essay on why yale

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College Essays

For students applying to Yale, the "Why Yale" essay may seem straightforward, but it can also be very intimidating due to its low word-count limit and the specific nature of the prompt.

You might be wondering what you can write to make sure your application stands out from the crowd...and gets you accepted!

In this article, we're going to:

• Break down the "Why Yale" essay
• Explain what the university is looking for in your response
• Suggest topics to write about that'll help you make an impact
• Give a "Why Yale Essay" sample to get inspiration from another student's answer

So let's dive in!

The "Why Yale" Essay Prompt

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

Wow! This is a short essay prompt. You might be wondering what you can possibly write about to stand out from other applicants with such a brief assignment.

For instance, you may be thinking that everyone applies to Yale for the same reason: the school's stellar academic reputation.

While that's undoubtedly true, the admissions committee already knows that Yale is a great university. The admissions committee wants to know why you'd rather go to Yale than any of the other Ivy League universities or other top schools in the world.

What Is the Purpose of the "Why Yale" Essay?

Why do schools like Yale require you to answer a " why this school " essay?

No matter which schools you're applying to, this type of prompt is one of the most common that you'll see on your college applications.

Why? Because colleges want to see that you really want to attend their school. Students who love their school are more likely to be active and happy students—and later, active and happy alumni.

In short: your essay should show the admissions committee that you really love Yale, which will make them feel more confident that you'll be a great addition to the campus.

Because the " why this college " type of essay is common, it might be tempting to recycle one you wrote for a different school and plug it into your Yale application. That's not a good idea!

If your essay is generic or nonspecific to Yale, the admissions committee will worry that you're not invested in going to Yale. They may even think that you don't care about getting into Yale, which could cause them to pass over your application in favor of another student who really wants to attend Yale. The admissions committee wants to accept students who will attend Yale the next year.

Basically, Yale wants to make sure you know and value what they offer, and they also want to assess how you'll take advantage of the many opportunities on Yale's campus to further your academic and professional career.

What Should You Write About in Your "Why Yale" Essay?

Yale might be best known for its academics but there are many features of the university that you can talk about for your essay. Here's a list of potential topics:

• Majors or classes you're especially interested in
• Professors whose work you admire and whom you'd like to study with or conduct research with
• Extracurriculars that you'd be interesting in joining
• Research opportunities you'd like to have
• Current and past Yale students you've met who you admire
• Volunteer opportunities
• Professional opportunities
• Campus life

You should make sure that the points you choose are unique to Yale itself. For instance, Yale's residential college system is very unique and creates a different campus life experience than most universities. Talking about how you appreciate that feature of Yale's campus will show that you have done your research and like Yale's unique features.

No matter which topic you choose, you should be sure to connect it back to your own interests.

For instance, if you talk about a professor whose work you admire, describe how studying under that professor will help your academic career.

Your answer to this prompt must be specific ; you can't just say that you are intrigued by Yale's stellar faculty. You need to give examples of which faculty members you want to learn from. Focus on your chosen feature of Yale, how it relates to you as a student and person, and how Yale can help you achieve your future goals.

Tips for a Great Response to the Why Yale Essay

Regardless of how you decide to answer this prompt, there are four tips everyone should keep in mind to make sure they're fully answering the question, giving the information Yale wants to see, and making sure they stand out from other applicants.

#1: Do Your Research

Before you begin writing your response to this essay prompt, you should know exactly why you want to attend Yale. There are multiple ways to do this research. You can check out the school website or course catalog . You could also schedule a campus visit, meet with an alum or current student, or chat with a Yale professor.

#2: Be Specific

From your research, you should have come up with specific reasons why Yale is a great school for you. The more specific you can be when answering this prompt, the better.

Don't say Yale has great academics, caring professors, and an interesting student body. The vast majority of schools have that.

Instead, try to mention opportunities only Yale can provide , like specific professors, course names, extracurriculars, or research opportunities.

#3: Show Your Passion

Yale wants students who care a lot about their studies and their school, so make sure this comes across in their response. A bland statement like, "I am impressed by Yale's drama program" doesn't tell the school anything about you or help you stand out from other applicants.

You've done your research so you can mention specific qualities of Yale that have enticed you, and now you need to discuss specific qualities about yourself as well. Why does the drama program make you so excited? What do you want to get out of it? Be detailed, specific and honest.

Showing a passion that's unique to you will help differentiate you from other applicants and show Yale that you're going to take your studies seriously.

#4: Proofread

Your Yale essay should be the strongest example of your work possible. Before you turn in your application, make sure to edit and proofread your essays.

Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. Make sure to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit.

It's a good idea to have someone else read your "Why Yale" essay, too. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend. Ask them if your work represents you as a student and person . Have them check and make sure you haven't missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it possibly can be.

"Why Yale" Essay Sample and Reasons Why It Works

To help you get a better idea of what a great response to this prompt can look like, below is a "Why Yale" essay sample that we wrote. We'll also explain what makes it an excellent response.

The first song I could sing was Puccini's "O mio babbino Caro." I don't think that my mother realized she was sparking a love for opera by teaching me a party trick. That love has grown into a driving ambition and a door into my favorite areas of study: history, drama, language, and music. As a college student, I have always hoped to combine all of these fields.

While visiting Yale, I took a voice lesson from a mezzo soprano from the School of Music. She told me about how she studied Roman and Greek literature, leading her to specialize in baroque opera. Her inclusive approach to her craft inspired me and let me know that I can do the same at Yale. I cannot imagine giving up the study of language and history in favor of music, and at Yale I wouldn't have to.

Let's take a look at what makes this "Why Yale" essay work well.

#1: Answers the Prompt Specifically

This essay gives examples of personal experience with the school and reveals an applicant who did their research. The applicant is clearly interested in the music program at Yale, since he or she has taken a lesson with a student and talked with the student about their experience.

#2: Gives Details About a Program

The applicant's essay illustrates that they know the subjects they want to study at Yale: music, language, and history. They also show that they took the initiative to seek out a current vocal student to assess the kind of skills that could be gained by Yale's program.

#3: Shows Where the Applicant Fits In

It's clear from reading this essay where the author sees him or herself at Yale. They've shown that Yale has opportunities they want to take part in and contribute to, and they tie this into their academic goals for the future.

#4: Shows Interaction With Current Students

The applicant's experience with a current student is the main feature of this essay. It shows that the student had the foresight to take a lesson with someone who was a product of the school's undergraduate music program, and the evidence that she collected to support her goal of finding a school that wouldn't limit her learning experience to music alone.

Recap: Writing a Great "Why Yale" Essay

Your "Why Yale" essay can help give the admissions teams a good idea of why Yale is a great fit for you. The purpose of this essay prompt is for you to show Yale that you've done research on their school, feel it's a good fit for you , and already know some of the opportunities at the school you want to make the most of.

In your Yale essay, you can write about multiple topics, including academics, the student body, extracurriculars, and research opportunities. When writing your essay for this prompt, be sure to do lots of research on the school, be specific, show your passion, and mention plans you have for the future. Looking at "Why Yale" essay examples can also help, though they are hard to find.

What's Next?

Getting into college requires a strong application, including SAT/ACT scores. Wondering how high of an SAT score or ACT score do you need to get into your top colleges?

Worried about paying for college? Here's a complete guide to figuring out how much college will cost for you .

Know exactly what you want to study in college? Check out some of our best-of-specialty-school lists, including the best film schools , best video game design schools , best journalism schools , and best creative writing schools .

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

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How to Write an Outstanding "Why Yale?" Essay and the Other Supplemental Prompts

Our best advice for impressing yale admissions officers with your supplemental essays..

Yale requires at least four more mini-essays on top of the personal statement. Good news: we’ve got a few insights to help you through this — all based on our long experience helping people succeed on college essays at Prompt .

In fact, if you’d like a guide to nailing Yale’s supplements, check it out here .

The full prompts (and our helpful hints) are below. First, here’s a summary of the questions to give you the gist:

All applicants: Two required short answers of 125 words or fewer:

• Your likely major.

Coalition/Common App applicants:

Four super-short answers (200 characters or less; about 35 words):

• What inspires you?
• What person, past or present, do you want to talk to?
• Course you’d teach at Yale?
• Will you be a cool roommate?

Two short essays (250 words or less)

• Explore one of your intellectual interests.
• Choose one:
• Your membership in a community.
• Changing the world.
• Your relationship with a mentor.
• Coalition applicants: Upload anaudio file, video, image, or documentthat you created, and that adds to one of your responses above.

Engineering majors (250 words or less): what led you to engineering & why engineering at Yale?

Prompt’s three secrets to Yale essay supplement success:

• Tackle these questions as a whole: Overall, your application needs to show you’llsucceed spectacularly in Yale and beyond.(You’re going to contribute something exciting to the world, and be a good person.) These questions are your chance to bolster that case where you can, and patch up any weaknesses. Keep that overall filter in mind, and you’ll find it easier to know what to say.
• Have one big theme: The mistake to avoid here is to present a bunch of disparate intellectual interests -- something wholly new in each essay. Instead, dig deep before you get started. Figure out what all your intellectual pursuits have in common. Then make sure admissions officers can see that theme, so they’re struck by the force of your intellectual drive.
• Get feedback. The greatest resource you have are the people who love you and know you well. They want to be helpful to you — ask them for help! Get them to give feedback on what you’ve written. And if you like the idea of personalized guidance from people who’ve done this thousands of times, get started here .

Yale short answer questions for 2020-2021

All applicants: Two required short answers of125 words or fewer:

• [Your likely major]: Students at Yale have plenty of 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. Why do these areas appeal to you?
• [Why Yale?]: What is it about Yale that has led you to apply?
• 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 question would you ask?
• You are teaching a Yale course. What is it called?
• Most first-year Yale students live in suites of four to six students. What do you hope to add to your suitemates’ experience? What do you hope they will add to yours?
• [Intellectual interest]: Yale’s extensive course offerings and vibrant conversations beyond the classroom encourage students to follow their developing intellectual interests wherever they lead. Tell us about your engagement with a topic or idea that excites you. Why are you drawn to it?
• Respond to one of the following prompts:
• [Community]: Reflect on your membership in a community. Why is your involvement important to you? How has it shaped you? You may define community however you like.
• [Change the world]: Yale students, faculty, and alumni engage issues of local, national, and international significance. Discuss an issue that is important to you and how your college experience could help you address it.
• [Mentor]: Tell us about your relationship with a role model or mentor who has been influential in your life. How has their guidance been instrumental to your growth?
• For Coalition Applicants — In addition to responding to the prompts above, upload anaudio file, video, image, or documentyou have created. The upload should complement your response to one of the prompts. Above your response, include a one-sentence description of your upload. Please limit uploads to the following file types: mp3, mov, jpeg, word, pdf. Advanced editing is not necessary. Uploads provided via the Coalition Application will be reviewed by the Admissions Office only. Review the Supplementary Material instructions for material that may be evaluated by Yale faculty.

Engineering Essay (250 words or fewer) — Coalition/Common App applicants who select one of Yale’s engineering majors will also respond to the prompt below:

• Please tell us more about what has led you to an interest in this field of study, what experiences (if any) you have had in engineering, and what it is about Yale’s engineering program that appeals to you.

How to write the Yale essays

The recording will load in a moment., about this livestream, yale university.

Yale University is a world-renowned Ivy League school located in the quaint city of New Haven, Connecticut. It's the third-oldest higher education institute in the country and consistently ranks in the top when it comes to American colleges.

This past admissions cycle, Yale saw a spike in applicants - if you want to be one of the few in their next accepted class, you'll need to have essays that stand out from the crowd. Join Robert, a recent Yale graduate, during this stream to learn all about crafting the perfect responses to the supplemental essays.

Undergrad College: Yale University '21

Major: Ethics, Politics & Economics; Classics (Intensive)

Work Experience: As a recent graduate of Yale University, I am excited to begin my first year with CollegeVine! In many ways, CV was a natural fit for me -- at Yale, I worked for over two years in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, beginning as a Senior Interviewer in the summer of 2019, during which I interviewed over 200 first-year applicants for the 2019-2020 college admissions cycle. After the summer ended, I became Lead Recruitment Coordinator, a full-time position responsible for executing and overseeing Yale’s numerous post-admissions decision yield initiatives, as well as serving as a spokesman for the university both in person and online. Over the past two years, I have had the privilege of interacting with hundreds of students and their families at all stages of the college application process.

My Admissions Story: Having always been interested in studying a variety of subjects within the Humanities and Social Sciences, I applied to a smattering of liberal arts colleges and universities (mostly on the East Coast) with strong departments in these areas, large and diverse student bodies, and varied extracurricular opportunities. When my college admissions decisions rolled in, I immediately accepted an offer from my dream school, Yale University, which I had always felt best embodied the opportunities and goals that I desired from my college experience -- and since that day, I’ve never looked back.

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134 Yale Essays That Got In

Updated for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.

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Nestled in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University is an Ivy League institution that provides students with an exceptional educational experience. Students at Yale may benefit from the University's highly regarded academics and research opportunities, diversified campus culture, world-renowned professors, and extensive choice of extracurricular activities. Yale's dedication to quality extends far beyond the confines of a typical institution, with renowned undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs, as well as world-class museums and libraries. The school’s interdisciplinary philosophy is best captured by their motto “Yale is and.” Indeed, at Yale, students are encouraged to study multiple disciplines and see how they interact; for Yalies, it’s about studying fields like biology and sociology — not one or the other. As such, Yale University—with its lively student body and devoted staff—provides an exciting, challenging, and creative learning environment for students from all walks of life.

Unique traditions at Yale

1.Bulldog Days: This tradition is held annually in the spring and is a multi-day event that provides prospective students an opportunity to experience and explore life at Yale. 2.Freshman Shirts: A tradition where incoming freshman each choose a unique shirt and wear it on the Wednesday of Bulldog Days. 3.Heave Ho: At the end of each spring semester, Yale students gathered outside Dwight Hall and wait for a shared count of three. Then, with 3 cheers of “Hip Hip Heave Ho!” the entire Yale community school throws their hats in the air. 4.The Gold Rush: In this tradition, competing teams of Yale undergraduate students race around the Yale campus while pushing a shopping cart with two passengers on board. 5.The Stephen S. Roberts Memorial Run: A 13-mile march offered to all incoming freshmen that follows historical events and locations related to the Yale community.

Programs at Yale

1) Yale Women in Business: A student-led organization with a mission to foster an inclusive and supportive network of women at Yale who are passionate about business. 2) Morse College Writing: A yearlong program of small-group seminars focused on the study of the craft of writing. 3) Chapter 16: A club devoted to the study and directed discussion of Yale's Literary Magazine, Chapter 16. 4) The Chinese Language and Culture Program: An intensive language program focused on introducing beginners to conversational Chinese through conversation and culture courses. 5) Yale Debate Association: A student-run organization that provides students of all levels with the opportunity to improve their debating skills through a variety of competitive and educational activities.

At a glance…

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New Haven, CT

Real Essays from Yale Admits

Prompt: what inspires you.

Unfinished stories. They’re a reminder that life isn’t neatly defined by chapters, and that I have the power to choose the meaning and impact of events and find ways to improve upon them.

Essay by Rosie

Statistics & Data Science + Ethics, Politics & Economics (and Musician?) @ Yale :D

Prompt: What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?

The freedom of a Hibachi buffet is amazingly powerful. Ice cream, beef and broccoli, a dozen dishes of fish—it’s a veritable choose-your-own adventure novel. For me, Yale holds even more appeal. I want to gorge myself on Yale's "Writing About Oneself" course—it focuses on self-exploration through literature and theme introspection, something I wish to do with my own writing. My palate is not bound to English foodstuffs—I also want to devour Yale's "Democracy and Sustainability" course. Through my urban community farm, I have seen firsthand the importance of sustainability but have seldom been able to study it at my own school. Yale's undergraduate curriculum combined with its two-week shopping period will allow me to freely explore my many interests—letting me discover myself in the process.

Essay by Python Chen

I'm an aspiring author from Nashville. I love reading & writing, playing video games, watching anime, cooking, and letting my undiagnosed ADHD lead me on a wild ride everyday!

Prompt: What is it about Yale that has led you to apply?

Visiting campus, I learned Yale students were exceptionally passionate. Yalies raved not only about the world-renowned academics, but also their adventures in the arts, volunteering, and athletics. Additionally, I saw that residential communities’ fascinating guest speakers and social events transform dorms into lively homes. As an institution, Yale fosters student enthusiasm. Through class shopping, students explore their many interests before committing to a course. Also, many classes are seminars, proving that Yale has plenty of opportunities like any large university, but maintains the intimacy of a small college. Finally, I love that the Yale spirit is intelligent and collaborative. Students are both brilliant and appreciate others’ strengths. Yale is the perfect place for me to pursue my passions, surrounded by other Yalies doing the same.

Essay by Michelle

Yale grad who loves renewable energy, travel, and the arts!

Prompt: 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?

To rapper and Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar: How do you balance telling your own personal stories and addressing social issues in your music?

Essay by Nikhe

History student, poet, and Succession-fanatic @ Yale

Prompt: You are teaching a new Yale course. What is it called?

Computer science: an alluring juxtaposition of problem-solving and art. It transforms me. When I’m meticulously debugging code, I’m 8-year-old me, manipulating the faces of my Rubik’s cube to return it to its original configuration. When I’m fervently typing away lines of code, I am a craftsman, painting on the canvas I call the IDE-software-application. When I’m compiling code, I am a scientist, testing for sources of error.

Essay by Rose

Programmer and performer @ Yale!

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Someone with the same interests, stats, and background as you

Yale Supplemental Essays 2023-24

Yale supplemental essays.

Want to know how to get into Yale? Well, every strong application starts with well-crafted Yale supplemental essays. 

As one of the nation’s top schools, the Yale application process is highly competitive. Therefore, by crafting unique and interesting Yale supplemental essays, you can ensure you impress the admissions team. 

In this article, we’ll go over each of the Yale supplemental essays in detail. Additionally, we’ll review tips for responding to the Why Yale essay, as well as the other Yale short answer essays. 

Yale Essay Prompts: Quick Facts

• Yale University Acceptance Rate:  5%–  U.S. News  ranks Yale University as one of the  most selective  schools in the nation
• 2 short answer essays (125-200 words each)
• 4 “short take” questions (35 words each)
• 1 longer response essay (400 words)
• Yale University Application:  Students must submit their Yale University application through either the  Common Application , Coalition Application , or Questbridge Application . Make sure to have all of your Yale University supplemental essays and other  required application materials  ready when applying. 

Single Choice Early Action: November 1 st  

Regular decision: january 2 nd.

• Yale University Essay Tip:  Though there are several Yale supplemental essays, make sure to answer each one in detail, demonstrating why Yale is a great fit for you.

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website. 

Does Yale have supplemental essays?

Yes, there are Yale supplemental essays.

Students should think critically about the Yale essay requirements. There are a total of seven Yale supplemental essays. These vary in length and format. 

You’ll submit the Yale supplemental essays in addition to your main personal statement, sometimes called the Common App essay . As such, you will need to submit eight essays as part of your application. 

Writing all of these Yale supplemental essays by the Yale application deadline might seem daunting. However, if you plan ahead, you can ensure all of your Yale supplemental essays highlight your strengths. 

Overall, make sure you have a strategy when working on your Yale supplemental essays. To help you get started, let’s review the Yale essay prompts in detail. 

Does Yale have a Why Yale essay?

Yes—one of the Yale supplemental essays is a Why Yale essay. The Why Yale essay is a short answer essay that can be a maximum of 125 words long. The objective of the Why Yale essay is the same as it is for other Why School essays—to demonstrate that you have researched the school well and explain what makes it the right fit for you. 

The Why Yale essay for 2023-24 is worded as follows:

What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? 

The keywords in this essay question are “Yale” and “you.” In short, in your Why Yale essay, you must demonstrate that you have done research on Yale. You can do so by emphasizing aspects of the school’s academics, culture, clubs, research opportunities, or anything else that stands out to you. By the end of your Why Yale essay, a Yale admissions officer should have a clear sense of why you belong at Yale. 

Secondly, every one of the Yale supplemental essays is a chance to showcase more about yourself. As such, use the Why Yale essay as a chance to talk more about passions, values, and interests that make you unique. Since you only have 125 words to write for the Why Yale essay, it’s important to be concise.

Yale Questbridge Essay Requirements

Yale University is a Questbridge partner . Students wondering how to get into Yale should explore Questbridge further, as it is one of the three ways to apply to Yale.

But, what is Questbridge? Questbridge is a scholarship program for students from low-income backgrounds who wish to attend elite colleges. Some of these, like Yale, are Ivy League colleges . As part of their application, students rank schools that they would like to attend. If a school they ranked admits them, then they are considered a “match” and receive a full scholarship to attend the school. 

Check out this virtual information session for 2022 Yale Questbridge Finalists to learn more about Questbridge at Yale and how to apply.

Understanding the Yale requirements for Questbridge

Students who apply via the Yale Questbridge application complete slightly different Yale supplemental essays than students who apply regularly through the Common App or Coalition App. Indeed, the Questbridge application only requires two short answer essays.

Specifically, the Questbridge Yale essay prompts only include the academic interest and why Yale essay. They do not include the “short take” or longer response questions. Instead, the Yale Questbridge application gives more space for students to discuss their backgrounds and unique circumstances. 

In the next section, we’ll go into further detail on the Yale short answer essays, which are required of all students regardless of whether they are applying to Yale through the Common App, Coalition App, or the Questbridge Scholarship application.

Yale Short Answer Essays

The first set of Yale supplemental essays are the three short answer essays. These Yale supplemental essays are required for all applicants, regardless of which application they use to apply.

The Yale short answer essays are as follows:

Short Answer Question 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., short answer question 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), short answer question 3:, what is it about yale that has led you to apply (125 words or fewer).

Since we already discussed the Why Yale question above, we’ll focus on breaking down the first two short answer questions.

Question 1: Your Academic Interests

The first of the Yale supplemental essays asks you to identify three academic areas of interest. Yale is a liberal arts school that allows students to choose a major but also requires them to take courses outside of their major via their distribution requirements. As such, it is important to demonstrate your flexibility in learning many different subjects. However, these subjects do not have to be related. In fact, in some cases, it may be more intriguing if they are not. For example, a student who states an interest in Asian American history and evolutionary biology definitely makes an intriguing candidate.

However, you should respond to this question as you do all of your Yale supplemental essays—genuinely. Indeed, Yale wants to know what you are truly interested in. Therefore, listing majors simply to impress or seem intriguing won’t serve you well.

Question 2: A Topic that Excites You

The next short answer essay asks you to discuss a topic that excites you. This should be directly related to one of the academic interests you described in the first question. 

In this question, focus on the “why.” What makes this topic interesting or meaningful to you? How does it relate to your background, experiences, or future goals? The more specific you can be, the better. 

Wondering how to select a topic or idea to highlight in your Yale essays? Here are a few tips:

Tips for Selecting a Yale Essay Topic

1. brainstorm 3-5 ideas..

Take a few minutes to jot down specific memories you have associated with this topic. For example, if you are interested in evolutionary biology, maybe you remember learning about how birds evolved from dinosaurs. Use descriptive language to show us what you learned and bring the topic to life. 

2. Choose a meaningful topic.

After you have brainstormed, note which topic makes you feel excited. Don’t choose the topic that you think sounds more impressive to others. Choose the one that impresses you.

3. Write a lot and then edit it down.

Don’t limit yourself by focusing on the word count. Instead, begin by writing freely. From there, edit out words or sentences that don’t seem essential. Additionally, you can ask mentors or friends to help you revise.

A successful response to these Yale essay prompts will have the following characteristics:

How to Respond to Yale Essay Prompts

1. relate to yale’s academics..

As supplements must be specific to each school, it’s important that you highlight topics and majors that you know can study at Yale. First, think about Yale’s academic strengths, and then use these as a basis for your essays. 

2. Demonstrate a passion for learning.

Yale values students’ intellectual curiosity. As such, the topic you discuss must demonstrate your passion for learning. 

3. Tell us why you are drawn to the topic.

As the question denotes, Yale doesn’t just want to know what you are interested in, but why. Does the topic have some kind of personal relevance? Does it excite you because it’s baffled scientists for centuries? Make your reasoning clear.

Now that we’ve looked in detail at these Yale requirements, we’ll explore the Yale short answer essays that are even shorter. Indeed, these Yale supplemental essays are sometimes known as the “short takes.”

Additional Yale Supplemental Essays

In addition to responding to the Yale short answer essays above, you’ll need to respond to four “short takes” and one longer response which offers you three Yale essay prompts to choose from. First, we’ll discuss the “short takes.”

Inside the Yale “Short Takes”

There are four Yale “short takes.”  These Yale supplemental essays ask students to respond in 200 characters or less, which roughly equates to 35 words. As such, you must be extremely concise in your response while still answering the question. Still, use these essays to showcase your unique brand or personality, helping the admissions team understand who you are.

Below are the Yale essay prompts for the “short takes,” followed by tips for responding well: 

1. What inspires you?

For this prompt, take some time to simply free-write and brainstorm a list of things that inspire you. Don’t limit yourself by thinking your response must relate to academics. There is no right response to this question. The key is to express what inspires you in a way that enriches your profile. 

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?

As we shared above, Yale is a liberal arts college very interested in intellectual curiosity. This question allows you to showcase your creativity and passions. Rather than trying to think of an idea that will impress admissions officers, focus on choosing one that speaks to you. 

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? 

This question alludes to Yale’s focus on “improving the world.” By asking you to highlight a person who has influenced you, they get to see what you value in others and whether you can recognize the interdependence of the world. Note that the question asks you to highlight someone “other than a family member.” So, logically, avoid writing about family members in this Yale essay. Lastly, even though you are writing about someone else, the core of your response should demonstrate more about who you are. Therefore, briefly name the person and their relationship to you. And then, mainly focus on how they impacted you. 

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

The final of the Yale supplemental essays “short takes” could potentially be the most challenging one to answer. This question is open-ended on purpose. Unsurprisingly, Yale values diversity as much as most elite schools. As such, they provide space for you to share something that they may not have asked you about yet. To brainstorm, perhaps ask friends and family to read your application and then tell you a few aspects of your personality or experience that aren’t represented. Then, express that uniqueness in 35 words or less. Additionally, this could be a space to express more about any challenges or unique circumstances you have faced that impacted your life or academics significantly. However, those details may also be better suited for the “Additional Information” section. So, think about what information is best suited where.

Breaking Down the Yale Longer Response Essay

The Yale longer response essay is the final of the Yale supplemental essays. While it is indeed the longest of the short answer essays, it is still only 400 words maximum in length. You can choose from three Yale essay prompts for this question. 

Here are the three Yale essay prompts, along with guidance on how to respond:

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?

With this question, Yale hopes to gauge whether you can engage in the “free exchange of ideas” they mention in their mission statement. To respond well, choose an example of a conversation that truly did impact you. Describe the conversation with enough detail to make it clear what the opposing views were. In the end, the most critical piece of this essay is showing how the experience impacted you. Since Yale values learning, Yale hopes to see whether you can find opportunities to learn in your day-to-day life just as much as you do in the classroom.

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.

This Yale supplemental prompt seeks to learn more about the communities you are a part of and how you interact with them. Consider your neighborhood, school, family, religious group, or any other group of people to which you feel closely connected. Remember that the focus of this essay is still you, so avoid spending too long describing the community. Instead, jump right into why it is meaningful to you.

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

As we noted above, Yale values diversity in the broadest sense of the word. As a result, they look for students who can bring new experiences to campus. However, those experiences don’t have to be grand, like living in five different countries as a child. In fact, perhaps you lived in the same house for all your childhood and this taught you to value history, tradition, and legacy. As with all the other Yale essays, the right answer is the one that resonates most with you.

At this point, you may be wondering which of the Yale essay prompts to choose. While there isn’t one essay prompt that Yale admissions officers value more than another, there might be one that feels more authentic to you. Another way to decide is to choose a prompt that allows you to talk about an aspect of yourself that you haven’t yet divulged. In this way, you can fit more about yourself on the page and avoid repeating previous information.

What does Yale admissions look for in essays?

If you’re wondering how to get into Yale, you’re probably also wondering what Yale looks for in Yale supplemental essays. Here are a few tips to make your Yale essays stand out:

Each year, Yale aims to build an incoming class that reflects a diverse array of identities, experiences, and interests. Beyond that, admissions officers are skilled at reading for authenticity. This means that trying to impress them will likely come across on the page and discourage them from accepting you.

2. Passion for Yale.

Each of the Yale supplemental essays gives you space to highlight aspects of your experience that overlap with Yale in some way. As such, they must be Yale-specific in some sense, even if only by highlighting how your values align with Yale’s mission. 

3. Stick to your own voice.

While your essay must be written formally, only use vocabulary words that you would use. Avoid looking for the fanciest possible vocabulary word (unless it’s one you actually use), since this will only come off as ingenuine.

4. Proofread.

As Yale is a prestigious academic institution, they are looking for writing that reflects conventionally proper grammar and spelling. Make sure you have multiple people read your essays. In fact, reading your Yale supplemental essays out loud can help you catch errors or missing words.

What is the application deadline for Yale?

In addition to understanding the Yale requirements, students must choose one of two Yale application deadlines.

You have two main options for your Yale application deadline. They are as follows:

Early Action is a Yale application deadline that allows students to apply early. SCEA means that you are only allowed to apply to one school’s Early Action deadline. 

If you apply to Yale through Early Action, you cannot apply to any other school’s Early Action or Early Decision program. There are a few exceptions to this restriction. For instance, students may apply to public institutions as long as they are non-binding. At Yale, applying SCEA tends not to dramatically increase students’ admissions odds. However, for some schools, applying early can make a huge difference in terms of demonstrated interest. 

This is the date by which most students apply. There are no restrictions on how many schools you can apply to through Regular Decision.

A note on Questbridge students’ application deadlines :

Students applying via Questbridge must complete their application by September 26 . Then, they will be notified of whether they matched with Yale on November 1. 

Starting early on your Yale supplemental essays is key to a successful application. By starting early, you have time to brainstorm ideas, get multiple people’s opinions, and incorporate feedback. Plus, starting early helps you avoid feeling stressed by the Yale requirements.

More Yale Essay Resources from CollegeAdvisor

As always, CollegeAdvisor is committed to helping you find your way in the college admissions process. As such, we have several tailored resources to learn more about how to get into Yale. 

To learn more about the Yale supplemental essays, check out this webinar for more tips on responding to the Yale essay prompts. In addition, our college admissions experts will share guidance on writing efficiently so you can complete your other applications as well. 

Want to hear from a Yale alum about their admissions pathway to Yale? Listen to one of our experts talk about how they aced the admissions process. This webinar includes an excerpt from their Yale supplemental essays. It also discusses how this student put together their application so their profile stood out.

Lastly, check out this article full of sample Why Yale essays. Inside, you’ll get a clear perspective on how students responded fully to this question using their own unique flair.

Yale Supplemental Essays – Takeaways

In this article, we broke down the Yale requirements, ranging from Yale supplemental essays to Yale application deadlines. We talked about how to write compelling essays that showcase your unique personal brand, even in your Why Yale essay. We also provided resources for you to continue with your research on Yale requirements.

As you continue researching, read the Yale website regularly for updates . Consider reading sample essays for other Ivy League schools’ applications and make sure you research other schools’ supplemental essay requirements to find overlap in essay topics.

Most importantly, reach out to CollegeAdvisor for additional customized support. We’re here to make your college journey as successful and stress-free as possible.

This essay guide was written by senior advisor, Courtney Ng . 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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Successful Yale Essays

Yale essays →, yale mentors →.

Yale Supplement Essay: Tell us about your engagement with a topic or idea that excites you.

Yale’s extensive course offerings and vibrant conversations beyond the classroom encourage students to follow their developing intellectual interests wherever they lead. Tell us about your…...

Yale Supplemental Essay: Travel: Tell us about your engagement with a topic or idea that excites you.

Yale common app essay: a meaningful background, identity, interest, or talent..

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds…...

Yale Essay Prompts

Yale University requires the Common Application, with its 250-650 word essay requirement, as well as their own short essay questions, included below.

Yale University Short Essay Prompts

Short Essays for Common and Coalition Application Applicants Students applying to Yale through the Coalition Application or Common Application should respond to the essay prompts…...

Yale University Short Answer Questions

Students apply to Yale through the Common Application, QuestBridge Application, or Coalition Application should include responses to the short answer questions below: Students at Yale…...

Common Application Essay Prompts

The Common App Essay for 2020-2021 is limited to 250-650 word responses. You must choose one prompt for your essay. Some students have a background,…...

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The common application.

The Common Application is one of three ways to apply to Yale for first-year admission. See if the Common Application is right for you.

Yale is a member of the Common Application, an application platform offered by more than 600 diverse colleges and universities around the world. More than 1 million students use the Common Application every year.

The Common Application is one of three ways to apply to Yale for first-year admission.  Yale has no preference for one type of application over another. Submit one— and only one —application per admissions cycle.

Reasons why the Common Application might be right for you:

• The Common Application is accepted at the greatest number of colleges and universities.
• Applicants may submit the same Common Application to as many colleges and universities as they like. Note that Yale also requires applicants to complete Yale-specific supplemental questions, including two additional short essays.
• Many counselors and teachers are already familiar with the Common Application forms and have online accounts. Based on their experience, counselors and teachers may be able to provide guidance to students who wish to apply on the platform.

The Common Application and Yale-specific questions will be available by September 1.  If you would like to begin working on your short answer responses and essays before beginning your application, the Yale-specific questions for the Common Application are available on the Essay Topics page.  To create a Common Application account, visit commonapp.org .   

Read more about the Coalition Application Read more about the QuestBridge Application

Secondary Medical School Application Essays: How to Shine

Emphasizing fit and showing authenticity help medical school secondary essays stand out, experts say.

Tips for Secondary Med School Essays

Getty Images | iStockphoto

One of best pieces of advice when writing an application essay is to be authentic.

Key Takeaways

• Secondary medical school essays should highlight why an applicant is a good fit.
• Applicants should submit the essays early without compromising quality.
• It's important to be authentic in essay responses.

After receiving primary applications, most medical schools ask applicants to complete a secondary application, which typically includes additional essay questions. While primary essay prompts ask why you're pursuing medicine, medical school secondary essays focus on you and how you fit with a specific school.

Secondary essay prompts vary by school, but they're generally designed to help med schools learn about you at a deeper level. They may ask you to reflect on what makes you who you are, a time when you worked with a population different than yourself, an occasion where you asked for help or a time when you worked in a team. They may ask how you spent a gap year before applying to medical school or what you did after your undergraduate degree.

"What we are trying to figure out is if this is a candidate that can fulfill the premedical competencies and whether they are mission-aligned," says Dr. Wendy Jackson, associate dean for admissions at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine . “Can they help fulfill the needs that our institution is trying to deliver?”

A lot rides on these essays, but keeping a few best practices in mind can make the process less daunting.

Emphasize Fit

The first thing medical schools look for is whether an applicant will be a good fit for the school’s mission, Jackson says.

“I would challenge someone who is completing a secondary application to understand the mission of the school and envision how they are going to contribute to that,” she says. “The vast majority of schools are going to ask why you chose their institution, so you need to be prepared to answer that.”

Some secondary essay questions are optional, but experts recommend answering them even though they're extra work. For example, the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Tennessee asks applicants what makes them interested in the school.

“We just want to see if they’re a good fit for us and that they’ve done a little bit of homework about Vanderbilt," says Jennifer Kimble, director of admissions at Vanderbilt's medical school. "We want to make sure that the students we admit are going to be happy with their Vanderbilt experience.”

Avoid focusing on what you’re going to gain from the school – schools are really asking how you'll be an asset to the program.

"It’s almost like if you’re trying to date someone and you tell them, ‘Here’s what I’m going to get from this relationship,’ without saying, ‘We’re better off together,’” says Shirag Shemmassian, founder of Shemmassian Academic Consulting. “You have to sell the idea that you’re bettering one another and how you’re better together than apart. I think students often miss that latter component."

Don't Procrastinate

The medical school application process is often compared to a marathon, but the final steps may feel like a sprint. Applicants typically receive secondary application requests in late June, and in some cases schools want those back within a matter of weeks. Others set deadlines months down the road.

Either way, because of rolling admissions , it's best to send essays in as early as possible without compromising quality, Shemmassian says.

The earlier an applicant submits materials, the less competition they typically face, experts say. For example, Vanderbilt receives nearly 7,000 applications per year. Of those, roughly 600 applicants will be asked to interview and around 260 will be offered admission for 96 spots.

"At the beginning of the cycle, our calendar is wide open and we’re very open to who we bring in for an interview," Kimble says. "Down the road when we only have 30 seats left, it’s highly selective who those candidates are that get those coveted 30 interview spots that are left over."

Prewrite Essays

Applicants won't know the specific language of secondary essay prompts until schools send them, but in many cases, essay prompts are similar year to year and the previous year's prompts are often published on a school's admissions website, experts say. Some schools may change or tweak questions, but you can generally get a head start by prewriting essays based on previous prompts.

"As the new ones come out, you can modify as needed," Shemmassian says. "I would say that about 70% to 80% of prompts will remain the same or similar. If they change, you can usually adapt an essay you’ve written for another school."

Secondary essays vary in length and number. Vanderbilt requires applicants to submit an 800-word essay and two 600-word essays. Some schools may require close to 10 secondary essays. Shemmassian says this is significantly more writing than applicants are used to, so budgeting time is crucial.

But applicants should take care when prewriting essays and make sure each is tailored to the specific school with the correct school name, experts say. Jackson says she's read plenty of essays where applicants included the wrong school name and it cost them.

“You may think you can save time by cutting and pasting or taking half of a previously written essay response and making a modification,” Jackson says. “Be careful, because the questions vary from institution to institution.”

Experts say applicants often neglect to fully read prompts in their haste to complete answers. Though there's a time crunch, it's vital to thoroughly read the prompt and answer the question fully without grammatical or spelling errors.

“That seems kind of silly, but I think we can get going down a road when we’re writing and feel like we’ve completed and written something well but look back and never really have a response to the true question being asked," Jackson says.

Be Authentic

Medical school applicants tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves to write something that schools haven't read before, Kimble says. Given that med schools sift through thousands of applicants a year, "we’ve read all sorts of scenarios in life, so take that pressure and put it on the shelf," she says. "That’s not a concern for us. We aren’t looking for something that’s totally innovative."

Experts say schools are mostly looking for authenticity and an organic, genuine tone. The tone "can make or break an applicant," Jackson says.

It may be tempting, especially given time constraints, to rely on outside help – such as ChatGPT or other AI-powered software – to write essays. While some professors and admissions officers have embraced AI to help automate certain processes, Kimble says she strongly discourages med school applicants from using AI to help with secondary essays.

"We had an (application) that you could clearly see was not written by a human voice," she says. "It sounded very computer generated, so we ended up passing on the candidate just because we want to hear their story in their own words."

A Secondary Essay Example

Shemmassian compiles more than 1,000 sample secondary essays each year, using prompts from more than 150 medical schools in various states, and offers them to paying clients. The excerpted example below, created by Shemmassian's team and used with their permission, shows what he considers to be a successful diversity-themed essay in response to a Yale University School of Medicine prompt that asks applicants to reflect on how their background and experiences contribute to the school's focus on diversity and how it will inform their future role as a doctor.

As a child, one of my favorite times of the year was the summer, when I would travel to Yemen… at least until I turned twelve. Suddenly, the traditional and, in my Yemeni American view, restrictive laws for women, applied to me. Perhaps the most representative of these laws was having to cover my hair with a scarf-like garment. Staying true to my values, I decided against returning to Yemen, thereby losing a vital connection to my culture. However, this estrangement did not inhibit my growth.

The 500-word response continues with how the applicant met a Yemeni student who grew up in France and was barred from wearing a headscarf due to a school uniform policy. Where the applicant saw the headscarf as restrictive, the other student saw it as a connection to her roots. The applicant describes how although the same object held different meanings to two people from the same background, she used that to appreciate different perspectives and to advocate for a woman's right to express herself.

Later that year, I applied this lesson in perspective to my work as a clinical coordinator, when a patient walked into the office and handed me a piece of paper explaining she only spoke Arabic...By thinking critically while vernacularly translating the doctor’s advice, I was directly involved in the process of her medical care. Because of my experience in exploring the multi-cultural barriers I faced alongside the Yemeni French student who cherished her headscarf, I spent time talking to this Yemeni patient about the barriers she had faced in receiving care.

This experience motivated me to help overcome cultural healthcare barriers and disparities, showcasing my devotion to equitable treatment by creating a new protocol within the clinic where I work. Now, when scheduling patients over the phone, we ask if they have any language preferences, and we have a series of scripts we can use during each patient’s treatment.

The applicant then drives home why she believes she's a good fit for the school.

My background and experiences will contribute to Yale School of Medicine’s diversity and inform my future role as a physician by creating a student organization that holds informational workshops, utilizing my unique experiences to connect with Yale’s diverse patient population, and working to address healthcare disparities as a future physician. I envision these informational workshops would operate in the Haven Free Clinic patient waiting rooms to empower all patients, regardless of their background.

This essay is successful because it does more than tell essay readers about the applicant's background, Shemmassian says. It shows how the applicant grew "into a more compassionate and culturally humble future physician who will help patients overcome health care barriers."

"Strong diversity essays will always show admissions committees how a unique trait or life experience will help them become a better physician," he says. "This essay is especially successful because the applicant connects their experiences and what they’ve learned because of them to the Yale School of Medicine itself. This is an applicant who is already thinking deeply about not just what they can get out of medical school but how they can contribute to the values and mission of the school they attend."

Searching for a medical school? Get our  complete rankings  of Best Medical Schools.

Medical School Application Mistakes

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‘treated’ for being gay: psychiatry’s mid-century ‘fixes’ for homosexuality.

Regina Kunzel

In 2008, Regina Kunzel learned of an extraordinary collection of case files that had been salvaged from Saint Elizabeths Hospital, a federal institution for the mentally ill in Washington, D.C. These were records of people who had been in treatment with one of the hospital’s psychiatrists, Benjamin Karpman, for being gay or gender-variant, primarily in the 1940s and ‘50s.

What made the files so valuable to Kunzel as a historian was Karpman’s unusual treatment method: He asked his patients to write. Write their life stories, including details of their sexual encounters. Keep journals. Practice free-associative writing. Together, these thousands of pages of patient accounts offered key insights into how patients who were “treated” for being gay or transgender experienced psychiatric scrutiny.

The files inspired Kunzel’s new book, “In the Shadow of Diagnosis: Psychiatric Power and Queer Life” (University of Chicago Press), which delves into the use of psychiatry to treat queer and gender-variant people in the mid-20 th century.

“ At a time when homosexuality was understood to constitute a threat linked ominously to communism and perhaps surpassing it in menace,” Kunzel writes, “psychiatrists’ promise to promote healthy heterosexuality and eradicate homosexuality bought them considerable influence and authority.”

Kunzel, the Larned Professor of History and of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, spoke with Yale News about psychiatry’s curative practices, the revelations contained in patients’ case files, and Karpman’s gradual change of heart.

You explain how psychiatrists’ ideas, about homosexuality in particular, were infused into the culture during this period, even showing up in Ann Landers’ advice columns. Would you expand on that?

Regina Kunzel: American psychiatrists started claiming that they could cure homosexuality around 1940. That required them to revise Freud's concept of universal human bisexuality — the proposition that everybody had within them a mix of masculinity and femininity. They also rejected the ideas of earlier sexologists who argued that homosexuality was innate. Instead, they proposed that homosexuality was a symptom of a deeper pathology, one that could be treated and cured.

Psychiatrists were very good at getting the word out, in part because some of them wrote for popular audiences. For instance, Edmund Bergler, a New York-based psychiatrist, wrote a book titled “Homosexuality: Disease or Way of Life?” in 1956, basically a polemic masked as science, that was a bestseller. Psychiatrist Albert Ellis wrote columns for Playboy and other popular magazines. And then hugely popular magazines like Time and Life picked those stories up and repeated the claims. As a result, psychiatry’s pathologizing ideas about homosexuality became part of mid-century American cultural commonsense.

Why did psychiatrists wield so much clout?

Kunzel: They didn’t always. In the 19th century into the early 20th century, most psychiatrists worked in asylums and oversaw chronically mentally ill or elderly dementia patients. But by midcentury, they had carved out a major role for themselves in American life and medicine. They did so partly by staking jurisdiction beyond severe mental illness, and instead over what they called “problems in living.” Psychiatrists claimed to be able to treat a wide range of personal problems and social issues, such as troubled marriages, male impotence, criminality, and juvenile delinquency.

The thing that made homosexuality different from those other problems was that the U.S. government regarded it in these decades as a serious problem and a threat to national security. And so when psychiatrists said, “Look, we’re the experts at this, we can explain this to you, we can control this, we can treat this,” they amassed extraordinary power.

These cultural notions about homosexuality being a mental disorder were so strong that some people were committed to institutions for treatment by the criminal justice system, some by their families. Some went into institutions on their own because they were desperate to be cured. What were the curative practices?

Kunzel: The most widely recommended form of treatment was psychoanalysis. This was a time of psychoanalysis’s ascendance in American psychiatry. It was also a time of innovation and experimentation with somatic methods like lobotomy and electroconvulsive shock, both mainstream practices in American psychiatry in those decades.

The other major treatment was “aversion therapy,” a practice that took off in the 1960s and 70s.  Rather than agreeing with psychoanalysts that homosexuality and gender nonconformity were the consequence of psychic trauma, often in infancy or very young childhood, aversion therapists believed that homosexuality was more like a bad habit, like smoking or drinking to excess, one that could be “unlearned” through aversive methods employing nausea-inducing drugs and electric shock.

Something that I found in the course of my research was that some of the most violent treatment methods were used with behavior-managing and punitive aims rather than even aspirationally curative ones, and often in carceral settings rather than the clinic.

What were your big takeaways from reading the written work of Karpman’s patients? Were you constantly surprised?

Kunzel: Case records are extraordinary historical documents, but they often tell you more about the people who were writing them than the people they’re about. Karpman’s patients wrote biographies, they recorded their dreams, they wrote their own reviews of psychiatric texts. And so they made it possible for me to see how psychiatric ideas were put into practice, and even more remarkably, how people experienced psychiatric scrutiny, sometimes using this new science to make sense of themselves.

There were revelations on every page. The most striking examples, of course, are the moments when you see people push back against psychiatry’s pathologizing ideas, sometimes using the language of psychiatry itself to speak back to psychiatrists. But the records also forced me to reckon with less heroic aspects of this history, especially the way that, for many, these ideas instilled and compounded a sense of shame. Historians of marginalized groups are often more comfortable talking about resistance and resilience, and much less comfortable thinking about those darker, sadder feelings.

Over time, Karpman becomes more sympathetic toward his patients, right?

Kunzel: He does. It’s possible to track that shift in both his published writing and in his unpublished memoranda. Karpman lived and worked in Washington, D.C., which was ground zero for what historians have called the “Lavender Scare”: the purge of gay men and lesbians from jobs in federal employment and the wave of postwar repression that linked communism and homosexuality. Among Karpman’s patients were those who experienced the dramatic increase in the policing of gay life in D.C. Through his work with queer patients, Karpman became more aware of the hostile conditions under which they lived. And you can see in Karpman’s writings that his faith in his ability to cure gay people, and perhaps his confidence in the wisdom or ethics of those practices, began to fade.

I came across an extraordinary line in one of Karpman’s memos, in which he wrote: “Perhaps the best way to treat them is to leave them alone.” That was a stunning proposition in this period when no one was leaving homosexuals alone.

In 1973, gay activists succeeded in getting the American Psychiatric Association to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. This held great personal significance for you as a gay teen.

Kunzel: It did mean something to me — less for my own peace of mind and more for what I hoped might be its persuasive power to the adults in my life. I learned, though, when I tried to wield that information in my own defense, that it wasn’t the magic wand that I wanted it to be. And that was true for psychiatry, too. The 58% of APA members who voted in 1973 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder was a majority, but not an overwhelming one. And there are surveys that suggest that most psychiatrists, especially psychoanalysts, continued to believe that homosexuality was a form of pathology. 1973 was an important moment, but it didn’t change everything.

You end the book trying to take stock of what’s happened since. What are your thoughts about where we are now as a culture?

Kunzel: For decades, homosexuality and gender variance were bound up together in the minds of psychiatrists: They basically thought one was the main problem and one a subset of the other. The first edition of the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual on Mental Disorders” (DSM) that didn’t include homosexuality was published in 1980. It was also the first edition that included a new diagnosis of “gender identity disorder.” That diagnostic category remains in the current DSM under the name “gender dysphoria.” And its inclusion there is now being weaponized by the right, who point to the DSM to support their belief that transness is a form of mental illness. We see the effects of that position in the recent spate of anti-trans legislation, especially in arguments about expanding the role of psychiatrists as gatekeepers to gender-affirming care.

And so while mainstream psychiatry has renounced their pathologizing position on homosexuality, we’re still living with the consequences of the adhesive connection between sickness and queerness forged by psychiatrists in the mid-20th century.

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How to Write the Yale University Essays 2020-2021

We’ve updated this post! Read the 2021-2022 Yale essay guide .

One of the first colleges in America, Yale has since secured its position as one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world. As a member of the Ivy League, Yale sits at #3 (tie) on the US News National University Rankings .

Yale’s class of 5,500 undergraduates study in the city of New Haven, Connecticut. Each student lives in one of the fourteen residential colleges across the 345-acre campus. With over 35,220 first-year applicants for the Class of 2024, only 6.5% of students were accepted.

Yale offers three ways to apply: the Common Application, the Coalition Application, and the QuestBridge National College Match Application. Let’s take a look at the Yale-specific questions that accompany each of these. Want to know your chances at Yale? Calculate your chances for free right now.

Want to learn what Yale University will actually cost you based on your income? And how long your application to the school should take? Here’s what every student considering Yale University needs to know.

Yale University Supplemental Essay Prompts

Short answer questions (200 characters, ~35 words).

These are for applicants using the Common App and Coalition Application only, not Questbridge.

• What inspires you?
• 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 question would you ask?
• You are teaching a Yale course. What is it called?
• Most first-year Yale students live in suites of four to six students. What do you hope to add to your suitemates’ experience? What do you hope they will add to yours?

For all applicants, including Questbridge:

• Students at Yale have plenty of 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.

Why do these areas appeal to you? (125 words or fewer)

What is it about yale that has led you to apply (125 words or fewer), essays  (250 words, for all applicants).

Prompt 1 : Yale’s extensive course offerings and vibrant conversations beyond the classroom encourage students to follow their developing intellectual interests wherever they lead. Tell us about your engagement with a topic or idea that excites you. Why are you drawn to it?

Prompt 2: Respond to one of the following prompts.

• Option A : Reflect on your membership in a community. Why is your involvement important to you? How has it shaped you?  You may define community however you like.
• Option B : Yale students, faculty, and alumni engage issues of local, national, and international significance. Discuss an issue that is important to you and how your college experience could help you address it.
• Option C : Tell us about your relationship with a role model or mentor who has been influential in your life. How has their guidance been instrumental to your growth?

Engineering Applicants Only :

For the Common App and Coalition Application, and not Questbridge.

Please tell us more about what has led you to an interest in this field of study, what experiences (if any) you have had in engineering, and what it is about Yale’s engineering program that appeals to you. (250 words)

Required Short Answer Questions

The short answer questions give you an easy way to make your application memorable. However, too often, many students write something boring or cliché . While your mom might be the most important person in your life and scoring the game-winning goal might be your most memorable experience, the same is likely true for hundreds of other applicants. How can you avoid this? Let’s take a look at the questions.

What inspires you? (35 words)

This sounds a lot like “vision statements” that many business professionals write for themselves. The idea here is to give a concise summary of what drives you every day.

While brainstorming an answer to this question, it’s a good idea to think about how you would summarize your application in a few sentences. What are your recommenders saying about you? What do your classwork and extracurriculars demonstrate an interest in? What sentence instantly helps to combine the disparate elements of your application into a cohesive narrative? This should help guide an answer to the question that’s consistent with your overall application.

For example, maybe you’re passionate about competitive weightlifting and computer programming. You love the two very different activities because they allow you to constantly push your limits. You can always lift more, and create a more efficient program. Your response to this prompt might focus on your desire to continually improve yourself and what you’ve built.

Or, maybe the focus of your high school career was leadership and service. You served in Student Government, participated in Model UN, and started an organization to combat the food desert in your local community. In this case, you might write that working with governing bodies to enact meaningful change is what motivates you.

Yale’s residential colleges regularly host intimate conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What question would you ask? (35 words)

The stereotypical answer to this question is along the lines of Mahatma Gandhi or former President Obama. Of course, these are interesting people that anyone would like to have a conversation with, including hundreds of Yale applicants. On the other hand, very few applicants will write about people like Paul Baran or Joseph Campbell. You can make your application stand out by mentioning someone unique.

Once again, this question gives you the opportunity to reference back to the rest of your application. If you’re trying to show you really love math, maybe write about Pierre de Fermat. Or, if you have already written two essays about math, showcase your other big passion for storytelling by writing about Brandon Stanton, the founder of Humans of New York .

The second part of this question is about what you’d like to ask the selected individual. Admissions officers see questions like “what is the biggest challenge you’ve faced?” all the time. Be original and specific! Think about how the person you’ve selected interacts with your application. Remember, the question you would ask them reflects upon yourself too.

For instance, say you decide to write about Brandon Stanton. If he were invited to speak, you could ask him what he thinks draws so many people to his platform, and what makes storytelling so powerful. You might ask about the ways it can change lives. These are all specific questions that demonstrate thoughtfulness and an ability to engage in higher-level thinking.

You are teaching a Yale course. What is it called? (35 words)

This is just a proxy to ask “what interests you?” That is, what interests you enough that you’d want to share that passion with a handful of Yale students? You can let your creativity run wild here; if you have a niche interest, this is the perfect place to mention it. An answer like “Designing and Testing Role Playing Games” is a lot better than “Economics 101.”

Alternatively, think about two interests you have. For example, if you like cartoon shows and politics, a class called “The Politics of Cartoon Shows” will definitely catch the eye of an admissions officer.

With your remaining space, you might give a brief description of the course, such as the works you’ll study and the themes covered.

Most first-year Yale students live in suites of four to six people. What would you contribute to the dynamic of your suite? (35 words)

In one of our team members’ successful Yale applications, he made a long list of things he liked, spicing it up with humorous items like “dank memes.” A list of things is a great way to answer this question; you can easily show your diverse interests in one sentence.

Another way to answer this question is by describing activities you envision doing together with your suitemates. Maybe you’ll bring the popcorn for horror movie nights, or you’ll lead yoga sessions to help everyone de-stress before finals. Or, you might share your unusual cooking creations, like a chocolate avocado smoothie. The goal is to share how you might interact with those you live with.

Students at Yale have plenty of 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.

This prompt is similar to a traditional “ Why This Major ” prompt, however, 125 words is a very tight amount of space, so you need to be comprehensive and clear. Whether or not you plan on majoring in physics, economics, or neuroscience, the same basic strategy can be applied across the board.

As directly as possible, you need to describe how your academic interests developed, what exactly is compelling about your intended major, and what your professional goals are. 

For example, maybe you’re interested in Linguistics because you’re a third culture kind, and have always struggled to get rid of your American accent in Portuguese, but your younger brother speaks without an accent. You want to explore the science behind language acquisition, as well as the human impact of language (culture, identity, language preservation). You’re potentially interested in becoming a translator one day, primarily to expand great works of literature across language barriers.

Or, maybe you’re interested in Psychology and Political Science because you’re fascinated by today’s polarized political climate. You want to understand why people hold the beliefs they do, and why voters act the way they do. One day, you hope to work on the campaigns of progressive candidates who support the causes you care about.

Whatever your interest is, waste no space in diving right into the most specific details. Then, work to connect the details to future goals and interests. While a traditional “Why This Major” essay should include why you want to study that major at that specific school, you may not have any space, given the small word count. Luckily, the next question allows you to discuss how Yale can support your academic goals.

This is a classic example of the “ Why This College ” essay. For this prompt, you’ll want to cite specific reasons Yale is a good fit to support your academic goals. You may also want to include any compelling extracurricular reasons, as college is not only about what you do in the classroom.

Let’s go back to the example of the student who’s passionate about Psych and PoliSci. A specific Yale resource they might want to highlight is the PoliSci Department’s funding for students working on election campaigns . This funding allows students to develop and implement a campaign strategy related to their unique skills. For example, they might choose to create a social media campaign, using their knowledge of voter psychology. 

Aim to get just as granular in your essay, and do extensive research on resources at Yale. See our post How to Research a School for the “Why This College” essay if you don’t know where to start.

In an essay of only 125 words, you’ll likely only be able to mention 2-4 aspects of Yale that resonate with you. That’s totally okay! It’s better to show a deeper understanding of what Yale offers than to list a bunch of general characteristics. 

Under no circumstances should you mention anything vague that could apply to other schools, such as the location, prestige, or even a strong academic department. If you could copy and paste your essay for another school and just switch out the school name, that’s a sign that your essay isn’t specific enough. Take it to the next level; what courses, programs, organizations, or grants could support your goals? 

Required Longer Responses (250 words)

Yale’s extensive course offerings and vibrant conversations beyond the classroom encourage students to follow their developing intellectual interests wherever they lead. tell us about your engagement with a topic or idea that excites you. why are you drawn to it.

What makes you tick? What keeps you up at night? Yale is looking for students driven by a passion for learning; they want to see the ability to succeed within a focused field of study (i.e., the college major). Therefore, your answer to this question should convey your love for a certain field of study. Keep in mind that your answer isn’t constrained to classroom subjects — if you read books about sports statistics on your own time, that’s a perfectly valid answer!

It is best to make your response specific, as the prompt asks for an idea or topic –– not a subject. For example, instead of reflecting on a general interest in biology, you should write about a passion for genetics. Writing about a specific interest will allow you to better convey exactly why you are drawn to the topic. For instance, there may be many reasons that you are interested in biology, as biology covers a number of subjects. However, you might be specifically interested in genetics because your brother has a hereditary disorder or because you uncovered family secrets through a DNA testing service.

Example 1: A broad answer like “physics.” If you choose such a vast topic, make sure you focus on what specifically excites you about it. Since answers like “physics” are going to be common, you need to convey your passion in a unique, memorable way. Tell Yale what part of quantum mechanics excites you and how you look forward to certain lab experiments. However, try to avoid really broad topics like “science.” If your transcript distinguishes between different sciences, your essay should too.

Example 2: A very specific answer like “15th-century European history.” There aren’t going to be many (if any!) other applicants with that answer, so you’ve already made yourself memorable. The challenge here is to tell a broader narrative of what excites you about this distinct topic. You could talk about how you got interested in it and why it excites you more than, say, European history as a whole. A word of caution though: don’t claim an interest that the rest of your application doesn’t support! Between your transcript and recommendation letters, it could be very clear that your professed passion is not as intense as it seems.

No matter what you talk about, make sure your essay conveys your intellectual vitality — an interest and desire for learning. The exact thing you talk about matters less than showing a deep passion for a specific interest.

A great way to write this essay is to break it up into parts. First, write about how you were introduced to the topic. Such an introduction will allow you to naturally discuss why it was so compelling to you. Then, discuss your engagement with the subject. Yale wants to accept students who love to learn for the sake of learning and who go above and beyond to do so. Write about the documentaries you watched, books you read, research you conducted, or conversations you had with teachers! By focusing on your involvement with the process of learning, the rest of the essay should fall in place. When describing your excitement about a topic, it is best to use vibrant, varied, and descriptive language; this style will allow you to convey your excitement about the topic to readers.

Prompt 2, Option A 

Reflect on your membership in a community. why is your involvement important to you how has it shaped you you may define community however you like ..

This question is quite open ended and allows applicants to write about a community – whether formal or informal – to which they belong. You can really write about anything, from a formal community (town, soccer team, religious organization, school) to an informal community (group of friends, coworkers, family). Keep in mind that “community” doesn’t have to be defined in the traditional sense, either. Your community could be a group of people who share the same language, values, experiences, or personality traits.

The prompt asks you two questions. First, why is your involvement important? Second, how has this involvement affected you?

You should aim to organize your essay in the following way:

First, define and describe the community you are writing about. Defining the community is especially important for applicants writing about informal communities. For example, if you are writing about your siblings, make sure that this is clear. When describing the community, be sure to describe the culture. How do you interact as a group? For example, your soccer team may be more than teammates – perhaps you have special moments while traveling on the bus for a match. Make sure you discuss the dynamic. As a group, are you sarcastic, silly, or serious? Does your community have a specific kind of humor or tradition?

Second, discuss your engagement with this community. For example, did you create a Snapchat group chat for your debate team that allowed you to bond outside the context of serious competitions, opening up a channel for close friendship among teammates? Did you regularly grab lunch with your co-workers at a local bakery? Or, did you meet survivors of gender-based violence through your work with a local organization?

Finally, reflect on why your involvement was important to you, and how it’s shaped you. For example, did the Snapchat group chat teach you to empathize with your competition, improving your sportsmanship? Did conversations with your coworkers over lunch spark your interest in food science? Or, did volunteering at a non-profit increase your interest in being a human rights lawyer? You could also talk about how being the oldest sibling taught you to be a caretaker and sparked your interest in becoming a doctor. Regardless, you want to write about how you have become who you are through your engagement with this community.

In this video, we read a successful Yale essay for a similar prompt: “What is a community to which you belong?”

Prompt 2, Option B

Yale students, faculty, and alumni engage issues of local, national, and international importance. discuss an issue that is significant to you and how your college experience could help you address it..

Yale wants to accept students who will make the most of their education. That is, using all that they have learned to improve the world. Further, Yale wants to accept students who want to change the world.

This prompt asks you to describe an issue that is important to you and reflect on how you would make use of a college education in order to address this problem. Your response to this question should be broken down into two main parts. First, describing the issue and why it is of personal significance. Second, discussing what kinds of things you would want or need to learn to move closer to your goal of addressing this issue. Let’s break down what each of those parts specifically require.

First, describing the issue and why it is of personal significance. As with most college essays, it is best if you can make your response unique. Most students could write generally about why solving world hunger or cancer is important. Few students would be able to describe why such a grand issue is personally significant. As such, there exist two main approaches. First, you can pick a grand issue (like cancer, world hunger, or homelessness) and connect it to your life. Perhaps your mother was recently diagnosed with cancer, or you grew up regularly not having enough to eat. Establishing an emotional connection is important for any topic, but especially national or international topics that many students might also write about. Your other option is to discuss a local issue. Maybe your public high school lacks a diverse teaching staff or you come from a town facing the opioid crisis. Writing about an issue of local importance will be more accessible for most students. It will also make it easier to establish personal significance; you can write about noticing how you couldn’t relate to your teachers, or how your neighbor’s daughter was impacted by drug addiction. These stories will easily allow you to develop a connection, as a local issue is inherently already personal.

Second, discussing what kinds of things you would want or need to learn to move closer to your goal of addressing this issue. This part of the prompt is slightly more challenging. As a high school student, it may feel impossible to imagine what a college experience or education will consist of. However, there are a few core experiences that you should consider connecting to the prompt:

• Discuss the majors or courses that are of interest to you. For example, you may wish to take a course on psychopharmacology in order to understand how the brain interacts with drugs. 
• Connect the problem you hope to solve with Yale’s liberal arts education. How will taking courses in a variety of disciplines allow you to address the issue at hand? You might complement your studies in psychopharmacology with political science courses on public health policy, or seminars on the history of science and medicine.
• Reflect on the people you’ll meet, whether those are peers, professors, or visitors who give talks. 
• Discuss the opportunity to contribute to the academic understanding of a subject through research; for example, assisting a professor who specializes in health economics. Fifth, you can look into the various grants that Yale has for supporting creative arts projects, research, international and public service internships, and more!

At the end of your essay, you should be sure to tie together all of the components you discussed. Remind Yale that accepting you would add value not only to your life, but to the broader community, as you would use Yale’s resources to address problems.

Prompt 2, Option C

Tell us about your relationship with a role model or mentor who has been influential in your life. how has their guidance been instrumental to your growth.

The biggest mistake students make with a prompt like this is to focus too much on the role model. Every college essay is meant to reveal more about who you are, so even if the topic asks about your role model, you should use that as an avenue to discuss how that mentor impacted your personal growth. 

The first step with this prompt is to pick a figure who has had a substantial role in your life and development. It doesn’t have to be a family member–this is probably actually one of the more cliche responses, unless you have truly meaningful anecdotes to include in your essay. You should also avoid historical figures or celebrities with whom you didn’t have an actual relationship. It’s important to pick someone who got to know you well, and who you got to know well. After all, the prompt specifically asks you to discuss your relationship with your mentor.

As you’re brainstorming, think about the people who pushed you to become a better person and to tackle challenges you didn’t think you could handle (but your mentor always believed you could). Think about your teachers, tutors, coaches, supervisors, bosses, religious leaders, professionals you shadowed, and older peers. Another avenue is to reflect on your most valuable personal qualities, like your tenacity or compassion. Which people helped you nurture those qualities?

Here’s an example: maybe you had a good relationship with the owner of the coffee shop where you worked weekends. You always looked forward to your chats on life and the realities of owning a business. Maybe you considered the owner a role model, as they also came from a lower-income background, like you, but they ultimately were able to create a successful business, one that sources ethical coffee and gives back to underserved communities. Even though you were timid, the owner encouraged you to develop initiatives for the coffee shop, such as an outdoor concert of local musicians that would benefit a non-profit giving free music lessons to low-income students. Because of your mentor, you became more confident, and discovered your passion for social entrepreneurship. 

This would be a strong response because you had a meaningful relationship, and because you can focus on your own growth, particularly through organizing the concert. It also allows you to provide more context on things you may have listed in your application, but didn’t get a chance to fully explain.

Engineering Students Only

Please tell us more about what has led you to an interest in this field of study, what experiences (if any) you have had in engineering, and what it is about Yale’s engineering program that appeals to you (250 words)

This prompt essentially calls for an extended “Why This Major” essay. Since you will have already discussed your interest in engineering in a previous essay, be sure to cover any points that you haven’t mentioned yet. In the previous “Why This Major” prompt, you only had 125 words. This is your chance to share more anecdotes, provide more context for your interest, and discuss your relevant experience.

For example, maybe you’re interested in Chemical Engineering since you’re passionate about sustainable fashion. You want to be able to engineer production processes that are safe for the environment and garment workers, while also being cost- and resource-efficient. You became interested in sustainable clothing production after living in a town with a garment factory that polluted the river and killed wildlife. In this extended essay, you might share a story of how the environmental pollution impacted you, and discuss your experience working at a sustainable fashion small business.

The latter part of the question asks about Yale’s program specifically. You’ll want to approach this the same way you approach the “Why Yale?” question—very specifically and only after thorough research. 

For example, the same student might write about the Center for Engineering Innovation & Design , which offers collaborative and experiential courses that focus on applying engineering skills to the real world. They could discuss their interest in taking the course Green Engineering and Environmental Design , which covers “ current design, manufacturing, disposal processes, toxicity, benign alternatives, and policy implication.” These are all topics that would be highly-relevant to the student’s goals, and this course is also a very specific way Yale can support the student.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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America’s Reckoning with Gaza at Home and the Great Rupture in International Relations

June 4, 2024 | M'Baye, Fatou | Current Affairs , Middle East Studies , Politics

Fawaz A. Gerges—

In May 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, more than a thousand school students participated in the Children’s March intended to force the city to reckon with the demands to end racial segregation. As vividly recounted by the historian Taylor Branch in his trilogy on the Civil Rights Movement, the Birmingham police force met the peaceful student protestors with overwhelming force, arresting them by the dozens. When Birmingham ran out of paddy wagons and sheriff’s patrol cars to use, they called in school buses to take the students to jail. 

Speaking to many of the parents at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church after the first wave of arrests, Martin Luther King, Jr. told them not to worry. “They are suffering for what they believe,” said King, “and they are suffering to make this nation a better nation.” It would later be said of the many students who were arrested protesting for civil rights that their “zeal overflowed so freely” that they “bent the leaden habits of jail to their own convictions.”

Sixty years later, American universities and local police forces brutalize and arrest scores of peaceful student protesters bravely speaking out against the horrors unfolding in Gaza. This recalls the repression of the peaceful civil rights protestors in Birmingham and elsewhere in the 1960s. Now, like then, politicians accuse the students of naivete and being manipulated by others. Now, like then, “outside agitators” are blamed for inflaming the situation. Now, like then, the students are marched off to jail while they joyfully sing about dignity and humanity.

What is perhaps most startling about this critical juncture in American history is how comfortable President Biden and his Administration are with the moral, strategic, and political costs of his “ironclad” support for Israel. Unlike Presidents Kennedy and Johnson who slowly recognized that the demands of civil rights protestors needed to be met, President Biden appears to be all too willing to ignore the protestors’ demands.

Biden also risks permanently undermining America’s standing in the world while also creating an opening for America’s geopolitical adversaries to exploit the suffering of the Palestinians to undermine American interests globally. 

This is a choice that the United States will come to deeply regret. The current conflict may ultimately represent a turning point in international affairs, hardening long-dormant fault lines between the West and the Global South and shattering the rules-based international liberal order, a pillar of American hegemony since the end of the Second World War.

Instead of respecting the neutrality and independence of the international criminal court whose chief prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials, Biden objected, calling Khan’s request “outrageous.” Biden and his aides claim that Khan’s decision sets a false equivalence between terrorist Hamas and democratic Israel. This is far from the case, because Khan seeks justice to all victims. Biden had also previously applauded Khan’s swift decision to issue a similar arrest warrant against Russian President Putin after he invaded Ukraine in Feb. 2022.

If there is not a fundamental and immediate change in course, the consequences of the growing north-south polarization will likely have transformative effects on international politics for generations. It will also accelerate the decline of the United States’ global influence. The extent of America’s isolation in the Global South was telegraphed worldwide in the UN general assembly when on December 12, 153 states supported an unconditional ceasefire, with only 10 against and 23 abstentions. In another move that signaled America’s growing global isolation, the assembly voted last week by 143 to nine, with 25 abstentions to back the Palestinian bid for full UN membership.

China and Russia will be the main beneficiaries of the West’s colossal failure in Gaza. Both powers have been challenging the US’s rules-based international order, asserting that the rules are rigged in the West’s favor. Recent opinion polls in the Global South indicate that China and Russia are more popular than the United States and are gaining ground at its expense. As the IDF methodically annihilates Gaza, with US weapons and support, Western protests over human rights abuses in Ukraine and China will now fall on deaf ears across the Arab-Islamic world and much of the Global South.

The longer this conflict goes on, the greater the erosion of American credibility and global authority. As a scholar of international relations, I had never seen so much anger and rage throughout the Arab-Islamic world, Africa, and Asia, directed against the United States and Europe. More and more people in the Global South say there is one rule for “the West” and another for “the rest.” More than seventy-five percent of respondents across the Arab world said the US (and Israel) is “the biggest threat to the security and stability of the region,” according to the first survey conducted by the reputed Doha Institute’s Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in January. Similar findings are reported in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.   

In an age of America’s global decline versus the rise of China (and a more assertive Russia), it is in the long-term interests of the US to uphold the rules-based international order, not only in words but in deeds. This means defending the same international norms in both Ukraine and in Israel-Palestine, such as opposing occupation and annexation of lands and demanding accountability for gross human rights violations. In a recent CNN interview, Biden said the US was halting arm sales to Israel because it was wrong to attack “population centers.” This was a step in the right direction. He must go much further by supporting the international consensus on Palestinian statehood at the UN and stopping using its veto.

The stakes in the coming weeks are very high, for Palestinians and Israelis, for the Middle East, and for humanity more broadly. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has repeatedly warned that security and stability in the Middle East and indeed international peace more generally hangs in the balance. Guterres’s plea to the world is to reject a global “epidemic of impunity” and to use this moment to rebuild stronger and more inclusive multinational institutions with new opportunities for balance and justice in international relations.

This is the same plea being made by student protestors in the United States and elsewhere.  They are demanding that their governments end their complicity in the violence in Gaza and are suffering arrest, suspension, and expulsion to make their nations better. The only solution is for Biden to listen to the students’ call to action and exercise America’s tremendous leverage to confront Prime Minister Netanyahu and to put a stop to the violence.

Fawaz A. Gerges  is a professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the author of  Making the Arab World , ISIS: A History , and What Really Went Wrong: The West and the Failure of Democracy in the Middle East . He lives in London, UK.

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Yale Chooses Head of Stony Brook University to Be New President

Maurie D. McInnis, a cultural historian, will be the first woman to serve as the school’s permanent president.

By Stephanie Saul

Yale University’s new president will be Maurie D. McInnis, currently the president of Stony Brook University, a New York state public university where she is known for raising the school’s profile, donations and prestige.

When she takes over from Yale’s outgoing president, Peter Salovey, in July, Dr. McInnis, who earned masters and doctoral degrees from Yale in the 1990s, will become the university’s first permanent female president.

Her selection followed a search that began last fall. The delay in announcing a successor for Dr. Salovey, who leaves his post at the end of June, prompted speculation that the university’s selection committee was having difficulty finding someone during a tumultuous time on university campuses.

Joshua Bekenstein, a founder of Bain Capital who heads the Yale Corporation, the university’s governing board, said the search committee had undertaken a “very thorough” selection process.

“We felt it was important to do all the work,” he said. Expressing confidence in Dr. McInnis, he added, “She’s going to do a wonderful job.”

Dr. McInnis, who serves on the Yale board, will assume the presidency at a complicated time, when universities face challenges stemming from last year’s Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious admission and from the likely continuation of pro-Palestinian protests over the Israel-Hamas war.

As if to underscore the dangers she may face, a group of 200 professors calling themselves Scholars for the Public Good began within minutes after the announcement to circulate a letter urging Dr. McInnis to resist pressures from donors and politicians who are seeking to undermine campus diversity, free expression and educational excellence.

In a brief interview on Wednesday, Dr. McInnis said she was committed to maintaining a diverse campus at Yale, in New Haven, Conn., despite the Supreme Court’s ruling last year.

“My deep commitment to advancing opportunities for students and for our prospective students is steadfast, certainly in my work at Stony Brook, and that will continue at Yale,” Dr. McInnis said in the interview, adding, “And none of that changes with the court ruling.”

Yale has not yet released demographic information about its incoming class.

Dr. McInnis survived a censure vote by the faculty senate at Stony Brook following her decision to arrest campus protesters there in May. Defending that decision on Wednesday, she said: “No president wants to have to request that authorities intervene to disperse student protesters. And once we realized they would not disperse, everything proceeded in a calm and orderly manner.”

At Stony Brook, Dr. McInnis, 58, secured a $500 million donation from the Simons Foundation and won a competition to lead the creation of a state climate-change campus on Governors Island in New York City.

Lisa Benz Scott, a professor who heads Stony Brook’s public health program, applauded Dr. McInnis’s leadership during the pandemic, and said Dr. McInnis was “hands on” with students.

“You could see her in a pair of jeans and a Stony Brook T-shirt at student events,” Dr. Benz Scott said.

Richard K. Larson, the head of Stony Brook’s faculty senate, agreed that Dr. McInnis performed “brilliantly” during her first three years as Stony Brook’s president, but he faulted her more recent stewardship.

“Where things got much more difficult, and where this administration reached its sell-by date, was in the last year,” Dr. Larson said, criticizing Dr. McInnis’s decision to have protesting students arrested. That was why the vote on the censure motion was so close, failing by 51 votes to 55 with three abstentions, according to Dr. Larson, a professor of linguistics.

Before joining Stony Brook, Dr. McInnis had served as provost at the University of Texas, where she was sometimes seen rowing single scull crew on Lady Bird Lake. She spent much of her earlier career at the University of Virginia, where she received her undergraduate degree and later served both as a professor and as vice-provost.

Dr. McInnis’s academic field is art history. Much of her scholarship has focused on the interplay of arts and politics, particularly the politics of slavery. Her most recent book, published in 2019, is “Educated in Tyranny: Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s University.”

Though Dr. McInnis is set to become the first woman to serve as the permanent president of Yale, the university has been headed by a woman once before, when the historian Hanna Holborn Gray was chosen in 1977 as interim president. Dr. Gray went on to serve as president of the University of Chicago, and is currently a professor emerita there.

Reflecting on her own history-making selection, Dr. McInnis said she was well aware of how she could serve “as a role model for other women aspiring to leadership positions.”

An earlier version of this article misstated the number of No votes on a Stony Brook faculty senate motion to censure Maurie McInnis. It was 55, not 54.

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Stephanie Saul reports on colleges and universities, with a recent focus on the dramatic changes in college admissions and the debate around diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. More about Stephanie Saul