yale essay competition 2022

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Essay topics.

All first-year applicants will complete a few Yale-specific short answer questions. These required questions are slightly different based on the application platform an applicant chooses. The 2024-2025 Yale-specific questions for the Coalition Application, Common Application, and QuestBridge Application are detailed below.

Short Answer Questions

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application , Common Application , or QuestBridge Application  will respond to the following short answer questions:

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

Applicants applying with the QuestBridge Application will complete the questions above via the Yale QuestBridge Questionnaire, available on the Yale Admissions Status Portal after an application has been received.

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):

• What inspires you?
• If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?
• Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence? 
• What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer. 

1. Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?

2. Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

3. Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?

• Annual Reports
• Freedom of Expression Statement
• The BA Program
• BA to MA in European & Russian Studies
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Joint Degrees
• Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European and Russian Studies
• Related Courses
• Council Faculty
• Council Affiliates
• MA Students
• Student Affiliates Network
• Visiting Scholars
• Conferences
• ESC-YLS Colloquium Series
• Faculty Grants
• Student Grants and Fellowships
• On the Ground Perspectives
• Grants and Post-Doctoral Positions
• European Union Studies
• Faculty Research
• Hellenic Studies Program
• Modern Europe Colloquium
• REEES Reading Group
• Race, Migration, and Coloniality in Europe Working Group
• People of the CAI
• CAI Resources
• Upcoming Events
• Student Working Groups
• Career Resources
• Competitions

Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Northeast Network

Facilitating information sharing and collaboration in order to advance teaching and learning about the REEES area

Launched in December 2020, the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Northeast Network (REEESNe) comprises institutions and individuals along the Northeast corridor and neighboring areas. REEESNe facilitates information sharing and collaboration in order to advance teaching and learning about the REEES area, with a primary focus on the undergraduate and master’s levels.

Our Interests

We have particular interests in linking institutions of different types, from established centers to colleges or universities with only one or two specialist faculty, and in expanding knowledge of and access to REEES-related career opportunities outside the academy. See our Members Page for information on membership benefits and to join for free, or sign up to receive announcements of opportunities available to anyone.

In bringing together various programs and people from across the Northeastern United States, we are working to develop and sustain an infrastructure through which institutions might collaborate to achieve, with greater ease and better success, their common goals. First among these we see the training of an expansive and diverse array of professionals who are interested in, knowledgeable about, and linguistically equipped (especially with regard to Russian language) to work in and on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia.

Grants and membership

In 2021, REEESNe received a generous grant to launch new programs that facilitate the exchange of ideas and information through a variety of media as well as in-person and virtual events. Our plans for the coming years comprise: a regular newsletter; webinars on REEES-relevant career paths and opportunities; in-person gatherings for faculty, administrators, and staff focused on strategies to enhance enrollment in REEES courses and programs; in-person conferences and networking opportunities for undergraduate and masters-level students; and more. Visit our events page  to learn about upcoming and past events, or read about our annual cycles of programming on our  newsletter page .

We also encourage members to take advantage of the contacts made accessible through the network and this website in order to share information about such matters as: graduate opportunities within the same region, state, or city; courses available through summer programs, course-sharing, or interinstitutional enrollment; students who are seeking advice beyond their institutional resources on specific subjects or career paths; visiting scholars who are available to give talks; etc.

Northeast Network

Amherst College Bard College Bates College Bergen Community College Binghamton University Boston College Boston University Bowdoin College Brandeis University Bridgewater State University Brooklyn College Brown University Bryant University Bryn Mawr College Bucknell University Carnegie Mellon University CEC ArtsLink Central Connecticut State University City University of New York Grad Center Clark University Colby College Colgate University College of the Holy Cross Columbia University Connecticut College Cornell University Dartmouth College Dickinson College Drew University Fairfield University Fordham University Franklin & Marshall College

Hamilton College Harvard University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hunter College Ithaca College King’s College Lafayette College Laguardia Community College Lehigh University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Middlebury College Middlesex Community College Montclair State University Mount Holyoke College Muhlenberg College New School for Social Research New York University Penn State University Princeton University Providence College Rhode Island College Rider University Rowan University Rutgers University Saint Joseph's University Seton Hall University Smith College Southern Connecticut State University Stockton University Stony Brook University SUNY Cortland SUNY Geneseo

SUNY Nassau Community College SUNY Old Westbury SUNY Potsdam Swarthmore College Syracuse University Temple University Trinity College Tufts University Union College United States Military Academy West Point University of Connecticut University of Delaware University of Maine University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of Massachusetts, Boston University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth University of Massachusetts, Lowell University of New Hampshire University of New Haven University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of Rochester University of Southern Maine Vassar College Washington & Jefferson College Wesleyan University Westminster College Williams College Yale University

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Prizes and deadlines, department prizes, deadlines and submission information.

The deadline for all submissions, except for those to category H (senior essays), is 12:00 noon (ET) on Thursday, April 17. Submissions to category H are due at 12:00 noon on Friday, April 25.   We regret that we cannot accept late submissions.

Eligibility

To be eligible, student must be enrolled at least one semester in the current academic year.

Categories of Submission

The Prizes Committee of the English Department administers eighteen prizes for written work, as well as prizes based on the faculty’s assessment of overall academic performance. The following are the categories in which writing is considered for prizes.

* Fiction Prizes

* Nonfiction Prizes

* Poetry Prizes

* First-Year Prizes

* Sophomore Prizes

* Junior Prizes

* Senior Prizes

Nominations

Any instructor in the English Department may nominate one student essay, short story, or poem for prize competition for each course taught. (It is thus theoretically possible for a student to receive several faculty nominations and to have several submissions in the same genre.) Faculty should provide a note nominating the piece to the student, who will forward it via email to  jane.bordiere@yale.edu . Since faculty-nominated pieces must enter the general competition without prejudgment in their favor, a faculty nomination should not be written on the essay itself, but the nomination should be indicated on the prize submission form. Such a nomination is only for the purpose of permitting the student to submit more than one entry per category.

Other Prizes

The marina keegan award for excellence in playwriting.

This award honors the memory of Marina Keegan ’12, a gifted playwright. Graduating seniors in English and Theater Studies, as well as seniors in other departments who have studied playwriting at Yale, are invited to submit a portfolio of dramatic writing for consideration – two plays, at least one of them full-length.  

On the title page, include your name, your residential college, your Yale class (you must be a senior), your email address, and your phone number. Save your document with a filename that includes your last name.  Email your submission to jane.bordiere@yale.edu , by noon on Thursday, April 17, 2025.   The award is jointly sponsored by the English and  Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies  departments.

The McLaughlin and Herson Scholarships and the Tinker Prize

On the basis of faculty nomination, rather than submitted essays, the Prizes Committee recommends to the Department a candidate or candidates for the Edward Thompkins McLaughlin Scholarship for excellence in composition and the study of English literature during the first three years. The award is made in the January of the student’s senior year. The Sholom and Marcia Herson Scholarship, for outstanding work in English, is awarded to a senior who intends to do graduate work in English, preferably at Yale and preferably in American Literature. The Chauncey Brewster Tinker Prize is designated for the outstanding senior in English.

The Noah Webster Prize

The Noah Webster Prize (for the best essay on some aspect of the history of the English language) is open to graduate students. Consult the DGS for a definition of categories and deadline.

The Field, Porter, and Wallace Prizes

Besides prizes administered by the English Department, The Secretary’s Office supervises competition for the Field Prize (for a work in poetry, literature, or religion) and the Porter prize (for a work of scholarship “of general human interest”). The submission deadline is typically in March for graduate and professional students’ entries and in April for Yale College students’ entries. The Yale Daily News administers the Wallace Prize in creative writing. Check at the Yale Daily News building, 202 York Street, for the deadline date (usually end of March).

The Wrexham Prize and The Steere Prize

The Wrexham Prize (“for the best senior essay in the field of the humanities”) is one for which the Prizes Committee makes nomination after reading entries in category H. The Steere Prize, for the senior essay that best exemplifies the advance in scholarship gained by focusing on women or gender or by employing feminist theory, and the GALA prize, for the best senior essay on a topic relevant to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies, are administered by the WGSS office (315 WLH). Check the WGSS website for more information.

Questions about the prizes should be directed to Professor Margaret Homans . Questions about submissions should be directed to Jane Bordiere .

The Yale International Relations Global Essay Competition 2024-2025

Registration Fee: USD 25

Registration is Open!

About the YIRA Global Essay Competition

The Yale International Relations Essay competition provides an exciting opportunity for students to show their talents and ideas to Yale students and receive feedback from students accomplished in International Relations.

This competition inspires students to push their boundaries and experiment with diverse writing styles, enhancing their overall writing proficiency., with participants from across the globe.

Why Should You Participate?

Enhance Writing Skills

Critical Thinking

Valuable Feedback

Prestigious Recognition

Main outcomes.

Valuable feedback to enhance your writing proficiency.

Opportunity to challenge and refine your academic capabilities.

Recognition and awards for the top 3 essays.

Designation as "Finalists" for the top 25% of participants, acknowledging their exceptional contributions.

Awards and Recognition

All Participants to receive certificates from Yale International Relations Association and Learn with Leaders

Grand Prizes for Top Winners

• 1 st Position USD 500
• 2 nd Position USD 400
• 3 rd Position  USD 300

The Yale International Relations Essay Competition Timeline

• Webinars on Essay Writing 11th Jan 2025: What global issues are important to you? Understanding how you see the world. 18th Jan 2025: What makes a competitive essay? 25th Jan 2025: How should we tackle global issues? 1st Feb 2025: Top Tips for editing your essays. Submission of the Essay 3rd-9th Feb, 2025
• Result and Topic Announcements Top 20 Finalists and Final topics under it 9th March Final topics will be sent 10th March Webinars and Info Sessions Webinar on Global Essay Writing: 15th March Office Hour with the Finalists 16th March

Rules of the Competition

1. students must submit a 400-word essay on the given theme. the theme for the essay will be announced in january 2025., 2. top essays will justify their chosen issue and propose brief ideas for solutions., 3. finalists will undergo evaluation by yale students, who will select the top inspirational 3 essays., 4. winning essays will push our judges to reflect on the world around them and inspire action., judging criteria.

Exhibit good grammar and a coherent, strong structure.

Demonstrate an awareness of the world around them.

Clearly answer the question by explaining the significance of the issue.

Be bold and exciting to read.

Begin to explore potential solutions to the issue.

Be thought-provoking, leaving the reader with questions to ponder.

About Yale International Relations Association

The Yale International Relations Association is the largest student-run organizations at Yale College. After the political turbulence of the 1960s, a group of Yale students came together seeking to promote a better understanding of global affairs. As a result, the Yale International Relations Association (YIRA) was founded in 1969.

YIRA strives to foster conversation about international relations on campus and beyond through conferences, classes, travel, publications, and speaker and social events. We aim to create an inclusive, diverse, and accessible educational space for students, providing resources that enrich public speaking, leadership, critical analysis, and problem-solving abilities so members may best apply their passion for international relations and give back to the world.

Meet your Mentors

Shalina Effendi is a sophomore at Yale University from Houston, Texas majoring in Global Affairs. On campus, she serves as the secretary for the Yale International Relations Association, Director-General of Yale Model UN Dubai, and compete on the Model UN team at Yale.

Noah Killeen is a second-year student at Yale College, majoring in Ethics, Politics, & Economics, with plans to attend law school after graduation. He is actively involved in the Model UN Competitive Team, Yale Votes, and the Yale Undergraduate Law Journal. In addition to his extracurricular activities, he works as an Undergraduate Recruitment Coordinator for the Admissions Office, where he connects with prospective and incoming students and organizes events. Originally from Goodyear, Arizona, he enjoys playing tennis, hiking, and driving with friends during his free time.

Poppy is an international student from South Wales and is a Sophomore in Morse college. She has a passion for understanding the world and has pursued this through her double major in History and Politics and through extra curricular activities such as MUNTY (Yale's competitive MUN Team). Poppy is proudly Head Delegate of MUNTY. In addition to this, she has worked on MUN conferences in India and Singapore, volunteers with multiple social outreach groups on campus and is a passionate climate and social justice activist having launched the UK’s first Climate Refugee petition. Beyond this, Poppy loves Taylor Swift, horse riding and hanging out with her friends!

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Yale drama series rules and submission guidelines.

Books   |   Past Winners

The Yale Drama Series is seeking submissions for its 2025 playwriting competition. The winning play will be selected by the series’ current judge, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The winner of this annual competition will be awarded the David Charles Horn Prize of $10,000, publication of their manuscript by Yale University Press, and a celebratory event. The prize and publication are contingent on the playwright’s agreeing to the terms of the publishing agreement.

There is no entry fee. Please follow these guidelines in preparing your manuscript:

• This contest is restricted to plays written in the English language. Worldwide submissions are accepted.
• Submissions must be original, unpublished full-length plays, with a minimum of 65 pages. Plays with less than 65 pages will not be considered.
• Translations, adaptations, musicals, and children’s plays are not accepted.
• The Yale Drama Series is intended to support emerging playwrights. Playwrights may win the competition only once.
• Playwrights may submit only one manuscript per year. Only manuscripts authored by one playwright are eligible.
• Plays that have been professionally produced or published are not eligible. Plays that have had a workshop, reading, or non-professional production or that have been published as an actor’s edition will be considered.
• Plays may not be under option, commissioned, or scheduled for professional production or publication at the time of submission.
• Plays must be typed/word-processed and page numbered. Plays with images are not accepted.
• The Yale Drama Series reserves the right to reject any manuscript for any reason.
• The Yale Drama Series reserves the right of the judge to not choose a winner for any given year of the competition and reserves the right to determine the ineligibility of a winner, in keeping with the spirit of the competition, and based upon the accomplishments of the author.

Electronic Submissions

The Yale Drama Series Competition strongly urges electronic submission. By electronically submitting your script, you will receive immediate confirmation of your successful submission and the ability to check the status of your entry.

Electronic submissions for the 2025 competition must be submitted no earlier than June 15, 2024, and no later than September 8, 2024. The submission window closes at midnight EST.

If you are submitting your play electronically, please omit your name and contact information from your manuscript and submission file name. The manuscript must begin with a title page that shows the play’s title, a 2-3 sentence keynote description of the play, a list of characters, and a list of acts and scenes. Please enter the title of your play, your name and contact information (including address, phone number, and email address), and a brief biography where indicated in the electronic submission form.

If you would like to submit an electronic copy of your manuscript please go to: https://yup.submittable.com/submit .

Hardcopy Submissions

The Yale Drama Series Competition strongly urges applicants to submit their scripts electronically, but if that is impossible, we will accept hardcopies.

Submissions for the 2025 competition must be postmarked no earlier than June 15, 2024, and no later than September 8, 2024.

If you are submitting a hard copy of your play, the manuscript must begin with a title page that shows the play’s title and your name, address, telephone number, email address (if you have one), and page count; and, a second title page that lists the title of the play only, a 2-3 sentence keynote description of the play, a list of characters, and a list of acts and scenes. Please include a brief biography at the end of the manuscript, on a separate page.

Do not bind or staple the manuscript.

Do not send the only copy of your work. Manuscripts cannot be returned after the competition. If you wish receipt of your manuscript to be acknowledged, please include an email address on the title page or a stamped, self-addressed postcard.

Send the manuscript to Yale Drama Series, P.O. Box 209040, New Haven, CT 06520-9040.

For more information regarding the Yale Drama Series please write to us at:

Yale Drama Series P.O. Box 209040 New Haven, CT 06520-9040

Or email us at  [email protected]

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• Annual Reports
• Freedom of Expression Statement
• The BA Program
• BA to MA in European & Russian Studies
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Joint Degrees
• Graduate Certificate of Concentration in European and Russian Studies
• Related Courses
• Council Faculty
• Council Affiliates
• MA Students
• Student Affiliates Network
• Visiting Scholars
• Conferences
• ESC-YLS Colloquium Series
• Faculty Grants
• Student Grants and Fellowships
• On the Ground Perspectives
• Grants and Post-Doctoral Positions
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• Race, Migration, and Coloniality in Europe Working Group
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Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Northeast Network

Facilitating information sharing and collaboration in order to advance teaching and learning about the REEES area

Launched in December 2020, the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Northeast Network (REEESNe) comprises institutions and individuals along the Northeast corridor and neighboring areas. REEESNe facilitates information sharing and collaboration in order to advance teaching and learning about the REEES area, with a primary focus on the undergraduate and master’s levels.

Our Interests

We have particular interests in linking institutions of different types, from established centers to colleges or universities with only one or two specialist faculty, and in expanding knowledge of and access to REEES-related career opportunities outside the academy. See our Members Page for information on membership benefits and to join for free, or sign up to receive announcements of opportunities available to anyone.

In bringing together various programs and people from across the Northeastern United States, we are working to develop and sustain an infrastructure through which institutions might collaborate to achieve, with greater ease and better success, their common goals. First among these we see the training of an expansive and diverse array of professionals who are interested in, knowledgeable about, and linguistically equipped (especially with regard to Russian language) to work in and on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Eurasia.

Grants and membership

In 2021, REEESNe received a generous grant to launch new programs that facilitate the exchange of ideas and information through a variety of media as well as in-person and virtual events. Our plans for the coming years comprise: a regular newsletter; webinars on REEES-relevant career paths and opportunities; in-person gatherings for faculty, administrators, and staff focused on strategies to enhance enrollment in REEES courses and programs; in-person conferences and networking opportunities for undergraduate and masters-level students; and more. Visit our events page  to learn about upcoming and past events, or read about our annual cycles of programming on our  newsletter page .

We also encourage members to take advantage of the contacts made accessible through the network and this website in order to share information about such matters as: graduate opportunities within the same region, state, or city; courses available through summer programs, course-sharing, or interinstitutional enrollment; students who are seeking advice beyond their institutional resources on specific subjects or career paths; visiting scholars who are available to give talks; etc.

Northeast Network

Amherst College Bard College Bates College Bergen Community College Binghamton University Boston College Boston University Bowdoin College Brandeis University Bridgewater State University Brooklyn College Brown University Bryant University Bryn Mawr College Bucknell University Carnegie Mellon University CEC ArtsLink Central Connecticut State University City University of New York Grad Center Clark University Colby College Colgate University College of the Holy Cross Columbia University Connecticut College Cornell University Dartmouth College Dickinson College Drew University Fairfield University Fordham University Franklin & Marshall College

Hamilton College Harvard University Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hunter College Ithaca College King’s College Lafayette College Laguardia Community College Lehigh University Massachusetts Institute of Technology Middlebury College Middlesex Community College Montclair State University Mount Holyoke College Muhlenberg College New School for Social Research New York University Penn State University Princeton University Providence College Rhode Island College Rider University Rowan University Rutgers University Saint Joseph's University Seton Hall University Smith College Southern Connecticut State University Stockton University Stony Brook University SUNY Cortland SUNY Geneseo

SUNY Nassau Community College SUNY Old Westbury SUNY Potsdam Swarthmore College Syracuse University Temple University Trinity College Tufts University Union College United States Military Academy West Point University of Connecticut University of Delaware University of Maine University of Massachusetts, Amherst University of Massachusetts, Boston University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth University of Massachusetts, Lowell University of New Hampshire University of New Haven University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of Rochester University of Southern Maine Vassar College Washington & Jefferson College Wesleyan University Westminster College Williams College Yale University

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Congratulations to the 2022 Senior Essay Prize Nominees and Winners!

Each year, 30-50 students write a senior essay in economics. This year, these essays spanned topics across all fields of economics, including unemployment benefits, auction design, international climate agreements, child labor, and college admission policies. The top essays are nominated for prizes by the student’s advisor and a second reader from the department. A committee of Economics faculty members read and select the winning essays, and the prizes are awarded on commencement day during the students’ respective college ceremonies.

The prizes are as follows:

• The Charles Heber Dickerman Memorial Prize: the best departmental essay(s).
• The Ronald Meltzer/Cornelia Awdziewicz Economic Award: runner-up(s) for the Dickerman Prize.
• The Ellington Prize: the best departmental essay in the field of finance.

This year, nine senior essays were nominated: Michael Barresi, Kueho Choi, Jack Hirsch, Kamila Janmohamed, Jack Kelly, Aiden Lee, Salma Shaheen, Siddarth Shankar, and Brian Zhu.

The Dickerman Prize for the Best Senior Essay goes this year to two recipients: Kamila Janmohamed (“Estimating Policy Effects with Staggered Implementation and Multiple Periods: Another Look at Family Caps”) and Jack Hirsch (“Optimal Auction Mechanisms in the Presence of Regret”).  The Meltzer/Awdziewicz Prize goes to Michael Barresi (“Unilateral Carbon Policies and Multilateral Coalitions: An Analysis of Coalition Stability under the Optimal Unilateral Policy”). The Ellington Prize for the best essay in finance goes to Brian Zhu (“Regime-Switching Factor Models with Applications Portfolio Selection and Demand Estimation”).

Yale College also awarded the Wrexham Prize for the best senior essay in the Social Sciences to Kamila Janmohamed for her above-mentioned essay.

The essays for all the nominees and winners are posted below:

Michael Barresi: “ Unilateral Carbon Policies and Multilateral Coalitions: An Analysis of Coalition Stability under the Optimal Unilateral Policy ” (Advisor: Samuel Kortum)

This essay derives a theoretically optimal unilateral carbon tax for a multi-country world and quantifies the performance of that tax in light of the free-rider problem by calibrating the theoretical solution to real world data.

Kueho Choi: “ Unemployment Insurance and Job Quality: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic ”  (Advisor: Giuseppe Moscarini)

This essay explores the effect of unemployment insurance (UI) on the quality (rather than quantity) of employment, focusing on the broad-based policies enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using micro data from the Current Population Survey and a new dataset with more precise estimates of UI receipt, the paper finds that the pandemic-era UI supplements had no significant effect on reemployment job quality.

Jack Hirsch: “ Optimal Auction Mechanisms in the Presence of Regret ”  (Advisor: Dirk Bergemann)

This paper considers an auction model that incorporates a penalty for regret into bidder utility functions to study how bidders change their bidding strategy, and how those changes affect the seller’s revenue. The essay classifies the full family of mechanisms that maximize seller revenue and characterize the effects of regret on optimal bidding behavior and seller revenue of several commonly employed auctions. 

Kamila Janmohamed:  “ Estimating Policy Effects With Staggered Implementation and Multiple Periods: Another Look at Family Caps ” (Advisor: Cormac O’Dea)

This paper applies recent advances in the differences-in-differences literature to evaluate the effects of family caps: a set of policies that freeze US welfare recipients’ benefits at a level based on the size of their family when they began receiving welfare. By exploiting variation in the timing and stringency of their implementation, Kamila finds that family caps have failed to achieve their stated aims and may be counterproductive. 

Jack Kelly: “ Who Benefits From Multiple Choice(s)?: The Equilibrium Impacts of Test-Optional College Admissions ”  (Advisor: Jason Abaluck)

This paper examines increasingly prevalent “test-optional” college admissions policies, whereby students need not send their SAT or ACT scores to gain admission. Jack developed a method to estimate the causal impact of switching to test-optionality on the composition of admitted students, and applies this method to a proprietary data set from a test-optional college.

Aiden Lee: “ The Motherhood Penalty: Assessing the Labor Market Effects of Childcare Closures During the COVID-19 ” (Advisor: Fabrizio Zilibotti)

This project measured the effect of childcare center closures on individuals’ labor market decisions, for instance, their likelihood to reduce hours or leave the labor force altogether. It also examined how government aid affected a childcare center’s likelihood of permanent closure during the pandemic.

Salma Shaheen: “ The Impact of Violent Political Conflict on Child Labor: Evidence from the Palestinian Territories ” (Advisor: Ceren Baysan)

This paper uses locality-level panel data from the Palestinian Labor Force Survey (PLFS) to study the effect of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on child labor among ten to fourteen-year-old individuals in the West Bank between 1999 and 2016. The analysis combines data on conflict-related violence (e.g. fatalities and prisoners) and conflict-infrastructure (e.g. checkpoints and the separation wall) to construct various accurate measures of an individual’s exposure to conflict intensity. Exploiting the temporal and geographical variation in these measures, Salma shows that multiple aspects of conflict affect child labor in different directions and with different magnitudes.

Siddarth Shankar: “ Cities in the Information Age Are Information-Intensive Firms Contributing to Urban Inequality? ” (Advisor: Sun Kyoung Lee)

This paper analyzes the effect of information-intensive job growth on wages, amenities, and housing costs for high- and low- skilled workers in metropolitan statistical areas across the United States.

Brian Zhu: “ Regime-switching factor models with applications to portfolio selection and demand estimation ” (Advisor: Xiaohong Chen)

Regime-switching factor models (RSFMs) are useful in capturing the cyclical nature of returns in certain asset classes. In this essay, Brian presents closed-form update rules for expectation-maximization algorithms used to estimate RSFMs, and shows how their regime-switching framework has applications in portfolio selection and demand estimation. 

In addition to essays, The Department of Economics awarded two additional prizes to graduating seniors majoring in economics: the Laun Prize for an outstanding course record in all courses taken at Yale College goes to Daniel Yen and the Massee Prize for an outstanding record in economics courses goes to Jack Kelly .

Congratulations to all of these seniors for their exceptional accomplishments!

Opportunities

High school conference at yale.

High School Essay Contest

• About the Club
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The Elizabethan Club of Yale University

Essay prizes.

The Elizabethan Club at Yale University awards prizes for the best undergraduate or graduate essay or dissertation on subjects of interest to the Club:

• Outstanding work on literature, arts, or culture of the Renaissance
• Outstanding work on interpretations, re-creation, or criticism relating to literature, arts, and culture of the Renaissance.
• Outstanding work based on research done in the Elizabethan Club Library (used at the Beinecke Library).

A call for submissions can be found at this link. The deadline is April 22, 2024. Work from any department is eligible and nominations can come from faculty, advisors, or the students themselves. The competition is open to all Yale students, regardless of department. They do not need to be members of the Club.

Past Awardees

Benjamin Card “Reading for Heresy in the Career of Thomas Barlow” [graduate essay]

Anna Fleming “Translation as Creation” [undergraduate essay]

Sophia Richardson “Reading the Surface in Early Modern English Literature” [graduate essay]

Sarah Ana Seligman “A Mystical Apotheosis in the Court of the Sun King” [graduate essay, honorable mention]

Melia Young “Helen Cam, Marie Borroff, and Reform in American Medieval Studies During theTwentieth Century” [undergraduate essay]

Giacomo Berchi “The Son and the Sea” [graduate essay, honorable mention]

Eve Elizabeth Houghton “ ‘I am always so sorry to antagonize collectors:’ Henrietta Bartlett and the 1916 Census of Shakespeare Quartos.” [graduate essay]

Kyung Mi Lee “Hester Pulter’s Double Lives.” [undergraduate essay]

Charlie Mayhew “Erra Pater and the Early Modern English Tradition of Lowbow Astrology: A History from Wisdom to Punchline.” [undergraduate essay]

Clio Doyle “Enough of the Oak” [graduate essay]

Julia Gourary “Imagining the Intimate: The Female Body in Charles Estienne’s Anatomy” [undergraduate essay]

Sophia Richardson “Venus’s Glass: Hero and Leander and the Erotics of Resemblance” [graduate essay]

Max M. Graham “‘Tending to Wild’: Wilderness and the Trouble with Ecology in Paradise Lost” [undergraduate essay]

Mohit Manohar “A Monumental Gift from a Slave to his Master: The Chand Minar at Daulatabad” [graduate essay]

Andrew Stewart Brown “Our Own Great Deputy: Speaking for the Sovereign in Measure for Measure and King John” in “Artificial Persons: Fictions of Representation in Early Modern Drama.” [graduate essay, chapter of dissertation]

Luke Ciancarelli “A Time to Love: Toward a Dialectical Reading of Paradise Lost.” [undergraduate essay]

Daniel Flesch “Time their troubler: Stasis, decay, and seduction in the song of Acrasia’s Bower.” [undergraduate essay, honorable mention]

Sharmaine Koh Mingli “Bad and Beautiful: Reading Eve’s Twofold Beauty as an Alternative Account of Theodicy.” [undergraduate essay]

Baricz, Carla. “Early Modern Two-Part and Sequel Drama, 1490-1590.” [dissertation]

Lichtenberg, Drew. “Thrilling Juxtapositions: Thoughts on Half the Canon.” [graduate essay]

Norman, Max. “Early Modern Essays and the Limits of Knowledge: Montaigne, Browne, and the Essay Form.” [undergraduate essay]

Romm, Jacob. “‘Sonnets As My Martyrdom’: Agrippa d’Aubigné’s Hécatombe à Diane.” [undergraduate essay]

Tang, Oriana. “Vision, Voice, and Women in The Winter’s Tale.” [undergraduate essay, honorable mention]

Holden, Robert Bradley. “Milton between the Reformation and Enlightenment: Religion in the Age of Revolution” [dissertation]

Houghton, Eve. “Pretending to Read: Humanist Culture and the Anxieties of Abridgment” [undergraduate essay]

Raizen, Karen Tova. “Adaptations in Arcadia: Orlando furioso on the Eighteenth-century Operatic Stage” [dissertation]

Harper, Elizabeth. “Filial Sacrifice and the Dark Heart of Sacred Tragedy: Théodore de Bèze’s Abraham sacrifiant (1550) and Buchanan’s Jephthes sive votum (1554)” [grad essay]

Hunter, Matt. “The Pursuit of Style in Shakespeare’s Drama” [dissertation]

Rush, Rebecca. “Licentious Rhymers: John Donne and the Late-Elizabethan Couplet Revival” [grad essay]

Scholz, Maximilian Miguel. “Exile and the Recasting of the Reformation: Frankfurt am Main, 1554 – 1608” [dissertation]

Tomlin, Duncan. “Santa Croce Basilica and the Florentine Coup d’Style” [undergraduate essay]

Harper, Elizabeth. “The future that never is: Troy’s lost children in Euripides, Seneca and Racine”

Levy-Eichel, Mordechai.  “‘Into the Mathematical Ocean’: Navigation, Education, and the Expansion of Numeracy in Early Modern England and the Atlantic World.” [dissertation]

Weinreich, Spencer J. “ “Appropriation and Adaptation in Francisco Zumel’s De vitis patrum (Salamanca, 1588).” [undergraduate essay]

Kenny, Dylan. “Workaday Worlds: Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Technology, and the Work of Art” [undergraduate essay]

Rush, Rebecca. “Jonson’s Innocent Muse: Female Figures and Anxieties of Control in Early Modern Drama.” [graduate essay]

Weiskott, Eric. “The Durable Alliterative Tradition.” [dissertation]

Pérez, Nicolás Medina Mora. “Negations of Nostalgia:  Nabokov, Kundera, Bolaño” [undergraduate essay]

Prakas, Tessie. “‘Thou art a figurative, a metaphorical God too’: John Donne and the Aesthetics of Exegesis’” [graduate essay]

Rush, Rebecca. ” ‘This sweet Laborinth’: Fabrication in John Davies’ Orchestra” [graduate essay]

Stein, Daniel. “Cicero’s Oratory and the Roman Forum:  An Erasure of Public Space” [undergraduate essay]

Baricz, Carla. “Satan Reads Milton: Modes of Romance in Paradise Lost” [graduate essay]

Holden, Robert (Brad). “Homer and Heterodoxy: The Epic Tradition and Milton’s Heretical Atonement” [graduate essay]

Moore, Jeania Ree. “Grounding the American Firmament:  The National Mall and the Evolution of American Civil Religion” [undergraduate essay]

Snider, Sage.  “Realizing the Fascist Vision:  Mussolini’s Construction of Roman History at the Universal Exposition of Rome” [undergraduate essay]

Thun-Hohenstein, Charlotte. ““Mapmakers, Poets, and Playwrights:  Imagining the World as Round” [undergraduate essay]

Currell, David. “Matter of Scorn: Milton and Satire” [graduate essay]

Currell, David. “Tamburlaine’s Other Children: Anatomies of War and Heroic Mockery in Shakespearean Drama” [graduate essay]

Kau, Andrew. “Boileau and the Fate of the Epic” [graduate essay]

Komorowski, Michael. “Politic History, Impolitic Laws: Tacitism and the Common Law Mind in Measure for Measure” [graduate essay]

Menges, Hilary. “Monuments, Books, and Readers in Milton’s Early Poetry and Prose” [graduate essay]

Currell, David. “Counterfactual and Contingency in Paradise Lost” [graduate essay]

Komorowski, Michael. “Private Property and the Nature of Marvell’s Republicanism” [graduate essay, honorable mention]

Currell, David. “The Verbal Purview of Macbeth” [graduate essay]

Saetveit Miles, Laura. “ ‘With a Female Ambition’: Milton’s Righting and Re-Writing of Women in the History of Britain” [graduate essay]

Bond, Christopher. “ ‘Prosperin gathering flowers’: A Miltonic Simile in its Mythic Context” [graduate essay]

Foster, Brett. “ ‘Whirling Round with This Circumference’: Reading the Stage in Doctor Faustus” [graduate essay]

Wilder, Lina Perkins. “Memory’s Performance” [graduate essay]

Essay Contest

Since 2013, the Buckley Institute has held an annual essay contest inviting Yale undergraduates and high school students from across the country to comment on a question of major political significance. The top three essayists in both the high school and Yale undergraduate contests are awarded $1,000, $500, or $250, and are invited to receive their award at the Buckley Institute’s annual conference.

Past Topics

• Milton Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom
• James Burnham’s Suicide of the West
• What is the Greatest Threat to Free Speech?

Current Essay Contest

The Buckley Institute is currently accepting submissions for its 2024 essay contest focusing on free speech and the Woodward Report , the seminal document underlining the importance of free speech in general and on college campuses in particular.

This year, the Buckley Institute is pleased to announce that there will be 3 separate contests; an American high school student contest, a Yale undergraduate contest, and a national undergraduate contest. The first, second, and third place winners will be awarded $1,000, $500, and $250 respectively, and are invited to the Buckley Institute’s annual conference in New Haven on November 8, 2024, to accept their prize.

Submissions are due by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, October 6, 2024.

Essay Contest Photos

6th Annual Morris Cohen Student Essay Competition

The Legal History and Rare Books (LH&RB) Section of the American Association of Law Libraries , in cooperation with Cengage Learning, announces the Sixth Annual Morris L. Cohen Student Essay Competition. The competition is named in honor of Morris L. Cohen, late Professor Emeritus of Law at Yale Law School. Professor Cohen was a leading scholar in the fields of legal research, rare books, and historical bibliography.

The competition is designed to encourage scholarship, and to acquaint students with the American Association of Law Libraries and law librarianship. Essays may be on any topic related to legal history, rare law books, or legal archives. The competition is open to students currently enrolled in accredited graduate programs in library science, law, history, and related fields.

The entry form and instructions are available at the LH&RB website . Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m., March 17, 2014.

The winner will receive a $500.00 prize from Cengage Learning and up to $1,000 for expenses associated with attendance at the AALL Annual Meeting, which is scheduled for July 12-15, 2014, in San Antonio, Texas. The runner-up will have the opportunity to publish the second-place essay in LH&RB’s online scholarly journal “Unbound: An Annual Review of Legal History and Rare Books.”

– MIKE WIDENER, Rare Book Librarian

Related News

Why Yale Essay Examples

Why yale essay examples – introduction.

Are you wondering how to get into Yale? If you’re planning on filling out a Yale application, then you are probably searching for some Why Yale essay examples to help you begin drafting your Yale essay prompts.

Any college applicant will be familiar with supplemental essays and personal statements . But what about the “Why Yale” essay? By reading some Why Yale essay examples, you can get a sense of what’s worked for past applicants.

Before we dig into our Why Yale essay examples, let’s take a quick look at the facts. Yale University is an elite institution located in New Haven, Connecticut. It consistently ranks among the top U.S. universities alongside schools like Harvard and Princeton. Correspondingly, the Yale acceptance rate sits at just 5% as of 2022.

With the Yale acceptance rate so low, you’ll want to maximize your chances of getting in. That’s where our Why Yale essay examples come in. When considering how to get into Yale, arguably the heart of the Yale application is the Yale supplemental essays. And among the Yale supplemental essays, the “Why Yale” essay is especially important. In this article, we’ll read some “Why Yale” essay examples and discuss parts of those Yale essays that worked.

Yale Supplemental Essay Requirements

There are several different Yale supplemental essays, ranging from 35 to 400 words. In fact, the Yale essay prompts may be better divided into short answers and actual essays. The Yale supplemental essays required will vary based on how you submit your Yale application: through the QuestBridge, Common, or Coalition Application. Those completing a Yale application through the Common and Coalition Applications have a few additional Yale supplemental essays.

Also, the Yale essay prompts can change from year to year. In recent application cycles , all applicants have had to write three Yale supplemental essays, including the Why Yale essay. Furthermore, Yale applications through the Common and Coalition Applications present four additional short answer questions and a 400-word essay.

Yale Supplemental Essay Prompts

Although we’re focusing on Why Yale essay examples in this guide, you should know the Yale essay prompts from the several application cycles. The following three Yale supplemental essays required of everyone are:

Yale Supplemental Essay Requirements- Short Essays

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

In addition, Common Application and Coalition Application users must answer the following in up to 200 characters (about 35 words):

Yale Supplemental Essay Requirements- Short Answers

• What inspires you?
• You are teaching a new Yale course. What is it called?
• Yale’s residential colleges regularly host conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What would you ask them to discuss?
• What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

Finally, Common Application and Coalition Application users must answer one of the following in fewer than 400 words :

Additional Yale essay requirements for Common App and Coalition App

• Yale carries out its mission “through the free exchange of ideas in an ethical, interdependent, and diverse community.” Reflect on a time when you exchanged ideas about an important issue with someone holding an opposing view. How did the experience lead you either to change your opinion or to sharpen your reasons for holding onto it?
• Reflect on a time when you have worked to enhance a community to which you feel connected. Why have these efforts been meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.

If you find yourself nervously staring at these prompts and at the Yale acceptance rate , don’t worry! We’re here to help. For a more detailed guide on some Yale supplemental essays, check out our guide from last year (2021). Keep in mind that some prompts are different, however, the key points are the same.

Furthermore, while other Yale essay prompts may come and go, there’s always a “Why Yale” essay. As you tackle this prompt, looking at some Why Yale essay examples can be helpful.

The “Why Yale” essay examples we’ll see later are from past application cycles. As a result, the Yale essay prompts may be worded a bit differently. In any case, you can still use the Why Yale essay examples we present in this guide as a model as you begin crafting your Yale supplemental essays for this year.

While the Yale essays may change from year to year, there are certain things you should come to expect from the overall application process. Take our quiz to find out just how much you know about college admissions!

Does Yale have a “Why Yale” Essay?

For those wondering how to get into Yale, you’ll obviously ask if there’s a “Why Yale” essay. The answer may or may not surprise you… yes, there is! There is a “Why Yale” essay, and it’s a crucial part of any Yale application. Ideally, you noticed it among the essay prompts above. What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? No more than 125 words. Easy, right?

If your heart is hammering in your chest, take a deep breath. A “Why School” essay is essentially saying , “I know about your school, and we’re a great fit.” The “Why Yale” essay is a chance to show the Yale admissions committee that you’re ready and willing. That you’ve done your research on Yale and know that you’re the kind of student Yale looks for. And, more importantly, that Yale is a match for you and your values.

Yale essays that worked added depth to the personal narrative , connecting the writer and their background with the school. After all, you’re more than your GPA : beyond just academics, why did this school make your list ? In the course of evaluating universities, why did Yale stand out? Think beyond the Yale acceptance rate and ranking —why do you want to enroll at Yale? You can show some part of yourself that isn’t anywhere else on your Yale application.

Now, let’s look at how to get into Yale with a knockout “Why Yale” essay. First up, we have some “Why Yale” essay examples. Following each, we’ll look at parts of these “Why Yale” essays that worked.

Why Yale Essay Examples Version #1

Let’s start with the obvious “Why Yale” essay examples. That is to say, “Why Yale” essay examples that answer the classic “Why School” essay prompts. These Yale essay prompts directly ask for something like these “Why Yale” essay examples in several ways:

• Why Yale and not any other school?
• What about Yale appeals to you?
• What is it about Yale that led you to apply?

As we’ll see, these “Why Yale” essay examples go beyond facts and figures from the Yale admissions website. Like all Yale essays that worked, they are both specific and personal in their points. Expressing personal stake in concrete details shows the Yale admissions team that you already see yourself in Yale.

Why Yale Essay Examples #1: No Need to Name-Drop

At Yale, I would be able to immerse myself in interests I harbored but never had the opportunity to explore. With incredible resources from some of the best professors in the country, I would be able to learn directly from the best and use this advantage to further myself in my future career plans and goals. The quality of my education, though attributed to the institution, would be the most highly enriched from the students. Although from diverse backgrounds, all the students share the same thirst for knowledge and drive to make a difference. Having such classmates will push me to reach my highest potential and as a result, increase my vitality in any field of work or practice.

Why This Essay Worked

The first of our “Why Yale” essay examples discusses several qualities of Yale’s academic and campus life. Not all Yale essays that worked necessarily name-drop clubs and courses! While yes, it’s usually recommended, you can see from this “Why Yale” essay that it’s not always required. Note that this “Why Yale” essay focuses on community and how Yale’s environment will support their future. Looking at the big picture is usually a good thing in Yale supplemental essays.

Effective “Why Yale” essay examples reference certain aspects of the university that interest the author. This writer clearly values education and community: not only professors, but also fellow students will enrich their learning. Despite the low Yale acceptance rate, the campus is incredibly diverse. Yale essays that worked demonstrated an understanding of Yale’s core value of diversity, not just rigorous academics.

Why Yale Essay Examples #2: Painting a Picture

No problem in this world can be solved by a single person: whole communities are what drive innovative solutions. Thus, what draws me to Yale is its research opportunities and collaborative community. Whether it’s the STARS II program, Women in Science at Yale, Yale Scientific Magazine, or peer mentoring, the prospect of extending my research experience while collaborating with my peers in Yale’s scientific community seems very fulfilling.

I find myself excited by the opportunities Yale has to join communities that can impact campus and beyond. I’m particularly intrigued by the Yale College Council, Yale Arab Students Association, Yale Refugee Project, and Women’s Leadership Initiative. I’m excited by the prospect of joining the academically-driven, collaborative, and passionate community of Bulldogs at Yale.

On the flip side, some Yale essays that worked go all in with naming particular offerings at Yale. This can also make for a great “Why School” essay; it shows you’ve dug deep in your research. With that said, you have to be strategic in reeling off clubs and courses.

Now, look more closely at this “Why Yale” essay. What can you infer about the author from the facets of Yale they chose to highlight? We know they are interested in science, identify as a woman, and want to mentor others. Furthermore, we can see they identify as Arab and are interested in working with refugees.

Although this writer doesn’t say exactly how they identify or want to study, the reader still gets it. That is to say, we understand how the author’s background influences how they’ll participate in campus life. If you’re struggling to include all these amazing things at Yale in your Why Yale essay, follow this example! By being very intentional with the interests you write about, you can still paint a full picture.

From a structural perspective, this “Why Yale” essay works well by connecting the introduction and conclusion. Yale essays that worked sometimes close the loop by addressing a similar point at the beginning and end. These “Why Yale” essay examples will be tied up in a neat package that leaves an impression on the reader. Like most things, this structure isn’t strictly required, but it can definitely strengthen “Why Yale” essay examples.

Why Yale Essay Examples #3: It’s the Little Things

Following my time volunteering for a mental health charity, the Cognition and Development Lab, amusingly nicknamed the Panda Lab, piques my interest with research like that of one Yale professor concerning mental disorders and depression among children. I am fascinated with the connection of biology and behavior. Among students, academic competition seems deemphasized; undergrads instead emphasize their connections forged, for example, through acapella groups like Proof of Pudding (I Won’t Say I’m in Love a favorite of mine from Hercules). Finally, the Residential College system is reminiscent of my high school magnet program’s Harry Potter House sorting – but Yale’s includes College Teas! 

The third of our “Why Yale” essay examples is perhaps a bit more typical. There’s a bit of the writer’s resume in the opening line about volunteering. That experience flows into the writer’s academic interests and a professor’s research area—and the lab’s nickname. From there, this “Why Yale” essay seamlessly swivels to non-academic offerings, specifically a capella. In particular, the author indicates they’ve researched the group, too, by naming an arrangement they liked. The conclusion ties the author’s school with Yale’s residential system.

Like our other Why Yale essay examples, this essay highlights particular details about Yale’s programs. It’s clear from the little details of this “Why Yale” essay that the author has really done their research. They point out the Panda Lab’s cute nickname, a particular a capella performance, and College Teas. Above all, they’re not just thrown in there; these details connect logically with the writer’s interests and pursuits.

Our Why Yale essay examples also aren’t all the same. You can paint in broad strokes with campus culture or intense spots of color with groups meaningful to you. There are as many Yale essays that worked as there are admitted students . How you approach your “Why Yale” essay is up to you and your reading of the “Why Yale” essay prompts. But did you know another one of the Yale essay prompts is a second “Why Yale” essay in disguise?

Why Yale Essay Examples Version #2

Take another look at that list of Yale essay prompts. Aside from the obvious “Why Yale” essay prompt, another is subtly asking for a kind of “Why Yale” essay. Can you find it?  If you picked the second one, you’re correct!

Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected [in the first prompt]. Why are you drawn to it?

What? This? A “Why School” essay? Well, not exactly.

This and similar Yale essay prompts ask about an academic interest, so they aren’t typical “Why School” essays. But they are asking, secretly, how you’ll pursue that thing at Yale. Think about it as a “Why Major” essay with an opportunity to answer “Why School” as well. For this essay prompt, you select a subject you’re interested in on your Yale application. The very next question asks not simply why you’re interested, but how you might pursue it at Yale and beyond. In other words, why do you want to explore these areas at Yale?

With that said, let’s look at some more Yale essays that worked for different Yale essay prompts. Namely, “Why Yale” essay examples that talk about academic interests. Again, these past prompts were slightly different—their word limit was 100 words, not 200.

More Why Yale Essay Examples

Why yale essay examples #4: solving big problems.

I’m fascinated by the chemical processes that drive life, which has led me to find opportunities to gain hands-on research experience. Biochemical sciences provide an explanation for disease-driven problems as well as the capacity to find creative solutions for these problems. For all four years of high school, I performed biochemical research at various labs. Ultimately, these experiences helped my find my passion for applying biochemistry and the scientific method to problems we face, whether it’s hunger or leukemia. Through biochemical sciences, I hope to continue to tackle the biggest problems facing humans today using a creative, scientific approach.

Yale essays that worked, regardless of prompt, are as particular as they can be. What do you like, and what do you want to do with it? This author details both their interest in biochemistry and their experience with it. With Yale’s reputation for research, it hardly needs saying that this student will continue their work at Yale.

But when reading Yale essays that worked, you’ll also find a lot of big-picture thinking. How can experiences at Yale help you explore your interests in impactful ways? The second of our “Why Yale” essay examples highlighted work with refugees. The third briefly mentioned mental disorders in children. And this author is clear about their intent to face big problems.

Yale supplemental essays don’t need a 12-Step Plan to End World Hunger. Don’t compare yourself to Why Yale essay examples that seem to solve everything. You can dream big and be vague about how exactly you’ll tackle these issues. What matters in Yale essays that worked was genuine passion for Yale and the doors it’ll open.

Why Yale Essay Examples #5: Personal Aspirations

With plans to attend medical school after my bachelor’s degree, I want to study something that not only interests me, but would come as a great asset in the medical field. Neuroscience and how the brain makes decisions has been a long standing interest for me growing up as a Ugandan moving from place to place. Witnessing the thought processes of people in various locations made me realize that the mind is a complex puzzle that I would like to solve. Combined with an ability to speak multiple languages, communication with patients will be much more efficient and diagnoses accurate.

Of our five “Why Yale” essay examples, this final one is perhaps most specific about future plans. This “Why Yale” essay opens with the writer’s post-grad plans for medical school, which connects with their interest in neuroscience. While not necessarily a make-or-break in “Why Yale” essay examples, post-graduation goals can show Yale admissions that you’re thinking ahead.

This writer also personalizes this “Why Yale” essay by linking their interest in the human mind with their background. Introspection reveals the root of their interest in the mind in their past. Although this kind of reflection isn’t in all Yale essays that worked, it can speak volumes when used appropriately. Remember that Yale essays that worked were personal and show some (or a lot!) of your interests or background. And the best “Why Yale” essay examples relate all of that to Yale and the world at large. 

While this writer doesn’t explicitly mention Yale, it’s clear that they’re interested in complex problems. With their lofty ambitions and dreams of medical school, it’s clear that they want the rigor of Yale. Although this essay is perhaps not a conventional “Why Yale” essay, it’s still effective. It conveys the author’s academic interests and makes clear that Yale’s rigorous academic environment is a good fit.

How do you answer “Why Yale”?

We hope those five “Why Yale” essay examples and our discussion of their strengths were helpful. As you embark on your college application journey and draft essays, it’s always good to refer to essay examples. But remember they’re just a guide—try to find your own voice and style as you respond to Yale essay prompts.

There are endless ways to write “Why Yale” essays, just like there are endless answers to how to get into Yale. Some great Yale essays that worked talk about post-grad goals, while others focus on Yale’s campus life and offerings. Other strong Yale supplemental essays may directly address the writer’s experiences or background. Then again, more implicit mentions of the author’s life might make up other Yale essays that worked.

Even so, there are a few constants in the Why Yale essay examples. Each of the essays had elements that were:

We’re all guilty of copy-pasting a few lines from one essay to another. However, a “Why School” essay is not one you’ll want to copy-paste. When looking at “Why Yale” essays that worked, you’ll usually see several Yale-specific features, courses, and organizations. Yale essays that worked showed Yale admissions that the author knows more than just the Yale acceptance rate. By being specific, you prove that your decision to apply to Yale is well-informed.

The Yale admissions committee wants more than just smart people: they want dynamic, critical thinkers. Good “Why Yale” essay examples show this side. In particular, they illustrate how they’ll contribute both to Yale and to the world. What goals do you have that Yale can help you achieve? How will those goals inform your time on campus and once you’ve graduated? While you don’t have to be super specific about post-grad plans, you should show you’re already thinking ahead.

We know, we know, everyone says this—but it’s true! Firstly, although Yale is indeed a prestigious institution, its programs or campus life may not be for everyone. If you’re only applying because the low Yale acceptance rate obviously means it’s the best school, maybe reconsider. If you’re dead set on studying economics or architecture or business , look for schools strong in that area. 

Secondly, assuming you’ve decided Yale is your dream school , be honest about what excites you. If you want to know how to get into Yale, the answer is to be true to yourself. Don’t try to write about what you think Yale admissions wants to see. They want to see you and your interests!

What other schools have Why School Essays?

Short answer: many!

Long answer: schools like Northwes t ern University , the University of Chicago , and New York University , just to name a few. The “Why School” essay is one of the most common college essay prompts, and for good reason. “Why School” essays are where you can explain why the school is on your college list . 

Especially for reputable colleges, “Why School” essays can really elevate your application. Did you see the Yale acceptance rate and think you should apply just because it’s selective? Or maybe you read somewhere that Northwestern was pretty good and are applying based on that? Ideally, you did your due diligence reading the school’s website—maybe even visiting—before applying. Trust us, when you do your research, it really shows.

Tips for other “Why School” essays are the same for how to get into Yale: be specific, thoughtful, and genuine. Why do you personally want to spend the next several years at this school? What particular opportunities on campus resonate with you, your interests, and background? At the same time, many prompts have different wording that will inform your approach to the essay.

Let’s take a look at UChicago’s essay prompts for some more inspiration.

Writing to the Prompt: Why UChicago?

For instance, UChicago asks:

“ How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago. ”

Here, they’re asking you to answer in regards to learning, community, and future. You’ll want to speak directly to UChicago’s curriculum and social life while also establishing future goals. When planning this “Why School” essay, look into UChicago’s student life, both in and out of the classroom. Are there any unique features of academic life at UChicago, like an emphasis on collaboration or experiential learning?

Of course, you can also rely on pointing to distinct offerings both extracurricular and curricular. But make sure you address the prompt by drawing clear links among these things and your long-term goals. Finally, pull them all together by directly stating how the institution will facilitate all of these experiences.

Writing to the Prompt: Why NYU?

Next, let’s look at NYU .

“ We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? … We want to understand – Why NYU? ”

Remember how we said that an academic interest essay can be a “Why School” essay prompt in disguise? Some “Why School” essays are framed around your area of study, like this one. In these cases, many will focus more on the academic side of things. You don’t have to eliminate any mention of non-academic activities, of course. The prompt asks about campuses and schools, so feel free to mention campus traditions or social events.

If you’re zeroing in on a major, program, or college, you can absolutely bring up faculty, courses, and research. With that said, keep in mind that “Why School” essays should still be personal. Try to ensure your excitement for that subject area shows through. For example, you could use a personal anecdote or quality that threads through your academic history. Again, there are no limits to the ways you can approach a “Why School” essay.

How Important Are Essays For Yale?

When thinking about how to get into Yale, essays are front and center. Given that there are so many Yale essay prompts (however short), you can bet they’re important for your Yale application. As stated above, Yale is a highly esteemed and world-renowned institution. It follows that it gets a ton of applicants—why do you think the Yale acceptance rate is so low?

With so many applicants, the Yale admissions team needs to be able to distinguish the most qualified ones. By reading Yale supplemental essays, they learn about you not only as a student but also as a community member. Imagine if every admitted student had a 4.0 GPA but never joined any clubs or student organizations. Yale student life would probably be pretty boring! So these Yale supplemental essays help the Yale admissions committee choose students who’ll enrich Yale even beyond their undergraduate years.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yale—as well as many other schools—is test-optional for the 2022–2023 admissions cycle. While this policy is doubtless beneficial for many, it also means there’s some information missing. Especially while Yale admissions is test-optional, essays are considered very important on every Yale application.

Even once test-optional policies expire, essays will be incredibly important for college applications. It’s getting harder every year to stand out in college admissions, so make sure you start early and edit often. So don’t skimp on any of the Yale supplemental essays if you’re serious about overcoming the Yale acceptance rate. That means the 35-word ones, too!

More Yale Essay Resources from CollegeAdvisor

In this guide, we only looked at “Why Yale” essay examples, but there are several other Yale essay prompts. Luckily for you, CollegeAdvisor.com has several other Yale supplemental essay resources. We even have more general guides on how to get into Yale!

College Panel: Yale University

We have a webinar panel with Yale students. Watch this if you’re still wondering whether to apply to Yale. If you’re set on applying but looking for material for Yale supplemental essays, this is also a good resource.

Linked above was our Yale supplemental essays guides from 2021 . We also have more advice in our 2020 guide. These guides cover each Yale essay prompt, what it’s asking, and how to approach it. If you’re more into webinars, take a look at this Yale supplemental essays workshop .

Yale Supplemental Essays Workshop

Lastly, we have our general How to Get Into Yale guide . This has advice on every part of the Yale admissions process, from Yale supplemental essays to recommendation letters . If you’re applying to Yale and want advice on the application as a whole, this guide is for you.

CollegeAdvisor.com also hosts webinars and releases new resources all the time. Keep an eye on our blog for more college essay guides and examples .

Why Yale Essay Examples – Final Thoughts 

It’s never easy to put into words exactly why you want what you want. “Why School” essays ask you to do just that. Your “Why Yale” essay needs to be finely tuned to maximize your odds against the low Yale acceptance rate. Successful “Why Yale” essay examples show the Yale admissions team why you and Yale are a good fit. They’re both specific to the school and personal for you, tying together you and the school.

Here are some reflection questions as you leave this guide and start drafting your “Why Yale” essay:

Why Yale Essay Examples Reflection Questions

• Why are you and Yale a good fit for each other?
• Are you knowledgeable about and committed to attending Yale?
• How will experiences and opportunities at Yale help you achieve your goals?

Readers of your “Why Yale” essay should be able to answer all three of these questions. You can always read more Yale essays that worked to find areas for improvement in your own work. Additionally, you should use examples that show you’ve done your research, whether they’re classes or labs.

There’s a lot of pressure in trying to craft the strongest Yale application possible. It can feel like there’s too much Yale to fit into the word count. Nevertheless, if you’re strategic with your details and concise in your wording, and use the Why Yale essay examples above to help guide you, you can do it. And if you’re still unsure after reading our resources on Why Yale essay examples and other Yale essays that worked, you can always connect with our team for personalized admissions help.

This article on Why Yale Essay Examples was written by Gina Goosby . Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

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Forum Collection

2021 yale law journal student-essay competition.

The Essays in this Collection won the fifth annual Yale Law Journal Student Essay Competition on emerging issues in employment and labor law. In Solidarity, Legitimacy, and the Janus Double Bind , J. Colin Bradley analyzes labor organizing and civic trust. In Unemployment Insurance for the Gig Economy , Benjamin Della Rocca proposes extending unemployment benefits to gig-economy workers.

Solidarity, Legitimacy, and the Janus Double Bind

Janus ’s failure to recognize a state interest in labor organizing contained a twofold mistake. Organizing develops a culture of civic trust. In turn, civic trust is necessary for citizens to accept the sorts of accommodations raised by conscience-based exemptions claims—like Janus’s—that the state m…

Unemployment Insurance for the Gig Economy

Historically, U.S. unemployment insurance has excluded workers lying outside the conventional employer/employee binary. That should change. This Essay argues for extending benefits to gig-economy workers, via structures fashioned after states’ existing unemployment programs. It grounds its argument …

Volume 133’s Emerging Scholar of the Year: Robyn Powell

Announcing the eighth annual student essay competition, announcing the ylj academic summer grants program, featured content, lock them™ up: holding transnational corporate human-rights abusers accountable, administrative law at a turning point, law and movements: clinical perspectives.

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Past Winners of the Kaplan Senior Essay Prize

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Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Diane Kaplan Memorial Senior Essay Prizes

• Leo Egger (Trumbull College).   “Living its Strange Life” A literary biography of Margery Latimer from the archives in 18 scenes. Advisor: Professor Karin Roffman. Department: Humanities.
• AJ Laird (Benjamin Franklin College).  Whaling Logbooks: Colonial Knowledge Acquisition in the Pacific World Advisor: Professor Paul Sabin. Department: History.
• Shira Minsk (Pauli Murray College).  Steady Through Time: Ella Barksdale Brown and the Perception-Based Politics of Black Women’s Racial Uplift in 20th Century America Advisor: Professor Matthew Jacobson. Department: History.

Submissions for the 2024 Diane Kaplan Memorial Senior Essay Prize will be open April 1- May 1 (midnight).

Yale University Library’s Diane Kaplan Memorial Senior Essay Prize is awarded for up to three outstanding senior essays based on research in any Yale University Library special collection. Essays from any academic department on any topic are eligible for consideration. Prize-winning essays are published in EliScholar , the library’s digital platform for scholarly publishing.

The award certificate w ill be presented at the winning students’ residential college commencement ceremonies and the $500 prize is deposited in students' bank accounts by the university after Commencement Day.

To be eligible for consideration for prizes, essays must represent substantial use of Yale Library special collections and comprise original research that has been submitted to a Yale academic department in the current academic year. Both one-semester and two-semester senior essays are eligible. Excepting grammatical, spelling, and punctuation fixes, the essay submitted for prize consideration should be the same one submitted to the student’s department. Faculty may encourage students to submit, but the actual submission must be made by the student.

Essays are judged on the following characteristics:

• Original argument, engaging structure, and valuable scholarly contribution.
• Substantial, creative, and appropriate use of sources from Yale Library special collections.
• Excellent grammar and style.
• Consistent and appropriate citation of sources.

Assessing the "substantial, creative, and appropriate use" of Yale Library special collections materials is tricky, but as a benchmark approximately one quarter of the primary sources used should be from collection materials held in one of the special collections mentioned in the final paragraph below OR materials from those collections should significantly inform answers to the major questions addressed in your essay OR the essay should be focused on a creative, in-depth analysis of one or more items held in the Yale Library special collections. Essays from any department are eligible for consideration. Faculty and others may encourage submissions, but students must submit the essays themselves for prize consideration.  Prize winning  essays are published in  EliScholar . The essay prize submission and judging process takes place each year in April and early May and prize winners are notified in the week prior to Yale Commencement Day exercises.

The Kaplan Senior Essay Prize is given in memory of Diane Kaplan (1947-2012), who worked as an archivist in Manuscripts and Archives for more than 35 years and whose contributions aided and inspired generations of researcher and colleagues. Formerly focused on essays on the topic of Yale history or based on research in Manuscripts and Archives collections, the Kaplan Prize was expanded in 2022 to recognize outstanding essays on any topic based on research in any Yale Library special collection, which includes: Arts Library Special Collections, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (including Manuscripts and Archives), Divinity Library Special Collections, Lewis Walpole Library, Medical Historical Library, Music Library Special Collections, and the Yale Film Archive.

• Next: Past Winners of the Kaplan Senior Essay Prize >>
• Last Updated: May 17, 2024 12:28 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.yale.edu/KaplanPrize

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