift songs, NFL draft picks, most resilient plants: you name it, I’ve ranked it. I see competition where none exists, and there’s always room to argue for a winner.

Yale Essays

Please respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer. Please indicate the number of the prompt you choose.

1. Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?

With this prompt, Yale admissions officers are seeking to understand how you handle disagreements, conflicts, debate, and internal questioning through a specific encounter you have had. A key word here is meaningful. Yale is looking for students who have a hunger to stretch their own limits—those who are teachable and curious about others’ experiences, yet are still self-assured and confident in their own perspectives and viewpoints. They want to ensure that you not only get along with people who disagree with you, but understand the educational value and importance of diversity of thought. Think of an experience of disagreement you have had over a belief that is particularly defining for you—strategize how you might convey more about yourself through the experience you choose to share with the admissions committee. Remember to clearly and fairly portray the other side’s argument, and include plenty of context about how this conversation occurred and the personal significance of the person with whom you discussed the topic.

I was thrilled to start the Mock Trial season at the beginning of junior year. Despite being the only female member of the six person leadership team, I didn’t initially think much about the gender disparity in the group.

We met after school to assign witness and lawyer roles for the case. I proposed to stick with last year’s successful roster: myself and my fellow leaders would play the roles of lawyers. I was shocked when the leadership team instead voted 5 to 1 to relegate me to the role of witness so that another male teammate could take on two attorney roles.

I was confused, hurt, and frustrated. The previous year, I had relished watching my rookie scores rocket to match those of the experienced members around me. Self-doubt crept in and I no longer felt like an equal. I pressed the group for an explanation,

“We just think you’re not aggressive enough, and you seem to be better at the emotional aspects of mock trial.”

As the words washed over me, I realized that they didn’t have any solid evidence to support their claims— breaking one of the most fundamental rules of Mock Trial. They were simply relying on gender stereotypes.

This explanation felt so demeaning that I decided to ask our coach for a mediated discussion. My friends shared their goal—doing whatever it would take to win. While winning was important to me, I brought up other things to consider: fairness, commitment, and team members’ growth.

As we struggled to understand each other’s perspectives, the conversation flourished into an honest discussion about sexism and my experience as the only woman in the group. My friends listened, slowly coming to understand my viewpoint, and offered genuine apologies.

Rather than fracturing the team, the discussion instilled empathy and generated meaningful discussion. We left the meeting discussing other ways we could further gender equality in the team.

Our team was in danger of collapsing, but we chose to find a way to save the season—and, in the process, saved our friendships as well.

2. Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

This prompt asks you to reflect on a community that you participate in and why it is meaningful to you. In order to answer, first consider the communities that have shaped you—your immediate and extended family, your religious community, your neighborhood, your political party, your racial or ethnic community. Which would you identify as the most formative and central to your identity today? In which of these spheres are you most active? Once you have chosen the community you want to write about, be descriptive and specific about your work within the community—this is an opportunity for the admissions committee to get to know you better, so share a particular contribution or effort that is most relevant to your values, personal formation, and worldview. Have you volunteered alongside your religious community? Do you find yourself helping to care for your siblings? Do you spend holidays in the kitchen with your grandmother learning special family recipes? As you tackle the second part of the prompt addressing why these efforts have been meaningful, think about specific insights you have gained from your involvement. This is another opportunity for you to demonstrate your curiosity and show the admissions committee how you contribute to a diverse community and are willing to learn and grow by being a part of that community as well.

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” This quote from William Butler Yeats came to serve as my mantra as I founded my organization, RiseUP, which seeks to help students develop media literacy and become more engaged citizens from a young age.

When I started the organization, I was driven by my passion for education and my desire to see students enact positive social change. But as months went by, I became discouraged. It didn’t feel like the middle school students I was working with were making as much progress as I wanted—I had hoped they would take a more active role in leading their peers and getting excited about community events. Instead, students were a bit timid and struggled to build a strong group dynamic. As their leader, I looked to myself to fix the issue.

I realized that, in my eagerness to share my own perspectives and passions, I had not allowed students to share theirs. I had an intended goal for the organization, but I had lost the educational philosophy—expressed so eloquently by Yeats—that inspired RiseUp’s founding in the first place. I needed to give the students the space to explore ideas and discover their own desires for the group without the pressure to meet the goals of the organization.

Now, after four years leading the organization, I’ve increasingly seen the power of building trust and encouraging independent thought and expression. Social change begins first with individuals and then with small groups. By overcoming challenges in the organization, both the students and I are better equipped to advocate for positive change in our community.

3. Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?*

This is a chance to dive into your roots in more depth. While this question may feel similar to the previous one, it is more focused on how these elements of your personal experience have shaped the way you view the world. How does this make your perspective unique, and how will you bring that perspective with you to the campus? Feel free to interpret “element of your personal experience” broadly: you can choose to write about your geographic or cultural upbringing, or a particular challenge you overcame, for example.

As you begin brainstorming, start by considering aspects of your identity and how they might be expressed in a particular moment or experience that was meaningful to you. Are you the child of an immigrant? Did you grow up in a relatively homogenous cultural community? Are you an oldest child or youngest? Do you identify with a certain group based on your race, gender identity, or sexual orientation? How do these aspects of your identity bleed into the rest of your life?

“NO!” My 外婆 (Mandarin for maternal grandmother) exclaimed as I reached with my chopsticks to turn the fish over in the pan. “If you flip the fish, you flip the boat.”

I look back at the photos of that trip to Qui Lin and cringe, wishing I’d had the cultural knowledge to behave according to my grandmother’s customs and expectations. However, I now consider that trip to China one of the most formative experiences of my life. The strong connection I built with my grandmother on that visit inspired me to truly embrace my half-Chinese identity for the first time.

At the same time, the term “half-Chinese” does not fully describe me. My grandfather was Filipino, and my mother grew up in the Filipino-Chinese community in the Philippines. She was an activist who was tear gassed at protests against the Marcos regime. Only within the last few years did I learn that my mother is considered an “other” in the Philippines because of her Chinese heritage. In the same way that I have felt torn between cultures in the U.S., my mother felt torn between two cultures in the Philippines.

Through conversations with my mother about our shared experiences, I have learned to celebrate the beautiful intersectionality that characterizes our family heritage. The beauty of that heritage is evident at the dinner table—in shared portions of my grandmother’s Chinese lion’s head meatballs, in Mandarin banter, and my Mom and Aunties taking us out for Ube ice cream and Halo-Halo afterward.

Now, I sit just as comfortably at meals surrounded by other Chinese friends and family members as meals with my Filipino friends. My favorites, however, bring both together; conversations at these meals often surround our cultural similarities and differences. Being a member of the Filipino-Chinese community fills my plate, both metaphorically and literally. Most importantly, it fuels my curiosity to learn about others’ backgrounds, traditions, and unique experiences.

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Yale Supplemental Essays 2023-24

Yale supplemental essays.

Want to know how to get into Yale? Well, every strong application starts with well-crafted Yale supplemental essays. 

As one of the nation’s top schools, the Yale application process is highly competitive. Therefore, by crafting unique and interesting Yale supplemental essays, you can ensure you impress the admissions team. 

In this article, we’ll go over each of the Yale supplemental essays in detail. Additionally, we’ll review tips for responding to the Why Yale essay, as well as the other Yale short answer essays. 

Yale Essay Prompts: Quick Facts

• Yale University Acceptance Rate:  5%–  U.S. News  ranks Yale University as one of the  most selective  schools in the nation
• 2 short answer essays (125-200 words each)
• 4 “short take” questions (35 words each)
• 1 longer response essay (400 words)
• Yale University Application:  Students must submit their Yale University application through either the  Common Application , Coalition Application , or Questbridge Application . Make sure to have all of your Yale University supplemental essays and other  required application materials  ready when applying. 

Single Choice Early Action: November 1 st  

Regular decision: january 2 nd.

• Yale University Essay Tip:  Though there are several Yale supplemental essays, make sure to answer each one in detail, demonstrating why Yale is a great fit for you.

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website. 

Does Yale have supplemental essays?

Yes, there are Yale supplemental essays.

Students should think critically about the Yale essay requirements. There are a total of seven Yale supplemental essays. These vary in length and format. 

You’ll submit the Yale supplemental essays in addition to your main personal statement, sometimes called the Common App essay . As such, you will need to submit eight essays as part of your application. 

Writing all of these Yale supplemental essays by the Yale application deadline might seem daunting. However, if you plan ahead, you can ensure all of your Yale supplemental essays highlight your strengths. 

Overall, make sure you have a strategy when working on your Yale supplemental essays. To help you get started, let’s review the Yale essay prompts in detail. 

Does Yale have a Why Yale essay?

Yes—one of the Yale supplemental essays is a Why Yale essay. The Why Yale essay is a short answer essay that can be a maximum of 125 words long. The objective of the Why Yale essay is the same as it is for other Why School essays—to demonstrate that you have researched the school well and explain what makes it the right fit for you. 

The Why Yale essay for 2023-24 is worded as follows:

What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? 

The keywords in this essay question are “Yale” and “you.” In short, in your Why Yale essay, you must demonstrate that you have done research on Yale. You can do so by emphasizing aspects of the school’s academics, culture, clubs, research opportunities, or anything else that stands out to you. By the end of your Why Yale essay, a Yale admissions officer should have a clear sense of why you belong at Yale. 

Secondly, every one of the Yale supplemental essays is a chance to showcase more about yourself. As such, use the Why Yale essay as a chance to talk more about passions, values, and interests that make you unique. Since you only have 125 words to write for the Why Yale essay, it’s important to be concise.

Yale Questbridge Essay Requirements

Yale University is a Questbridge partner . Students wondering how to get into Yale should explore Questbridge further, as it is one of the three ways to apply to Yale.

But, what is Questbridge? Questbridge is a scholarship program for students from low-income backgrounds who wish to attend elite colleges. Some of these, like Yale, are Ivy League colleges . As part of their application, students rank schools that they would like to attend. If a school they ranked admits them, then they are considered a “match” and receive a full scholarship to attend the school. 

Check out this virtual information session for 2022 Yale Questbridge Finalists to learn more about Questbridge at Yale and how to apply.

Understanding the Yale requirements for Questbridge

Students who apply via the Yale Questbridge application complete slightly different Yale supplemental essays than students who apply regularly through the Common App or Coalition App. Indeed, the Questbridge application only requires two short answer essays.

Specifically, the Questbridge Yale essay prompts only include the academic interest and why Yale essay. They do not include the “short take” or longer response questions. Instead, the Yale Questbridge application gives more space for students to discuss their backgrounds and unique circumstances. 

In the next section, we’ll go into further detail on the Yale short answer essays, which are required of all students regardless of whether they are applying to Yale through the Common App, Coalition App, or the Questbridge Scholarship application.

Yale Short Answer Essays

The first set of Yale supplemental essays are the three short answer essays. These Yale supplemental essays are required for all applicants, regardless of which application they use to apply.

The Yale short answer essays are as follows:

Short Answer Question 1: 

Students at yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. as of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably please indicate up to three from the  list  provided., short answer question 2: , tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. why are you drawn to it (200 words or fewer), short answer question 3:, what is it about yale that has led you to apply (125 words or fewer).

Since we already discussed the Why Yale question above, we’ll focus on breaking down the first two short answer questions.

Question 1: Your Academic Interests

The first of the Yale supplemental essays asks you to identify three academic areas of interest. Yale is a liberal arts school that allows students to choose a major but also requires them to take courses outside of their major via their distribution requirements. As such, it is important to demonstrate your flexibility in learning many different subjects. However, these subjects do not have to be related. In fact, in some cases, it may be more intriguing if they are not. For example, a student who states an interest in Asian American history and evolutionary biology definitely makes an intriguing candidate.

However, you should respond to this question as you do all of your Yale supplemental essays—genuinely. Indeed, Yale wants to know what you are truly interested in. Therefore, listing majors simply to impress or seem intriguing won’t serve you well.

Question 2: A Topic that Excites You

The next short answer essay asks you to discuss a topic that excites you. This should be directly related to one of the academic interests you described in the first question. 

In this question, focus on the “why.” What makes this topic interesting or meaningful to you? How does it relate to your background, experiences, or future goals? The more specific you can be, the better. 

Wondering how to select a topic or idea to highlight in your Yale essays? Here are a few tips:

Tips for Selecting a Yale Essay Topic

1. brainstorm 3-5 ideas..

Take a few minutes to jot down specific memories you have associated with this topic. For example, if you are interested in evolutionary biology, maybe you remember learning about how birds evolved from dinosaurs. Use descriptive language to show us what you learned and bring the topic to life. 

2. Choose a meaningful topic.

After you have brainstormed, note which topic makes you feel excited. Don’t choose the topic that you think sounds more impressive to others. Choose the one that impresses you.

3. Write a lot and then edit it down.

Don’t limit yourself by focusing on the word count. Instead, begin by writing freely. From there, edit out words or sentences that don’t seem essential. Additionally, you can ask mentors or friends to help you revise.

A successful response to these Yale essay prompts will have the following characteristics:

How to Respond to Yale Essay Prompts

1. relate to yale’s academics..

As supplements must be specific to each school, it’s important that you highlight topics and majors that you know can study at Yale. First, think about Yale’s academic strengths, and then use these as a basis for your essays. 

2. Demonstrate a passion for learning.

Yale values students’ intellectual curiosity. As such, the topic you discuss must demonstrate your passion for learning. 

3. Tell us why you are drawn to the topic.

As the question denotes, Yale doesn’t just want to know what you are interested in, but why. Does the topic have some kind of personal relevance? Does it excite you because it’s baffled scientists for centuries? Make your reasoning clear.

Now that we’ve looked in detail at these Yale requirements, we’ll explore the Yale short answer essays that are even shorter. Indeed, these Yale supplemental essays are sometimes known as the “short takes.”

Additional Yale Supplemental Essays

In addition to responding to the Yale short answer essays above, you’ll need to respond to four “short takes” and one longer response which offers you three Yale essay prompts to choose from. First, we’ll discuss the “short takes.”

Inside the Yale “Short Takes”

There are four Yale “short takes.”  These Yale supplemental essays ask students to respond in 200 characters or less, which roughly equates to 35 words. As such, you must be extremely concise in your response while still answering the question. Still, use these essays to showcase your unique brand or personality, helping the admissions team understand who you are.

Below are the Yale essay prompts for the “short takes,” followed by tips for responding well: 

1. What inspires you?

For this prompt, take some time to simply free-write and brainstorm a list of things that inspire you. Don’t limit yourself by thinking your response must relate to academics. There is no right response to this question. The key is to express what inspires you in a way that enriches your profile. 

2. If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?

As we shared above, Yale is a liberal arts college very interested in intellectual curiosity. This question allows you to showcase your creativity and passions. Rather than trying to think of an idea that will impress admissions officers, focus on choosing one that speaks to you. 

3. Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence? 

This question alludes to Yale’s focus on “improving the world.” By asking you to highlight a person who has influenced you, they get to see what you value in others and whether you can recognize the interdependence of the world. Note that the question asks you to highlight someone “other than a family member.” So, logically, avoid writing about family members in this Yale essay. Lastly, even though you are writing about someone else, the core of your response should demonstrate more about who you are. Therefore, briefly name the person and their relationship to you. And then, mainly focus on how they impacted you. 

4. What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

The final of the Yale supplemental essays “short takes” could potentially be the most challenging one to answer. This question is open-ended on purpose. Unsurprisingly, Yale values diversity as much as most elite schools. As such, they provide space for you to share something that they may not have asked you about yet. To brainstorm, perhaps ask friends and family to read your application and then tell you a few aspects of your personality or experience that aren’t represented. Then, express that uniqueness in 35 words or less. Additionally, this could be a space to express more about any challenges or unique circumstances you have faced that impacted your life or academics significantly. However, those details may also be better suited for the “Additional Information” section. So, think about what information is best suited where.

Breaking Down the Yale Longer Response Essay

The Yale longer response essay is the final of the Yale supplemental essays. While it is indeed the longest of the short answer essays, it is still only 400 words maximum in length. You can choose from three Yale essay prompts for this question. 

Here are the three Yale essay prompts, along with guidance on how to respond:

1. Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?

With this question, Yale hopes to gauge whether you can engage in the “free exchange of ideas” they mention in their mission statement. To respond well, choose an example of a conversation that truly did impact you. Describe the conversation with enough detail to make it clear what the opposing views were. In the end, the most critical piece of this essay is showing how the experience impacted you. Since Yale values learning, Yale hopes to see whether you can find opportunities to learn in your day-to-day life just as much as you do in the classroom.

2. Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

This Yale supplemental prompt seeks to learn more about the communities you are a part of and how you interact with them. Consider your neighborhood, school, family, religious group, or any other group of people to which you feel closely connected. Remember that the focus of this essay is still you, so avoid spending too long describing the community. Instead, jump right into why it is meaningful to you.

3. Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?

As we noted above, Yale values diversity in the broadest sense of the word. As a result, they look for students who can bring new experiences to campus. However, those experiences don’t have to be grand, like living in five different countries as a child. In fact, perhaps you lived in the same house for all your childhood and this taught you to value history, tradition, and legacy. As with all the other Yale essays, the right answer is the one that resonates most with you.

At this point, you may be wondering which of the Yale essay prompts to choose. While there isn’t one essay prompt that Yale admissions officers value more than another, there might be one that feels more authentic to you. Another way to decide is to choose a prompt that allows you to talk about an aspect of yourself that you haven’t yet divulged. In this way, you can fit more about yourself on the page and avoid repeating previous information.

What does Yale admissions look for in essays?

If you’re wondering how to get into Yale, you’re probably also wondering what Yale looks for in Yale supplemental essays. Here are a few tips to make your Yale essays stand out:

Each year, Yale aims to build an incoming class that reflects a diverse array of identities, experiences, and interests. Beyond that, admissions officers are skilled at reading for authenticity. This means that trying to impress them will likely come across on the page and discourage them from accepting you.

2. Passion for Yale.

Each of the Yale supplemental essays gives you space to highlight aspects of your experience that overlap with Yale in some way. As such, they must be Yale-specific in some sense, even if only by highlighting how your values align with Yale’s mission. 

3. Stick to your own voice.

While your essay must be written formally, only use vocabulary words that you would use. Avoid looking for the fanciest possible vocabulary word (unless it’s one you actually use), since this will only come off as ingenuine.

4. Proofread.

As Yale is a prestigious academic institution, they are looking for writing that reflects conventionally proper grammar and spelling. Make sure you have multiple people read your essays. In fact, reading your Yale supplemental essays out loud can help you catch errors or missing words.

What is the application deadline for Yale?

In addition to understanding the Yale requirements, students must choose one of two Yale application deadlines.

You have two main options for your Yale application deadline. They are as follows:

Early Action is a Yale application deadline that allows students to apply early. SCEA means that you are only allowed to apply to one school’s Early Action deadline. 

If you apply to Yale through Early Action, you cannot apply to any other school’s Early Action or Early Decision program. There are a few exceptions to this restriction. For instance, students may apply to public institutions as long as they are non-binding. At Yale, applying SCEA tends not to dramatically increase students’ admissions odds. However, for some schools, applying early can make a huge difference in terms of demonstrated interest. 

This is the date by which most students apply. There are no restrictions on how many schools you can apply to through Regular Decision.

A note on Questbridge students’ application deadlines :

Students applying via Questbridge must complete their application by September 26 . Then, they will be notified of whether they matched with Yale on November 1. 

Starting early on your Yale supplemental essays is key to a successful application. By starting early, you have time to brainstorm ideas, get multiple people’s opinions, and incorporate feedback. Plus, starting early helps you avoid feeling stressed by the Yale requirements.

More Yale Essay Resources from CollegeAdvisor

As always, CollegeAdvisor is committed to helping you find your way in the college admissions process. As such, we have several tailored resources to learn more about how to get into Yale. 

To learn more about the Yale supplemental essays, check out this webinar for more tips on responding to the Yale essay prompts. In addition, our college admissions experts will share guidance on writing efficiently so you can complete your other applications as well. 

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Lastly, check out this article full of sample Why Yale essays. Inside, you’ll get a clear perspective on how students responded fully to this question using their own unique flair.

Yale Supplemental Essays – Takeaways

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Yale Daily News

In first Yale class since the end of affirmative action, Black and Latine enrollment share remains stable, while Asian American decreases

In the class of 2028, the first to be admitted after the fall of affirmative action in college admissions, there was a decrease in the share of Asian American students, while the enrollment of white students rose. Other racial demographic groups remained largely the same.

Staff Reporter

Ellie Park, Multimedia Managing Editor

The class of 2028, Yale’s first group of students admitted since the Supreme Court ended race-conscious college admissions, saw changes in its share of Asian American and white students compared to last year’s class, while Black and Latine enrollment remained largely the same. 

According to the first-year class profile released by the admissions office, 14 percent of the class of 2028 identifies as African American, 24 percent as Asian American, 19 percent as Hispanic or Latino, 3 percent as Native American and 46 percent as white. 

Compared to the class of 2027, admitted in the last race-conscious admissions cycle, the class of 2028 saw a 4 percent increase in the share of white students and a 6 percent decrease in the share of Asian American students. The percentage of both Black or African American students and Native American students remained the same. 

Yale’s report comes as some other colleges have seen drops in Black and Latine enrollment.

The share of Hispanic or Latino students increased by 1 percent, giving the class of 2028 the largest share of Latine students in Yale’s history.

Students who opted not to answer the optional race question in their application were not included in the demographics data and some students indicated two or more races, meaning the percentages do not add up to 100.

“Yale College’s newest students bring with them an extraordinary collection of interests, ambitions, and talents that will enrich the undergraduate learning environment,” Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid Jeremiah Quinlan wrote in a Yale News press statement. 

The Yale News story noted that the class of 2028 had the “most applications ever from students who identify as members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.”

The News could not confirm whether changes in enrollment demographics for the class of 2028 were directly caused by changes in the post-affirmative action admissions process. Quinlan and Associate Director of Admissions Mark Dunn did not answer further questions about the results before the class profile release.

Post-affirmative action demographic shifts in elite universities

Following the fall of affirmative action, some of Yale’s peer colleges such as MIT and A mherst College experienced a steep drop in enrollment from African American and Hispanic or Latino students. 

Compared to the class of 2027, MIT’s newest class saw a decrease in the percentage of Black students, dropping from 15 percent to 5 percent. The share of Latine students also dropped to 11 percent from 16 percent last year. 

At Amherst, the percentage of Black students in the class of 2028 dropped to 3 percent from 11 percent in the class of 2027; at Tufts University, it dropped from 7.3 percent to 4.7 percent.

Like Yale, some colleges did not see a drastic decrease in Black students’ enrollment this year. At the University of Virginia, Black student enrollment decreased only from 7.9 to 7 percent this year. At Emory, this share decreased from 12.6 percent for the class of 2027 to 11.1 percent for the class of 2028.

While Asian American enrollment increased from 40 percent to 47 percent at MIT, the share of Asian American students in Yale’s class of 2028 dropped to 24 percent from 30 percent the year prior. 

Yale’s share of white students rose from 42 to 46 percent from the class prior; MIT’s class of 2028 saw a small 1 percent decrease in white students’ enrollment.  

Modified post-affirmative action admissions process

At Yale, the admissions process for the class of 2028 underwent several changes. 

In a letter to the Yale community last September following the ruling on affirmative action in college admissions, Quinlan and Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis wrote that “Yale College should build on existing programs and take new concrete steps to attract exceptional students from underrepresented communities.”

Lewis and Quinlan highlighted three “unwavering priorities” following the fall of affirmative action for college admissions in their September 2023 letter: “fully complying with the law, continuing to support a diverse and inclusive community, and maintaining a world-class admissions process that considers each applicant as an individual.” 

While last year’s applicants could still answer the optional question about self-identified race on the Common Application, their responses were not accessible by admissions officers involved in the selection process. The University could access the data after students had been admitted.

Last year, Yale College’s supplemental essay prompts were modified to allow students to respond to one of three questions that were intended to “invite students from all backgrounds to reflect on the experiences that have shaped their character and strengths.”

The admissions office also began using place-based data from Opportunity Atlas , a nationwide mapping project that measures economic mobility at the census tract level and has been shown to improve the committee’s evaluation of applicants from under-resourced areas. 

The admissions office told the News last year that the use of the Opportunity Atlas tool will supplement the admissions office’s existing use of the College Board’s Landscape tool , which provides data about an applicant’s high school and neighborhood . 

In the process of admitting the class of 2028, the admissions office introduced several new initiatives to expand outreach to prospective students, including the “ Yale in MOHtion Student Fly-In Program. ” The initiative is a fly-in program for high school students and their families that introduces 50 prospective students to Yale’s four cultural centers: the Afro-American Cultural Center, the Asian American Cultural Center, La Casa Cultural and the Native American Cultural Center. 

Yale also introduced a test-flexible policy , under which students can choose which scores to include from their ACT, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and SAT tests. The policy starts this fall.

The updated test policy did not apply to the class of 2028. While Yale’s class of 2028 was selected through a COVID-era test-optional admissions, MIT’s class of 2028 was required to submit a standardized test score.  

Other initiatives included the hiring of two new full-time admissions office staff members to increase year-round engagement with college access organizations, expanding the distribution of the Diversity Viewbook and developing new relationships with leaders of college access organizations and school counselors who serve students from underrepresented backgrounds. 

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions is located at 38 Hillhouse Ave.

Update, Sept. 4: This story has been updated to clarify Tufts University saw a drop in African American enrollment, not Hispanic or Latino enrollment. 

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• Why Kamala Harris has the advantage in debating Donald Trump

She’s better at it

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“A ll of the things that we’ve done, nobody’s ever, never seen anything like, even from a medical standpoint. Right to try, where we can try space age materials instead of going to Asia or going to Europe and trying to get when you’re terminally ill. Now, you can go and you can get something. You sign a document.” Thus spake Donald Trump during his debate with President Joe Biden in June. Sift a bit, and maybe consult Google, and you can extract the meaning from the heap of words, shovelled up as part of his closing argument. The debate, a disaster for Mr Biden, may yet also prove one for Mr Trump, who did well that evening only because his opponent did worse.

In fact, Mr Biden’s answers often seemed more on point when read in transcription. His shaky delivery doomed him, along with his failure to counter his blundering adversary. Mr Trump looped back on himself, adduced perplexing facts (“We bought the certain dog”) and emitted gassy bubbles of unreality that a nimbler opponent, with a sharper wit, would have delighted in popping. “Everybody, without exception” wanted Roe v Wade overturned? Nancy Pelosi said, “I take full responsibility” for the attack on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021? “We’re living in hell”? Really?

Vice-President Kamala Harris may prove to be that nimble, mocking adversary if Mr Trump debates her as planned on September 10th. A review of her debates so far, including in her statewide campaigns in California, suggests she is far less prone in such face-offs to the abstract meandering that, before she was the nominee, could confuse audiences during her extemporaneous remarks or interviews. The presence of an adversary seems to focus and energise her.

Mr Trump has a gift for upselling people already inclined to buy his wares; Ms Harris trained as a prosecutor to persuade diverse juries to believe her story rather than a contending one. The candidates’ prior careers may have left both of them less preoccupied with nuance or objective truth than with their preferred sets of facts. But where his experience persuaded Mr Trump of the power of the bombast he has called “truthful hyperbole”, her own background appears to have concentrated Ms Harris on preparing her cases to overcome reasonable doubts, while scrutinising her opponents’ arguments for weaknesses.

“That’s not true!” Senator Harris exclaimed during the fifth Democratic primary debate, on November 20th 2019, when Joe Biden claimed to have been endorsed by “the only African-American woman” ever elected to the Senate. “The other one is here,” she added. As she often does during such attacks, she laughed merrily, choosing to be amused rather than offended by her pitiable adversary, and the audience laughed along with her. In what proved a pivotal moment in her race for attorney-general of California in 2010, her opponent, a longtime public prosecutor named Steve Cooley, was asked if he would accept his pension for previous service along with the salary that would go with the new position. He said he would because he had “definitely earned” it and would rely on it “to supplement the very low, incredibly low salary that’s paid to the state attorney-general”. Ms Harris lit up like a blowtorch. “Go for it, Steve!” she said, laughing uproariously. “You’ve earned it, there’s no question.” Mr Trump seldom if ever smiles in debate, much less laughs.

Ms Harris can also be deft in flashing anger, turning attempts by opponents to paint her as weak into opportunities to show strength. “I will not sit here and be lectured by the vice-president on what it means to enforce the laws of our country,” Ms Harris shot back during her debate with Vice-President Mike Pence in October 2020, a contest she won, according to polls at the time.

Ms Harris has less experience on this big stage, and she has many vulnerabilities. Mr Trump may succeed in embarrassing her over the withdrawal from Afghanistan or illegal immigration. He will no doubt accuse her of reversing herself on important positions. But here Ms Harris might prove to have the stronger hand: she seems more at home with her new stances. Mr Trump, by contrast, is struggling to find some new middle-ish ground on one of her core issues, reproductive rights. And while Mr Trump has yet to settle on a line of attack against Ms Harris, toggling between treating her as a joke and a menace, she has been honing her criticisms of him for years. Mr Trump is so prickly about his self-image, if not his honour, that he has been easy to bait into defensive claims about everything from his intelligence to his golf swing.

A sign of Ms Harris’s confidence is that while Mr Biden requested that the debaters’ microphones be silenced when it was not their turn to speak, to prevent Mr Trump from interrupting, she wanted them left open. The Harris campaign repeatedly told the press that Mr Trump’s aides were insisting the mics be closed, in a clear bid to taunt Mr Trump into overruling them. He did not.

Alpha female

Ms Harris is betting that Mr Trump’s urge to project dominance will get him in trouble. She made the much milder Mr Pence look like a cad, and herself appear strong, by staring him down and sternly saying, “Mr Vice-President, I’m speaking” when he interrupted her. That moment went viral on social media, and it clearly haunts Mr Trump. He cited it recently in calling Ms Harris “a nasty person” who was “horrible” to Mr Pence, though threats by Mr Trump’s supporters to hang Mr Pence might seem a bit harsher.

Before Mr Biden’s belly flop in June, conventional wisdom had concluded debates don’t matter much. Polls showed, for example, that in 2016 Hillary Clinton easily won all three debates against Mr Trump. But in contrast to Ms Clinton or Mr Trump, Americans are still getting to know Ms Harris. This debate is her best chance before the election to show she would be the better president. ■

Stay on top of American politics with  The US in brief , our daily newsletter with fast analysis of the most important electoral stories, and  Checks and Balance , a weekly note from our Lexington columnist that examines the state of American democracy and the issues that matter to voters.

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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Advantage: Harris”

United States September 7th 2024

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