Adding YYGS to Common App + Talking about it in essays

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
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Hi I have three separate questions

  1. In the activities portion of my common application do you think it would be helpful to write that I was accepted and attended YYGS (Yale Young Global Scholars) for Frontiers of Science & Technology (I'm applying for) and state the application percentage (20% rate). Obviously I've heard lots of things that colleges want to see more than that and I totally understand, which is why I'm not going to play this up as huge (I have tons of other more person achievements in my application), but because YYGS is one of the more prestigious, harder to get in, and rigorous summer programs the achievement of doing it is surely something to add, right? I guess people will say, "it doesn't hurt to add it!", but I've heard that it could hurt. Do colleges take it the wrong way that I attended Yale's program and not theirs or perhaps they are competing against Yale? I mean honestly it was really interesting to get a glimpse of college life and learn some interesting science&tech, which is why I attended (especially since I live over-seas so I was committed)
  2. For example in Purdue's essay though it says to talk about why I want to do my major. If I talk about how the YYGS program as a reason, perhaps this will look bad, right? I have other reasons too, but if I was allowed to talk about YYGS I would... but I'm guessing they're looking for something more personal than "some institution" helping me.
  3. Lastly, I'm planning to mention YYGS in my Why Yale essay. Should I explicitly mention that I attended or should it be indirectly shown through my knowledge gained spending 2 weeks actually living and studying there being woven into the essay?
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Any suggestions anybody? Do you know who would be able to give good advice for this? @skieurope

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@durban Disclaimer: I am just a parent with some experience with college admission for my kids, but no experience with either of the schools mentioned.

1 - Yes, you can mention YYGS in Activities in Common App, because you were selected through a competitive application process.

2 - For Purdue or any other Engineering school, the question is mainly to show why you are interested in Engineering, how you realized you liked it and wanted to pursue etc. Unless your interest was sparked only after attending YYGS, I would not mention in that essay

3 - For, Why Yale essay, yes you should mention not only YYGS, but also hopefully you saw/learned something about Yale during your time, that is a good fit for your interests, and show why you would fit in that college.

Lastly, do not expect YYGS to be a hook for Yale admission. I know a few kids that attended YYGS but didn’t get in. The benefit is not as much as you think.

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YYGS is not particularly competitive.

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For an international student, it is a great opportunity and experience