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Examples of Successful Supplementals

Yale Acceptance example—Alara  

1. Students at Yale have plenty of 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.

1.1. Computer Science

1.2. Cognitive Science

1.3. Computer Science and Psychology

2. Why do these areas appeal to you? (100 words or fewer)

Ever since my first online programming course, I have been mesmerized by the world of algorithms and the ability to create and solve problems through code. This passion has given me a new perspective to approach the problems around us. Every year a new technological invention—SpaceX, Tesla Motors, Facebook, iPhone, Uber—revolutionises the way we live and think by providing solutions to our everyday problems. Having grown up in awe of these inventions, I dream of pursuing computer science, through which I can fulfill my ultimate goal: to make my mark on the future by creating innovative solutions for humankind.

3. What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

As I wave my Y22 handkerchief for the first time, filled with excitement, I imagine the “ bright college

years ” ahead of me, where I will finally be able to dive deep into the topics I have always wanted to explore.

Seeing my handkerchief fly in the air like a bird, I am suddenly struck by feelings of apprehension. I will be leaving behind my nest, my mom, dad, brother, aunts, cousins, and grandmas — a whole continent.

But I think about why I fell in love with Yale: Big Sibs who will always be ready to support me, “college families” that will become an everlasting part of me, and I realise my worries are groundless. How could I feel homesick with my new family beside me?

4. What inspires you? (35 words or fewer)

I watch the Moon from my window every night, and envision the daring ideas which led us to land there.

Reminding myself that nothing is impossible, I, too, will always reach for the stars.

5. Yale’s residential colleges regularly host intimate conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What question would you ask? (35 words or fewer)

Elon Musk, your investments in neural lace technology will allow us to skip our normal learning stage by transferring skills through electric signals. How will this revolutionise our education system?

6. You are teaching a Yale course. What is it called? (35 words or fewer)

Technology for Social Good: Innovating and Transforming the Current State of Community Service Projects

7. Most first-year Yale students live in suites of four to six people. What would you contribute to the dynamic of your suite? (35 words or fewer)

In an attempt to substitute for long family dinners we might be missing, I would gather my new “family” together with “suite feasts,” where I would cook global traditional dishes for them.

8. Reflect on your engagement with a community to which you belong. How do you feel you have contributed to this community? (250 words or fewer)

Three years ago, I became a part of the international European Youth Parliament community of 35,000 young Europeans. For the past years, EYP has been a place where I stepped outside of my comfort zone to give speeches to hundreds of other youths, to exchange ideas with people coming from unique cultures, and to live 7/24 together with people whom I had never met before. At conferences, we discuss issues from environment to legislature. At the end, we decide unanimously on what we can do to better the world. I wanted as many youth as possible to experience similar life changing moments by becoming a part of this community. Hence, by being the vice-president of our school’s EYP Club I have spent hundreds of hours providing training sessions and presiding over mock conferences, so that my peers at school could be inspired by EYP the way I was. I didn’t want to limit my outreach to just students at my school, so I volunteered and spent sleepless nights to organise a conference that gathered 150 students from all around Turkey. I ensured that people could benefit from the most fruitful discussions, experience the liveliest activities, and deliver the most eloquent speeches. Now, my peers who were introduced to EYP through our club have, themselves, become the presidents of conferences in Europe. The delegates at the conference I organised have established even bigger conferences in their own cities, spreading the spirit and message of EYP far and wide.

9. Write on something you would like us to know about you that you have not conveyed elsewhere in your application. (250 words or fewer)

From the beginning of high school, obtaining expensive foreign textbooks and test prep books, taking weeks to get shipped, were significant challenges for those seeking further education abroad. As for domestic sources, only one website sold those materials and it wasn’t comprehensive. I realized there was a simple solution: upper grades selling their old books to lower grades.

Instead of simply complaining, I decided to make the change I wanted to see. Otherwise, the problem was going to continue burdening the students trying to improve their prospects. I opened an Instagram account and by following everyone at our school, I easily and quickly spread the word. Within days, I was getting lots of messages and phone calls from interested sellers and buyers. All I had to do was match those students and facilitate the buying process. In just two weeks, I was able to help over 30 students get the books they desperately needed to get a start on their test preparations. Although I couldn’t continue the project at school, I still believe that not only RC but many other foreign schools in Turkey need such a venture to assist students with buying and selling foreign books.

This was a small yet an inspiring and promising step for me. It marked not the end but rather the beginning of my entrepreneurial story — which I will continue once I graduate — as well as my long journey on bettering people’s lives through the initiatives and innovations I will create.