How to Write the Yale University Supplemental Essays

Although you are merely listing your three primary academic interests, consider how the list might lend insights into who you are. Remember that Yale values interdisciplinary study, so selecting a secondary or tertiary major from the list that would complement your primary interest in a unique way would add dimension to your response. Your first choice should be your primary intended major, and should be justified by related academic courses and extracurricular activities in your activities list. The second choice should not be too far afield, but should add further depth to your primary area of study (for instance, if you select “History” as your primary choice, you could include “Art History” or “Journalism” as your secondary selection). The third choice can either have obvious academic ties with your two other listed majors or be completely distinct, but be sure that it makes sense in the context of your overall application profile. For example, a prospective computer science major who has won multiple awards in the visual arts could certainly list Art as a third-choice major.

Before you draft your answer to this prompt, note that the question comes in two parts: the “what” and the “why.” Start your essay with an anecdote that engages your reader’s interest, establish your topic of choice, and provide evidence for your interest in it—a moment you realized your interest in your subject matter, or a discovery that substantially enriched your understanding of it. Perhaps you read a particular book, watched a series of documentaries, took a related course offered online or at a local community college or university, or contacted a professor whose research is related. Once you have shared briefly about the experience, reflect on your “why”—what does this anecdote show about your reasons for pursuing your academic interests? Keep in mind that demonstrating your initiative to pursue further knowledge in the field outside of your required academic pursuits will go a long way with the Yale admissions committee!

Canvassing in rural Georgia last summer, I met progressive Democrats, staunch Republicans, and devotees of every ideology across the political spectrum. Every address held a new story: a public park choked by waste, a cancer survivor now struggling to overcome healthcare hurdles, an ordinary workplace reeling from an act of violence. Though I previously believed quantitative approaches to answering the political science questions offer enough information about our electoral landscape—election results, coalition building, policy outcomes—I realized they leave out so much of the narrative: the humanity of our electorate.

Researching demagogue politicians with Professor Jones at the University of Georgia the following winter, I learned that public policy and pedagogical theory can be used to explain why some go as far as to elect candidates whose platforms violate their own beliefs.

I plan to double-major in political science and public policy at Yale to understand the socio-economic and demographic factors that influence misdirected voting and wavering political stances. In the long-term, I’ll use my studies to inform my political campaign and advocacy endeavors, and eventually use my education and experiences to reshape Georgia’s public education’s system’s pedagogical approaches to educating its electorate.

The classic “why Yale” question only allows you only 125 words to describe both why you want to attend Yale and how you would be a good fit for the school. Your essay’s goal should be to help admissions officers’ visualize you on Yale’s campus. In order to do this, research is vital. With such a limited word count to work with, you should pick a handful of specific opportunities to write about, one of which should be related to the topic you professed interest in previously. Include details about unique resources, eminent professors whose work you’re familiar with, extracurricular and academic programs you’re interested in pursuing, or something that draws you to Yale’s student life and community. You may also consider opportunities that Yale offers within the broader local community. Perhaps there’s an organization based in New Haven that you imagine yourself volunteering for that other Yale students are involved in. Or, there’s a coffee shop that you loved during your visit where you could see yourself studying for a math exam. By this point, the admissions committee will know your academic interests, so use this opportunity to be creative and show them the type of student you will be outside of class.

I know that as a Yalie, I will get lost—on campus, in books, in conversation. I know because I have actually gotten lost at Yale—I was searching for Professor Claire Bowern’s lecture on endangered languages when I accidentally stumbled upon a rehearsal of the student comedy troupe Just Add Water.

I lingered so long I missed the lecture entirely. I already knew I wanted to study linguistics; I had read Prof. Bowern’s books and researched the Grammatical Diversity Project. That afternoon, I learned that Yale is not just a place I want to study, but a place I want to live: where intellectual rigor coexists with creativity, where I’ll be encouraged to explore every facet of my identity.

Answering these 35-word questions requires specificity and creativity. For this question, stay away from broad, vague or cliched answers such as “world peace” or “my grandmother.” For example, maybe you find inspiration in a photo album where you document the most important moments of your life, or you have a lucky bracelet from your childhood that serves as a reminder of the challenges you overcame. Think of several moments that have caught your attention and sparked powerful emotions when you were pursuing your academics, embarking on creative endeavors, or even building relationships with friends and family—and write about one in specific and engaging detail.

The biomorphic nature of Henry Moore’s semi-abstract sculptures inspired me to imitate nature in my practice; their grandeur mirrors my ambition. Despite their large worth, Moore donated many to public spaces, inspiring my collective practice.

This prompt is a proxy for questions such as: What ideas do you care deeply about? What knowledge do you want to share and discuss with others? With this question, the Yale admissions committee wants to determine whether a student’s knowledge is more superficial or if they’re really fluent enough about what they love to get a reader excited about their own passions—even with limited words.

To answer this question, choose a topic about which you are either intensely curious or already very knowledgeable. If you choose a course, stay away from courses that you would see in a standard course listing, such as “Economics 101.” If you choose a book or an original piece of art, don’t worry about it being too serious or too silly—what matters is that it is something really creative and specific to you!

“Languages of Resistance” explores how marginalized communities use language to preserve cultural identity. Reading Baldwin, Fanon, Anzaldúa, and Alexievich, students will study language as a powerful tool for cultural preservation and justice.

While this prompt requires you to write about a person other than yourself, Yale admissions is actually seeking to understand more about you and your values by asking this question. Whose opinions, thoughts, or behaviors have influenced your own? Think critically about why this person has impacted you: what about them do you value, admire, or want to learn from?

When you draft your response, be sure to mention who the individual is, the influence they have had on you, and how this influence has modified your behaviors, beliefs, or values.

When the macroeconomics elective filled up last year, I found myself in theater. My inspiring teacher Mrs. Li brought out my gregarious side. I now enjoy myself when speaking in front of an audience.

This prompt allows you to share any information that you believe is important to your application, but has not yet been conveyed through your essays, grades, or test scores. Perhaps you’d like to elaborate on an aspect of your application that would require more context to fully understand. Or maybe you have a quirk that gives a little more insight into your personality and unique way of thinking. Whatever you choose to write, be sure to use this answer wisely—you shouldn’t brag about all your amazing accomplishments, but rather give more context or add information that you think would be valuable to your application. Feel free to let your sense of humor shine through!

I rank everything. Fast-casual restaurants, Taylor Swift songs, NFL draft picks, most resilient plants: you name it, I’ve ranked it. I see competition where none exists, and there’s always room to argue for a winner.

With this prompt, Yale admissions officers are seeking to understand how you handle disagreements, conflicts, debate, and internal questioning through a specific encounter you have had. A key word here is meaningful. Yale is looking for students who have a hunger to stretch their own limits—those who are teachable and curious about others’ experiences, yet are still self-assured and confident in their own perspectives and viewpoints. They want to ensure that you not only get along with people who disagree with you, but understand the educational value and importance of diversity of thought. Think of an experience of disagreement you have had over a belief that is particularly defining for you—strategize how you might convey more about yourself through the experience you choose to share with the admissions committee. Remember to clearly and fairly portray the other side’s argument, and include plenty of context about how this conversation occurred and the personal significance of the person with whom you discussed the topic.

I was thrilled to start the Mock Trial season at the beginning of junior year. Despite being the only female member of the six person leadership team, I didn’t initially think much about the gender disparity in the group.

We met after school to assign witness and lawyer roles for the case. I proposed to stick with last year’s successful roster: myself and my fellow leaders would play the roles of lawyers. I was shocked when the leadership team instead voted 5 to 1 to relegate me to the role of witness so that another male teammate could take on two attorney roles.

I was confused, hurt, and frustrated. The previous year, I had relished watching my rookie scores rocket to match those of the experienced members around me. Self-doubt crept in and I no longer felt like an equal. I pressed the group for an explanation,

“We just think you’re not aggressive enough, and you seem to be better at the emotional aspects of mock trial.”

As the words washed over me, I realized that they didn’t have any solid evidence to support their claims— breaking one of the most fundamental rules of Mock Trial. They were simply relying on gender stereotypes.

This explanation felt so demeaning that I decided to ask our coach for a mediated discussion. My friends shared their goal—doing whatever it would take to win. While winning was important to me, I brought up other things to consider: fairness, commitment, and team members’ growth.

As we struggled to understand each other’s perspectives, the conversation flourished into an honest discussion about sexism and my experience as the only woman in the group. My friends listened, slowly coming to understand my viewpoint, and offered genuine apologies.

Rather than fracturing the team, the discussion instilled empathy and generated meaningful discussion. We left the meeting discussing other ways we could further gender equality in the team.

Our team was in danger of collapsing, but we chose to find a way to save the season—and, in the process, saved our friendships as well.

This prompt asks you to reflect on a community that you participate in and why it is meaningful to you. In order to answer, first consider the communities that have shaped you—your immediate and extended family, your religious community, your neighborhood, your political party, your racial or ethnic community. Which would you identify as the most formative and central to your identity today? In which of these spheres are you most active? Once you have chosen the community you want to write about, be descriptive and specific about your work within the community—this is an opportunity for the admissions committee to get to know you better, so share a particular contribution or effort that is most relevant to your values, personal formation, and worldview. Have you volunteered alongside your religious community? Do you find yourself helping to care for your siblings? Do you spend holidays in the kitchen with your grandmother learning special family recipes? As you tackle the second part of the prompt addressing why these efforts have been meaningful, think about specific insights you have gained from your involvement. This is another opportunity for you to demonstrate your curiosity and show the admissions committee how you contribute to a diverse community and are willing to learn and grow by being a part of that community as well.

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” This quote from William Butler Yeats came to serve as my mantra as I founded my organization, RiseUP, which seeks to help students develop media literacy and become more engaged citizens from a young age.

When I started the organization, I was driven by my passion for education and my desire to see students enact positive social change. But as months went by, I became discouraged. It didn’t feel like the middle school students I was working with were making as much progress as I wanted—I had hoped they would take a more active role in leading their peers and getting excited about community events. Instead, students were a bit timid and struggled to build a strong group dynamic. As their leader, I looked to myself to fix the issue.

I realized that, in my eagerness to share my own perspectives and passions, I had not allowed students to share theirs. I had an intended goal for the organization, but I had lost the educational philosophy—expressed so eloquently by Yeats—that inspired RiseUp’s founding in the first place. I needed to give the students the space to explore ideas and discover their own desires for the group without the pressure to meet the goals of the organization.

Now, after four years leading the organization, I’ve increasingly seen the power of building trust and encouraging independent thought and expression. Social change begins first with individuals and then with small groups. By overcoming challenges in the organization, both the students and I are better equipped to advocate for positive change in our community.

This is a chance to dive into your roots in more depth. While this question may feel similar to the previous one, it is more focused on how these elements of your personal experience have shaped the way you view the world. How does this make your perspective unique, and how will you bring that perspective with you to the campus? Feel free to interpret “element of your personal experience” broadly: you can choose to write about your geographic or cultural upbringing, or a particular challenge you overcame, for example.

As you begin brainstorming, start by considering aspects of your identity and how they might be expressed in a particular moment or experience that was meaningful to you. Are you the child of an immigrant? Did you grow up in a relatively homogenous cultural community? Are you an oldest child or youngest? Do you identify with a certain group based on your race, gender identity, or sexual orientation? How do these aspects of your identity bleed into the rest of your life?

“NO!” My 外婆 (Mandarin for maternal grandmother) exclaimed as I reached with my chopsticks to turn the fish over in the pan. “If you flip the fish, you flip the boat.”

I look back at the photos of that trip to Qui Lin and cringe, wishing I’d had the cultural knowledge to behave according to my grandmother’s customs and expectations. However, I now consider that trip to China one of the most formative experiences of my life. The strong connection I built with my grandmother on that visit inspired me to truly embrace my half-Chinese identity for the first time.

At the same time, the term “half-Chinese” does not fully describe me. My grandfather was Filipino, and my mother grew up in the Filipino-Chinese community in the Philippines. She was an activist who was tear gassed at protests against the Marcos regime. Only within the last few years did I learn that my mother is considered an “other” in the Philippines because of her Chinese heritage. In the same way that I have felt torn between cultures in the U.S., my mother felt torn between two cultures in the Philippines.

Through conversations with my mother about our shared experiences, I have learned to celebrate the beautiful intersectionality that characterizes our family heritage. The beauty of that heritage is evident at the dinner table—in shared portions of my grandmother’s Chinese lion’s head meatballs, in Mandarin banter, and my Mom and Aunties taking us out for Ube ice cream and Halo-Halo afterward.

Now, I sit just as comfortably at meals surrounded by other Chinese friends and family members as meals with my Filipino friends. My favorites, however, bring both together; conversations at these meals often surround our cultural similarities and differences. Being a member of the Filipino-Chinese community fills my plate, both metaphorically and literally. Most importantly, it fuels my curiosity to learn about others’ backgrounds, traditions, and unique experiences.