I am of the school that unless a supplement significantly enhances an application by providing additional information that cannot be otherwise presented in the app, I wouldn’t do it. Each AO has limited time to evaluate each application, so the supplement is likely to take away from time spent on other parts of the app. Your mentor’s LoR is what you want the AO to focus on, not an abstract of an unpublished paper.
This is what they say about additional recs:
“if you have been engaged in advanced scientific research, you should consider requesting a letter of recommendation from a research mentor who has been involved personally with your scientific work. Follow the instructions in the Academic Work section above to submit your research via the Status Portal and request a recommendation letter from your mentor.”
@BKSquared and @skieurope
I didn’t think about the less time on the application so thank you very much for that perspective! The science research is probably my biggest extracurricular and the letter at least I do think would significantly enhance my application. like y’all said I don’t know if the actual abstract will do very much as AO’s are unlikely to understand it and it isn’t published to get that extra value
For others who have published or have completed a paper based on a research, please note that Yale does state that they find research papers more helpful then abstracts. From the Yale website:
“If you have been engaged in advanced science or engineering research, you may consider submitting the STEM Research Supplement Form, available via the Yale Admissions Status Portal after you submit your application. The optional form will allow you to attach a research paper or abstract for review. It also includes the option to invite a research mentor to submit a letter of recommendation electronically or via mail or fax to the admissions office. Full research papers are generally more helpful than abstracts. If your research incorporated work from many individuals or was part of a larger project, please indicate your specific contributions when completing the form. The deadline to submit a STEM Research Supplement Form is November 6 for Single-Choice Early Action applicants and January 8 for Regular Decision applicants.”
Thus, if your research is significant enough, I would suggest submitting the full paper. Good luck.
You have to first consider the lead in to the above cited section which provides important context.
“Supplementary Materials
Supplementary materials can provide broader context to some parts of your application, but they can just as often be superfluous and distracting. For example, a letter from someone who supervised your extracurricular research project may answer important questions about the work you’ve done. But a third recommendation that raves about you, just as your other letters do, will not necessarily enhance your application. In fact, it may dilute the effect of the two required recommendations. For more information visit our page on supplementary materials.”
"You should think carefully before submitting supplementary materials with your Yale College application. Most successful applicants submit only the required application materials. Because the Admissions Committee gives greatest weight to the required documents, it is recommended that you focus your energy primarily on those elements of the application.
If you have a substantial and well-developed talent that cannot be conveyed adequately in the rest of your application, you may consider submitting an audio recording, musical score, art samples, writing samples, scientific research paper, film, or dance video."
The quoted section in post #81 and #82 are just the instructions if you have determined that it is to your advantage to submit supplementary materials.
Anyone know why applicant threads for the class of 2023 are not as active as the class of 2022 when they were at these periods of time?
Different people have different chattiness levels, @slumbermachine . On the 2023 generic parents’ thread we are nearly 500 pages further along than the 2022 parents were at this time. Two or three chatty people can fill up space quickly.
I’m 99% sure I’m not going to get in with my stats, but I adore Yale and I’m applying anyway lmao. The most I can lose is $85 and a few hours of my time. At least the supplementary answers are fun to answer.
Anyone else applying EA? Good luck! I hope you get in.
@clueberry I am!! I cant wait
My kid is applying EA. I hope. He has rough drafts of the big supplements but he is reluctant to give them to his second readers yet. He filled in all the short answers. I read them, and some are pretty sketchy and feel incomplete to me. I itch to go in and make them more elaborate, but it’s his application and not mine and if he’s happy about the way they look then I should keep my big thumbs out of the application.
Kids reading this, have pity on your parents and share your progress with them.
I finished every supplement except the suitemate short take. It’s so hard to answer both parts in 35 words!! is anyone else having trouble with that?
Hey guys. Yale '22-er here and I’m kinda bored (despite midterms looming up ahead). Feel free to ask me any questions about applications, etc. 
Hey @Benji3025 ! My question is whether you think applying SCEA has any advantage?
I have heard everything from “the SCEA pool is just skewed by athletes and legacies” and “it is only boost for the best applicants, with hooks” to “it actually makes it harder because you are being compared to such a strong pool” and would really appreciate haring your opinion!
If you want some context: I am applying as a physics major, at the top of my class, have a 1570 SAT, varsity sports, and ECs that backup the physics interest as well as my other passions
@dreamthief001 I hope we’re classmates next year!! I finished most of the application but THE SHORT TAKES ARE DEFINITELY THE HARDEST TO ANSWER!!! I mean, I have so many virtues I couldn’t POSSIBLY fit them into 35 words. xD
@ninakatarina good luck to your kid! I’ll make sure to share my application with my parents.
@Benji3025 thank you!
@Class2023GetsLit - You seem to be a good candidate for SCEA, although without more details - how rigorous is your high school, what are the ECs that “back up your interest in physics,” your GPA, your subject test scores?, etc., - there isn’t enough information to say one way or another. But you get the critical point that your application has to tell a coherent story about you, about how your academic and non-academic interests/work/activities overlap and how the intersection of those interests makes you a good fit for Yale. If you do that convincingly and engagingly, and you have the stats, and are distinctive in some way, you have as good a chance as the next similarly qualified applicant. Best of luck!
Thanks so much @zoebrittany !
Do you think it will make any difference if I apply SCEA or Reg?
Does anyone know the actual date when Yale will be releasing SCEA decisions? Heard it was Dec 15 at 5pm Eastern, but that is a Saturday. Has anyone asked Yale Admissions? Thanks.
It’s too early to know. 12/15 is just a placeholder. Last year, the notification date was 12/14, and they announced it at the end of October.
for two years in a row its been the Thursday of the second full week of December so thinking 12/14
Thursday is 12/13 this year. But I agree. That’s my guess on the notification date.
Check out a thread called “The Plague of ‘Early Decision’” from post #395 through the next few pages, @Class2023GetsLit. You’ll find some sophisticated analysis, using real numbers from recent years, of the advantage of applying to Yale SCEA vs. RD. Spoiler alert: an advantage exists, but it’s much smaller for unhooked candidates than the headline numbers would suggest.