How to Get Into Yeshiva University: Admissions Stats + Tips
What’s Covered:
- How Hard Is It to Get Into Yeshiva University?
- Average Academic Profile of Accepted Yeshiva University Students
- What is Yeshiva University Looking For?
- How To Improve Your Chances of Getting Into Yeshiva University
- How To Apply To Yeshiva University
- Learn More About Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University (YU) is a private college rooted in the Jewish tradition with four campuses located in the heart of New York City. While YU is synonymous with NYC, more than 600 incoming undergraduates begin their college experience with a year of Torah study in Israel at the university’s Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Institute.
How Hard Is It to Get Into Yeshiva University?
Getting into Yeshiva University is difficult. Yeshiva received 1,442 applications to its Class of 2025 and accepted 972 students, giving the university an overall acceptance rate of 67%.
While Yeshiva University’s acceptance rate is low, your chances of acceptance are relative to the strength of your profile. CollegeVine’s free admissions calculator can help you to better understand your chances at Yeshiva University, using metrics like grades and test scores along with other factors like extracurricular activities to estimate your odds of admissions and provide tips to improve your profile!
Average Academic Profile of Accepted Yeshiva University Students
GPA
The average high school GPA of Yeshiva University’s Class of 2025 is 3.41 and over one in five (21.68%) of them graduated high school with a 4.0.
SAT/ACT
The middle 50% SAT score of Yeshiva University’s Class of 2025 is 1160-1410. The middle 50% ACT score is 24-31.
What is Yeshiva University Looking for?
Like other selective schools, Yeshiva University values academic performance. Possessing great grades and earning high test scores is the first step to getting recognized by admissions officials. Applicants to Yeshiva are expected to have at least a strong B average and, if submitting test scores, a minimum of 1170 on the SAT or 24 on the ACT.
Yeshiva practices holistic admissions and considers the whole applicant—including experiences outside of the classroom—when making admissions decisions. Because YU is interested in getting to know applicants outside of their application, considerable weight is placed on the interview and essay components of its application process.
YU doesn’t consider religious affiliation in admissions decisions, however, most undergraduates at the university are Jewish and Jewish life is at the center of all its programs.
How Yeshiva University Evaluates Applications
According to their 2020-2021 Common Data Set, Yeshiva University considers the following factors “very important”:
- Course rigor
- Test scores
- GPA
- Essay
- Interview
These factors are “important”:
- Recommendations
- Extracurricular activities
- Talent
These are “considered”:
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Applicant interest
And these are “not considered”:
- Class rank
- Character
- Legacy
- Geographic location
- State residence
- Religious affiliation
- Racial/ethnic status
How to Improve Your Chances of Getting into Yeshiva University
1. Achieve at least a 3.41 GPA while taking the most challenging classes available
Academics are extremely important to Yeshiva University admissions. GPA is “very important” and a primary factor that the strength of your application is judged by. Consequently, you’ll need to earn all, or mostly all, As to submit a competitive application. The average high school GPA of Yeshiva University’s Class of 2025 is 3.41.
Top institutions like YU use a tool known as the Academic Index—your entire academic performance distilled into a single numerical score—to facilitate admissions decisions. If your Academic Index doesn’t meet YU’s standards, you risk your application not receiving serious consideration. If your GPA is subpar, but you’re early in your high school career, check out our tips for increasing your GPA. If you’re a junior or senior, it’s harder to increase your GPA and the easiest way to improve your Academic Index with high test scores.
Great grades are not enough to wow Yeshiva admissions officials, though—you’ll need to earn them in challenging courses. YU also views course rigor as “very important” to admissions. It’s common for students accepted to highly ranked schools like Yeshiva to have completed between five and eight AP courses in high school.
2. Write engaging essays
Yeshiva values learning about applicants outside of their application and the essay is one of those areas the university considers “very important” to admissions decisions. Applicants are tasked with composing a 500- to 700-word response to one of three prompts and the essay is the perfect place to stand out from other candidates.
An attention-grabbing college essay is written in your unique voice, showcases how you’ll fit at that particular school, and how that school will benefit from having you on campus. For specific advice on writing your YU essay, check out our article, “How to Write the Yeshiva University Essays 2020-2021.”
3. Ace your interview
Yeshiva University is interested in meeting all of its applicants and considers the interview another “very important” part of the admissions process. Whether you’re interviewing in person or virtually, preparation is key to an impressive interview. Knowing what questions to expect and how to answer them in advance is a good first step toward nailing this valuable part of the admissions process.
Interviewers aren’t just paying attention to how you answer questions. Anticipate your interviewer to take note of everything from how you dress and present yourself to how you act after the interview is over. A good piece of advice is to treat your college interview like a job interview—act and dress professionally. For other interview advice, read our article, “Virtual College Interviews: Everything You Need to Know.”
4. Aim for a 1410 SAT and 31 ACT
Yeshiva University highly values academic performance—it considers test scores “very important” to admissions—and high test scores can prove you’re ready to tackle challenging college-level coursework. The middle 50% SAT/ACT scores of Yeshiva University’s Class of 2025 are 1160-1410/24-31. Any score in the middle 50% range is good, but the higher you score in the range, the more competitive an applicant you become.
YU is practicing test-optional admissions for 2022. That said, you should plan on taking either the SAT or ACT (if you can do so safely) and submitting your scores if they meet or exceed the 25th percentile for accepted students (1160/24). Applicants who submit test scores are accepted at higher rates than those who do not. You can get recommendations on whether or not you should apply test-optional using our free chancing engine.
Yeshiva doesn’t say whether or not they superscore the SAT and ACT. If you’re serious about submitting a strong score, plan on taking either the SAT or ACT between two and three times to ensure you increase your chances of submitting a stellar score. To improve your SAT/ACT score, check out these free CollegeVine resources:
- How to Get a Perfect 1600 Score on the SAT
- How to Get a Perfect 36 Score on the ACT
- More SAT Info and Tips
- More ACT Info and Tips
5. Cultivate strong extracurriculars
Yeshiva considers extracurricular activities “important” to admissions. YU requires every applicant to submit a list detailing their extracurricular involvement, internships, and work experience, both at school and in your community. While YU wants to learn about all of your activities outside of the classroom, not all activities hold the same weight with admissions officials.
At top-tier schools like Yeshiva, your application is more competitive if it shows a highly developed interest (known as a “spike”) and one or two impressive corresponding extracurricular activities (among a portfolio of several other activities). The four tiers of extracurriculars are a good guide for understanding how colleges value your extracurricular involvement. For example, a Tier 1 activity like winning a prestigious national award means a lot more to your chances of getting into YU than a Tier 4 extracurricular, such as participating in the Science Olympiad.
6. Get a really great recommendation
Your essay and interview allow you to show and tell Yeshiva University about yourself, while the recommendation provides the school to learn about you from a different perspective. Yeshiva requires applicants to submit one recommendation from a teacher who can “comment on your academic ability as well as your potential, personality, creativity and leadership qualities.” YU considers the recommendation “important” to admissions.
Teachers are not compensated for writing college recommendations and your approach to asking can have a huge impact on the type of letter you receive. The nine rules for requesting letters of recommendation from teachers are a handy guide to the process and cover everything from who to ask for a recommendation to how to thank them for taking the time to write one.
7. Apply Early Action/Early Decision
Yeshiva University has two admissions tracks: Early Decision (ED) and Regular Decision. Applying Early Decision can give your chances of acceptance a boost; however, by applying to Yeshiva ED, you commit to attending if accepted. This makes Early Decision best for applicants who are positive that YU is where they want to attend college.
How to Apply to Yeshiva University
Deadlines
|
Application Timeline |
Deadline |
|
Early Decision |
November 1 |
|
Regular Decision |
January 6 |
Application Requirements
Applicants to Yeshiva University will need to complete the university’s application. Other requirements include:
- Essay
- Extracurricular resume
- High school transcript
- Letter of recommendation
- Interview
- SAT/ACT score (optional)
Learn more about Yeshiva University
Interested in learning more about Yeshiva? Check out these other informative articles:
Want to know your chances at Yeshiva? Calculate your chances for free right now.
