Three short answers from Yale:

1. Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.

2. Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)

3. What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

So, the first is straightforward, on purpose. Just… indicate… which areas light you up the most? Cool. The next part is where things get interesting. And there’s a giant clue in the prompt to help you nail this, but you gotta look carefully…

Yale assumes (as they should) that your interests will evolve, and probably change altogether. That’s their hope anyway. After all, they’re not a trade school, taking your proficiency in one thing, and advancing it along an exact, fixed trajectory. If they do their job correctly, by exposing you to different types of students from different walks of life, who have different perspectives, along with a wide array of courses and activities … they hope that that will all sum up to blowing your mind. The whole point is to expand your horizons until you’re poised to pursue… anything, even if it’s different from what you thought it might be back when you were a senior, applying.

So, why go through all that? Because the key isn’t to sell them on your interest in the areas themselves, but rather, the significance of that interest. What’s the underlying itch that interest is scratching? That’s what we wanna learn more about – the part that persists even if that surface interest were to look a little different in a few years. When you talk about your interest in Global Affairs or Cognitive Science or Music or … whatever… you need to talk about it abstractly enough that were your “subject” interests to change, your ultimate reasoning stays intact, because the itch can be applied to many things, the itch is “scalable.” What they really need to be convinced of is that your interest in learning writ large won’t flame out.

In the third piece, the part about “Why Yale,” you need to come up with reasons that aren’t obvious. “Anyone” would wanna attend Yale, because, it’s Yale, right? Think about it this way… if you were to get accepted to Harvard and Stanford and Princeton, why might you choose Yale over those? What aspects of Yale have convinced you that the combination of You + Yale is more appealing than You + Harvard, or You + Stanford, etc.? Be specific. Be authentic. Your reasoning may even be irrational, emotional, based on gut. The one thing it can’t be is applicable to other folks as well. It’s gonna be some kind of sacred (anticipated) connection between you and Yale.

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):

1. What inspires you?

Remember, 35 words is a sentence, or two. This isn’t the time to be cute, or burn time on clever setups. The challenge here is to laser into the thing itself, fast. Try to capture both what inspires you, and what that means. X thing has Y impact on me. Or, X thing inspires me to do Y thing differently or in this particular way. You get the idea.

2. If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?

Give us the blurb or catalogue entry for your project. When we say “blurb” we mean to explain it in terms like “course/book/art will examine BLAH BLAH.” Some advice: make sure what you're proposing doesn't already exist? You especially want to avoid talking about a course here that is already taught at Yale. Also, make sure your project would be of interest and value to someone other than yourself. A very cool version would be something that seems fresh but also obvious, where we go “Wow, of course, sold.” Given that we don't have space to explain in detail, ideas that require detailed explanation need not apply.

3. Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence?

Please don’t pick an obvious person for an obvious reason. You can do a bizarre/interesting person and for an obvious reason, or an obvious person and for a bizarre/interesting reason. But not obvious-obvious. As for the impact of their influence... they mean action! How did this person's example change what you have DONE. If this person's influence didn't result in changes in your behavior, then the impact likely isn't sufficient.

4. What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

This prompt by nature will be very unique to you and your application. The key idea here is to remember that this question is not a garbage bin. Don't throw something in here that didn't earn it's place anywhere else, just to be comprehensive. This is not the place to include "I did debate in freshman and sophomore year but quit because I wasn't good at it." If an extracurricular doesn't merit more than 35 words, it probably doesn't need to be on your application at all.

Instead, focus here on FUN. This short answer might not be long enough to explain an achievement of yours, but it certainly is enough room to convey some aspect of your personality and sense of humor. Being funny is no joke: being adcom member can be very boring work. A single chuckle is worth at least 50 points on the SAT.

Learn more and explore each step of Yale’s undergraduate application process here.