Hello College Confidential,
I’m having trouble writing my essay answering “What about Yale has led you to apply?” (125 words). I’m planning on majoring in biomedical engineering. I already answered why I like Yale BME in another essay. Would it be too much to write about why I like their Center for Engineering Innovation and design? I like the focus on research and 3D printing in the CEID, but I sort of covered those topics in the “why yale engineering” essay.
Alternatively, I’m thinking about either writing about Yale’s Russian program, its strengths, and how the liberal arts curriculum would allow me to advance my knowledge of Russian and engage in more Russian experiences and clubs (I founded Russian Club in my high school, so I could also mention that).
Considering that I already wrote about why I like BME in 2 essays, I’m leaning toward the Russian essay. Is this a good topic to write about? I don’t want to be too generic or cliche (like writing about the college housing system).
For the engineering students, I think there is an additional essay for you to write about why major. So your “Why Yale” essay should be about “Why School.”
It would be better if you can share some of your connection with Yale and why Yale is unique for you, e.g., I am an SCEA applicant for Class of 2022, and I shared my experience in Yale Summer Session.
“It would be better if you can share some of your connection with Yale and why Yale is unique for you, e.g., I am an SCEA applicant for Class of 2022, and I shared my experience in Yale Summer Session.”
I’m not too convinced that writing about a connection is necessarily good - if you don’t know the university very well, it’s better to be authentic. If you have a strong connection already, that’s great, but definitely not the expectation.
To the OP - I like both of your examples. They seem genuine and interesting - especially the comment on Russian. Many years ago, when I responded to this question, I hit two components - science (particularly the opportunity to make a social impact with existing Yale groups), and the music community at Yale. My application already screamed science with music as my main extracurricular, but it was true to who I was and why I wanted to go. Try not to overthink it.
My personal opinion is that this question is intended to see whether you have a specific interest in what Yale has to offer or whether you give a generic answer that could apply to any college. Most people applying to Yale are doing so exclusively because they want to put the name on their resume, and couldn’t care less whether the college will be a good fit. I don’t know how many colleges offer Russian, but I doubt it is all that unusual. Here are some specifics about Yale’s Russian department: it is small, which makes it close-knit. Their language instruction is very strong and utilizes mostly (or possibly all) native speakers. Yale has a (male) Russian chorus and a (female) Slavic chorus, and they have a summer language program that is taught partly in New Haven and partly in Russia. Mentioning specific features like those is more effective than saying, “I want to study X foreign language,” which is a very generic statement — unless language X instruction is rare.
“…if you don’t know the university very well, it’s better to be authentic.” Well, it’s far better to know the school well. After all, you’re applying and Yale is massively competitive for an admit.
The tippy tops like depth and breadth. Watch out for seeming too pre-professional with this question. Or limited to only certain academic interests in the school.
Agree that generic is a mistake, for this tier. Why do you want Yale? Besides the education that can lead to career X. Or because it’s a top school? This writing can be more relaxed.
My wording was clumsy. You need to show a nuanced understanding of what Yale can offer you and how you can contribute to the Yale community. You don’t need to scrape the bottom of the barrel to craft some connection to the university.
Writing about summer session has the potential to be good. So does writing about the Russian program. As an alumna who also interviews, I don’t think the Russian essay would be any less compelling than the summer session one. If anything, I think writing about the Russian program shows more about how Yale is a good fit academically (I found summer session very different to regular session), and demonstrates what the candidate can bring to the university.