When should regular decisions come out? I heard about ivy day but i am wondering if past year acceptances arrive sooner?
@silverpurple according to the portal they come out on March 26th. (I don’t think they’ll arrive sooner— unless you get a likely letter which is basically an early admissions notification)
Each interviewer will have their own style and questions they like to ask, but I think most experienced interviewers will try to make the interview more of a conversation than a series of Q’s and A’s. While I interview for Yale, my kids’ experience (including with Harvard) suggest the interview experience is pretty similar among the highly selective colleges that do alumni interviews. For Yale, suggested areas they want interviewers to look out for:
• Intellectual strengths and energy
• Academic interests
• Flexibility in thinking, openness
• Expressive abilities
• Nonacademic interests or talents
• Personal qualities
• Distinctive or unusual talents
and/or circumstances
We do not receive grades, test scores, resume or lists of EC’s. There may be a note relating to a particular area of interest. Personally, I do not ask about grades or test scores or ask for a resume because I don’t want to have any preconceptions about the candidate, and I want to base my report entirely on the interaction with the candidate. While I do not have a preset list of questions, the vast majority of interviews sequence out as follows:
- Introduction/small talk to put the candidate at ease.
- Ask how the school year is going – from here, I can get an idea of what the candidate is interested in academically and in terms of EC’s.
- The conversation can naturally flow from the above to a discussion about favorite subjects/classes/class projects and if that is what they want to pursue in college and as a career, or I may need to prod the candidate to talk about this. From time to time, I may ask for some details about a class or project, and at times I may challenge them about a particular viewpoint or conclusion just to see how they react. Often during the course of discussion in 3, I will ask why they are attracted to Yale given their interests.
- Similar to 3, the conversation can either naturally flow to an EC or I may ask a question to get the conversation to this topic. Here I am trying to get a sense of how deeply involved the candidate is in the activities that the candidate wants to highlight.
- If all the EC’s that the candidate chooses to talk about are school sponsored/based, I may ask a question along the lines what do you like to do outside of school, do you have a favorite hobby, what do you do to relax?
- 3, 4 and 5 will take up 80%+- of the time. Within 3, 4 and 5, the candidate may ask me questions about Yale, e.g., why did you choose Yale, what did you like or dislike about Yale. If I feel that the conversation is stagnating or the candidate is getting tired of talking, I will ask “do you have any questions about Yale?” as a break. Usually though, the questions about Yale come at the end.
- The very last question I will ask is “is there anything you would like to talk about that we have not covered?” Most of the time they will say everything has been covered, but at times they may bring up a particular interest or challenge that may be a new topic or it could be an emphasis on something we had previously just touched upon.
After the interview, I try to write my report that evening tying the specific interaction I had with the candidate to the guidelines that the AO has laid out.
Having said all of this, and as posted throughout CC by other seasoned interviewers, these interviews are not going to lift an otherwise “no” candidate into the “yes” pile or sink a candidate that the AO already loves into the “no” pile (absent something totally extreme). I think the AO uses the interviews to confirm if their read on the candidate is consistent with the interview. Also, the AO makes it very clear to interviewers that we are ambassadors representing Yale, and that we should be selling Yale as much as the candidates are trying to sell themselves. So don’t stress, be prepared (but not robotic) to have a conversation about what makes you you and to get as much information about the college as possible.
Hi guys! I live in a middle eastern country where I’m sure Yale has no alumni. I wanted to know what Yale’s policies concerning these regions are?
Do they offer interviews by admission officers to strong candidates and not being interviewd= rejection? (Like Harvard)
Or they consider the applications of people from my country without the interviews? (Like Stanford)
Hello Guys, I’m Christian from Nigeria and I applied for Yale’s RD 2020 Fall. I’m quite happy to find this group. What an exhilarating experience I had as I read through all your conversations. I hope to getting in touch with everyone even when we get to Yale. Is there anyone from Nigeria?
I’m so anxious of what will be the admissions outcome. Accepted, Rejected, and Wait-listed are always the outcome but, I feel strongly of two outcome and I fear for them. I love you all!!!
Interested if anyone has any perhaps unique view which can help me decide on Yale. I was honored to be accepted early action. My parents can make it work financially (however 310k over 4 yrs is a lot of money) . I have received also full tuition scholarships at several state related schools, namely, UPitt, South Carolina, USouth Florida and have am invited to each of their honors colleges etc…I feel I can in fact succeed anywhere at any of these schools. My parents despite the cost feel I belong at Yale. They feel if I was selected for this then it means something and I should not consider money…they feel money can always be made again…this opportunity can not…that said I still struggle if the juice is worth the squeeze for those of us that have to pay full tuition…anyone have family member, sibling etc at Yale or who can speak first hand as to why or why not Yale is a great place under my scenario? Appreciate it.
@PAdude I would say if your son has not visited Yale he should consider a visit…reach out to faculty in the area of study he is interested in…attend a class…meet with some students, etc. My student did this recently and it was really helpful. Time with a professor in the department where they might study is really insightful. As that point they can start to imagine if they could see themselves there and do the kind of research you need to decide if the “juice is worth the squeeze” as you say.
I submitted the application on the day of the regular decision deadline and my midyear grades only were finalized by my school after I received a likely letter
I’m an RD applicant. One other kid in my school applied RD. He’s had his interview whereas I’ve yet to be contacted. Probably doesn’t mean anything. . .
What would qualify a STEM major applicant to receive a likely letter?
Dear @shflorida ,
This sounds quite impressive! Based on your description (without seeing the paper–not that I would understand it!), I would consider doing this:
Prepare a copy of the paper (not the abstract alone, but with the abstract), add a cover note giving the background of the work. (1 paragraph?).
I think it is quite impressive that your son did not have a college professor / researcher and did a lot of independent work, and became an intel finalist. These are worth noting (briefly, in a humble way). May be also add a sentence or two explaining, e.g., why you enjoy doing its work; how you came up with the ideas;, how long it took; possibility of extension; difficulties overcome? … (Anything worth mentioning, but not everything!) (Your son may have addressed some of these in his essays already. No need to repeat anything.)
Please note I am not a professor/teacher; I am not an AO. Just my 2 pennies!
But you are running short of time, since it’s already mid-February.
In any case, the AO would see who’s his supervisor and that he’s an Intel finalist.
It may not change the outcome. Hope this helps. Wish your son the best of luck!
Do internationals receive likely letters or is it limited to domestic applicants?
Hi @shflorida,
I believe you son’s teacher would be in a much better position to advise.
The teacher has more knowledge about the research work (quality, content, and paper), plus he/she has seen similar cases before and has more experience on this.
Good luck!
The recipients my son spoke to have published research, major awards like Regeneron finalist, or multiple USAMO qualifier. Some have a combination of the above or equivalent credentials.
Hello Guys, I’m Christian from Nigeria and I applied for Yale’s RD 2020 Fall. I’m quite happy to find this group. What an exhilarating experience I had as I read through all your conversations. I hope to getting in touch with everyone even when we get to Yale. Is there anyone from Nigeria?
I’m so anxious of what will be the admissions outcome. Accepted, Rejected, and Wait-listed are always the outcome but, I feel strongly of two outcome and I fear for them. I love you all!!!
Dear Christian @AmbChristian,
We wish you all the best. Yale is certainly a great place for a college education, but there are so many uncertainties in college application these days, I only hope you will land at a college you’ll enjoy and where you’ll make a lot of good friends for the next 4 years. Take care and keep us posted.
Hi guys. Are there any applicants from the middle east (or other regions where there are no alumni interviewers) here who have been interviewed by Yale?
Should I be worried if my school still hasn’t released my mid year report? Our semester ended in early January.
@bookworm180 talk to your counselor ASAP! I doubt your school would purposely screw you over (along with all of the other students who need mid year reports sent to colleges), but I’d still recommend talking to your counselor
@HYPSM2024 I got an interview with a Yale student via Skype. It was about a month ago. I wouldn’t freak out though. The interviewer said international interviews are really unlikely and therefore have zero weight on your app