Yale 2022 Applicants Discussion

Since Yale just created a neuroscience major, do you think if you applied as one would you have a slightly greater chance of admission or would it have no effect at all?

I visited Yale and fell in love. I will be applying SCEA as an environmental studies major. Probably won’t get in though! :bz

I plan on applying SCEA as an architecture major.

Dev3018, I do not think you increase your chances by choosing a new or unpopular potential major when applying. You do not declare your major until half-way through and there is poor correlation between what gets listed on the application and what they see four years later. If OTOH you apply into a school that locks you into a major, that will make a difference. By example, UIUC is top 10 in engineering and it is much easier to get in as a declared anthropology major than as an electrical engineer. Once in there are significant barriers to change so a wannabe engineer can’t game the system by applying as an anthropologist.

Yale DOES NOT recruit by major. All student’s apply to Yale as “Liberal Arts” majors, and choose a major during their sophomore year. So, whatever students select as their “intended major” on the Common Application has absolutely no bearing on their chances.

The reason: More than 60% of US college students switch majors during their 4 years of school, so it’s impossible for an Admissions Office to use an applicant’s “intended major” as a recruiting tool, as most students will graduate with a major that is different from the one they wrote down on the Common Application.

Colleges ask about your “intended major” to see how committed you are to your interests – the idea being that your commitment, energy and drive is a transferrable skill that could be transferred to another activity in college, or in another field after you graduate.

Whatever student’s write down as their “intended major” they should make sure they have documented evidence in the rest of their application of their commitment to that major. For example, if you write down neuroscience, then you need to have some sort of demonstrated interest in the neuroscience field – meaning you should have participated in something neuroscience(y) after school or during the summer break. Ditto with applying with an interest in architecture. Otherwise, it will seem to Admissions that you are trying to game the system by picking an intended interest that you think Yale wants or needs – and trust me, Admissions Officers can smell that from a mile away.

^^^ The most negative interview reports I have written were ones where the applicant must have indicated a special interest in some area in their app because it was in the student summary provided to me (we do not receive grades, test scores or EC’s, but we will get an academic interest note). In these cases, the interest was something off the beaten track. Of course I was very interested in why they had such an interest in the subject and looked forward to their educating me a bit on the topic. Instead, I got at best superficial answers – there was no meat to the bones. Now interviews are not going to make or break admissions decisions except in rare and probably extreme cases, but the point is if I can sense disingenuousness in a 45 minute± interview, the AO will be on it pretty easily as @gibby points out.

I have done neuroscience research in this past summer so it is not that. I just heard that you may be at a disadvantage based on race for a particular major (an Asian pursuing an STEM major) because of competition.

I don’t plan on applying as an architecture major because I think it will make it “easier” to get in. I am very passionate about architecture and have done multiple things in the field including getting A+ in my architectural design classes, founding the architectural design club at my school, being on the architectural program advisory board (deciding what happens with the grants/budget for the program), working alongside my teacher to design local works, visiting architecture firms, etc.

@msexton525 - Yale has an amazing architecture program as you already know, and you sound very focussed and grounded. Your architectural studies/work in high school will provide persuasive evidence for your choice of prospective major. Best of luck to you!

@Dev2018 and @msexton525, sound like great anchors to build your applications around. My comment and others were a general statement about the risks of trying to “game” your application for the benefit of anyone applying to Yale (or other selective schools). I suspect the most successful applications (and the easiest ones to prepare) are ones that stay true to the applicant’s interests, abilities and accomplishments. The application will be internally consistent in a way that the AO can say, “I know this kid, and he/she would be great to have on campus.”

i’ll be applying scea as well! of course i’m hoping to get in, but my realistic goal is just to not get rejected

Hello, is there a SCEA version of this thread?

Does anyone know when the supplement will be released on common app? It’s still not up. :((

I read somewhere that they should be up before September 1, but no definite date was set for when they would be made available. I’m so anxious!

If I’m not mistaken, the supplement doesn’t change much year to year. If it were me, I’d mentally prepare essays as per https://admissions.yale.edu/essay-topics. Good luck.

ETA: I think the common app supplement hasn’t changed since DS applied, and he’s a rising Yale senior now.

That page says it has the 2017-2018 essay topics - maybe Common App hasn’t uploaded them yet. Always good to check the actual college admissions website.

Common app has it now.

@Pri930, out of curiosity, has it changed since last year?

Common app has the same ones as mentioned in https://admissions.yale.edu/essay-topics

International applicant here! Not sure if I’m doing SCEA - struggling between Yale and Princeton or not at all - but still so excited!