What is THE Yale Admission Factor?

Colleges & Universities Yale University
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<p>Allow me to explain. Many schools are said to take one key factor to heart when admitting students. Some like MIT are all about the test scores I hear, others are very keen on extracurriculars even if the students grades are simply good. Some value recommendation letters a great deal above everything else and some appreciate essays or social factors (economic and ethnic situation).</p>

<p>Pretty much every school is rumored to look more favorably (even if its only slightly) on one factor. My question is, what is Yale’s?</p>

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<p>Looks well in the color BLUE? Doesn’t look well in RED?</p>

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<p>haha, good one!</p>

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<p>Loving bulldogs?</p>

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<p>Ill admit, that made me laugh hazmat. A lot. Though I would like a real answer. =(</p>

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<p>Nothing. Simple as that. There isn’t an answer to this question.</p>

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<p>I wish it was that simple…</p>

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<p>Let me venture to guess. You do the best you can in high school: achieve high grades (you should always give your best), work in your community (it makes our community a better place to live), participate in your passion and give it everything you have (it makes life worth living). And of course, study for those dreaded tests (waste of time, but that is also a part of life). Wait, I just realized, the best part of preparing to apply to Yale, is that by doing it you can become successful anyway. So even if you are not accepted you will leave high school with a high set of skills. And isn’t that what learning is ultimately about?</p>

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<p>Well I wasnt asking if you could be a D- student with a negative in front of your SAT and still get in if you had the golden ticket. I was just wondering about Yale’s standard since many other schools do have one factor they value above the rest (which is still gosh darn important). This came up in another board.</p>

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<p>The transcript is the most important factor, both for grades and course difficulty. It’s the first filter and if you don’t have a strong transcript, you’re dead in the water. Of course, tons of applicants have strong transcripts and then other factors come into play, but transcript is #1.</p>

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<p>I would say that having talents outside of the norm would be very helpful. Like if you were a world class athlete, or owned a successful business, or wrote a music masterpiece, or created an incredible work of art, or made a great scientific discovery. All of these things would set you apart from the average high achieving student. You might think that I am joking, but I am not. If I was an admissions person and every application I saw was perfect, then I would look for someone who stands apart from the crowd. A young man or woman who is in the process of becoming a leader,not just in high school, but in the world. “Let your vision be world embracing.” Yale students you can disagree with my assessment. But, that is what I would look for, if I was in their place. Does that help?</p>

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<p>undisclosed:</p>

<p>passion. that’s the closest we can get to a simple answer. achieve (VERY) highly in school, be passionate about some activity in your life, and be able to express what that passion is and how it makes you stand out from other applicants. </p>

<hr>

<p>gryffon5147:</p>

<p>if applying to college and being accepted were simple, none of us would be worried, would we?? lol.</p>

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<p>They like Olympic Gold Medalists.</p>

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<p>Hey tamar, don’t you think that passion is what makes people succeed in their endeavors. I know that if I didn’t have passion for what I do then I would give up, because sometimes it’s boring and hard. But my love for what I do keeps me going through the long hours and difficult work. That’s why I feel that as much as I would LOVE to go to Yale, my future is not based on their accepting me or not. I have already started doing what I want to do. Sometimes I wonder about the liberal arts thing because I feel like that’s what I am doing now.</p>

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<p>AdmissionsAddict:</p>

<p>Is that how their system actually works (i.e. establishing an automatic academic cutoff and then only giving further analysis to those that meet it)?</p>

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<p>I am glad you posed that question to AdmissionsAddict. Here are the questions that come up for me. If I were an admissions person how would I handle thousands of applications without going insane? What would I use to determine who goes or who stays? I couldn’t base it on the grades, or if I did then would an extremely talented young person get left out? What if I turned away the next Einstein? He came in at the bottom of his class at Tech College. If I had thousands of applications lying on my desk I would need some measure to start “weeding the chaff from the wheat.” What would that be? I don’t know if there is an academic cut-off, but there has to be some factor that creates a workload that admissions officers can handle. Grades and scores could be one of those factors. If Yale was an art school it would probably be the level of work produced in a portfolio or performance? In a way, aren’t those the same as the grades and test scores for academics. How do baseball players get picked for the majors? Don’t they have to perform at a certain level? Why should it be different for academics? Grades, test scores and EC’s could be looked at as our audition, our tryout, and our portfolio. However, there is an unknown factor- potential. How to you measure that? After writing this I have a new found respect for what the admissions officers have to do. I hope that AdmissionsAddict has the answer you are looking for. The more I think about it all I see is that there cannot be one answer. And, I bet at the beginning of every year the admissions workers must take a deep breath and pray (or whatever there equivalent is) that they make the best choices humanly possible, for the coming year.</p>

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<p>My response is not what you want to hear…but, I feel I must share my perspective on how what you want (a single factor) is not an option!</p>

<p>Here is the way I look at this challenging process…both for the applicant and the admissions officers…</p>

<p>Academics are Primary (this is an application to college, not for a job, etc):
1: did the student/applicant take the most challenging courses available and how did they do?</p>

<p>2: their rank tells how the student did compared to their local peers…
2a: the school summary provides background to understand what was available for the student to choose and relative performance of those peers</p>

<p>3: test scores provide a way to gauge the student against their national peers…</p>

<p>I believe every admissions officer has a range of results for the above that they are looking for…the following is used to then flesh out the candidate pool for consideration:</p>

<p>Other:
1: EC’s show two-three things; passion, bandwidth (the ability to excell in multiple areas) leadership</p>

<p>2: Recommendations - from both guidance, teachers and others, that demonstrate the student’s character</p>

<p>Once the student is validated as a candidate and desireable member of the community, the admission officer gets to read the:</p>

<p>ESSAY… this is the final moment for the student to express themself. The essay is where the admin officer finally “MEETS” the student. That is why YOUR voice is so important. </p>

<p>I don’t believe that any of the above steps can be eliminated…nor does any one “trump” the other…that is why YOU have to be honest with yourself and your choices…did you challenge yourself? do you want to be challenged? the top schools want students who will learn…and then go out and apply what they have learned. Yale doesn’t want just the top kids… they want kids that want to contribute/make a difference/improve the quality of life for a few or for a lot. Yale wants kids for a few years only…but they commit to providing their students with an experience that is top notch, world class, challenging…memorable. Something to strive for… and a community you can be proud to belong to… for the rest of your life. </p>

<p>A lot of schools have this…the diversity of any class enhances the experience for all classes…so you cannot appeal via only 1 aspect of your application (the exception to this is the athlete, offspring of a significant donor, etc. ) Be thankful that the college application process provides you with so many ways to hone how you represent yourself. And, know you will have a chance to use this skill in preparing/packaging yourself in the job market, in the field of love, and as a member of a community. And, if you are a bit late to having what it takes, then know you can excell in 4 yrs of college elsewhere and go to your dream school for graduate work. </p>

<p>The fun is only beginning…if you are lucky, you will undertake a new interest/endeavour when you are 64 and beyond. Reach to be outside your comfort zone…that is when it gets interesting.</p>

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<p>Dear mainparent, I also do not believe that any one factor determines admission to Yale or any other college for that matter.</p>

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<p>distilled sexy</p>

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<p>See that may be a problem because my sexy is condensed and solid. How much water should I add?</p>

<p>Great post, maineparent. i guess what I’m getting from this thread is that in Harvard’s case there is no factor that is valued above others. It was never a question of finding the one factor that gets you in. I think everyone knows that doesnt exist…</p>