Article: Prior to applying, carefully and closely read over Yale's admissions guidelines and application requirements. You will want to know what you need before you begin to put the application together. Be sure that you mention anyone in your family who has attended Yale in the past. It is well known that Yale gives preference to "legacy" students; in the past, they have admitted that about 20-25% of legacy applicants are admitted, compared to the around 6-7% of overall applicants. Also, inform the school if you are a racial, ethnic, religious minority or a first generation college student somewhere in your application package. Yale has diversity quotas that they try to achieve and may give preference to those who have broken the mold to become the first person in their family to attend a four year university. Test scores, high school grade point averages and letters of recommendation will reflect what others think of you and your performance to the Yale admissions office. The application essay is your chance to represent yourself to the university. Personal essays are a major component of Yale's admissions package and are often the element of an individual's application that will set them apart. A strong application essay should address the following questions: Who are you? What experiences have shaped your life and your outlook to date? What have you achieved during your time in high school? What do you hope to achieve in the future? How can attending Yale help you achieve future goals? What can you bring to Yale to enhance, improve or benefit the student community? Remember, all strong essays contain a clear and creative introduction that will "hook" the reader, a well-organized body that provides concrete examples as reinforcement for the claims in your introduction, and a poignant and meaningful conclusion that ties the rest of your essay together concisely. Always proofread your essay, looking for grammatical, syntactical, and typographical errors. Also, have someone else, such as a parent or respected teacher, read your essay and provide feedback before submitting. A fresh pair of eyes can do wonders for improving the clarity of your writing. The questions that are to be addressed in Yale's two application essays change from year to year, so be sure to read and consider the questions they are asking you carefully before attempting to draft your application essays. You can't fit your life story into brief essays and Yale knows this, so don't try to squeeze everything into your essays. Stay focused on a particular theme and treat that theme comprehensively. The Common Application Essay must be between 250-650 words, and the Yale Writing Supplement essay must be 500 words or less. You will not be able to submit your application if your essays exceed the word count. You can fill out both online by visiting the Common Application website. Pay the current application fee with a credit card or electronic check. You can also download and mail these forms to Yale, but an overwhelming majority of applicants submit them online. The mailing address for Yale is: Office of Undergraduate Admissions, Yale University, PO Box 208235, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520-8234 Include a check or money order payable to Yale University. Ask two of your high school teachers to write a personalized letter of recommendation for you. Teachers can submit the letters online using a link you provide them from the Common Application website. Yale strongly recommends that you ask your 11th and 12th grade teachers for recommendations, since those teachers have taught you most recently and in more rigorous courses. You should have a resume, C.V., or list of accomplishments prepared for your teachers so that they can make specific references to things you've done or accomplished in the letter of recommendation. Yale is looking for recommendations that highlight your performance in class, as well as your energy, motivation, relationship with your classmates, intellectual curiosity and impact on your classroom environment. These recommendations are confidential and you, as the student, should not have access to them. As such, be sure to select two teachers who know you well, think highly of your performance in the classroom and can outline your particular achievements. If you can, it is a good idea to ask for recommendations from teachers of different subjects. If you have significant accomplishments in another field, such as music or research, you can solicit an additional letter of recommendation from a person who is very familiar with your accomplishments and can speak about them in detail. However, Yale recommends that you only do this if it will substantially add to your application. It should be labeled as a "Supplementary" letter of recommendation. Ask your high school guidance counselor to submit a letter of recommendation on your behalf and your official high school transcript. The recommendation should help Yale understand the difficulty of your classes in high school, as well as general information about your background, including any leadership roles you have assumed during your years in high school. Submit these scores through the Common Application website. Visit the Standardized Testing page on the Yale website to determine if the program you are applying for requires any other tests. You can also submit your scores by indicating that you want your scores to be sent to Yale. Do this by entering Yale's school code in the correct section of the ACT or SAT exam. For the ACT, Yale's school code is "0618". For the SAT, Yale's code is "3987". Looking at Yale's standardized testing website can be useful before you take these exams as well. The website outlines how Yale views your performance on these tests and identifies the general criteria for performance on these tests. Ask your high school guidance counselor to submit a mid-year report though the Common Application website as soon as your first semester senior grades are available. Yale wants to ensure that applicants are maintain a high level of academic success throughout their senior year. Wait up to 3 weeks after you submitted your application for an email from Yale. This email will have instructions for setting up your "Eli" account. The email will be sent to the address you included on your application. You can use your Eli account to track which documents Yale has received and will allow you to check on the status of your application. If you applied for Single-Choice Early Action admission, you will receive notification in mid-December. If you have applied for regular admission, you will be notified by April 1. You may be offered an admissions interview. If you are offered one, you should accept. However, not being offered an interview does not mean you will not be admitted.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Visit Yale's admissions website. Identify your status to the school. Draft stellar essays. Stay within the word count. Complete the Common Application and Yale Supplement. Acquire letters of recommendation. Seek assistance from your guidance counselor. Submit your SAT or ACT scores. Submit a mid-year report. Monitor your application.
Article: Since flash fiction is too short to get into the entire life of your character, you need to choose 1 moment to write about. Consider the theme you chose to write your piece around and chose an event related to it. It could be part of an everyday routine or something large that changes your character's life. For example, if your theme is about loss, you may write your flash fiction piece about how someone's daily routine changes the day after someone they loved passed away. Exposition and backstory take up a lot of words when you're writing a flash fiction piece. Instead of explaining how your character got into a situation, start right when the event occurs. That way, you hook the reader to your story and don't include boring or unnecessary information. For example, you may write something like, "Jess walked out into the rain after midnight, thinking of ways she could win back all of the money she had lost at the poker table that night." If you need to include exposition about your character, work it into their dialogue. The conflict is what causes tension and creates your story. Use your antagonist to challenge your main character so they have something to overcome. That way, your reader will feel satisfied as your character finishes their arc. For example, if you were writing a story about a boxing match, you may have your antagonist wound your main character so it's more challenging for your protagonist to win the fight. Don't use multiple conflicts in a flash fiction piece since it can get confusing and wordy. Many flash fiction pieces end with a surprise ending that the reader doesn't expect. Make the ending is a resolution to the conflict you told throughout your writing but done in a surprising way. That way, your readers will feel satisfied with the story and want to read it again. Make sure the surprise fits with the rest of the story. For example, readers would be unsatisfied if a meteor fell out of the sky and stopped a monster from attacking. Do your best to avoid jokey twist endings since they're overused.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Pick a single moment in your character's life to focus on. Start your story with an interesting hook in the middle of the action. Make your protagonist deal with a single conflict throughout the story. Create a surprise ending.