![Tips for Answering the Yale University Supplemental Essays and Short Answer Questions [2022 – 2023]](https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Yale_2022-2023_supplemental_essay_tips.jpg)
Not surprisingly, Yale University is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world. It accepts the Common Application, Coalition Application, and QuestBridge Application. All three applications require a personal statement essay plus additional Yale-specific short answers and a Yale writing supplement. This prestigious Ivy League school prides itself on providing undergraduates with an exceptional foundation in the liberal arts that focuses on cultivating knowledge and leadership skills. “Yale’s commitment to each student – to challenge, expand, and ultimately better understand the life of one’s own mind through undergraduate study.” The supplemental writing responses are a chance for you to convey how the Yale experience might augment your passions and perspectives in terms of learning, living, and preparing you for the future.
If Yale is your first choice, it offers a single-choice early action program for freshman applicants (November 1st deadline). If you choose to use this option, you may not apply to early decision or early action programs at other schools. There are a few exceptions to this rule, check the Yale admissions website for details. Under this program, Yale will notify you of its admission decision in mid-December. The deadline for submission of applications for regular action is January 2nd.
Before you begin writing your essay(s), thoroughly research all that Yale has to offer and consider how those opportunities bolster your objectives. This is a time to get excited about the prospect of attending Yale! Visit the website, speak with current students and alumni; envision yourself as a part of its exceptional learning community. The curriculum at Yale is designed to provide both breadth and depth of study as the foundation for students to pursue inspired lives and careers. It strives to foster independent critical thinking. Yale is one of the only universities that allow you to try-out your classes before you finalize your schedule. The first ten days of each semester are an opportunity to visit a number of classes to determine which are most interesting to you! Also keep in mind that applicants are not admitted to a specific major and do not declare a major until the end of their sophomore year.
Located in the small town of New Haven, in an urban setting that is primarily a residential campus, Yale offers a supportive community-feel through its system of twelve residential colleges. This configuration, complete with its own residential deans and masters, creates a sense of intimacy within the larger university. Residential deans serve as primary personal and academic advisors. Masters work with students to shape the residential community. This is a powerfully dynamic way of bringing together students and faculty. Think about how this structure can support your intellectual growth.
Yale University short answer questions
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application, Common Application, or QuestBridge Application are asked to respond to the following short answer questions.
(Note: QuestBridge applicants will complete the questions via the Yale Admissions Status Portal after the application has been received):
- Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.
This is not a trick question. With over 80 majors to choose from, Yale is trying to gauge your unique interests. Indicate up to three of your top academic areas of study.
- Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)
This prompt allows you to explain how your academic interests relate to the available fields of study at Yale. The challenge in this response is discussing your rationale for your selected areas in less than 200 words. Consider your experience thus far in these areas. What sparked your interest? What burning question or issue motivates you? How might these concentrations support your long-term goals? Provide some context to support your interests and convey your enthusiasm.
- What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)
Here again, you are under significant word limitations. Don’t underestimate this prompt. It is extremely important to demonstrate good fit in your discussion—what unique aspects of an education at Yale attract you? This is an opportunity to convey your enthusiasm for a potential Yale experience. Sometimes making a list can help you get started. Then review your list and make sure each reason relates specifically to Yale. Consider both what Yale has to offer you and what you might be able to offer the Yale community.
Yale University additional short answer questions (Short takes)
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):
- What inspires you?
This response touches on what motivates you as well as what you find valuable. Discuss something that makes a difference in your way of thinking and subsequently influences your actions and/or behavior. Think about what your response might convey about your character.
2. Yale’s residential colleges regularly host intimate conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What question would you ask?
You can select just about anyone here– someone famous, your next-door neighbor, or a family member. Although you are under significant word count limitations, let your imagination go with this one! The person you identify is just as important as the question you would ask in this response. Your discussion reflects something about your thinking process, how you perceive the world, and how you engage with others. Remember to consider what your response might reflect about your values and character.
3. You are teaching a Yale course. What is it called?
Use your imagination! This is a chance to infuse some fun and creativity into your response. Do you have a unique set of skills or interests that might contribute to some expertise on a particular topic? What is your specialty? Be careful to avoid any controversial statements. You never know how your suggestion might be interpreted so try to steer clear of potentially offensive topics.
4. What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?
Before you respond, take some time to review your overall application materials for Yale. You should share something meaningful about yourself that you didn’t mention elsewhere. Your response provides a glimpse into the sort of person you might be within the Yale community—consider what might you contribute and what you hope to gain. You might mention something you always wanted to learn how to do or explore. Perhaps, something you are not very good at but love to do. Whatever you select will reflect something about your character. How might what you shared relate to attending Yale?
Yale supplemental essay questions
If you are using the Common Application or the Coalition Application, you will answer one of the essay prompts below. (400 words or fewer)
Yale supplemental essay question #1
Yale carries out its mission “through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community.” Reflect on a time when you exchanged ideas about an important issue with someone holding an opposing view. How did the experience lead you either to change your opinion or to sharpen your reasons for holding onto it?
This prompt asks you to reflect on a time when you dealt with conflicting views. How do you engage in a civil exchange about controversial or emotional issues? What was the issue and why was it important to you? Explain both your position and that of the other person involved. What was at stake? How did you work through the conflict and come to an understanding of the other person’s perspective? Were you able to convey your perspective? What was your process? What was the outcome? Did you change your stance or clarify and strengthen your position? Why was the experience you shared important to you? Your response to this prompt helps to shed light on how you learn, the topics you are drawn to, how you interact with others with diverse perspectives, as well as how you process the world around you.
Yale supplemental essay question #2
Reflect on a time when you have worked to enhance a community to which you feel connected. Why have these efforts been meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.
This prompt asks you about how you contributed to a particular community. Consider how being a part of this community shapes or supports you. Why do you feel connected to it? The focus is on how you made the community better. This is an opportunity to discuss your role in just about ANY community and the impact you had on it and vice versa. It also demonstrates your ability to reflect on your community from different perspectives. Topics can vary from a school club to a larger cultural or religious community to the global community, but community is however you define it. Your goal is to explain your connection to the community, convey why that community is valuable to you, and how you enhanced it. What was your motivation to help this community? What did you learn about yourself through your connection to this community? How might this community inspire, support, or ground you and vice versa? What might this convey about your character or place in the world? How might these experiences prepare you for this next stage of your life?
Final thoughts on applying to Yale
The tone of your essays should reflect your drive and enthusiasm for learning in general and at Yale in particular. Convey your perspectives in your own voice. Be thoughtful and reflective.
Applicants to Yale have an exceedingly competitive profile. Yale received 50,015 undergraduate applications for the class of 2026. Only 2,234 or 4.46% of applicants were admitted and 95% of them ranked in the top 10% of their high school class. Although Yale continued to offer test optional admissions for the class of 2026, you can consider the test scores from the class of 2024–average SAT scores over 1500 and average ACT scores of around 33, to get a sense of your likely cohort.
It is easy to get overwhelmed by the numbers. At this point, it is heartening to bear in mind that Yale is dedicated to a holistic application evaluation process for admission. Your short answer responses and supplemental essay(s) facilitate a more comprehensive review of you as a prospective student at Yale. The admissions committee takes the time to read your responses carefully. Make sure you allow yourself appropriate time for thoughtful reflection and effective writing. Use your writing supplement to set you apart from your peers. The best approach is to be true to you and communicate your thoughts, experiences, hopes, and dreams in a way that highlights your genuine enthusiasm for the extraordinary educational journey at Yale!
If you’re applying to Yale University, you can access Yale-caliber assistance to become the most competitive applicant you can be! Get the guidance of an experienced admissions specialist who will help you stand out from an exceptional applicant pool so you can apply with confidence, and get accepted! Click here to get started!
***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***
Marie Todd has been involved in college admissions for over twenty years. Marie has both counseled applicants to top colleges and evaluated 5000+ applications for the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts; College of Engineering; School of Kinesiology; School of Nursing; and Taubman College of Architecture. Want Marie to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch.
Related Resources:
- 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your College Application Essays, a free guide
- 4 Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future
- The Essay Whisperer: How to Write a College Application Essay
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