So Yale is your dream school, but will you get in? A lot of our students are very nervous about their chances at schools like Yale. And we get why: it takes more than great grades and scores to get into Yale. If you are dreaming of Yale, you also need to have great extracurriculars. It isn’t always obvious what that might look like, so we wanted to break it down and give a real example of what the kind of student that gets into Yale looks like.
But first, why do extracurriculars matter?
95% of admitted students are in the top 10% of their classes. But that doesn’t mean that every student at the top of their class gets in. With a sub-5 % acceptance rate, many qualified students don’t get in. Having a 4.2 GPA and a 35 on the ACT is the absolute minimum for getting through the door. The rest of your application also has to shine as well and the biggest chance you have to do this is with your extracurriculars.
What do Yale students’ extracurriculars look like?
Every student is different. They have different interests. But there is a certain level of involvement that almost all accepted students have. We wanted to give you one case study of what an admitted Yale student looks like using one of our past students. While we changed some facts for privacy, note that we didn’t exaggerate how much this student did. So let’s look at what she did before going to Yale.
Follow a passion to the top!
Our case student had a love for debate. She spent four years on her high school’s debate team and was even elected co-captain. Yale is looking for students who can take on leadership roles and also who excel in their passions. Our student’s debate team was ranked 8th nationally and 4th regionally when she was on it. She also placed in the top 30 of the National Speech and Debate Tournament and in several other prestigious debate competitions. She won several debate awards including a National Speech and Debate Association All-American Award and a NSDA Honor Society Premier Distinction.
She took her passion one step further by teaching middle schoolers debate. She loved to teach others about debate and did just that as a mentor in women in debate society. You don’t have to be a debate star, but you should be striving to be at the top at whatever you feel passionate about.
Make room for research
While this student had a passion for debate, she wanted to study chemistry. To show a commitment to her own academic niche, she decided to pursue research. She set up an independent study project at a lab at a local college. There she learned from a mentor and ended up inventing a light that can identify GHB in liquids using infrared spectroscopy.
She filed for the patent for her design and constructed an instrument that alerts people to possibly drugged beverages. She took her project to nationally ranked science fairs and won a coveted first place for the invention in one. During this process, she also gained experience working in labs (something she was passionate about pursuing in college as well.)
Everything else
We pride ourselves in helping our students craft their applications into narratives that showcase their academic niches as well as their expertise. But every student is multifaceted and has passions that aren't part of their core pursuits. For example, this student loved the arts and especially printmaking and oil painting. She spoke several languages and even won a Hebrew language competition.
She cared about cancer awareness and funding and was the co-president of a group that raised money for cancer research. She was also on her town’s youth advisory council and served as the engagement director. All of this showed off her wide array of interests.
Each student is different. But if you are thinking about Yale, these are the kinds of applicants that they are looking for. Passionate students who find something to excel in and also push themselves academically. If that sounds like you, Yale may very well be the right fit.
Nervous about extracurriculars? We can help! Reach out here.