SCEA is non-binding, and you can apply to some other schools if they meet certain criteria
@noname876, so yes, for example, you could apply concurrently to Yale and UMichigan, but not Yale and Harvard.
What about MIT? In the MIT website they say they require you not to apply early action there if you have applied to a single choice school!
This is is so confusing!
You can apply to only public schools, MIT is private
@greeny8, you cannot apply to MIT concurrently. However, you can apply to private schools, but only if they meet one of the criteria I mentioned above.
@noname876, this is confusing, but only if you let it be. Go down the list I mentioned above, and decide if another school meets one or more of the 4 exceptions to the rule.
PS Perhaps you misunderstood your college adviser, but if you didn’t, I would get a different college adviser if you can. Bad information is worse than no information.
Hi @noname876- comments by @lxnayBob (and others) are correct: SCEA is only “binding” in that you can’t also apply early to other private schools if you apply early to Yale. However, it is not binding in that you do not have to accept their offer if they admit you: that’s what ED (Early Decision) is.
With SCEA, you don’t have to accept their offer. Also, again, you can’t apply early to other private schools but you can still apply early to public schools. So, for example, our son applied early to Yale and University of Michigan (public school) and was deferred by both in December. However, he just received word last week that he got accepted into UM. That’s why I posted here: to see if Yale, similarly, has started updating previous deferrals to accepts (or rejects for that matter). UM has had four “waves” of updates: Feb 5th, Feb 26th, and March 4th (when our son got accepted). After that, it looks like they’ll announce again on April 1st by which time they’ll be announcing RDs anyway.
@gracie21 - I have been doing interviews for Yale for almost many many years. Some interviews are done almost up to Ivy Day. Also, remember that interviewers have jobs and work so sometimes we get caught up in our real jobs and have to be nudged by the Alumni Schools Committee to schedule an interview and get the write up in. It will be okay. Good luck!!
@shivaya - I read your comment about whether or not the Admissions Committee knows who and what to look for. I can say as a 1978 graduate and a mom of a sophomore, they very very very seldom get it wrong. Each class that they craft is unique and it has been my experience that each class of 1300 blends well together as evidenced by Yale’s 99% retention rate for freshmen. Does this mean that some of the people not accepted would have been a good fit too? No. But to say, especially from the outside, that they don’t know what to look for has no factual basis - and to add, who are you to say that they well paid professional admissions committee don’t know what to look for.
Also, your example makes no sense. You might want to talk to the thousands of straight A, 2400 getting “wonky” students that don’t get in. You will find that having good stats with nothing else does not guarantee an applicant a second glance.
I would just say good luck to you and if you are accepted, you will find that they got it just right.
@Tperry1982 - Why volunteer if you can’t do it? Try putting on the student shoes. It’s BEYOND frustrating trying to fit in all the pieces of the puzzle (even thinking that the Alumni Interview counts for something. I personally don’t) into the application to be told that “you get caught up in your REAL jobs.” If you are the President of a Country, then you don’t volunteer, period. But, if you choose to do it out of your own free will, then PLEASE don’t patronize the applicant with your excuses. Let’s see, close your eyes and go back to being 17 and wanting REALLY BAD to get into Yale? That’s what I am talking about.
I totally agree. I just want students to know that interviewers are humans. They may sign up to do interviews in September, get a batch to do in December, and then a major project gets dropped on them at work or they get ill. A responsible one will contact their rep and tell them they can’t do it and turn them back in. I know that happens because I have gotten some in the past at the nth hour because another interviewer could not do them.
Trust me, the Admissions Committee always tells interviewers to be mindful of how stressful this is for the applicants and for us to try our best not to add to it.
@yalebound2020, I think you personalized my comment. I did not say that is what I have done. And those of us who are seasoned interviewers try our best to get newer interviewers to understand the importance of what they do in the process. Finally, I did not have an interview for Yale and I got in. Most that do have interviews don’t get in. With the holistic approach used by Yale, this is only one piece of the puzzle. If you check my posts, I try to be very helpful to applicants from a realistic point of view. If you want specific info, feel free to PM me. Good luck and I hope you have a good outcome.
@Tperry1982 - I understand completely. I had 7 different interviews that were great experiences; however, I don’t believe that they will mean much on the overall assessment by the Committee. One interviewer (seasoned in every way) told me that the interview process serves as a means to make sure that “we tell you from an individual perspective things about the school that you wouldn’t get out of the net or walking around campus AND to ascertain that you, the prospective student are not a potential bad apple… as if we can tell : ).” Out of everything I read, he was on point. However, it seemed as if Gracie was freaking out and she had the right to be. If the interviewer doesn’t have the time? At least, he/she should have let her know that he/she didn’t and THAT, IN THE END, IT DIDN’T MATTER. So as to calm her down? I thank you for your answer and for actively participating in the forum and as interviewer. And, I certainly appreciate your best wishes. We need all the help we can get.
Not sure it doesn’t matter in all cases. There has been a couple of cases that an applicant was on the cusp and the Admissions Committee asked me to turn in my report so they could get a different perspective. Not saying it sways them one way or another, but in some instances it may have some affect on the outcome.
I suspect the interview may be tipping point in the scale when they are down to a few people who on paper are very much the same. There is most definitely a type of person that fits in well at Yale. There is just something different about the character that seems to create that whole feeling when you see all of the kids together. They all come from different walks of life, countries and economic backgrounds and yet they also seem to get along. So much better than a high school because they were chosen to be there. I would think that the interviewers opinion of the type of a person the student was may be a tipping point when they have a few to choose from. It doesn’t seem to be a deciding factor to guarantee acceptance but may tip the scale on your part if it gets down to that.
@Tperry1982 - I am not trying to convince you or anyone on what I had written earlier. As a graduate from Yale, may I ask you with humility to explain what the Yale motto means to you?
@shivaya - I doubt any of the many Yale graduates I know spend any significant amount of time thinking about the motto, although there’s an old joke comparing Harvard to Yale on the basis of their mottoes: when you take away the “Veritas”, poor Harvard’s left in the dark…
@shivaya - do you have some sort of a fixation with the Yale motto?
@Memmsmom - IMO with 35,000 apps it is very, very, unlikely that the committee has the time / inclination to compare # 1297 to # 31,442. It is more likely that the candidate that they are asking about is one that DOESN’T MEET THE MINIMUM STANDARDS and has to get in because… daddy’s / mommy’s influence? What’s your take @Tperry1982?
Lux and Veritas? It means Light and Truth. I agree, I don’t spend much time thinking about that except when I look at some of my Yale paraphernalia. As a alum, my alma mater is much more to me than a slogan or motto. It has been a part of my life for almost 38 years. My most enduring friendships were made there. How I view the world was forged there as I met students from all over the world which expanded the narrow world view I had when I came as a freshman. I could probably write more but it would start to sound corny.
As my child’s current school, I doubt if she thinks about it unless she is writing a deep paper in one of her literature classes - and probably not even then. Heck, Boola Boola probably means more to her.
If you’re admitted to Yale and choose to attend, you will find that the experience is very personal and is something of a shared experience that is hard to explain to outsiders,. But isn’t that the case for everything? Unless you are a mother, it is hard for someone who has a child to explain how much that means to her to someone who does not. However, other mothers will get it. Same with how people feel about their college experience. I have no clue how someone from Alabama feels about their school or their motto of “We Dare to Defend our Rights” and I doubt if they could explain it to me.
Wherever you go, you’ll get it. Again, good luck.
@yalebound2020 , @DeepBlue86 & @Tperry1982 - Thanks for your comments, feedback and insight. Sincerely appreciate it.
I do not wish to write a whole lot here - simply not trying to prove what I truly believe BUT, I am happy not to attend a school if they don’t match my beliefs. I am not looking for a school which isn’t able to live up to what they say they believe in.
I truly believe that Princeton DID NOT make Einstein famous but rather Princeton became famous because Einstein was there. So is the story with Caltech and Feynman.
I was extremely excited with the concept of Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale and a couple of other schools which offer a program that you can define whatever major you want to do and the school provides the resources once the counselor approves it.
To me, this is a fascinating idea which allows a student to innovate their own future and that is what appealed to me (honestly).
I am in love with Math and hope to find a place where justice can be done to my love for Mathematics/Statistics
One last comment from me. I would suggest that instead of focusing on mottos that were created in the 1700’s, you try to find out which one of the schools are the best “fit” for you as they are today. The Ivies are very different places, they cannot be lumped into one pool. Yale is very, very liberal. If you want a Liberty University type of vibe, I will say unequivocally that Yale will not suit you. The best bet will be to actually go to the schools and see them while students are there - maybe at some of the accepted students days. That is the ONLY way you are going to be able to find the school that you feel comfortable in. So, now that I have a better understanding of what you were trying to get from us, that is my suggestion. My kid loves Yale, she would hate Princeton and knows she would never want to go to Harvard, though they are all arguable top schools. The school just has to feel “right” and you will find CC full of horror stories of kids who went to a school for a reason other than “fit” and are now miserable.
I hope this helps.