Applied to Yale EA, hear back next Thursday. If I don’t get in, could I email the admissions office and ask why? Not in a what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you-why-didn’t-you-let-me-in way, but rather for constructive criticism (sort of). I’m applying to Harvard and Brown, two other favorites, and would want to know more specifically what went wrong in my application.
Is this a thing people can do? Or not so much? Should I try to?
Don’t do it. Yale will not tell you anything helpful. Very few are accepted REA so not getting is no indication of any issue with your application.
The only answer you will get is that they had more qualified applicants than they could accept.
You can try, but I highly doubt that they will respond. Imagine how much time it would chew up if just a couple of hundred of deferrals/rejects asked and got this feedback assuming they are even willing to share it. If you are deferred from Yale EA, I would not be discouraged. Deferred students do get in RD, and there certainly are tons of non-cross admits between among Yale, Harvard and Brown. If you got outright rejected (historically less than 30%) and your stat’s are in line with Yale’s (and Harvard and Brown’s) CDS ranges, you might want to revisit your school choices, essays and LoR’s. If your stat’s are at or above the median, critically reassess your essays and perhaps your LoR choices. If your stat’s put you closer to the 25th percentile (or lower), in addition to reassessing your essays and LoR’s, reevaluate whether or not the great EC’s (essays and LoR’s) you thought you had to overcome weaker stat’s really are all that great. You might want to temper your expectations and look for more match schools.
Calling to ask that would be a waste of your and their time. They won’t give you any information beyond “this year we had an extremely accomplished group of applicants and unfortunately we couldn’t accept all of them”.
Ok, thanks. It was just an “I wonder…” sort of thing. @happy1 @WilliamNYC @SculptorDad
@BKSquared Thank you! My stats are at or above the median. I’m expecting to get deferred, just wanted to know in case I got flat-out rejected.
Your gc may be able to get some feedback. This has happened on occasion at my school, both with rejections and deferrals and sometimes the feedback has been specific
With highly selective schools like Yale, even if you are a highly qualified applicant, it’s going to be a roll of the dice. Rejection is the norm not the exception.
A college with opaque holistic admissions will not give a useful answer that could be used in a lawsuit or to help future applicants game the system.