Yale's supplement has three parts: a 200-word answer about a topic or idea that excites you (tied to up to three academic areas you pick from a list), three "short takes" of 200 characters each, and one 400-word essay chosen from three prompts.
200 characters is about 35 words, so the short takes reward precision. The 400-word essay is the longest piece and the best place for a story the rest of your application does not tell.
Yale's questions at a glance
| Question | Limit | Who answers it | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| A topic or idea that excites you | 200 words | Required | Intellectual curiosity |
| Short take: a course, book or work of art | 200 characters | Required | Short answer |
| Short take: how you hope to grow | 200 characters | Required | Short answer |
| Short take: something not in your application | 200 characters | Required | Short answer |
| Essay: an opposing view | 400 words | Choose 1 of 3 | Disagreement and dialogue |
| Essay: a community | 400 words | Choose 1 of 3 | Community |
| Essay: your personal experience | 400 words | Choose 1 of 3 | Background and identity |
How to plan the Yale supplement
- 1Choose your 400-word essay prompt first, because it uses your biggest story. Then make sure the 200-word academic answer and the short takes show other sides of you.
- 2Pick the academic areas from Yale's list honestly; the 200-word answer must connect to at least one of them.
- 3Write the short takes last, and count characters, not words.
1. A topic or idea that excites you
Yale's wording · 200 words · RequiredStudents 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? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.“Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it?”
What it is really asking. One topic or idea related to the academic areas you selected, and why you are drawn to it. Yale wants to watch your mind work on something specific.
How to approach it
- 1Narrow from a field to a question: not "biology" but why some trees in your street drop leaves weeks earlier than others.
- 2Show how you pursued it: what you read, tried or asked.
- 3End on what you still want to know; that is why you are drawn to it.
Mistakes to avoid
- Summarizing a field.
- Choosing an idea that has nothing to do with the areas you picked.
Full guide: How to Write Yale's "Topic or Idea That Excites You" Essay
2. Short take: a course, book or work of art
Yale's wording · 200 characters · Required“If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?”
What it is really asking. A course you would teach, a book you would write or a piece of art you would make, in 200 characters.
How to approach it
- 1Give it a title and one detail that makes it yours.
Mistakes to avoid
- Naming a whole field ("a course on history").
More on this kind of question: How to write short answer questions
3. Short take: how you hope to grow
Yale's wording · 200 characters · Required“What is one aspect of yourself that you hope to grow or develop during college?”
What it is really asking. One aspect of yourself you hope to grow in college, in 200 characters.
How to approach it
- 1Name a specific habit or skill and a hint of why.
Mistakes to avoid
- Virtues everyone claims ("be more open-minded").
More on this kind of question: How to write short answer questions
4. Short take: something not in your application
Yale's wording · 200 characters · Required“What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?”
What it is really asking. Something about you that is nowhere else in your application, in 200 characters.
How to approach it
- 1Check your application first, then pick something that adds a new color.
Mistakes to avoid
- Repeating an activity in different words.
More on this kind of question: How to write short answer questions
Respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer.
5. Essay: an opposing view
Yale's wording · 400 words · Choose 1 of 3“Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?”
What it is really asking. A conversation with someone holding an opposing view on an issue important to you, and why the experience was meaningful.
How to approach it
- 1Choose an issue you care about and a person you respect.
- 2Spend more words on what happened in the conversation than on the issue.
- 3Explain why it mattered to you, which is the actual question.
Mistakes to avoid
- A debate summary.
- Making the other person a villain.
Full guide: How to Write Yale's "Opposing View" Essay
6. Essay: a community
Yale's wording · 400 words · Choose 1 of 3“Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.”
What it is really asking. A community you feel connected to, and why it is meaningful to you. You may define community however you like.
How to approach it
- 1Use the freedom: a small or unusual community often says more.
- 2Show your place in it through a scene.
- 3Spend the second half on why it matters to you.
Mistakes to avoid
- A generic description of a group.
- Leaving yourself out of the story.
Full guide: How to Write Yale's "Community" Essay
7. Essay: your personal experience
Yale's wording · 400 words · Choose 1 of 3“Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?”
What it is really asking. An element of your personal experience that will enrich your college, and how it has shaped you.
How to approach it
- 1Pick one element, not your life story.
- 2Show how it shaped you with a specific moment.
- 3Connect it to what you would add to Yale's classrooms or residential colleges.
Mistakes to avoid
- Telling hardship without its effect on you.
- A conclusion that only says it will "add diversity".
Full guide: How to Write Yale's "Personal Experience" Essay
What our grader checks in your Yale answers
Every answer is judged against a checklist for its kind of question plus one check written for Yale's own wording. Each area comes back Met, Partly or Missing, and those verdicts (with the word limit) set the answer's readiness: Ready, Nearly there or Needs work. There is no score out of 100.
| Question | Yale's own check |
|---|---|
| A topic or idea that excites you | Ties the topic to one or more of the academic areas the applicant selected, and says why they are drawn to it. |
| Short take: a course, book or work of art | Fits Yale's 200-character limit with a specific course, book or work, not a field. |
| Short take: how you hope to grow | Fits 200 characters and names one honest, specific aspect, not a virtue everyone claims. |
| Short take: something not in your application | Fits 200 characters and adds something truly absent from the rest of the application. |
| Essay: an opposing view | Explains why the experience was meaningful, not only what was said. |
| Essay: a community | Says why the community is meaningful to the applicant; the community may be defined however they like. |
| Essay: your personal experience | Connects the element of experience to how it will enrich Yale and how it shaped the applicant. |
The type checklists are on the supplemental essay grader page.
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