<p>Hi! I’m applying SCEA to Yale, and I’m curious if what I plan on answering to “Why Yale” is even a good answer for admissions to see. </p>
<p>I’m planning on writing about New Haven and the types of opportunities that living in New Haven would give me to be a servant to the city. I’ve been on several short-term mission trips with my church, and my favorite by far has been serving the homeless in Kansas City, MO, which has vaguely similar crime rates/poverty rates as New Haven.</p>
<p>Of course I’ve heard of the normal advice that you should include specifics about a university on why you want to go, and I would make sure to do that by including different service projects that are facilitated by Yale. But I don’t know if I’m focusing too much on the city instead of the university and if it’s possible that a Yalie would see me as insulting their city. Any other points that I’ve missed would be greatly appreciated as well.</p>
Unless the Yale Supplement has changed, the “Why Yale” question only allows for a short answer of 75 to 80 words, so I would focus MORE on the university and less on New Haven. After writing about your academic reasons for wanting to attend the school, there just isn’t much space left to write more.</p>
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Have you visited New Haven? If you didn’t mention New Haven at all, no one would be insulted.</p>
<p>Look up the outreach activities available through Yale, such as through Dwight Hall. I think it would be fine to mention that as something that appeals to you about Yale.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t mention the service trips, or “voluntourism” trips as some people call them. It is the essay that every kid writes and every admissions officer has to read a thousand times over again. Write about the city and undergraduate organizations that work with non-Yalies, but I’d leave out the mission trips if I were thee.</p>
<p>My neighbors son is starting his senior year at Yale. He had shared his application with one of my kids who was not applying to Yale. The essay was genuine and very well written. I’m not sure he wanted to be a journalist but if he did, he would not have written about wanting to write about New Haven and therefore wanting to go to Yale since that does not hold up as very genuine. After all, do you then send an essay to Dartmouth about wanting to write about Hanover? Dartmouth may not care but Yale sure as ell will. Writing is important to Yale. Yale does not want to hear a bunch of drivel about doing good things either. Consider what is important to you really and convey those things. Slop will be detected by Yale admissions a mile away. </p>
<p>There are dozens and dozens of Yale student organizations that do work in New Haven, look them up (through Dwight Hall is your best bet) and talk about specifics.</p>
<p>To the OP and other students answering the “Why X University” question…start with the truth! When your best friend asks you why you put a school on your list, what’s the answer then? Put your best foot forward, of course, but unless there’s significant overlap between the BFF answer and the essay answer, it’s not going to be convincing.</p>