Yale University Early Action for Fall 2023 Admission

We’re right on schedule with about a week or so to go. The nervous energy is high, and everyone is looking for a sign. It’s called portal astrology.

Yes, there are late changes to the portals and people try to infer meaning from those changes. Do we know the technical or operational reasons why those changes appear? No.

Did some past applicants who saw changes come back to the board to celebrate their Yale acceptances? Yes, but others disappeared from the board —unhappily, perhaps.

At other need-blind schools I follow, the portal astrology also heated up as the predicted or announced decision day drew closer. There, I saw examples of kids who excitedly reported FA portal changes and who later announced their deferrals or rejections.

Need-blind schools separate the admissions and FA work. We cannot infer meaning from (or take any meaningful action due to) these portal changes.

Worse, assigning import to these things can lead to needless despair and anxiety for kids who either get their hopes up or worry why they can’t see things happening in their portals.

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