QuestBridge applicants to Yale this year will have to answer University-specific questions as part of their application and can self-report standardized test scores rather than submitting via testing agencies.
The new policies mark another attempt by the University to ease the application process for students applying through QuestBridge, a national nonprofit that connects high-achieving, low-income students with colleges and other resources. The organization is most well-known for National College Match, a program that helps talented students gain admission to and full scholarships at 39 partner colleges, including Yale. Last year, Yale allowed QuestBridge applicants to apply to Yale by sharing only their QuestBridge application with the University. Previously, the students had to additionally submit the Common or Coalition application to be considered.
“Knowing that the process of sending official score reports can be complicated and costly for some students and their families, we felt that QuestBridge applicants would be a good group to pilot a new policy of evaluating an application with self-reported scores,” said Director of Undergraduate Admissions Margit Dahl.
Dahl said the University felt confident that the “overwhelming majority” of applicants would self-report their standardized test scores honestly in their applications. She added that the University will verify the scores of QuestBridge students who decide to matriculate at Yale upon admission. The new policy will also save time for admissions office staff members because they will not have to manually enter official scores into the system, Dahl said.
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid Jeremiah Quinlan said that while the admissions committee felt confident in its ability to evaluate QuestBridge applicants prior to the new policies, the lack of Yale-specific questions often left the committee wondering why a student might have been interested in the University and specific academic areas.
Now, QuestBridge applicants will be required to answer questions about their academic interests and why they decided to apply to Yale. The new questions mimic those already included in the Yale supplement to the Common and Coalition applications.
QuestBridge scholars currently studying at Yale welcomed the changes.
Karli Cecil ’20, the liaison of Yale’s QuestBridge chapter, said that the changes could be “really beneficial” to QuestBridge applicants. Costs associated with reporting standardized test scores are burdensome for many applicants and can even deter them from applying to some colleges, Cecil said. With the ability to self-report scores, she said, there will be essentially no cost to apply to Yale through QuestBridge.
She added that answering Yale-specific questions could benefit applicants by allowing them to show other sides of themselves.
Neche Veyssal ’20, another QuestBridge scholar, also praised the changes.
“Yale is a holistic school when it comes to applications, and I believe allowing students the option to self-report up to the point of matriculation makes it clear that scores aren’t everything — a common worry among seniors when applying to universities,” she said.
Yale has worked with QuestBridge since 2007.
Anastasiia Posnova | anastasiia.posnova@yale.edu