I applied SCEA to Yale, and was subsequently deferred. Without going into specifics, my application is pretty strong. My counsellor thought I had a realistic shot.
Nonetheless, I wasn’t surprised at the deferral. What did surprise me was the fact that I didn’t even get an interview. Most other Indian applicants I know got an interview (online, so location wasn’t a concern), including the very few who got in.
So my question is, why might they not offer a strong applicant an interview?
I doubt that there was any intent one way or another but it was just a matter of numbers (matching alum’s who volunteered to do online interviews with applicants). There may be other posters who are more knowledgeable about Yale’s interview process for India, whether or not there is an alum coordinator as we have in the US for various cities/regions, or whether Indian applicants are assigned interviews by the Admissions Office. When I worked overseas, the Admissions Office directly gave me the name and contact details of candidates to interview. I do know there has been a big push the past several years to get alums to do online interviews to cover regions where there are not enough alum volunteers. This would suggest that there is an ongoing shortage of interviewers for many regions, including international. I would also tell you (and there are lots of post on this topic) that alumni interviews don’t determine whether or not candidates are accepted or rejected. If you feel that an interview is important for you tell your story that is not represented by your academic record, your EC’s, essays and recommendations, then either you or your counselor should contact the Admissions Office too see of they can line up an interview for you.