Deadline: February 26, 2015
Applications are now invited for the 2015 Yale Young African Scholars Program (YYAS), an initiative that is modeled off of the Yale Young Global Scholars Program. This is a high-intensity six-day program designed for African secondary school students with talent, drive, energy, and ideas to make meaningful impacts as young leaders, even before they begin their university studies. The Yale Young African Scholars Program is an official program of Yale University.
The 2015 Yale Young African Scholars programs will be hosted by Yale University in two locations:
- Kenya: August 12 – 17
- Zimbabwe: August 20 – 25
Eligibility
The Yale Young African Scholars Program is designed to challenge top performing secondary school students (entering their second to last year) with fast-paced, university-level material. Students will spend the majority of each day in lectures, seminars, and small-group discussions. The academic work in the program is intense and covers a wide variety of material.
A student in the program must:
- plan to graduate secondary school in 2017 or 2018
- be 18 years or younger at the time of the program
- have excellent academic record
- have demonstrated leadership potential
- have strong written and verbal communication skills
- have desire and ability to work cooperatively with peers
- have good work ethic
- have ability to read, analyze, and reflect on large quantities of difficult material in English
- have high standard of personal and professional conduct
- be interested in attending university in the United States
Students must also be mature and able to engage respectfully and civilly in discussions over controversial intellectual, moral, and political issues.
Application Process
The Yale Young African Scholars Program is a selective program for high achieving African students entering their penultimate (second to last) year of secondary school. Successful applicants will demonstrate high academic achievement leadership potential, and strong interests in the program content, in addition to pursuing an undergraduate degree in the United States. Applicants should also be able and willing to work openly and effectively with peers. All applications will be reviewed holistically, and there are no minimum grade or standardized exam score requirements. However, a high level of English proficiency will be expected.
Required application components include:
- Completed application form – The application can be found online and must be filled out by the applicant.
- One teacher recommendation letter – The recommendation letter must be written and submitted by a teacher through a link that will be provided via email. Alternatively, the teacher may email the letter to [email protected] and we will upload it to the student’s application. Applicants should ask a teacher at their school who knows them well and has taught them in an academic subject to write the recommendation letter.
- Applicant’s official transcript – The student may upload their own transcript to their application. A student transcript is an official document provided by the school and includes the applicant’s list of courses and grades received.
Cost and Benefits
There is no cost to students to participate in the Yale Young African Scholars Program. Participants are, however, responsible for getting themselves to the venue at the outset of the program and their return home at the end of the program. Participants will also be responsible for any incidental expenses they elect to incur.
Admitted students demonstrating financial need may apply for a limited number of travel assistance grants, intended to help defray the cost of international travel between African countries. Students can only apply for travel assistance after they have received an offer of admission to YYAS.
For more information, visit Yale Young African Scholars Program.
