Yale 250 Topic

Zachary_P

Hello friends. So now that the LSAT is behind me, I'm starting to think ahead to all things admissions. I'm hoping to have scored well enough to give HYC a shot (nothing against Stanford in particular; I just don't want to live in CA). As I'm sure many of you are familiar, Yale requires the infamous "Yale 250" essay. I've read through the Yale 250 part of the CC, but I still have a few questions about it.

Is it always best to tell a story or would more of an abstract argument do, so long as it is not too political in nature?

Does third vs. first person perspective matter much? Is one preferred?

I've published a paper in a philosophy journal... Would it be an okay idea to pick out an approximately 250 word section of that paper and format it more specifically to the Yale 250 requirements? Or should I start from scratch with a new topic idea?

Any comments are welcomed!

Freddy_D

I can't offer you much advice about the Yale 250; however, I definitely would not pick stuff out of your previously published work. That would be self-plagiarism.

Zachary_P

@Freddy_D said:
I can't offer you much advice about the Yale 250; however, I definitely would not pick stuff out of your previously published work. That would be self-plagiarism.

That's a good point that I overlooked. Thanks.

Freddy_D

@Zachary_P said:

@Freddy_D said:
I can't offer you much advice about the Yale 250; however, I definitely would not pick stuff out of your previously published work. That would be self-plagiarism.

That's a good point that I overlooked. Thanks.

No worries. Good luck, man

Alex

@Zachary_P said:
Hello friends. So now that the LSAT is behind me, I'm starting to think ahead to all things admissions. I'm hoping to have scored well enough to give HYC a shot (nothing against Stanford in particular; I just don't want to live in CA). As I'm sure many of you are familiar, Yale requires the infamous "Yale 250" essay. I've read through the Yale 250 part of the CC, but I still have a few questions about it.

Is it always best to tell a story or would more of an abstract argument do, so long as it is not too political in nature?

Does third vs. first person perspective matter much? Is one preferred?

I've published a paper in a philosophy journal... Would it be an okay idea to pick out an approximately 250 word section of that paper and format it more specifically to the Yale 250 requirements? Or should I start from scratch with a new topic idea?

Any comments are welcomed!

I've read some published literature about Yale 250s. It seems to me like fitting into any box isn't required. i've specifically seen both fiction/non-fiction stories get in as well as abstract arguments be accepted.

The third vs. first person perspective is all going to come down to the style of the paper. Arguments might be better served written in the third person while a non-fiction story about yourself better in the first... It's a stylistic choice to which no right answer exists. Just comes down to what you write about and style.

Congrats on being published! Again, I'd imagine that it depends. If the paper is about something too abstract or formulaic, I'd imagine starting from scratch would be better. Thinking about my own Yale 250, I think you'd be better starting from scratch. It won't take long and will serve your writing better to have the application in mind.

That said, are there any other aspects of your application (work experience, PS/DS/Resume, etc.) that you can tie your 250 to? It's ok if it's not directly tied to your app, but one piece of advice I've heard and read about again and again is that more "complete" applications tend to do better.

Zachary_P

@"Alex Divine" said:

@Zachary_P said:
Hello friends. So now that the LSAT is behind me, I'm starting to think ahead to all things admissions. I'm hoping to have scored well enough to give HYC a shot (nothing against Stanford in particular; I just don't want to live in CA). As I'm sure many of you are familiar, Yale requires the infamous "Yale 250" essay. I've read through the Yale 250 part of the CC, but I still have a few questions about it.

Is it always best to tell a story or would more of an abstract argument do, so long as it is not too political in nature?

Does third vs. first person perspective matter much? Is one preferred?

I've published a paper in a philosophy journal... Would it be an okay idea to pick out an approximately 250 word section of that paper and format it more specifically to the Yale 250 requirements? Or should I start from scratch with a new topic idea?

Any comments are welcomed!

I've read some published literature about Yale 250s. It seems to me like fitting into any box isn't required. i've specifically seen both fiction/non-fiction stories get in as well as abstract arguments be accepted.

Good to know! I much prefer non-fiction over fictional story telling, and I was hoping this wouldn't hurt me.

The third vs. first person perspective is all going to come down to the style of the paper. Arguments might be better served written in the third person while a non-fiction story about yourself better in the first... It's a stylistic choice to which no right answer exists. Just comes down to what you write about and style.

Makes sense.

Congrats on being published! Again, I'd imagine that it depends. If the paper is about something too abstract or formulaic, I'd imagine starting from scratch would be better. Thinking about my own Yale 250, I think you'd be better starting from scratch. It won't take long and will serve your writing better to have the application in mind.

That's sort of the vibe I'm getting from the 7sage course and other resources as well. I'm thinking I'll start from scratch and attack this essay as its own thing.

That said, are there any other aspects of your application (work experience, PS/DS/Resume, etc.) that you can tie your 250 to? It's ok if it's not directly tied to your app, but one piece of advice I've heard and read about again and again is that more "complete" applications tend to do better.

I've got a pretty big thought web going for my personal statement, so I might try and use an experience or idea that doesn't quite make it to the final cut of my PS but relates to the rest of my application in the Yale 250. Good idea. Thanks for the feedback.