"If I haven't scared you away with my description of the program, there
are two ways to get into it. The first, and easiest, way is they will
simply send you a letter in mid-April telling you that you have been
pre-accepted into Directed Studies based on certain strengths or
elements in your Yale application (I wrote on mine that DS was one of
the reasons I liked Yale so much, so that might have helped me). The
other way is to apply in June with the application on-line. If you apply
and are not accepted, they will waitlist you and if you still want to do
the program don't worry, if you put enough effort into making Jane Levin
(the director of DS) know that you really want to do DS they will keep
you in mind, and at the beginning of the semester when a lot of people
drop DS after they realize what it really is, there will most likely be
a spot for you in the program. If you want to see the application, see
the reading list, get an idea of the pace at which the program moves, or
see any more info go to
www.yale.edu/directedstudies which will be able
to answer a lot of questions you might have."
That will tell you about how to get in. If you work at it you are almost guaranteed admission. I also didn't realize they sent early letters to DS people, maybe it was because I didn't get in until the regular decision date.