Yep, I’ve checked my spam. This really stings as Yale’s been a goal of mine for years now. Guess I’ll have to move on. If this means I’m an auto-reject, I’m a little scared about future schools, haha.
I’ve heard someone from my area (East Asia) got an interview over the past weekend (also prob within this week?)
Hello, thank you for all those useful infos about Yale!! I’m just wondering if you know there’s anyone has applied to Yale as a theater and performance studies major? Seems the information is pretty limited about the major, and I only saw approximately 1-2 students on the official Yale class of 2029/2028 IG that mentioned they want to major in theater. They mostly did a lot of ‘commercial’ acting, but most things I did are on the other track, like criticism, professional playwriting, dramaturgy, etc. (not on the acting side), and I still didn’t get an interview from Yale (as an international applicant). I don’t think I’m an auto-reject if evaluating on EC and stats 
. btw, even though we all know that Yale mentioned it does not accept ppl based on major. Are those majors that with fewer applicants got less competition （？）compared to those majors like English, bio, econ, or so?
I have no experience with theater majors. I do know that as Yale is extremely selective, it is even more so for international applicants.
Remember also that Yale prides itself about being a liberal arts school and generally wants students that will embrace a wide ranging education. While having a specified interest is fine, Yale is looking for students who will take advantage of all the other courses and activities it offers. A lot of students try to “game” the major, but I don’t think this really comes into play until they “shape” the class later in the process. Further, Yale assumes most students’ interest will change during their 4 years, so they are not admitting by major but by “best available athlete”. Even then, if there are only 10 “tuba players” finalists, there is only 1 tuba player spot. IMO, if you are going for a very specialized “pointy” spot, you better be the best.
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I did have interest in other areas lol (though prob still within social sci/humanity side as I selected in my 2nd&3rd intended major ), and those are implied through my essays and ecs, but theater is my primary interest. But anyway, this rly helps! Thank you again for this!!
Haven’t gotten an interview for yale rea either yet, kinda feel like it’s a bit late to receive one now before the 17th. Surprised I didn’t even pass the pre-screen though I definitely thought my olympiads and decent stats/ecs were enough for at least an interview. guess i was a bit overconfident.
I read that auto admit and auto rejects do not get interviews, but that everyone else does. This was from someone claiming to be a former Yale AO. Is that true? DS applied REA. We visited last spring, and he fell in love. Didn’t think he would be an auto admit, but also didn’t think he would be an auto reject, but no interview and it is Dec. 2nd! DS has pretty good test scores, grades, class rank–34 on ACT; IB diploma; 4s and 5s on AP Exams he has taken; 4.0 unweighted; 2nd or 3rd in class. Local and national film festival acceptances and awards, started a nonprofit, good ECs–one state level and one national level, some school and local level awards, pretty good CC and track runner, good recs, really good essays imho (he worked super hard on them anyway, multiple revisions, but maybe not as good as I thought after all), truly displays and loves the interdisciplinary liberal arts approach, works in the summer. Anyway, I know that he may be average for Yale, but I thought he would at least merit an interview and maybe a deferral. I know Yale defers a fairly small number, and I thought an interview and then maybe even a deferral could build his confidence for other schools and other apps. Outright rejection will be tough, but that’s another life lesson we all have to learn at some point I suppose. It’s also crazy that I am hoping for at least a deferral, I know. Any thoughts?
Hi, I read that only auto admits and auto rejects don’t get interviews. This was from a (allegedly) former Yale AO. And I feel the same way about my DS. Probably not an auto admit, but also not an auto reject, and still no interview. Maybe things have changed and they don’t interview some in-between students who they will maybe defer? I was honestly hoping for at least a deferral to build his confidence about other apps and other schools.
I don’t believe there are any absolutes. However, if you are an auto reject, highly unlikely you will get an interview with the corollary that if you get an interview, you passed the initial screen and probably got a favorable first reader review. Auto admits may still get an interview as a recruiting pitch. It is possible that you are still in the running without an interview if there are shortages of alumni interviewers in your region. But keep in mind that during the last admissions cycle, 71% were rejected during the REA round and over 95% overall. There are a lot of great super qualified applicants who do not get in.
IMO, for strong students, the best way to build confidence is to also apply EA or rolling to match/safety state (or private if allowed) programs. The T20± is such a crapshoot that it is hard to gauge the strength of your applicant from 1 decision.
Thanks for the reply. I know you are right about percentages and about how many great applicants are necessarily rejected. I do have another question based on your response. If you pass the initial screen, do you get two readers or do you only get two if the first is favorable? If you do get two and first isn’t favorable but the second is, would you then get an interview? And if so, could that be the reason you might get a first-week-of-December interview? (Still hoping for one). Or could you have gotten a favorable first review and a first-week-of-December interview just be a function of busy interviewers that are just getting around to it?
According to the Yale admissions podcast, they have moved to a new model for assessing applicants since the COVID/TO years increased applications from about 35,000 to over 50,000. Now there is an initial screen by a group of senior admissions officers that weed out nonviable candidates and pass the remaining onto the regional AOs. After that I couldn’t tell you what happens next as far as a first read, second read, interview offer and moving onto committee or not….
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Inside the Yale Admissions Office Podcast | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions Episodes 1, 2, 25 and 30 (30 is updated new process)
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This is all so stressful. I am encouraging my child to proceed as if she is definitely not going to get in and work on her other applications but she is finding it hard. I just want 12/17 to get here but then I also think how little time we have left before they move out and I want to savor it, not wish it away. Fingers crossed that all of your children have a happy landing even if not at Yale.
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I agree. The stress is mounting! I have a freshman in college that applied to 13 schools, got into 9 and rejected from 4 reaches. She ended up in the perfect place in a scholars program and loves it. Once they start getting notifications, it all starts to fall into place. There are going to be schools that want them for them and if that’s not a place in Yale’s class that’s ok. It’s just a redirection to the right place.
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So true! Just can’t wait for Dec 17 and then move on from there. I keep checking if any new views of my son’s music recording that he submitted. But, so far, still no views…
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@BKSquared I am from Michigan and I have not recieved an interview. I am very confident that I am not a shoe-in, but I feel sad to hear that I am probably an auto reject. I have a 3.98 UW, 1570, great letters of recs.
These are my ecs:
• Research Intern (paid) at university (program is a successor of yale program under same name) and I presented my research at a conference where I was the first high schooler ever selected
• HOSA Pharmacology – 2× Intl Finalist, 3× State Finalist
• Director of Communications/Editor – The Reconceive Project (health nonprofit)
• Co-Founder/Co-President – Wishes & Words Club
• VP – Global Research & Consulting (Intl 1st, HS Case Competition winner)
• Co-Founder – USA Biology Olympiad Club
• Varsity XC & Track Captain – 2× All-Region, 3× All-Conference, Academic All-State
• Participant – Summer@Brown, Laboratory Research in Biomedicine
• VP – International Cooking Club
• Volunteer – NHS & Church Nursery
So is it true that I didn’t pass their first screening?? Should I loose all hope?
Perhaps the auto admits/rejects do not, but given the sheer quantity of people not receiving interviews (even in alumni-rich areas) and the survey from Yale’s co28 suggesting roughly 90% of admitted students do in fact receive an interview, it’s far safer to assume you’re facing a rejection if you do not receive one, don’t you think? Unless you know you have something that makes you incredibly desirable, like an international olympiad medal, prestigious summer program (e.g, RSI/PRIMES), or something to that effect in your respective field, it just seems more realistic that Yale has weeded you out as uncompetitive, despite the strong stats and ECs that most REA applicants would likely have anyway and have opted to not allocate interviewing resources to you.
No merit to this opinion whatsoever, just thinking about it like y’all are too (im in the same boat with no interview lol).
I know you weren’t directing the question to me, but I would not lose hope. You are an impressive candidate, and no one knows anything with certainty until December 17th. I do think, though, that the most rational and emotionally sound approach for applicants (save recruited athletes, major donor’s kids, legacies, etc.) is to assume that they will most likely not gain admission since Yale rejects something like 96% of applicants every year. And they do make mistakes. I read an article by a former AO admitting as much, so they miss some applicants that they wish in retrospect that they would have admitted. But perhaps you check a box for an institutional priority Yale is targeting this year and you are an auto-admit. Or perhaps there were not enough interviewers in your area. Or maybe Yale decided to approach things a little differently this year and defer some REA students without an interview and you will be reconsidered in the regular admission round. Or any other number of circumstances no one has thought of yet. I will say that if interviewers are available in your area that I would find it very strange that someone with your profile and achievements would not have made it through initial screening and received enough of a favorable read from the first AO to at least merit an interview. But then again, who knows? I have been wondering if my son’s teachers recs may have sidelined him. Not because they weren’t good, but because they may not have been fantastic and painted him as some luminous unicorn that Yale or any Ivy would trip over themselves to admit. And not because they don’t love him and appreciate him and want him to succeed. But because they are teachers at a fairly large public school who have oversized classes, demanding schedules, and little to no experience crafting the kind of letter needed to impress elite college AOs. Many teachers at upper echelon private schools know exactly the kind of picture they need to paint to make their student stand out in vibrant colors against a backdrop of gray figures emerging from the rec letters of the well-meaning but inexperienced teachers in a middle-class public school. But then again, maybe that’s not you. Maybe your recs knocked their socks off! So again, expect the worst, but don’t lose hope!
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I’m not the applicant; my son is. You certainly could be correct, and I think it is the most rational and emotionally sound approach for any applicant to assume that he or she most likely will not gain admission to Yale as they reject 96% of their applicants. However, the stat you cited is a bit misleading because that 90% is based on students who responded to the survey. I don’t know what the sample size was, but it was certainly not all admitted students. And there are students, one of whom I have met and spoken to, who get in without any of the accolades you mention. Some seemingly or comparatively “average” students get in. And fwiw, a reader for some elite colleges did us a favor and looked over my son’s whole application closely, and while she did have a couple of suggestions, which my son used, overall she stated that he had a very competitive application for Yale and other elite schools. And she was not just being “nice” as she knew that was not her purpose and that that would not help my son. So that perhaps just goes to show it can sometimes come down to which reader’s hands your application falls into. But all the best to you. Don’t lose hope unless you are not admitted or deferred on Dec. 17th!
My kids’ high school sends about 12 or so to ivies total per year. Those that get into HYPSM are typically incredibly unique and have some kind of spike, attribute or talent beyond a typical high stats applicant. But I agree for institutional priorities, it’s different so that makes it all complex. We are at a competitive public, my daughter is not any type of institutional priority and she did get an interview although we are in a major NE city so many alums. She has the stats and stem courses good enough for MIT but going for public health/pre-law. Her ECs are “unicorn” level and very unique with deep impact with one particular outside rec that is exceptional. We are so proud of her and she is so nervous. Even with all of this, she is really hoping for a deferral and not a flat out rejection but braced for that too. It’s really really hard to know what will tip the scales and what they are looking for. Is it impact, talent, a certain major? We don’t know. There are students that get in without interviews for sure and I’m guessing they are more commonly institutional priorities.