Were these candidates w unusual “contemplated majors” not backed up by substance in the file itself (supporting ECs etc)? Is this why an interview was necessary?
Yale interviewers do not have access to interviewee apps. In the recent cases, the applicants backed up their interests with substance (detail on what they did and the outcomes) and knowledge of the topics. In the past, there were obvious cases of applicants trying to game their interests. Those were the only times I gave a negative review.
I really don’t know why the interviewees were selected. I am just suggesting a situation where the AO may be looking for more color. I suspect there was some link between the EC’s and the stated major(s), but the few lines on EC’s in the Common App don’t necessarily give the AO’s a full picture.
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I don’t think the interview is the next step in the process and applicants are finalized solely based on the interview feedback. I believe the interview feedback is an additional criteria for the AO to reject/accept an applicant. What is the weightage of the interview feedback with respect to the overall application?
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My interviewer likened it to a feather on a scale; it could tip the balance but most likely not
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I recently watched one of these “I reviewed my application file” videos on YouTube. This was a Stanford student. What I found interesting was that between the first read (two readers) and the committee review, one of the two reads increased his score for what she deduced was intellectual curiosity referencing feed back from the interview.
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Received an interview notif today. Pretty late in the game but we’ll see how it goes!
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So my synthesis of the Yale Admissions Podcast is that there are a lot of reasons why they might decide a very well-qualified applicant is not quite right for Yale. There are lots of bits and pieces in support of that thesis, but here is one high level bit that I thought was really telling, from Episode 26 (“Should I Even Apply?”). What is interesting about this is they are providing a list of what they are calling necessary but not sufficient factors, and I think some people would not have expected this to be treated so strictly:
HANNAH: All right. Number five would be academic interests that align with a liberal arts approach. And this kind of goes back to challenging yourself academically because you’re looking forward to challenging yourself in college. We don’t admit students who are going to come to Yale and study one thing in a vacuum. That is not the type of education we offer here at Yale.
It’s a place where students inform their studies across disciplines. And you need to really be excited about that in order to be a successful, happy Yale student.
MARK: I know that every year I’ve read some really accomplished and very impressive applications from students who have just done amazing things and they’re going to do great things in college, but they are just a terrible academic pick for Yale.
And it seems that they’ve applied to Yale less because they’re actually interested in the four year experience of learning here and more just because it has an impressive sounding and prestigious name. And sometimes they’re confused like how did I get denied? I’m so accomplished. And we say, well, did you know what you were signing up for?
HANNAH: Right. Right. We want to set you up for success. We want to admit students who are really going to thrive in that interdisciplinary approach. All right.
And then the next (and last) one is equally interesting to me:
HANNAH: Our last necessary but not sufficient criterion is maturity, independence, and interpersonal skills to live on a college campus with other people from very diverse backgrounds.
MARK: Yeah. This one’s a little bit vague understandably but again, sometimes we read applications from students who are just clearly not very interested in using their four year college experience to live and learn with other people from a diverse set of backgrounds. That’s a really important part of the education that we’re offering here. So you need to be interested in that.
You also need to be ready for that. If that seems like something you would rather avoid, there might be a very different excellent school that’s available for you. But you would be again barking up the wrong tree if you’re looking at Yale.
HANNAH: So, remember, for each of these examples there are simply so many thousands of applicants who are very strong in all of these areas. So if there’s one that’s a real deficiency for you, you’ll be pretty far behind in the pool.
MARK: If you, however, feel good about all those things, then you’ve earned that original answer to the question.
OK, so I think if you reflect on all the sorts of people you might encounter online applying to colleges like Yale, reflect on the sorts of topics/interviewees BKSquared is describing, and so on . . . it all kinda makes sense to me.
Not to make interviewees paranoid, but I think Yale is worried about smart and ambitious kids applying to Yale without really sharing Yale’s values when it comes to academics and community. And I think they know some of these smart and ambitious kids are trying to fake sharing Yale’s values in their applications so that they can get admitted anyway. And I think at least part of what they are trying to do with interviews is see if that can help separate out the kids who are just saying what they think Yale wants to hear from the kids who actually do share Yale’s values.
None of which should be too scary to a kid who really shares Yale’s values and is asked to interview. This is just going to be another moment to help make your case to Yale.
But I do think sometimes an interview report will either help Yale spot someone who doesn’t share their values, or will still leave those questions not answered to Yale’s satisfaction. And then maybe those interviewees will not be looking so good for admission.
OK, so then non-interviewees are nervous because they think they must be basically auto-admits to get in without an interview. I really don’t think that is right. I think it is more just that (assuming you have the other four things covered in that episode) they were satisfied you shared their values based on your application alone. When you think about it, that is not so hard to imagine. Remember, they don’t just have your essays, they also have teacher recommendations, possibly a thorough counselor report, your transcript and activities . . . to me, it is plausible that SOMETIMES all that would be more than enough to convince them you shared their academic and community values. And in such cases, there would be no need to prioritize you for an interview.
Anyway, that’s basically how I see it. And I think it makes sense in light of all the different things they have told us about their process. But the bottom line is they also just tell us you are not advantaged or disadvantaged by whether or not you get invited to interview, so really you can just stop there as well.
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One of the things holistic review colleges like Yale are typically really adamant about is there is no formulaic weighting of factors such that if you accumulate enough weighted points, you are admitted.
Part of what is going on with that is that a better (still crude) model is more that you have to get through a series of gates. Again in that Podcast episode I was just referencing, they say there are six different things that are necessary but not sufficient. So those are your gates, and lots of people are going to get through most of the gates but fail to get through one, and then they will not be admitted.
In a situation like that, it is not meaningful to ask how each gate is weighted. They are all just necessary, and none is sufficient.
OK, but a good interview report is not a gate. Instead, it is a source of information they can use to evaluate whether you should be seen as getting through one or more gates. And so are essays, and so are recommendations, and so on.
And they may put some sort of internal ratings on these things–this is also discussed in the Podcasts–but that again doesn’t mean they weight them. It is just a way of tracking relative strengths and weaknesses, which helps the committees focus their discussions, but it is never as simple as a formula.
And so while a lot of people really want a sense of how different things are weighted, they are very likely asking the wrong sort of question for a college like Yale. The better question is what is helpful to persuading Yale to let you through one or more of their different gates, and anything they ask of you is presumably potentially helpful for one or more gates.
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Agree that the interview, if any, is supplementary and not a gating step. There is no formulaic weighting. I think what the AO’s generally look for is if the interview confirms the picture they already have in mind. The more insights they can gain from the report itself makes the report more valuable. While we score each candidate, what they are looking for in the reports are reasons why we feel a student fits/doesn’t fit certain listed criteria they ask us to focus on.
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Reminder to stay on topic. This thread is for:
This is the official thread for those applying EA to YaleUniversity.
List your unweighted GPA, any SAT /ACT scores, and ECs. What majors are you going into?
Ask your questions, the CC community is here to help!
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3.85/4 uw
4.6 w
Test Opt
Lots of ap and ib courses
Top 10%
Global Affairs/Film & Media
Main extracurriculars is a program I started in my county where I passed legislation for rent stabilization and police equity I also did women’s rights research on fgm in foreign countries+published
StuGov Pres
Letter of Rec-County Councilmember
What do you guys think?
I received an interview but I know it’s a long shot
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If you challenged yourself with a variety of hard courses and did well, and then did some ECs that were really meaningful to you, that is a great start.
Obviously we can’t deny it is still long odds. That just is what it is. But nothing you indicated suggests to me it was not worth a shot.
Thanks. My biggest fear is my uw gpa hopefully it all goes well. If I received an interview does that mean my stats passed some sort of benchmark.
I think that we’ve wondered extensively on this thread about the “hidden meanings” behind getting an interview vs. not getting one. We don’t seem to have reached any substantive conclusion because our speculation is just that-- speculation. It’s not worth worrying about anymore. What’s done is done and you can’t do anything else aside from try your best on the interview.
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same! I have a 3.84 GPA and top 16% of class 
I’m wondering if that would keep me out of the door cuz I have full IB and as a humanities student my school forced STEM courses like chem hl and bio sl on me, it’s so unfair cuz my school ranks by UW so kids taking regular classes are in front of me. We don’t calculate weighted but my weighted is around a 4.5
Maybe! It seems unlikely Yale would prioritize interviewing people who did not pass the initial review stage. But there is likely a lot more involved after that besides the interview.
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That’s true no point in worrying about it now. Does anyone know how Yale views CBO’s, and does that give advantages to those who apply with one?
So, what information you have for the applicant before interview? did you get any notes from AO regarding what particular areas you should look for? Thanks
Name, high school, contact email/number, indicated major. That’s it. We are discouraged from asking for a resume. They want our feedback based solely on the interview. The areas they want us to comment on:
IntellectuaL strength, energy. Answers insightful, thoughtful, supported.
Academic Interests. Have idea of interests. Is there a plan on how this relates to Yale and their future. Will they take advantage of diversity of academic opportunities/liberal arts approach to education.
Flexibility in thinking, openess. Is this person open to considering various view points. How do they handle conflict.
Expressive abilities. Ability to communicate ideas in conversation.
Nonacademic interests or talents. What role do EC’s play in the applicant’s life. Will they pursue this in college.
Personal qualities Wil this person be a good classmate/roommate?
Distinctive or unusual talents and/or circumstances. I note that the instructions here seemed to have changed with an emphasis on impact of background/circumstance on the applicant’s life vs what was achieved (unless it was truly special or unusual). Maybe a reaction to the SCOTUS decision?
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Thanks, this is insightful.
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