Anyone else still putting off the Yale App? Forum

[Emma.]

I've been procrastinating hard on this one... But now I have another essay I need to write, so going to try to get my Y250 in the bag at the same time.

[Sogui]

I just decided to apply to Yale. I figure with decent numbers I'd be silly not to, but I'm still treating it as a reach.

Since I just decided to apply, I'm not too invested in whether I get rejected or not (about $80 worth of sentiment), therefore I really don't care about it as much. I'll write about some random thing I muse about and send it in.

I've been putting of all my apps, but now that I've decided to do Yale it'll probably have my quickest turnaround time.

[Genki]

I'm waiting for my december retake score before I decide if an application to Yale is worth it.

Even if I score around my practice test average, Yale is still a super reach for me.
If I was able to score near my practice test high, then I'll be spending my Christmas preparing a Yale 250.

[Dignan]

I've been procrastinating hard on this one... But now I have another essay I need to write, so going to try to get my Y250 in the bag at the same time.

The Cornell scholarship essay?

[r6_philly]

If everyone decides not to apply, maybe I can be a shoe-in?

I almost have everything ready except 1 Yale LOR and the LSAT. I wrote the 250 last month, but I just wrote a DS for another school and that serves pretty well as the 250 too so now I don't know which to use.

[MURPH]

Don't feel too bad about procrastinating. I put my Yale application in a month ago and now wish I had spent more time on it.

[driveshaft]

same boat as everyone else. personally, i dont think my softs are unique enough (and my numbers arent 4/180) for me to get into Yale anyways...not straight from undergrad. add the fact that even if i got in, i wouldnt go lol...makes writing the 250 and filling out their tiring app unrealistic.

i just cant 100% let go of it yet either. 99%, just not 100. maybe in a few more weeks, dont hassle them w/ an app from a person who will a) not get in b) not go anyways c) both of the above lol.

+1 to everything you said.

[heyguys]

Because it was a topic regarding which I received conflicting evidence and opinions when I was applying, I just wanted to say how important I think the 250 is to YLS admissions. Here's essentially what a professor of mine told me about admissions here:

1) Professors barely ever look at GPA and LSAT--they assume that you made the cutoff of the adcoms' office, so you must be high enough that they would take you, and the profs don't think it necessarily means very much.
2) Professors pay A LOT of attention to your writing. This focus is the result of a) the fact that we only have one semester of legal writing-->it behooves them to be taking in students who already possess strong writing skills and b) because they're interested in students who want to write law review articles. Law is a writing profession.
3) College major does matter, but not like you may think. They don't really think about majors as hard or easy, but instead about how much mental acumen a particular major might require. They tend to stay away from pre-professional majors, accounting majors, finance majors, etc.
4) Letters of recommendation don't mean much beyond their being positive or negative. To most professors, they can only stand to hurt you because they assume the positive ones are embellishing what they really think of you.

So yeah, really focus on your writing. Last year some said the 250 wasn't that important, but I disagree and the professors to whom I've spoken have confirmed my feelings on this (at least thus far). I actually have no idea where this leaves the prospect of writing a diversity statement. Yale was the only school to which I did not submit a diversity statement, and I guess it didn't hurt me. I don't know if it would help though.

[r6_philly]

Because it was a topic regarding which I received conflicting evidence and opinions when I was applying, I just wanted to say how important I think the 250 is to YLS admissions. Here's essentially what a professor of mine told me about admissions here:

1) Professors barely ever look at GPA and LSAT--they assume that you made the cutoff of the adcoms' office, so you must be high enough that they would take you, and the profs don't think it necessarily means very much.
2) Professors pay A LOT of attention to your writing. This focus is the result of a) the fact that we only have one semester of legal writing-->it behooves them to be taking in students who already possess strong writing skills and b) because they're interested in students who want to write law review articles. Law is a writing profession.
3) College major does matter, but not like you may think. They don't really think about majors as hard or easy, but instead about how much mental acumen a particular major might require. They tend to stay away from pre-professional majors, accounting majors, finance majors, etc.
4) Letters of recommendation don't mean much beyond their being positive or negative. To most professors, they can only stand to hurt you because they assume the positive ones are embellishing what they really think of you.

So yeah, really focus on your writing. Last year some said the 250 wasn't that important, but I disagree and the professors to whom I've spoken have confirmed my feelings on this (at least thus far). I actually have no idea where this leaves the prospect of writing a diversity statement. Yale was the only school to which I did not submit a diversity statement, and I guess it didn't hurt me. I don't know if it would help though.

Thank you for this great info. So what defines strong writing skills there? Because of my major and experiences I always write in a dry business and technical style. I always wonder if they more favor functional and analytical writing or something more pleasant and interesting to read. I decided to write something personal which turned out to be more of a narrative, and I would love to know if it would serve me better to write more of a analysis piece which my DS is.

[sayan]

Because it was a topic regarding which I received conflicting evidence and opinions when I was applying, I just wanted to say how important I think the 250 is to YLS admissions. Here's essentially what a professor of mine told me about admissions here:

1) Professors barely ever look at GPA and LSAT--they assume that you made the cutoff of the adcoms' office, so you must be high enough that they would take you, and the profs don't think it necessarily means very much.
2) Professors pay A LOT of attention to your writing. This focus is the result of a) the fact that we only have one semester of legal writing-->it behooves them to be taking in students who already possess strong writing skills and b) because they're interested in students who want to write law review articles. Law is a writing profession.
3) College major does matter, but not like you may think. They don't really think about majors as hard or easy, but instead about how much mental acumen a particular major might require. They tend to stay away from pre-professional majors, accounting majors, finance majors, etc.
4) Letters of recommendation don't mean much beyond their being positive or negative. To most professors, they can only stand to hurt you because they assume the positive ones are embellishing what they really think of you.

So yeah, really focus on your writing. Last year some said the 250 wasn't that important, but I disagree and the professors to whom I've spoken have confirmed my feelings on this (at least thus far). I actually have no idea where this leaves the prospect of writing a diversity statement. Yale was the only school to which I did not submit a diversity statement, and I guess it didn't hurt me. I don't know if it would help though.

It's odd that they put emphasis on the creative writing aspect (250) given that law writing is typical technical and dry. Creativity in syntax may apply but topic and rhetorical devices seem irrelevant.

[Emma.]

I've been procrastinating hard on this one... But now I have another essay I need to write, so going to try to get my Y250 in the bag at the same time.

The Cornell scholarship essay?

Nah, apparently Cornell have no scholarship love for me.

On the bright side, Mich invited me to apply for the Darrow.

[Sogui]

They tend to stay away from pre-professional majors, accounting majors, finance majors, etc.

Would love to hear some real reasoning behind this.

My Finance/Business Honors Program requires several writing-intensive classes and our managerial-focused and case study oriented classes definitely involved more critical analysis than classes in liberal arts where I was either memorizing facts or books.

[Ragged]

Same here. (not) Thinking about the 250 and wondering whether I should waste the 85 or whatever dollars but then again wondering "what if?".

[heyguys]

They tend to stay away from pre-professional majors, accounting majors, finance majors, etc.

Would love to hear some real reasoning behind this.

My Finance/Business Honors Program requires several writing-intensive classes and our managerial-focused and case study oriented classes definitely involved more critical analysis than classes in liberal arts where I was either memorizing facts or books.

I'm not sure what you mean by "real reasoning" here. The claim is positive, not normative, and I have no real judgment one way or the other regarding it. I'm simply saying that I've been told by professors that they tend to be prejudicial against pre-professional majors like accounting. If you want to know why they specifically said this to be the case, the best I could do would be to say that they a) think that the pre-professional majors tend to "game" the standardized tests and such and b) they don't tend to be as innovative/interesting thinkers.

Again, I'm not arguing these points to be true, so don't worry about getting up in arms about it. Don't shoot the messenger, please .

As to writing: first, I don't think the creative/analytical distinction is meaningfully dichotomous--i.e. they're not mutually exclusive. However, I don't think the professors are looking for a specific style in this regard. I think their chief worry is first and foremost how strong a handle you as a writer have on writing (prose style, basic mechanics, clarity, etc), and then how interesting a candidate (both in terms of the way your mind works and the strength of the experiences you've had) you would be to them. I mean, they're generally saying to themselves: "is this someone who deserves to be in my class, and do I feel like (s)he will make a meaningful contribution to the class as a whole?"

[tomhobbes]

Is there a length limit to Yale's PS? Is it just as important as the 250?

[capitalacq]

Is it just as important as the 250?

I'd say that its just as important. Your application doesn't come down to any of the individual components... everything should be pretty strong

[deathviaboredom]

I'm putting it off until I have a 4.5/180.

+1

[EijiMiyake]

Christmas bump

[Lysis]

I'm almost ready to submit. Is it weird to send it today?

[r6_philly]

I'm almost ready to submit. Is it weird to send it today?

It's probably good will and good luck! So good luck!

[somewhatwayward]

hmmm i hope the day you submitted doesn't have an effect on your luck bc i submitted most of mine on friday nov 13, heh...

[crackberry]

I had an epiphany on Christmas Eve about my 250 and am about halfway done with it. I'm hoping to click "submit" by the time I go out on NYE.

[r6_philly]

I had an epiphany on Christmas Eve about my 250 and am about halfway done with it. I'm hoping to click "submit" by the time I go out on NYE.

Just don't do it when you are back in from partying

[crackberry]

I had an epiphany on Christmas Eve about my 250 and am about halfway done with it. I'm hoping to click "submit" by the time I go out on NYE.

Just don't do it when you are back in from partying

Haha what's funny is I submitted my USC app slightly intoxicated. I withdrew by email last week, but my status checker says "Decision Finalized" anyway so maybe when I get back to CA from NYC we'll see how that turned out.

[r6_philly]

I had an epiphany on Christmas Eve about my 250 and am about halfway done with it. I'm hoping to click "submit" by the time I go out on NYE.

Just don't do it when you are back in from partying

Haha what's funny is I submitted my USC app slightly intoxicated. I withdrew by email last week, but my status checker says "Decision Finalized" anyway so maybe when I get back to CA from NYC we'll see how that turned out.

Maybe the creative juices flow better when you are drunk, wouldn't be the first person! It will probably make you stand out from all the other academic 250's they read.