<p>If you search “art supplement” in the Yale forum, you should find some discussion. When you haven’t been in many juried competitions, it is really hard to know how good you are. Is there a local college nearby where you could set up a meeting with someone on the art faculty for some feedback? Or a local gallery owner? </p>
<p>The fact that you haven’t had formal training won’t count against you. Yale understands that not everyone the means or access to specialized training in their extracurricular interests. Harder to justify is not knowing about competitions. I am not saying that you have to win competitions to be admitted, but Yale is looking for people who would actively seek out these kinds of opportunities even if there weren’t an announcement about them in their schools. Yalies tend to be very self-starting and have a “find a way” attitude. This isn’t meant as a put-down or to say that Yale will ding you for not winning competitions, I’m just trying to answer your “personal circumstances” question. Yale will cut more slack to someone at a lower SES high school, first generation college, etc. than they would someone attending a feeder high school where there is more knowledge about taking extracurriculars to the next level. BUT successful applicants are the type who show initiative, regardless of personal circumstances. </p>
<p>Hope that make sense and good luck.</p>