Inside the Yale Admissions Office

Latest Episodes:

Bulldog Days Live 2025 Apr 25, 2025

Show notes

For their third annual Bulldog Days Live episode, Hannah and Mark interview three recently admitted students about how they chose to spend their time in high school. The students share their insights on balancing schoolwork, extracurricular activities, social life, work, family, and everything else on their path to applying to college. Admissions officers Skylar and John discuss how the admissions office produces an action-packed three-day campus preview program, including two world-class performance showcases. Hannah and Mark also share dozens of pearls of wisdom submitted by audience members about prioritizing commitments and finding balance.

What Yale Looks For: Special Mythbusters Edition Feb 13, 2025

Show notes

In the latest installment in the Mythbusters miniseries, Hannah and Mark discuss examples of reasonable—but ultimately inaccurate—beliefs that some applicants have about the admissions committee’s values and expectations. They address persistent myths about the qualities Yale admissions officers look for in applicants and offer advice for composing activities lists, essays, and short answer prompts.

College Search 101: What’s Important to You Feb 12, 2025

Show notes

The second episode in a mini-series about the first step in the admissions process: deciding where to apply. Hannah and Mark emphasize the importance of beginning the college search process by engaging in honest introspection and ignoring every college ranking website. Admissions officer John returns to the podcast to share his advice on creating a list of personalized non-negotiables to guide the search process.

Mythbusters Live: 2024 Application Deadline Edition Oct 24, 2024

Show notes

With Yale’s first application deadline approaching, Hannah, Mark, and special guest Alfie hosted a special live virtual event for students planning to apply in the current admissions cycle. The officers answered questions about standardized testing, essays, and how officers review applications, while busting a few myths and responding to some of the most persistent rumors about selective college admissions.

College Search 101: How to Ask Questions Aug 15, 2024

Show notes

The opening episode in a mini-series about the first step in the admissions process: deciding where to apply. Samantha — the admissions office’s new senior assistant director for partnership programming —joins Hannah and Mark to share advice on asking questions of admissions representatives, current students, faculty and staff. The officers discuss how asking thoughtful personalized questions is an essential step in building a college list and share strategies for seeking insights about a college’s potential fit.

Application Update 2024-2025 Aug 12, 2024

Show notes

At the start of the new admissions cycle, Karen joins Hannah and Mark for the third annual preview of the questions that will appear on Yale’s first-year application. The admissions officers discuss the types of responses that are more and less effective and what admissions officers hope to learn about applicants when reading their responses. This episode is an update to Episode 6: Essays: The Little Stuff, originally released in summer 2020.

Bulldog Days Live 2024 Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Recently admitted students in the Class of 2028 join Hannah and Mark for the second annual Bulldog Days Live episode, recorded during Yale’s three-day campus preview program. Admissions officers Becky and Julian discuss how admissions officers enjoy meeting admitted students in person and the conversations they have with Bulldog Days attendees. Three admitted students reflect on navigating the process of selecting a college after receiving admissions offers, and the hosts share dozens of pearls of wisdom submitted by audience members to help students navigate the process of making a final college decision.

Bonus Episode: Standardized Tests and the Baseball Analogy Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

To help listeners better understand what test scores can and can’t say about a student’s relative strengths, Mark outlines an analogy he devised that connects standardized tests to his favorite sport. Dean Quinlan joins to discuss how applicants often overemphasize testing, the many ways applicants can show academic preparedness, and famous New York Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey.

Standardized Tests: How We Got Here Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

Part 3 in a 3-part series on Yale’s test-flexible policy. Over four years, Yale’s admissions office went from requiring the ACT or SAT, to being fully test-optional, to adopting a new test-flexible policy. Hannah and Mark give a quick history of the factors that led to those changes and an overview of what happened to Yale’s applicant pool in the wake of the pandemic. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeremiah Quinlan joins to discuss the data and analyses that persuaded the admissions office to update its testing policy in early 2024.

Standardized Tests: The Details Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

Part 2 in a 3-part series on Yale’s test-flexible policy. Hannah and Mark reveal the details of Yale’s newly announced test-flexible policy, which goes into effect for first year and transfer applicants for fall 2025 admission. They explain how applicants will fulfill Yale’s requirement and describe the questions that will appear on Yale’s application. They address concerns and questions about the new policy and share advice for how applicants can put their best foot forward with their available scores.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Inside the Yale Admissions Office

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected