Yale Admissions The SAT, ACT Scores, and GPA You Need to Get In

Applying to Yale? If you’re thinking about applying to Yale, you probably already know that your admissions journey is going to be a competitive one. But I’m guessing that competitive academics is sort of your thing, so †¦ congrats! You’re already on the right track. Just like this baby. Right about now, you’re probably in one of two situations: You haven’t taken the SAT or ACT yet and you’re just beginning to plan your college application strategy for next year, or even two years down the line. You took the SAT or ACT once already, and you’re wondering if your score is good enough to be considered a Yale score. Either way, you’ve come to the right place! How to Get Into Yale Yale is the third oldest university in the United States, and a prestigious member of the Ivy League. Admission into Yale isn’t for your average student. Yale adcoms carefully sift through thousands of undergrad applications each year (35,308 in 2019 alone), and almost every student that applies is academically stellar. Think of it this way: the Yale admissions committee need ways to narrow down a pool of over 35,000 applicants to form a freshman class of fewer than 2,500 students (2,22.9% Native American2.2% White52.8% International10.8% Enrolled first-years1,578 students Male50% Female50% First-generation students18% Legacy affiliation11% Receiving need-based financial aid53% Average need-based scholarship $53,500 Some Needed Perspective If your test scores are in the lower range, all is not lost. Yale looks at more than the numbers on your application to determine whether or not to admit you. You’re not just a number on a page. There is no required score that you must earn in order to be admitted into Yale. Your score is just one piece of the puzzle. Actually, instead of a puzzle, think of your application as a pie chart: When Yale looks at your application, your test scores are only 1/3 or less of what they are interested in. Your GPA and difficulty of your high school classes, along with your personal statements, extracurriculars, and unique persona also play a part. Bulldog20 (20) provides some advice on how to emphasize these strengths in your application on AdmitSee: My activities in high school were sort of disparate (some involved writing, others politics, others working with children) so I tried to find qualities that applied to all of them (communicator, team player and leader) and emphasize those when talking about them. To prepare for interviews, I thought of stories that exemplified those qualities. I also tried to weave them into my common app and supplemental essays. When I met with my teachers to discuss my recommendations, the information I gave them also emphasized those qualities. Even though my application may not have seemed cohesive at first, the sum all of the parts gave a clear picture of me as a person. Yale Admissions: The Takeaway Thanks for reading this far! If there’s anything to take away from this post, let it be these two things: 1. Scores aren’t everything—you need a well-rounded application! 2. Yale admissions are competitive enough that your well-rounded application needs to include good standardized test scores. So how do you get those high scores? Lucky for you, thats our area of expertise: First, decide whether you’re taking the SAT or ACT (we have a handy quiz that can help you with this task) Set a goal score your goal score at the 75th percentile of what Yale admitted students have been scoring. Make friends with some high quality test prep. (Obviously I recommend checking out the Free 1-Week SAT Trial or the Free 1-Week ACT Trial from Magoosh). If you don’t get the scores you were hoping for, think about retaking the exam—or switching tests! Itll be a lot of work. But if you follow these steps, you can be confident that you’ve done everything you can to get into the school of your dreams! 🙂