2018-2019 Yale University

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
If I worked in admissions, I would send emails immediately before leaving for the night. Wouldn’t have to deal with the fallout until the next day that way.
 
If I worked in admissions, I would send emails immediately before leaving for the night. Wouldn’t have to deal with the fallout until the next day that way.

Meanwhile at Yale, the adcom sits in a room with a giant red button and a bunch of snacks, popcorn. This thread is pulled up on the big monitor as they wait for the moment everyone has lost hope of decisions coming out today.
 
R as well, congrats to those accepted!
 
No email or update yet.... anyone else on this boat?
 
WL, and not sure what to do. Congrats to those that were accepted!
Here are some recommendations for all waitlisted people, no matter what the school. First, if you are sure you do not want to live in limbo or if you have already have a preferred school, do yourself and your peers a favor and let the school know to take you off WL (An advisee of mine was WL at Sinai, but got into 3 other T20 schools that are a better fit this week, so of course he is going to notify Sinai immediately. He will also withdraw before acceptances released at another T10 school that will be notifying soon- hopefully, that will allow for one more A or WL kid to get a spot. unless he was getting rejected...).

Follow the directions that you will get from the ADCOM, no matter what the school. There are some schools (Emory, Sinai, others) who want feedback about your commitment to stay on the waitlist, while there are other places that will assume that unless you withdraw, you are very interested, at least early in the WL season. If you are a WL student, you may certainly call or email to get this information if it was not made explicit in their communication with you. If you are a student on WL, you might not feel like a "paying customer", but schools want to be able to recruit the best people on their WL, and they will almost all need some WL people. So you have a right to get the information and they WANT WL students to have the right information about how to stay in contact with admissions.

Keep in mind that the directions from ADCOMs may change as the summer approaches and progresses too - as more students firmly commit their head and heart to a school.

There are people who have acceptances at very good places, and also some WLs at some places that are ranked slightly higher. IF they get a call for a higher ranked or better fit WL spot in APRIL or MAY, they might be very eager to grab that spot. However, once they find roommates, look for housing, etc, the idea of taking that same offer in July might be less appealing for some students, but not others. So some schools will want to hear continued (not constant!) updates about your commitment to stay on the WL.

Obviously, if you have real updates about publications, awards, or final grades, feel free to send them in the manner preferred by the ADCOM for that school, if the school is open to such materials. To OP, Yale has historically taken a good number of people off the WL, bc they are very cautious with initial acceptances. I think this year they will have a slightly higher yield due to the amazingly low unit loans. Not sure what your other options are and how you want to weigh them and how flexible you are able to be.
 
Last edited:
Congrats to everyone accepted! Yale is a SPECIAL place - for better or for worse. There are certain types of people that will love it here and others that might not. I made a personal overview video about Yale and what the "Yale System" embodies. There are also some other pros/cons associated with it. This is all my opinion, but still a valid student perspective that I hope you all consider.



I have loved my time here, and I hope to see many of you during second look!!
 
Rejected post-interview, interviewed early in the cycle
 
Welp I shot my shot and found myself rejected. Ah well, such is the life and happy to have even had the chance to interview here! Good luck to all those browsing this thread, whether it be matriculating here or elsewhere!
 
Here are some recommendations for all waitlisted people, no matter what the school. First, if you are sure you do not want to live in limbo or if you have already have a preferred school, do yourself and your peers a favor and let the school know to take you off WL (An advisee of mine was WL at Sinai, but got into 3 other T20 schools that are a better fit this week, so of course he is going to notify Sinai immediately. He will also withdraw before acceptances released at another T10 school that will be notifying soon- hopefully, that will allow for one more A or WL kid to get a spot. unless he was getting rejected...).

Follow the directions that you will get from the ADCOM, no matter what the school. There are some schools (Emory, Sinai, others) who want feedback about your commitment to stay on the waitlist, while there are other places that will assume that unless you withdraw, you are very interested, at least early in the WL season. If you are a WL student, you may certainly call or email to get this information if it was not made explicit in their communication with you. If you are a student on WL, you might not feel like a "paying customer", but schools want to be able to recruit the best people on their WL, and they will almost all need some WL people. So you have a right to get the information and they WANT WL students to have the right information about how to stay in contact with admissions.

Keep in mind that the directions from ADCOMs may change as the summer approaches and progresses too - as more students firmly commit their head and heart to a school.

There are people who have acceptances at very good places, and also some WLs at some places that are ranked slightly higher. IF they get a call for a higher ranked or better fit WL spot in APRIL or MAY, they might be very eager to grab that spot. However, once they find roommates, look for housing, etc, the idea of taking that same offer in July might be less appealing for some students, but not others. So some schools will want to hear continued (not constant!) updates about your commitment to stay on the WL.

Obviously, if you have real updates about publications, awards, or final grades, feel free to send them in the manner preferred by the ADCOM for that school, if the school is open to such materials. To OP, Yale has historically taken a good number of people off the WL, bc they are very cautious with initial acceptances. I think this year they will have a slightly higher yield due to the amazingly low unit loans. Not sure what your other options are and how you want to weigh them and how flexible you are able to be.

Thank you so very much for the detailed info and advice! It is much appreciated. Yale (along with one other school from which I have yet to hear) is my top choice, which is why I don't want to withdraw from the WL (I have withdrawn from all other WLs and some offers of admission). I am an MD/PhD applicant, so I am not sure how WL movement translates to that. I imagine, though, that the lower unit loans likely won't have as big an impact on the MSTP WL? The difficult part is not knowing for sure where I will spend the next 8 years of my life until May or June, which is close to the start dates for many MSTP programs (luckily, though, Yale begins in August). I know I have little right to say something like that since I am in the fortunate position of having acceptances to multiple other fantastic programs, but it's certainly still a bit anxiety-provoking to not know 🙂 That said, my desire to have a chance at Yale evidently outweighs any anxiety I feel at not knowing where I'll be quite yet (otherwise, I could just withdraw and commit to another school). I will definitely continue communicating with the ADCOM in accordance with their instructions. Fingers crossed that all of us here end up in the place that makes us happiest in the end!
 
Hey y'all! For second look, are those going planning on staying the whole time are leaving early? In terms of flight tickets, it's about $150 cheaper for me to leave halfway through Friday so I'm thinking of attending through then.

Also in terms of getting to New Haven, quickest/cheapest way is to fly into New York City then take the train in? Or any alternatives others suggest?

Thanks in advance!
 
Top