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22–23 App Requirements

Select School:
Yale University
This chart shows the five-year trend for
Yale University
’s LSAT and GPA medians.
LSAT Trend
2
GPA Trend
2
Yale University accepts the GRE, but did not release their GRE medians last year.
Application Info for
Yale University
Yale’s app requires a 250-word essay along with semi-narrative rundowns of both your college and post-college activities.
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Deadline
Fee
ED Deadlines
Min Recs
Max Recs
1
2/15/2023
$85.00
No ED
2
4
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All Requirements for
Yale University
Click on a card to see the full instructions.
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Personal Statement
Please submit a personal statement that helps us learn about the personal, professional, and/or academic qualities you would bring to the Law School community. Applicants often submit the personal statement they have prepared for other law school applications.
This is an open-ended prompt, and Yale encourages you not to make the PS school-specific.
PS
Diversity Statement & Addenda
You may use this attachment slot to include a diversity statement and optional addenda to your application if any are necessary for a full representation of your candidacy. Yale Law School welcomes, but does not require, a diversity statement, which many applicants submit to help us learn more about them and how they would contribute to our community. Other applicants choose not to include diversity statements, especially if they have otherwise covered key aspects of their backgrounds and experiences in their applications. One way to decide whether to include a diversity statement is to consider those aspects of your identity that are core to who you are, and make sure they are represented in your application. Separate from a diversity statement, you may include optional addenda, for example, explanations related to test scores or transcripts. It is not necessary to include any, and many applicants do not include addenda.
Yale dislikes addenda about why your LSAT score went up.
DS
Addendum
250-Word Essay
In no more than 250 words, write about an idea or issue from your academic, extracurricular, or professional work that is of particular interest to you. Although there are many ways to approach this essay, one option is to write about a time when you changed your mind about an idea or issue that is of interest to you. The idea or issue you choose does not have to be law-related; this is simply another opportunity for faculty readers to learn more about how you would engage in the Law School community.
Yale encourages you to write about a time you changed your mind; many students also make an argument. E.g., the first paragraph makes the case against and the second the case for your position.
Supplemental
Assistance
We know that the law school application process requires significant effort. It is helpful for us to understand the application preparation resources that were available to you so that we can more fully understand the context in which you prepared your application.
1. Did you receive any unpaid assistance in preparing this application?
Yale prefers it if applicants don’t use an admissions consultant, but using one is not disqualifying. (7Sage has worked with dozens of applicants who got into Yale after disclosing our help.)
Short-answer
Résumé
Please submit a résumé. You must answer the College and Post-college Activities questions separately from this included résumé. Generally, résumés should be 1 to 2 pages in length.
Yale prefers that applicants keep their resume brief—one page, if possible—and then use the activities sections to provide further elaboration on matters. Be careful not to signify your privilege in the résumé with an interest like golf or lacrosse (these are actual examples from a Yale info session, not 7Sage opinions)—and consider leaving your interests off of your Yale résumé altogether, since Yale has a dedicated question for this.
Resume
Character & Fitness
Please note that your answers to the following questions and any information included in your Character and Fitness attachment may become part of the character and fitness review of the bar in the states in which you intend to practice. In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the .
If your answer to either of the following Character and Fitness questions is yes, include an attachment describing the circumstances.

C&F
College Activities
Please answer a, b, and c separately from the included résumé and in any format you choose. Please note that we anticipate significant duplication between this section and your résumé; the purpose of this section is to present your activities in a manner and order that is helpful to our review of your application. This section should be brief, and, in general, applicants should be able to provide this information in no more than 1–2 pages.
(a) It is helpful for us to understand what you did during those terms when you were not in school during your undergraduate education (including summers and any other term(s) when you were not in school). This should include, for example, paid or unpaid employment or internships and study abroad. Please list these activities in order of relative importance to you. For each activity, please:
provide a brief description;
Other
Post-college Activities
This section is optional.
If it has been more than three months since you attended college, describe what you have been doing in any format you choose. You should include graduate or professional education, paid or unpaid employment, as well as any other activities that you consider relevant. Please answer this question separately from any information provided in your résumé. Please note that we anticipate significant duplication between this section and your résumé; the purpose of this section is to present your post-college activities in a manner and order that is helpful to our review of your application. This section should be brief, and, in general, applicants should be able to provide this information in no more than one page, unless they have extensive post-graduate or professional experience.
For each activity (aside from additional education), please:
Other
Instructions
INTRODUCTION
While the small size of Yale Law School—approximately 200 in each entering class—requires a selective admission process, we are committed to a holistic review of every application we receive. Overall, the Law School seeks the most promising students in terms of academic and professional distinction. We seek to admit students who can both perform very well academically and also contribute meaningfully to the Law School community. We read all applications and take all factors into account in a comprehensive review process. There is no cut-off point for grade point averages or test scores. No one part of an application is conclusive and the potential for academic and professional excellence can be demonstrated in many ways. You can read more online about and our most recent .
HOW TO APPLY
Instructions

ED Scholarship & Notification
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ED Deadlines
ED Notification
ED Scholarship
ED Scholarship Notes
1
No ED
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5-Year Ranking Trend—
Yale University
vs. Peer Schools
Lower is better.
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