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.

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.

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.

Part 1 in a 3-part series on Yale’s test-flexible policy. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Jeremiah Quinlan shares his thoughts on the role and value of tests generally, and how students should consider their scores during the college search process. Hannah and Mark discuss how admissions officers incorporate test scores in Yale’s whole-person review process, and they bust some persistent myths about testing.

With just days to go before Yale’s early action deadline, Hannah, Mark, and special guest Moira hosted a special live virtual event for students preparing their Yale applications. The officers answered questions about standardized testing, the activities list, essays, and short answer questions, while busting a few myths and dispelling rumors about the selection process.

In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in two cases about how admissions offices can consider an applicant’s race and ethnicity. Hannah and Mark explain the basics of the ruling and how it affects the work of the admissions office. Special guest Jeremiah Quinlan, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid, joins to share his insights on why the ruling should not affect how applicants and educators approach the college application process, as well as the details of Yale’s strategy for responding to the ruling to ensure that Yale’s student body remains diverse along all dimensions. The ruling changed the court’s interpretation of the law, but it did not change Yale’s values.

In September 2023 Hannah and Mark hosted a special live virtual event for high school seniors. Responding to questions submitted by audience members, the hosts addressed common questions about essays, activities, intended majors, and the review process. They also shared their advice for navigating the application process during senior year.

The sudden availability of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have raised new questions about authorship, plagiarism, and fairness in college admissions. Hannah and Mark discuss why they think these tools are unlikely to help applicants gain an advantage in Yale’s selection process and why questions about generative-AI are the wrong starting point for understanding how to compose an effective college essay. LLMs can appear very knowledgeable, but they are inevitably ignorant of the foundation of any successful application: the unique person applying.

At the start of the 2023-2024 admissions cycle, Jackie joins Hannah and Mark for the second annual preview of the new and updated questions that will be on Yale’s first-year application. The admissions officers discuss the annual process of reviewing and revising the Yale-specific questions and the staff’s thinking behind each one. This episode is an update to Episode 6: Essays: The Little Stuff, originally released in summer 2020.

A live audience of recently admitted students joins Hannah and Mark for a special episode recorded at Bulldog Days, a three-day campus preview program. Special guests Chandler and Marty share insights on how admissions officers plan and execute Bulldog Days with the help of current students and campus partners. Three admitted students reflect on their experience navigating the college search and application processes, and the hosts share dozens of pearls of wisdom submitted by audience members to help future college applicants.