Yale 2011 applicants Forum

[123kl]

Hi all. I'm applying in the next week or so. In her blog, Asha says that resumes of more than one page are viewed somewhat negatively, although they aren't a dealbreaker. Can anyone here comment that submitted a resume of two pages? For those of you who cut it to one page, did you just completely take out your activities section since they are listed in Yale's additional questions?

Thanks for the help!

[JeNeRegretteRien]

Hi all. I'm applying in the next week or so. In her blog, Asha says that resumes of more than one page are viewed somewhat negatively, although they aren't a dealbreaker. Can anyone here comment that submitted a resume of two pages? For those of you who cut it to one page, did you just completely take out your activities section since they are listed in Yale's additional questions?

Thanks for the help!

I, at least, think that resumes are like LOCIs / updates, and the same basic principles apply (thoughts on that are right before your post). You're on risky terrain, and you should be careful and skeptical. Sometimes, for some small number of people, it's not only worth it, but advantageous. But clearly, on average, people who go over one page, who on average think it's worth it, are on average wrong - hence the guideline.

Maybe the best advice is, if you have to ask if the additional page is value-add - the answer is "no."

[tgir]

Rejection letters should start streaming in soon. I'm starting to get nervous. Then again...closure of any sort would be nice.

[ACcommando]

Hi all. I'm applying in the next week or so. In her blog, Asha says that resumes of more than one page are viewed somewhat negatively, although they aren't a dealbreaker. Can anyone here comment that submitted a resume of two pages? For those of you who cut it to one page, did you just completely take out your activities section since they are listed in Yale's additional questions?

Thanks for the help!

My resume was two pages long. I submitted it along with the additional questions because I liked the way it was organized and it allowed me to use the additional q's to fill in some more background that might not have made sense without the picture presented in the resume. To be fair, I have been out of undergrad for almost eight years and I submitted my application before the guidance on resume length was released.

[notanumber]

Hi all. I'm applying in the next week or so. In her blog, Asha says that resumes of more than one page are viewed somewhat negatively, although they aren't a dealbreaker. Can anyone here comment that submitted a resume of two pages? For those of you who cut it to one page, did you just completely take out your activities section since they are listed in Yale's additional questions?

Thanks for the help!

My resume was two pages long. I submitted it along with the additional questions because I liked the way it was organized and it allowed me to use the additional q's to fill in some more background that might not have made sense without the picture presented in the resume. To be fair, I have been out of undergrad for almost eight years and I submitted my application before the guidance on resume length was released.

If your resume is concise then you should be fine even if it is 2 pages. Like ACc, I broke several of Yale's "unwritten rules" when I applied. But I was also out of undergrad for about eight years.

A good analogy, I think, is with breaking grammatical rules. If you're going to do it then you need to make damn sure that you understand why the rule exists and what, specifically, you hope to accomplish by breaking the rule.

[The Stig]

Rejection letters should start streaming in soon. I'm starting to get nervous. Then again...closure of any sort would be nice.

I only feel safe because I haven't sent in my app yet

[dbrddr]

My PS was slightly over two pages. No way my negative answers to questions 9-12 deserved a page to themselves.

edit: in college and not that special. ....yet

[123kl]

Thanks everyone. I'm only out of college 2 yrs, so I'll have to do some thinking. Any other input welcome!

[arism87]

So I'm an auto-reject at Yale, but still.. is anyone else tired of seeing the same SEVEN green dots on LSN? haha

[JeNeRegretteRien]

So I'm an auto-reject at Yale, but still.. is anyone else tired of seeing the same SEVEN green dots on LSN? haha

YES. And then some.

Nothing against them of course... Would just like more insight.

[hoopla14]

Thanks everyone. I'm only out of college 2 yrs, so I'll have to do some thinking. Any other input welcome!

I've been out of college for almost five years, and turned in a one and a half page resume for most schools, since they specifically asked for a lot of information. My understanding of the 203 post is that Yale is looking for a more traditional resume (I wouldn't have anything longer than one page when applying for a job), so I cut off my college activities, focused more on work, and got it down to one page.

Obviously, I have no idea if this will leave people swooning or apoplectic, but it seemed most prudent to me.

[Zatarra]

Like ACc, I broke several of Yale's "unwritten rules" when I applied. But I was also out of undergrad for about eight years.

A good analogy, I think, is with breaking grammatical rules. If you're going to do it then you need to make damn sure that you understand why the rule exists and what, specifically, you hope to accomplish by breaking the rule.

Sigh, I too broke a few of those rules, as I submitted before the 'guidelines' went up in December. Unfortunately,
I've been out of college considerably less than eight years, and could have paired down the resume to one page, if necessary.

It also sounds like LOCIs/updates are a big roll of the dice. Still, I can't help but think that at this point, having submitted in October, I'm on the edge, at best, so it may just be worth taking the chance. Que sera sera!

[rm61]

Apparently, I now have Yale-induced insomnia. Really?


Fie

[intheend]

Just in case you're too worried about "technical matters," as Dean Rangappa said, it's not a deal-breaker. And my two page résumé doesn't seem to have been held against me all that much despite that fact that I'm still in college. I really do think they're more interested in the "substance" of your app.

[fishdude]

If you're worried about how to package your resume and other materials, I think the dean's advice can be summarized as "Don't be weird."
Don't turn your resume into a lengthy narrative about your life in the hopes that that will impress anyone.
Answer the questions as they are asked, and if you have a resume or CV handy, and believe that it conveys additional information in a professional way, attach that too.
Standard business resumes are one page. Standard CVs run much longer. This is an application for law school, not for a job. Use this opportunity to summarize your professional life in a way that seems appropriate given your work history.
The judgment that you demonstrate in putting these materials together presumably says something about the judgment you will demonstrate in law school and as a lawyer.
Don't freak out.

FWIW, I submitted a two page condensed CV. But I'm coming out of an academic background and am seven years out of UG. Standard law school application questions about college extracurriculars and employment don't really touch upon what I've been doing for most of the last several years. Someone with extensive post-college work experience could probably get a lot of mileage from a solid resume. For those still in college, ask yourself whether a resume/cv adds information that's not addressed in the other application questions. I know it wouldn't have in my case (and I didn't submit one when applying to graduate programs years ago).

[tomwatts]

Toss me into the group of people wondering who in the heck Yale is admitting. Tweets on 1/19, 1/20, and 1/22 all indicate admit calls, yet no one from TLS/LSN has indicated anything. Now, granted, Yale admits fewer people than just about any other top law school. (Top small schools — under 300 matriculants — with number of admit offers according to LSAC: Yale 270, Stanford 373, Chicago 982, gets more ridiculous from there.) But even so, why no TLS love? There were only 6 "tweet but no LSN" days all last cycle (most in February), and we've had 3 so far (maybe slow updates — so maybe these will show up in several months).

So if I were to take a wild stab in the dark about the mysterious process that is YLS admissions, I'd guess that someone from TLS should hear with the next batch of admits, and my call for the start of that next batch is Saturday.

Oh, and rejections started now last year. Brace yourself for bad news over the next few days.

[JeNeRegretteRien]

One new LSN datapoint (as of this morning / last night), although it doesn't include stats.

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/pennyloafer17

[Fresh]

Toss me into the group of people wondering who in the heck Yale is admitting.
So if I were to take a wild stab in the dark about the mysterious process that is YLS admissions, I'd guess that someone from TLS should hear with the next batch of admits, and my call for the start of that next batch is Saturday.

If NOT presumptive admit AND have account on TLS --> auto-ding
If NOT auto-ding --> Presumptive admit OR no account on TLS

[The Real Jack McCoy]

Toss me into the group of people wondering who in the heck Yale is admitting. Tweets on 1/19, 1/20, and 1/22 all indicate admit calls, yet no one from TLS/LSN has indicated anything. Now, granted, Yale admits fewer people than just about any other top law school. (Top small schools — under 300 matriculants — with number of admit offers according to LSAC: Yale 270, Stanford 373, Chicago 982, gets more ridiculous from there.) But even so, why no TLS love? There were only 6 "tweet but no LSN" days all last cycle (most in February), and we've had 3 so far (maybe slow updates — so maybe these will show up in several months).

So if I were to take a wild stab in the dark about the mysterious process that is YLS admissions, I'd guess that someone from TLS should hear with the next batch of admits, and my call for the start of that next batch is Saturday.

Oh, and rejections started now last year. Brace yourself for bad news over the next few days.

Might be said up above, but check out the facebook group (Yale Law School 2014) if you want to see who is admitted. Seems like a very healthy number of admits are in the group.

[r6_philly]

Might be said up above, but check out the facebook group (Yale Law School 2014) if you want to see who is admitted. Seems like a very healthy number of admits are in the group.

You mean 59 people with 19 being deferrals?

[lzyovrachievr]

Breaking news from New Haven: more snow, more offers. 6 minutes ago via web

[arism87]

Might be said up above, but check out the facebook group (Yale Law School 2014) if you want to see who is admitted. Seems like a very healthy number of admits are in the group.

You mean 59 people with 19 being deferrals?

Compared to LSN that is a TON! Get those people on LSN!

[r6_philly]

Might be said up above, but check out the facebook group (Yale Law School 2014) if you want to see who is admitted. Seems like a very healthy number of admits are in the group.

You mean 59 people with 19 being deferrals?

Compared to LSN that is a TON! Get those people on LSN!

Those people have better things to do. Not being sarcastic.

[r6_philly]

Just to add: 40 admits 3 weeks before application deadline?

[123kl]

Just to add: 40 admits 3 weeks before application deadline?

Ugh, the more admits there are, the more I think I'm wasting my time with my app. Won't get out until Saturday at the earliest....