No matter where you are in the world, chances are that Yale University needs no introduction. It is one of the best universities globally, and one of the most sought-after by top students. If you’re a student outside of the U.S. looking to go to college in the United States, chances are you’ve asked yourself “Could I get into Yale?” The answer isn’t a strict yes or no, so in this post we’re going to break down what Yale looks for in an international application.
First, a bit more on Yale. Yale is a major research university, and a member of the Ivy League. It is in New Haven, Connecticut, a mid-sized city, and there are 6590 undergraduate students. There are students from 119 countries across the university, and 22.3% of the total student body is international. More than one in ten, or 12%, of students in Yale College, the liberal arts undergraduate college of Yale, are from outside of the United States. Yale meets 100% of demonstrated need, and is need-blind for everyone — including international students. 64% of students receive financial aid.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that a spot at Yale is coveted, and hard to get. Over 50,000 students apply each year, and only 4.5% are accepted. This makes it one of the hardest colleges to get into in the United States. Down below, we’ll give you the information you need to increase your chances of being one of those lucky few.
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What is Yale looking for in International Students?
Yale seeks “to attract the most compelling secondary school students from around the world.” And they mean that. International applicants follow the same application process as domestic applicants, and are not differentiated from domestic students during the application process except where they ask you to list your citizenship.
What Yale cares about are your unique interests, backgrounds, and perspectives, and they want to see them all through your application. This is how to highlight who you are and your massive potential in your application:
Courses + Grades
Yale is “above all an academic institution.” Well, duh. But it still bears reinforcing. It doesn’t matter how many awesome things you’ve done (including medals, championships, and non-academic awards) if you don’t have the book smarts Yale is looking for. Your grades, and the difficulty of the courses you’ve earn those grades in, are the most important aspects of your application.
There is no minimum GPA or mandatory courses you must have taken to get into Yale, but based on admissions statistics we know that you need to get the highest grades possible in the hardest courses you have access to (and that includes supplementing with summer courses or college courses if you can) if you want to have a fighting chance of getting into Yale. And, yes, this includes during your senior year, or final year of secondary school. They want to see you continue to reach and strive to the end (after all, it’s really just the beginning of the next chapter).
And even though there is not a mandatory course distribution, they want to see balance on your transcript. If you want to get into Yale, you can’t run away from a subject that you struggle in. You need to keep pushing through challenges, and to show that you can work on an upwards trajectory.
Recommendations
Yale wants to see recommendations from two teachers and one counselor. Typically, the counselor recommendation is done by a school counselor who guides you through the college admissions process. If you don’t have a school counselor, an academic advisor, housemaster, or headmaster can do this one. Even if you don’t have a close relationship with them, they’ll be able to speak to the style of education you’ve received, your performance over the course of your time at the school, and they will provide other context for your application that will be useful in the application review process.
You’ll have to ask two teachers to write the teacher recommendations as well, and be sure to ask them well in advance — even as early as the first few weeks of the school year, especially if you’ve had the teacher before. The teachers should have taught you in core academic subjects, like math or social studies, and ideally in your last, or second-to-last year of secondary school.
Ask the potential recommenders in person, not over email. After your recommenders have agreed, schedule a time you can have a 30-minute or more conversation about your goals in college. This will help them represent you as positively, and accurately, as they can. This is especially important if they haven’t written many recommendations for U.S. colleges before.
Ultimately, all documents, including your recommendations, must be submitted in English or with English translations accompanying them. Even though you will never see your final recommendations and they are submitted by the recommenders directly through the Common Application, you may need to help arrange translation services to ensure the documents are all submitted in the correct form.
Extracurriculars
Yale wants to see the pairing of excellence and passion. Excellence alone isn’t enough, and passion alone isn’t enough either. So, go deep into what you do before you need to write about it in your application. Pursue what you love as far as you can inside and outside of the classroom. As you go, bring other people with you on the journey and find ways to support others along the way through mentorship, volunteering, or otherwise serving your community by way of your passion.
A recent student of ours who was accepted by Yale is a musician seeking to major in music in college. She pushed herself to perform at the highest level, to mentor younger musicians in a deep and long-term way, and to volunteer her skills by arranging concerts for the sick and elderly. She did things other than her music, but the focus of her application outside of academics was certainly on her music. She showed breadth, but she communicated focus, drive, and direction, and is a perfect example of how a student can pursue a passion in a way that is focused without being narrow or one-note. Ultimately, it worked for her, as she was accepted in the single-choice early action pool.
Standardized Tests
In February 2024, Yale announced that they would be bringing back their standardized test requirement after a period of being test optional during the COVID-19 pandemic. De-emphasizing the tests, they say, may have hurt students from lower-income families whose test scores could have improved their chances of admission had they submitted them. Even when scores were optional due to COVID-19, the vast majority of accepted and enrolled students submitted scores. However, there is an important caveat in the reinstated policy that is particularly relevant to international applicants. Students are permitted to submit scores from Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams instead of the SAT or ACT. If you choose to go the IB or AP route, you will need to submit the results from all subject exams taken prior to applying.
Your scores on the SAT or ACT are the best evidence you can give that your grades are an accurate reflection of your academic skills and potential. High standardized test scores won’t make up for grades that aren’t up to Yale standards, though, so don’t bet on the SAT or ACT to be the saving grace of your application.
As you prepare to take the SAT and ACT, there are some numbers to aim for. In 2022-23, the middle 50% scores for the SAT and ACT, or the 25th to 75th percentile, were:
SAT-Verbal: 740-780
SAT-Math: 760-800
ACT: 33-35
You need to aim for the top end of (or above, when even possible) these ranges. Your grades are more important than your test scores, but your test scores can underline your grades.
An English proficiency test is also required of all non-native English speakers who have also not spent at least two years of secondary school learning primarily in English. Yale provides a variety of options for this test.
Final Thoughts
The admissions team at Yale knows that you can’t fit your whole life story into your application, but they want to see what matters most to you. As they try to see the true you, and the whole you, some students are invited to do an interview. If you’re contacted about an interview, you’re not more likely to get into Yale, and the reverse is also true. If you aren’t contacted to schedule an interview, you aren’t less likely to get in. Being invited to interview is a signal that they feel they need a bit more from you to truly understand your application. So, if they invite you to interview, you need to do it — but don’t freak out if they don’t.
Once truly final thought is actually a reminder. Remember that Single-Choice Early Action isn’t binding, but it is your best chance of getting into Yale. If you know you want Yale, and you have the grades and scores and passions and extracurriculars necessary for that to be a feasible reality, use the best tool in your toolbelt and apply early.
If you want to apply early but don’t know where to start, we can help.