Yes. All students apply to Yale College using the same application: the Common Application and the Yale Supplement. International students must also submit one additional form: the International Supplement to the Secondary School Report (available from the Common Application) or have the information requested by this form included in the Secondary School Report.

No. We seek to admit a diverse group of international students each year. The quantity and quality of applications from different countries will vary from year to year, and so will the admissions. We do not predetermine the number of candidates that we will admit from any particular country.

Yes. Our international team of officers is familiar with educational systems and credentials around the world. If you like, you are welcome to send additional information about the particularities of your country’s educational system.

We hope that you will view our video for international students, “Yale’s Community of Individuals,” which features current international students talking about Yale. You are also welcome to visit the website of our Office of International Students and Scholars, the center for support services to the Yale international community. For more information about the Yale experience in general, please explore the rest of our admissions site. Feel free to send any specific questions to our email address, student.questions@yale.edu.

Yes, you may defer your admission for up to two years (or for the length of your military obligation).

You may apply as a freshman if you have completed no more than one year at another university. If you have completed more than one year at another university (but no more than two years), you may apply as a transfer student.

Yes. Yale will consider transfer applications from international students who have not completed more than two years of a university degree program. International transfer students are eligible for financial aid on the same basis as any other student. Please see our Financial Aid website for more information.

No. Simply list your awards and honors in the Common Application’s additional information pages. We do not need to see the certificates.

If you have exceptional talent and a record of accomplishment in the areas of visual art, music, or science, you might consider submitting an appropriate sample of your work. If you are thinking about doing so, please read and closely follow the directions listed on our Supplementary Materials page. Please do NOT send certificates, 3D submissions, multiple extra recommendations, newspaper clippings, and other such additional documents.

You will receive email notification once Yale receives and processes your application.

After we receive and process your application, we will send you information about activating your online Eli Account. Through this account you will be able to check the status of your application. If any of your required application documents are missing, we will notify you. You will also learn Yale’s final decision about your admission on this site. Please read all notices on the Eli Account site carefully and check it periodically throughout the admissions season. 

A tutor, house master, principal, academic advisor, or another comparable school official can complete the form and recommendation.

Only submit the Midyear Report if you receive new grades or term reports in the middle of the school year. Most international students do not need to send us this form. All admitted students must submit the Final Report, which provides us with final schools grades/exam marks/diploma when you finish secondary school. There is no need to complete the Final Report until after you gain admission to Yale.

There are designated spaces on the Common Application Secondary School Report form for your class rank and GPA. If you do not have a GPA or a rank, leave those spaces blank.

Yes, unless your school has an AP or standard American curriculum. If you are in an IB curriculum at your international or American school abroad, you must submit the International Supplement with your IB predictions along with the Secondary School Report with your internal grades. If your school has an AP or standard American curriculum, there is no need to submit the International Supplement.

If you are admitted and decide to enroll at Yale College, the visa process is very straightforward. Once you receive the I-20 form from us, you can apply for a visa appointment at your local U.S. embassy. 

Yes. Any student can apply Early Action Single Choice.

Yes, international students are eligible. Yale’s financial aid policies for foreign citizens are similar to those for U.S. citizens: need-blind admissions and need-based aid. “Need-blind” means that Yale College admits students on the basis of academic and personal promise, without regard to their ability to pay. “Need-based” means that financial aid packages are based on individual needs assessments, not based on merit awards. International students are evaluated using a needs analysis that takes into account the relative differences between the US economy and the economy of students’ home countries.

You can find international financial aid forms on the Financial Aid website. If you have any questions or if your family has special circumstances or expenses, we encourage you to send Student Financial Services an email or letter with details to help them understand your financial situation more completely.

This is actually not a decision you can make. You will report your citizenship(s) on the Common Application. We will consider your citizenship(s) along with your experience abroad in our holistic, context-based application review. Rest assured that it isn’t “better” or “worse” one way or the other. At Yale, because we offer need-blind need-based aid regardless of citizenship, the admissions process for all applicants is the same.

Yes. All international applicants must submit official results of standardized tests. You have two testing options, and we have no preference which you choose. You may take either:

• Option 1: The SAT Reasoning Test and two SAT Subject Tests of  your choice   

    OR

• Option 2: The ACT Plus Writing. (Note that because the ACT is less available outside of the U.S., the majority of international students submit SAT results.)

There are two exceptions to this testing requirement:

• Students whose home countries do not allow their citizens access to standardized testing centers – Afghanistan and China, for examples – are exempt from these testing requirements. These students must take either the TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE instead.
• Students who have completed A-level programs may use their results as a substitute for the SAT Subject Tests on a one-for-one basis, provided that the official test results arrive at Yale no later than February 2011. Eligible students must still take either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT Plus Writing. You cannot use predicted A-level results as substitutions for the SAT Subject Tests.

Yale does not accept IB results, national exam results, or any other substitution for the required standardized tests.

For more information on how to take the tests and to find testing centers, you may find the following websites helpful:

• www.collegeboard.com: For information on the SAT Reasoning Test and the SAT Subject Tests.

• www.act.org: For information on the ACT Plus Writing.

It is important for all students — but particularly important for international students — to register for tests with the same name that you use on your application. Our system will not link your record to your test scores if the names do not match.

Please keep in mind that there are no cut-off scores for any of these exams. Yale’s admission process is highly selective, but it is not primarily based on standardized test results. Scores are merely one part of the application.

Possibly, but it is not required. Not all international applicants need to take an English proficiency test such as TOEFL, IELTS, and PTE. But like all Yale students, international students must be able to understand rapid, idiomatic English and to express themselves easily in both spoken and written English. If English is not your first language, please see our Standardized Testing page for information about language proficiency requirements at Yale.

Note: Students in countries where it is not possible to take the SAT or ACT exams (e.g. China and Afghanistan) must take an English proficiency test.

Please view our standardized testing deadlines page.

Yes. Students enrolled in A-level programs may use two completed A-level results as a substitute for the two SAT Subject Tests, provided official test results arrive at Yale by February. You must still take either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT Plus Writing. Predicted A-level results may not be used in place of the SAT Subject Tests.

Not necessarily. We are not able to offer an interview to every applicant. An interview offer is not a signal regarding the status of your application. For more information about interviews for international applicants, please see the section on interviewing in Applying to Yale as an International Student.

Yes. Official translations must accompany any documents that are not written in English.

Yale does award some advanced standing and/or acceleration credit for students who achieve high scores on Advanced Placement or SAT Subject Tests, as well as on International Baccalaureate, A-level, or other international exams. These decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, and we cannot predict the amount of credit or acceleration you might receive before you gain admission to Yale. More information can be found on the Yale College website. We strongly encourage students to take advantage of the full four-year undergraduate experience at Yale. Please note that Yale generally does not award credit to entering freshmen for university coursework completed before matriculation.