As the dean of undergraduate admissions at the Yale University, Jeremiah Quinlan faces the daunting task of selecting high-achieving students from across the world and maintaining Yale’s position as a global leader in undergraduate education. Taking over the office of the dean of undergraduate admissions in 2013, he has also served on the college’s advisory group for the redesigned SAT.
During a recent visit to India, he met with students in an effort to get to know their context better, which in turn would help the admissions office in admitting more number of Indian students.
In this interview, he throws light on the qualities that Yale looks for in its students.
How significant is this trip to India?
This is my first visit to India as the dean of undergraduate admissions. I have been here earlier as a student. This is the first time that a dean of admissions of Yale has been to India probably since the last seven to eight years.
This visit is important since I learn so much when I visit a country like India and it helps us make decisions as the admissions committee to admit more of the best Indian students at Yale University. Meeting students here and getting a better understanding of the context from which students are applying form an important part of my trip.
Have you met any students so far?
Prior to my visit to Delhi, I visited several schools in Mumbai. I met with Yale alumni and a Yale educational venture that dealt with underprivileged girls in the city. I will be taking a session in Delhi for students and will be visiting more schools as well.
How many Indian students are there at Yale?
We don’t have specific shares for each country but India is one of the most represented countries in our international student body. We know there are many strong Indian students and we want to see many more students applying to Yale. We’re looking for the best of the best and we would like to increase that share. We have about 14 Indian students in every class, approximately, and there are four classes in every programme.
Are there any subjects which are the top favourite of Indian students?
No. I think Indians prefer a wide range of subjects like engineering, economics, political science and so on. In fact, we look for students who have both academic and intellectual intelligence and the ones who have different and diverse academic interests. At Yale, there are lots of different subjects for students to study and explore.
Often, Indian students take a bit of time to adapt to the educational set up of the U.S. Do you feel they are lacking in any skill?
Indian students do very well at Yale. They usually take a semester or two for the transition, but that’s the same for most of our international students. But they end up doing better than the average students over the four years. Academically, they’re very involved in the community for extra curricular activities. When they leave Yale, they are often very successful in their careers.
How important are a student’s extra curricular pursuits in his/her selection procedure?
We specifically select students who have been involved in extra-curricular activities that contribute to their school or community. We don’t have any specific formula for selecting students. At Yale, we read every single application form.
There’s one person who reads all the application forms from India and reads all the transcripts, SAT scores, essays, teacher recommendations and extra-curricular activities. In extra-curricular activities, we look for students who have made the most of the opportunities around them and contributed the most to their community. This could be through athletics, debate, science research, service work for poor and underprivileged students around them and music. There is no right or wrong answer but we look for students who have a depth of commitment to a specific thing beside academics.
The SATs are set to be redesigned and will be re-launched from March 2016. What are the changes that students should expect?
The changes are beneficial for Indian students because the test is going to be more closely aligned with what students are learning in schools. Right now, the SAT involves a lot of strategy and topics that aren’t necessarily connected to the learning in classroom. The redesigned SAT will be closer to what students are learning in classrooms here in India, so they should do well in the new test.
I don’t think the test will be easier but it will help them to do better. When they’re preparing for the new SAT, they will be studying concepts that are well covered in their school, not concepts other than what we normally expect out of students.
It has been a good year at Yale University under your tenure. Can you elaborate on that?
We have a very diverse student body and we had more students who were the first in their families to go to college, coming to Yale. We are getting more students who are from various backgrounds, including international students.
The very high test scores of our students remain the same. In my first year at the office of undergraduate admission in 2014, we received a record number of applications. The batch of 2019 is the most diverse batch and we have students representing over 80 countries in the freshmen class this year (batch of 2019).
