<p>As someone who attended the PLE session this summer, I fully second what @jonri and @IxnayBob wrote above. </p>
<p>And in response to @Bulldog2017’s grossly incorrect claims that the program is nothing but a “moneymaker” for Yale, I can attest to there certainly being a large proportion of kids from privileged backgrounds at the program, though it is important noting that when the applications are read, they are read without regard to whether the applicant has applied for finaid or not. It is first AFTER an applicant has been accepted that the staff divide the set amount of finaid available to those whom they deem most in need of it. And I can safely say that ALL of the participants to me seemed qualified enough to be there, as no one was “sitting in the back” doing nothing. </p>
<p>With respect to EXPLO, it is in a totally different league than YYGS. The EXPLO kids had 3 hours of lectures each day, and had the rest of their days free. We’d see them walking back and forth through New Haven, without much to do, and many of them were, as we learned when talking with them, actually YYGS rejects. So apart from the fact that the EXPLO kids had AC’s in their rooms and we did not, there were honestly no envy amongst us of not being part of a worthless program on which your parents waste $$$ just for you to write that you attended a program at Yale on your college app. They besides had to be within gates by 7.30 pm, while we had the evenings free from 9 til 10.30 to chill around New Haven and stuff ourselves full of Insomnia cookies…Win.:)</p>
<p>I’m attending an international school in Europe, but I’ve honestly never been in as international an environment as YYGS was, as the diversity amongst the participants was just unparalleled- I think some 75 countries were represented…And though the program lasted for only two weeks, I found it to be the perhaps most rewarding and inspiring academic setting I have been in, in large part because of the other participants, but probably more so because of the professors.They weren’t just some random lecturers doing it for some extra bucks, which is often the case in the summer programs many universities offer, but in fact some of Yale’s best faculty(we had 3 Sterling professors holding lectures, the new Dean of Yale College, the chair of the History Dept, to mention some…). They would stay long after lectures to talk with us, and most of them would attend our dinners, lunches and other events.</p>
<p>Both the undergraduate instructors and the graduate lead instructors were also top notch- I for example had a Yale PhD student help me out with my writing 1 on 1 for well over an hour after the scheduled activities had ended, carefully reading through a paper I had written on my spare time, which was totally unrelated to the course, giving me some of the most useful advice I’ve gotten on improving it till now. Besides, the program had a couple of career talks from people who are working in fields related to the topics we were studying, so I ended up having some really interesting chats with people from both the public and private sectors whom I otherwise couldn’t have met. </p>
<p>At the same time, the other participants were simply some of the most amazing people I have ever met. Each day, apart from the first sunday, when we had 3 hours of free time in the morning, had a 12-hour schedule packed with lectures, discussion sections, seminars and project groups as part of it, but I fell that we had ample time to socialize (though the opportunity cost of doing so would be getting enough sleep…) However bad this may sound, I didn’t feel that tired at all during the program, and this was while also waking up at 6 more or less every morning to work out. It was also a relief to see how down-to-earth virtually all the others were, as I was fearing being surrounded by arrogant overachievers, but this was far from the case:)</p>
<p>Ultimately, the program is just an awesome experience if you make the most of it. As mentioned, the people I met are simply some of the brightest, most inspiring and kindest I’ve ever met (I met a few in several cities in the Northeast during my extra week in the US after the end of the program, and I’m still in touch with many more, be it through FB or Skype…), the professors and instructors were fantastic and so was the whole “college” experience, though it definitely was one on steroids to put it that way, with the gruelingly long hours.</p>
<p>Anyway, as an international applicant to a range of top US colleges this fall, I can’t stress how much I gained from this program. Not because I’ll have the Yale name written on my application, and not because it gives me an edge in the process, but because it made me acquainted with a ton of amazing people, both participants and instructors, indeed some professors, and because it cemented my plans to study in the US. I hope this mile-long post clarifies what YYGS is all about at least slightly, feel free to PM me if you have any questions about it, and sorry if it is a bit disorganized- it is after all the middle of the night here.
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<p>Cheers</p>