<p>The Yale vibe has always intrigued me. The campus took my breath away, like it must do to other Yalies everyday. I know what I like about Yale. But I want to know what Yale is looking for in ME. What is it that the AdCom looks for in an applicant that made Yale what it is today. What does Yale expect from me?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I think you should start w/Yale’s own admissions site and look thru its list of criteria. First and foremost is academic achievement. After that, it gets much more amorphous.</p>
<p>Briefly put, they’re looking for what you’ll bring the school. Academic achievement should be a given.</p>
<p>Yale wants you to really stand out in a crowd of smart and talented applicants.</p>
<p>You could stand out by being far ahead of your peers in science or math or music or athletics or dramatics or literature or politics or some combination thereof.</p>
<p>You could stand out by being from a financially challenged family, having worked a job while attending a mediocre school, yet demonstrating excellent academic accomplishments.</p>
<p>You could stand out by being from a wealthy family that donated $2 million to renovate one of the residential colleges.</p>
<p>“You could stand out by being from a wealthy family that donated $2 million to renovate one of the residential colleges.”</p>
<p>I wish ;_; think of how much easier it would be to get in! I do want to feel like I deserved it though :</p>
<p>Yale’s application process is a lot more complicated than the simple fact of there being a family donating a large endowment and having legacies apply / get accepted</p>
<p>Maybe so, Jsherm101, but I don’t think anyone here will argue that donating $2 million will get you accepted in a snap.</p>
<p>I am applying EA, so I had an interview awhile back. The alum who interviewed me told me that Yale students tend to have multiple interests and talents “on opposite sides of the spectrum,” as opposed to being “extremely polarized” to one subject (he said that these students usually fit better at Harvard). He used a student who is extremely musically talented but also has a deep interest in neuroscience as an example – two interests you perhaps wouldn’t expect to combined. </p>
<p>As for advice, I’d say try to highlight your versatility. But most of all, don’t think of the app in terms of what you think admissions wants. I’ve heard several admissions officers say that this is incredibly conspicuous and gives them little information about <em>you</em>.</p>
<p>I agree with the post above. I would say the vast majority of my classmates were normal, well-rounded students. Many did not have deep interests in many fields. Few were truly exceptional in a single subject (e.g. winners of various national and international competitions). Further, from my experience, far more of those applicants who are one-dimensional in that they focus on a single subject or area and are successful at doing so end up at Harvard (or, for science applicants, MIT and the like).</p>
<p>I must emphasize that much of what I observed was probably a product of self-selection. I would, however, hypothesize that, compared to Harvard, Yale admits fewer one-dimensional applicants who appear to have either no social skills or no interests outside of their focus.</p>
<p>I wonder how many applicants actually read the Brewster letter…</p>
<p>I second LemonLover and YaleAlumnus, although I can’t disagree more with the part about MIT kids being stereotypically narrow. Harvard, sure; but MIT? In fact, most MIT students have quirky “multiple interests and talents ‘on opposite sides of the spectrum’”.</p>
<p>Oh, and Lemonlover: Fingers crossed!! :)</p>
<p>I’m not sure I agree with the notion that Yale, unlike comparable institutions, prefers those with a plurality of talents rather than depth. Having exceptional talent in a singular field or interest is certainly something you should bring up in your admissions essays if it applies to you. “Well-roundedness” is far far more common to see as an admissions officer than phenomenal achievements in art/music/science/athletics, etc. </p>
<p>In short, if you are an IMO medallist or won Gina Bachauer or something, DEFINITELY focus your admissions essays exploring your unique passions for mathematics or piano. Do not talk about how you love babysitting and playing on the soccer team and oh, do some math competitions on the side. Having helped out at the admissions office here, I can tell you that the former is much more compelling than the latter.</p>