Many Yale seminars are capped at 15 or 20 students, making admission extremely competitive. Tired of finding out that you got dropped from the roster of a seminar you really wanted to take? Here are some sure-fire tips on how to get into the best classes at Yale!
- Found your own sovereign state with centralized governmental structures and thriving global trade. If possible, get it recognized by the United Nations General Assembly. If you’re interested in political science, philosophy and humanitarianism, what better way to prove it than by developing your own ideal state modeled after Plato’s Kallipolis! Citing your experience as a contemporary philosopher-king will certainly give you a leg up on all the students who didn’t even realize most seminars have an application process!
- Publish award-winning journalism that leads to the resignation of a sitting president. This trick is especially useful for getting into Bob Woodward’s “Journalism,” as he has a soft spot for individuals who redefine the political climate of the world’s most powerful nation. If you oust Trump with a compelling investigative piece, good luck to the senior in her last semester who has shopped the class seven times! She’s going to need it!
- Write a reading response longer than the book you’re supposed to read for the first class. There’s no better way to show your dedication to a course than by writing a paper longer than the full-length book the teacher will inevitably assign for the first section. Typically, two to three hundred pages tends to do the trick (not including endnotes). And don’t forget: a properly formatted bibliography will distinguish you from all the students who thought they could just email the professor and ask for a spot.
- Resolve the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict. What professor wouldn’t want to have the student who single-handedly ended the centuries long dispute between Israel and Palestine? Resolving this infamous world conflict would definitely increase your odds of getting into a seminar, but remember, Yale is substantially increasing its student body without hiring additional faculty to compensate, so no promises!
- Marry the professor’s child and produce several grandchildren. After proposing to your professor’s child, why not pop the important question : “Could I please have a spot in your oversubscribed seminar?” Showering her child in unconditional love and support for a lifetime while also raising her grandchildren may not guarantee you admission, because again, there were just so many wonderfully qualified applicants this semester and, unfortunately, we can only accept fifteen. But it certainly can’t hurt!
—W. Zhang
