does yale focus more on the personal essay or the ‘additional questions’ on the common app? I feel like the personal essay won’t convey why i’d be suited best at yale but the additional questions will. So as a follow up question, if in my personal essay, I planned to talk about something that happened in my life-as opposed something i did or how i showed leadership in X and Y situations- should i change this and focus most on sculpting it most towards a yale adcom’s preference? of course keeping it genuine and about me but choosing specific things that show why i’d fit in at yale.
Yale gives an applicant 4 opportunities to write something about themselves:
- The Common Application Personal Statement
- The "Why Yale" Essay
- Yale's short answer questions
- Yale's supplemental essay
When read together, all 4 of those essay opportunities (along with your teacher recommendations, guidance counselor’s Secondary School Report and interview report) will give an Admissions Committee an understanding of who you are and what makes you tick. One essay is not MORE or LESS important than the other – its all part of the mosaic that is you. An applicant should write about 4 different aspects of themselves, and not repeat something in one essay that they have written about in another. All are EQUALLY important.
And, as you don’t know the background of the Admissions Director who will be reading your essay – will it be a man, woman, recent graduate, more seasoned professional, democrat, republican, liberal, conservative, science major, humanities major, sports lover, sports hater etc – you should not try to sculpt your essay toward’s what you think an adcom’s preference might be. Just be yourself. Tell them a story – 4 stories – about yourself.
One additional tip – and this is from Yale’s retired Admissions Director, Jeffrey Brenzel: http://admissions.yale.edu/after-colleges-accept-you
If you are a good fit for Yale, you will also be a good fit for dozens of other school’s. So an applicant shouldn’t bother focusing on why Yale would be a good fit. Instead, focus on how Yale, and the students in attendance, would benefit from having you on their campus.