Yale is a dream school for millions of students, but less than two thousand undergraduates make it into each graduating class. Most get in a first years, straight out of high school. However, there is another way in. Yale “enrolls a small number of transfer students” annually, accepting new students from both two-year and four-year institutions. Successful Yale transfer applicants apply from community colleges, from the military, and from other well-respected universities.
Transfer students can enroll as sophomores or juniors. Getting in, however, is even harder than for first-year applicants. The most recently reported transfer application statistics show that Yale received 2,055 applications for transfer admission for the fall of 2024. Of that pool, only 30 were selected — 1.5%.
In this post, we’re going to break down the written portions of the transfer application, which is completed through the Common Application, to help you do your best work.
Getting into an outstanding school as a transfer is hard. We help make it happen.
The Yale transfer application is extensive. It’s not something you can do last minute, or phone in. Even if you are an exceptional student with a fascinating background and impressive credentials, your application needs to, dare we say, sparkle. The writing is what makes that happen.
You’ve applied to college before. You know the deal. But this is different. We’ll break down how.
THE TRANSFER ESSAYS
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?
For this question, you simply pick up to three subjects from a drop down menu. You do not need to pick three, but you definitely must pick more than one. Do not pick anything, however, that will feel out of sync with the rest of your application. Throwing a “well, that would be cool,” selection in here is a terrible idea. These selections give the application readers a guide to your interests, goals, and aims for the future. You want them to see focus and self-awareness, not scatterbrained selections that feel out of left field.
Why do these academic areas appeal to you? How will an education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences enhance your exploration of these areas? (250 words or 1750 characters)
Now you get to explain your choices, which is why it’s so important that they make sense for you, and make sense together. In 250 words, you need to set the scene through a story for why these areas are where you would like to focus, and how you would do that at Yale. The story needs to be specific and vivid, highlighting a moment of you engaging at the intersection of these subjects. For example, if you are interested in studying the Caribbean, Political Science, and Anthropology, maybe that interest was born out of an experience where you were exposed to the complex political relationship between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Then, you need to give a super specific explanation of how you would pursue these subjects together at Yale. What would be your major? Who is a professor you’d seek to study under? What are two classes that would be crucial to build understanding? Share this, and more, painting a picture for the application readers of what your academic experience might look like in pursuit of the subjects you love.
If you experienced a significant challenge associated with preparing for or completing the standardized test(s) you selected, you may provide details here. (100 word limit)
This question is optional, and really only applies if you faced a truly immense challenge in regard to standardized testing. Not having time to study does not count.
What is something - a skill, fact, or otherwise - that you think everyone should know or be taught? (Maximum 100 words or 700 characters)
This one is awesome, and nods towards the additional maturation and growth time transfer applicants have had when compared to high school seniors. We recommend focusing your response here on something that is an important piece of your resume, but that doesn’t necessarily have anything obvious to do with your academic path. What these 100 words can do is to build a bridge between a piece of who you are and what you like to study that wouldn’t necessarily be immediately obvious.
Tell us about a time when you made a positive impact on others. (Maximum 100 words or 700 characters)
Another great prompt. This isn’t about fluffing yourself up or making yourself sound fancy. Instead, you have the opportunity to spotlight an ongoing and long-term commitment to helping others. Yes, that can include volunteering — but it doesn’t have to. If could also be a way that you support your community that is less structures or less obvious. What it should not be, however, is a one-off. It is extremely important that whatever you put here speaks to an ongoing commitment to a community.
What inspires you? (Maximum 100 words or 700 characters)
Yale is coming in hot with another exceptional prompt. We love when colleges ask what inspires an applicant, because it’s another opportunity to pull in something that is related to your interests in broad sense, but not completely on the nose. For example, if you are an aspiring engineer, you might be inspired by the regularity of a public transportation system. If you are dreaming of becoming a biologist, you might be inspired by the mechanics of an octopus arm. Pick something specific to relish in.
Outside of your family, who has been your strongest advocate? Why has this relationship and connection been important to you? (Maximum 100 words or 700 characters)
This question is fascinating, because it’s all about someone else…but you actually don’t want to make it so completely about someone else that you get lost in the supplement. Oh, and you only have 100 words again. We have a few ideas of how to approach this question to accomplish the goal of highlighting a relationship that has been meaningful without moving the spotlight away from yourself. One is to write this as a super short letter to the person you want to talk about. Another is to write a scene, showing a conversation between you and the person you are focusing on. Either would work well as long as you create space to dedicate time to sharing the importance of this relationship to you.
Why do you wish to transfer from your current or most recent institution? Why are you interested in Yale, and how do you think that attending Yale would enrich your intellectual and personal pursuits? (Maximum 400 words or 2800 characters)
You want to move schools, and Yale wants to know why. This is not a good place to bash where you currently are, and you also need to spend most of this supplement talking about Yale — not where you would be transferring from. So, be specific. Pick 1-3 reasons for transferring that are super specific and academically focused. The point of college is, at the core, to get a degree. So, your primary reason for transferring should be related to your prospective degree, too. Simply wanting to be at a more prestigious university is not a strong pitch for your candidacy.
As you share specifics for how being at Yale will support you, remember to look beyond the classroom even while emphasizing the academics. Learning happens beyond class time, so think about research opportunities, lab time, and other avenues outside of the classroom. Do not, however, talk about study abroad. As a transfer, it is hard to fit a study abroad program into your Yale experience.
Please reflect on how your past experiences have transformed or strengthened your personal values, opinions, or goals. (Maximum 400 words or 2800 characters)
This question is your opportunity to show who you are in the way that your first-year college application main essay probably did. Yale doesn’t accept students — they accept people. This supplement lets you show who you are at your core. We recommend that students write earnest, narrative-forward responses that are not academic in nature but that spotlight core aspects of who you are that have contributed to you being a Yale-ready student (don’t say that explicitly, though).
As you start drafting, don’t try to cover a bunch of territory. Stay focused on communicating a few things through one central narrative.
Additional Information: Please use this space to provide the admissions office with any additional information that may be relevant to your application but was not captured elsewhere in your application. (Maximum 400 words or 2800 characters)
The additional information section is important, because you almost certainly have something that hasn’t fit anywhere else. This could be additional awards or honors, information about work experience or research, or another aspect of who you are that requires additional explaining.
As you prepare your application, remember that Yale is test flexible for college admissions. They much prefer that you submit an SAT or ACT, but if you aren’t happy with your scores, you can “submit all completed AP or IB exam scores.” Again, this is a back-up plan. The best is submitting an SAT or ACT score.
And remember to give yourself a lot of time to pull your application together. The writing takes time, but scrounging up your transcripts and requesting recommendations takes longer. Don’t rush it.
High stakes applications require strong strategy, Contact us to get yours.