<p>Is this meant to be specific program… or like informal, cause in this book of college essays I read, this one kid wrote about how he liked that Yale used sand instead of salt in the winter for the roads…and he got in!</p>
<p>I think it can be either. All that matters is that it’s good writing, and that you can prove that you truly do want to go to Yale (not because of its status as an Ivy or anything like that). Something specific like sand vs. salt can show that you do have a strong interest in Yale, to the point where you’ve researched their weather precautions!</p>
<p>But remember, it’s not a deciding factor. The sand vs. salt kid was probably a fantastic all-around applicant… keep that in mind.</p>
<p>true, it was an anecdote sort thing…I don’t really have one so I will say academically why I want to go there</p>
<p>I wrote about something very general and something specific within that.</p>
<p>i wrote about what i personally liked about yale. i don’t think they want to hear about how you love the academics or anything - i mean, they know it’s a good school. everyone knows it’s a good school. they probably prefer to hear personal … what’s the word i’m looking for? … hm … well, personal experiences with the school.</p>
<p>Okay, I hate when people say the “why yale essay”. It’s such a confusing phrase, and people keep using it! There’s the second essay, which is an actual essay, and then there is the “why yale” short answer. There’s no “why yale essay”!!!</p>
<p>princessbell, sorry… i meant “why yale” SHORT ANSWER, essay was just what came to mind 
and I decided to write about a certain research topic they are doing there that was the reason why I decided to apply under the BME major</p>
<p>ooops- I wrote about how the general culture of Yale matched what I was looking for.</p>
<p>that’s good if that’s what you liked about it</p>
<p>i wrote about the shopping period and how important that was to me because my high school always had my academic life predestined for me. with the shopping period, yale would be offering me a chance to, for once, control my own academic endeavors. :)</p>
<p>nice, well I’m DONEEEEEEEEEEEEEE finally!</p>
<p>I was under the impression that the shopping period is something offerred at all universities.
Oh well, i wrote about something general as well, about the culture at Yale and how i love the tradition.</p>
<p>You want to come to Yale because people are happy here. Check out this blog from one of the residential colleges:</p>
<p>[Timothy</a> Dwight](<a href=“http://timothydwight.blogspot.com/]Timothy”>http://timothydwight.blogspot.com/)</p>
<p>I talked about how the residential college system reminded me of Harry Potter :D.</p>
<p>shopping period is something yale highlights as being different than most colleges. in the viewbook they say that yale is one of the few institutions that allows students to check out classes before committing to them.</p>
<p>I was upset you only get like 500 characters to write what you want because there’s so much more I wanted to write about. I wrote about some specific academic programs that they have that caught my attention and then about New Haven. I wanted to say something about how when I visited, I felt really comfortable and at home, but no space.</p>
<p>haha yeah my first try I was -1 for characters then I got it down to exactly 0 characters left! its so stupid, It makes you feel like you are wasting THEIR time.</p>
<p>ditto drbigboyjoe9505, so i tried to summarize it in 500 characters, and now it sounds very bland :/</p>