@LauraWang and @Illumina1, Yale will only schedule an interview if they have an alumni interviewer available in your region. Plus they explicitly state on their website that they prioritize interviews for applicants from whom they need more information.
So if you don’t get an interview that is not a problem at all. It doesn’t mean you will be rejected.
Good luck!
My daughter’s interview is scheduled. Also from
MD. Will be interesting. Her interviewer has a very impressive background.
Just received the interview email. May amount to nothing but still good to have I think. Good luck to everyone else here too!
which region are you from? are you international or domestic?
Domestic, from VA
DD had an interview on Saturday. Wonderful Yale alum that put her at ease quickly. Questions “tell me about yourself” “why Yale” were followed by digging deeper into ECs - mostly sports for DD (tennis, sailing, skiing).
I sense, based on Yale’s statement on which students they prioritize and on reviewing web articles, that the interviews are offered to edge case students (edge of defer and reject) and availability. No one knows for sure of course and no point getting consumed as BKSQ* says. Good luck to all and thanks BKSQ* for your invaluable insights.
Had my interview Nov.7. I’m from CA, btw
I didn’t know Yale did round 2. I thought that was a Harvard thing
I think they meant a second batch of candidates was pushed out to interviewers.
2nd interviews are very rare for both…but they do happen on occasion.
A large number of applicants fall into the middle — they really are less edge cases and more a bulk (possibly a majority) of cases. After that, it is all based on availability. Yale used to offer interviews to all applicants…and they still try to get to as many as possible…but the uptick in applications has meant they need to prioritize.
Do most students get interview?
Got it, thank you so much for the encouragement! 
These comments are making me worried 
I didn’t feel like my interview went all that well, as I’m fairly rusty…
Oh well, it’s not like I can do much now.
Apologies it wasn’t intended that way.
As I said, no one really knows. My conjecture is based on approximation as follows
Again, just my conjecture that the students who are not being interviewed are the ones with strong applications that clearly fall in admit or defer category.
Since our DD is in the same boat, I hope I am wrong but it is what it is. And she and us are ok with that because she will get excellent education in any of the top 50 schools for her intended major (communications + international affairs).
I don’t think so. Anecdotally, I know lots of applicants who’ve gotten interviews and have later been admitted in REA. But possibly because these students (and me) are from the Bay Area? There are surprisingly a bunch of alums here
Thank you so much!
I still like Yale, but I’ll try my best for RD!
We have had similar thoughts too about the interview process and who gets offered one- the uncertain ones since wouldn’t want to waste resources to interview automatic acceptances and rejections.
If you mean the interviewer, @BKSquared answered that above.
Approximately 11,500 interview reports are submitted each year, so slightly more interviews are offered. There are about 4,000 alumni volunteers, so on average we do 2 to 3 interviews across both rounds.
I would not assume interviews mean rejected vs deferred. I think it more likely that it is between accepted and deferred. If you are on the bubble between deferred and rejected, it is unlikely you will be accepted in the RD round so the AO would be reluctant to use this resource. My caveat here is, historically, Yale deferred a higher percentage of REA applicants than it rejected until last year when it flipped rejections to 57%, so it is possible that they are scrutinizing more closely those that historically would have ended up in the deferred pile.
This makes sense. Thank you. It’ll be good to know how many interviewed REA applicants actually get accepted in the early action round.