https://oir.yale.edu/data-browser/student-data/admissions/first-year-students-geographic-origin-w026
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thanks so much
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Iâm a bit of a data guy, but Yaleâs SAT scores have been steadily increasing (due to TO probably), so submitting means having to score even higher, I suppose! The CDS only provides data for Fall 2021 with only 25th and 75th, but data from Yale shows 2022 scores with detailed percentiles:
VERBAL SCORES (detailed percentiles) FOR ENROLLED YALE STUDENTS
| Class of | 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 710 | 740 | 760 | 780 | 790 |
| 2025 | 690 | 730 | 760 | 780 | 790 |
| 2024 | 680 | 720 | 750 | 780 | 790 |
| 2023 (TEST REQUIRED) | 670 | 720 | 750 | 770 | 790 |
MATH SCORES (detailed percentiles) FOR ENROLLED YALE STUDENTS
| Class of | 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 720 | 760 | 780 | 800 | 800 |
| 2025 | 700 | 750 | 780 | 800 | 800 |
| 2024 | 690 | 740 | 780 | 800 | 800 |
| 2023 (TEST REQUIRED) | 690 | 740 | 780 | 800 | 800 |
Source: [Box](SAT Detailed Percentiles PDF)
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No, it wonât hurt you! Scores can only benefit your application; how much that benefit depends on many factors (i.e. income, race, geography, etc.)
In the Harvard lawsuit, during testimony, the Dean of Admissions mentioned that a low-income domestic student with a score of 1400 coming from an under-resourced neighbourhood would be looked at differently than a student with that same score coming from a school that offers multiple APs in a well-off area.
Coming back to Yale, the Department of Justice released these statistics for Yaleâs Admission Classes of 2017 and 2018. This data EXCLUDES athletes and INCLUDES only domestic, non-transfer applicants.
These percentages represent admission rates, and the deciles are the Academic Index that is calculated for each applicant using high school grades and their SAT/ACT scores.
| Academic Deciles (Based on SAT Scores and Grades) | White | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Decile: Top 10% | 20.18% | 14.32% | 60.00% | 34.84% | 17.47% |
| 9th Decile: Top 20% to 10% | 12.12% | 8.17% | 51.69% | 28.77% | 12.06% |
| 8th Decile: Top 30% to 20% | 8.40% | 6.20% | 48.99% | 21.12% | 9.88% |
So an Asian student, after scoring in the top 10% of all applicants, you have a 14% chance, but if youâre African-American and scoring in the top 10% of all applicants, you have a 60% chance of admission!
The deciles are based on ALL Applicants, not by Race, so these percentages are comparable. If youâre an athlete, this does not apply; this data is for NON-ATHLETES ONLY.
NOTE: Yale looks at many more factors than academics when making their decisions, but these numbers are the easiest to tabulate!
Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1326306/download
I would say submit your SAT scores if youâre in the Top 1-2% in the US per the SAT percentiles seen here: https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/sat-percentile-ranks-gender-race-ethnicity.pdf.
This means for African Americans, if you score 1400, you will be in the 99th percentile, but 1400 for Asians is the 77th percentile, and for Whites, it is the 93rd percentile.
Anything above 1500 should be submitted for anyone, though!
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I think I came off a bit too critical in my last post, but I fully support affirmative action (lots of reasons why, but I donât want to make a long post regarding that).
I hope students can take advantage of this data to maximize their chances!
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Thanks, @throwaway69. Thatâs good info. I think she made a mistake of using the early action card for Yale, although Yale is her top choice. DD has good ECs, essays, LORs, awards/honors, 4.0 UW GPA, but an ACT of 33 (34 superscore from 2 tests). Based on your calculation, our chances are miniscule (Asian-Indian American here). Well, it is what it is 
. Hey, at least she can apply to ED II somewhere else if Yale doesnât work out.
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Your chances are not minuscule! A 33 ACT is competitive! Yale is a long shot for anyone! Sometimes why not risk it 
And let me get your hopes up again! Hereâs something I didnât show â the admit rates for the BOTTOM academic decile applicants (non-athletes) for Yale:
Asian-American Only (2017 and 2018 combined data â NON-ATHLETE)
Bottom 10%: 0.50% (3 out of 599)
Bottom 20% to 10%: 0.50% (4 out of 806)
Bottom 30% to 20%: 0.92% (8 out of 867)
Granted, these may be pell-grant/low-income/legacy, but these are non-athletes and were admitted even after being in the bottom 10% of applicants in regards to their GPA and SAT/ACT score!
So all those threads saying you canât be in the bottom 10% of the applicant pool as a non-athlete and get in are wrong â changes are slim but you never know
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Thanks for this info! Maybe a dumb question, but how is academic index calculated (ie how would an applicant know what decile they are?).
DISCLAIMER: This is not an important factor for admission for non-athletes. YOU WILL BE EVALUATED HOLISTICALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF YOUR SCHOOL AND REGION!
Again, a big disclaimer (see above) â all of this is for fun giggles, not admission advice. Iâm just a high schooler who finds comfort in stats.
Good question! The New York Times did a deep dive into this when the Academic Index was used WAY more often â now itâs more of a side thing and mainly for athletes, but each student technically still has an Academic Index.
Note: The NYT uses the OLD SAT scoring (0-2400) but scroll down to see one with post-2016 SAT scores. Also, thereâs a method for SAT Subject Tests because 2 of them were required for admission for classes of 2023 and prior, but the NYT provides one with just OLD SAT (0-2400) and GPA.
Back in the 2400 SAT days, your GPA/class rank only counted for 1/3 of the AI, and the SAT score/subject tests was 2/3 (way more powerful); I thought it would be shifted now but according to a Yale email SAT still counts for 2/3 and GPA for 1/3 (see below). Each Ivy League school needs to report the AI of admitted athletes to the NCAA.
Source: Calculating the Academic Index - NYTimes.com
As for something Yale-specific AND post-2016 SAT Scores, see this email from a Yale Lacrosse Coach here:
The minimum score to be admitted (171) is for athletes, but the average is for everybody since you need to report this to the NCAA. The Yale lawsuit still says they calculate the AI for statistical purposes.
Source of the image above (from the Ivy Council): https://www.mka.org/uploaded/college_counseling/Publications/AI_Guidelines_Worksheet.pdf.
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Do you also have some data on average number of honors/AP/DE classes taken by admits? I know this will depend on the number of APs offered at different schools, but just wondering if you have access to anything of this sort.
I agree. My kid has a very solid application. However she still has a very small chance. She should have at least eaâd to some other schools and then tried her luck at regular decision. I will also likely strongly encourage an ed2.
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You canât REA to Yale and EA to any private collegesâonly public.
My 2 cents. First of all, there is hardly any difference in reality between a candidate that scores 33 vs another one who scores 35 (eg our DD). Scores get impacted by multitude of factors and one day/test cannot define the candidate. Secondly, based on what I have read and corroboration from an ex-AO from Harvard who is a personal friend, scores are one indicator that is used as validation of academic record in school. The only caveat is for application to CS or Engrg where Math/Sci scores are paid closer attention to (at least before TO).
Yale in particular looks at the candidacy far beyond scores as we all know. Essays and character that demonstrates fit for a more collaborative culture, LAC-aptitude more than make up for a couple of insignificant point advantage. In a nutshell, not something to base judgment on whether your DD (or other awesome kids with similar scores) will get admitted even if the bar for a demographic is higher. I do believe in what has been said multiple times - these days it is safe to assume a rejection at any highly selective college with acceptance rate less than 10%.
For what itâs worth, a close family friendâs DD - Indian heritage- with 35 ACT, 4.0 GPA, well above average ECs got rejected last year. Her interviewer was so upset she didnât get in that he went out of the way and wrote to Yale (forwarded that email to DDâs parents) challenging their decision. She is doing more than fine at another T20.
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My daughter did not ea anywhere elseâŠ. Just putting it out there for future parents that given my daughterâs numbers (no boarding school pedigree), the more rational approach would have been not doing Yale rea but rather safety school ea. The ea at other schools may have opened some scholarship opportunities. And then she should have applied to Yale, her #1 choice regular decision. I hope it all works out. I take Yale at their word that there is no benefit to doing rea.
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So the big question here is what does this mean for test optional candidates? Doe sit all come down to just the GPA?
Not at all. Yale, like all its peers, practices holistic admissions and takes a variety of factors into consideration. A tippy top GPA (even combined with a full/near full SAT score) is no guarantee of admission.
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Honestly, I wouldnât recommend that if you are a strong candidate and Yale is the first choice. Applying REA gets you two looks. Even if there is technically no âbumpâ (as in a relatively weaker candidate doesnât get a boost), in building a class, if a lot of kids who fit a similar profile apply early, then they may not need anyone else with your profile. Even not considering that, if Yale accepts 750+ early, those are 750 spots now not available.
Additionally, many universities that are less selective than Ivy+ but still selective are ED only OR, like Case Western or Northeastern, offer both EA and ED but strongly favor ED and tend to defer candidates strong enough to have a shot at Ivy+ (âyield protectionâ).
I would recommend applying to Yale REA to anyone who has a solid chance and has it as their clear top choiceâŠand then applying early to any public university that is high on their list.
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Thanks, @Capecoder. Letâs hope for the best for everyone.
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