“A dream is a wish your heart makes”

This line from Disney’s Cinderella is all that comes to mind when I think back to my experience at Yale University. This song was what kept echoing through my mind every day I woke up at Yale, ready to experience yet another chapter of a fairytale I was fortunate to experience. While it was a short stay at America, it truly was the most transformative and memorable experience of my life; it was no lesser than any dreamy movie.

I still remember the day I got my acceptance letter to Yale Young Global Scholars; it was 6:30 in the morning and as I opened the student portal, I saw the letters typed out in golden, “I’m thrilled to offer you admission to the 2023 Yale Young Global Scholars.” I ran out my room to my parents’ room, screaming “I GOT INTO YYGS, I’M GOING TO AMERICA.” And that’s where my journey started.

Who knew, that the letter to Hogwarts I’d been waiting for since I was 11 years of age would come to me like this, and I would be transported into a magical world, where every day I felt like I was living my own Harry Potter dream?  So, it was no wonder that the day I entered Yale, I felt like I entered a literal fairytale.

Introduction:

Yale University is one of the 8 Ivy League Colleges; considered to be the best colleges in the world and Yale Young Global Scholars is a high school academic enrichment program for outstanding high school students. With students from over 120 countries and all 50 of U.S states, it is one of the most diverse global programs out there. It is a highly interactive program where students are free to share their ideas with each other and explore opinions from all over the world.

At YYGS, the main focus is on expanding a student’s critical thinking skills, creativity and more importantly, understanding of the beautifully diverse cultures all around the world. The students are to live a 12 day residential life in one of the campus’s three historic residential colleges, namely; Pierson College, Davenport College, and Jonathan Edwards College.  Over the span of the two weeks, participants engage in Lectures, Seminars, Capstone Project, Family Time, Breakout Sessions, Symposiums, Special Meals, and so much more. Around 1800 students are chosen from over 8000 students and they are spread across 3 sessions and 4 academic offerings; thus there are around 150 in each academic track.

YYGS offers 4 academic tracks to choose from:

1.   Innovations in Science and Technology (IST)

2. Literature, Philosophy, and Culture (LPC)

3. Politics, Law, and Economy (PLE)

4. Solving Global Challenged (SGC)

Participants are required to choose one from the above four
and they engage in various Lectures and Seminar Offerings from their respective
track.

Applying:

The first step in applying to YYGS is to check the eligibility criteria given on their website; https://globalscholars.yale.edu/. If we fulfill the criteria and wish to apply, we have to first create an account and then fill out an application. Participants are selected on the basis of these applications alone.

In the application, we have to include some personal essays on the basis of the prompts given to us. The essays are intended to get a better understanding of the student’s personality, interests, and passion. Along with this, the applicants are to include some of their most prized achievements, both academics and non-academics. If we are applying for our academics to be fully funded then we have to attach related documents in the
application. Major parts that need to be included in the application are listed
below:

• Activities List

• One 400 word essay and one 200 word essay (On basis of given prompts)

• Two “fast take” responses (280 characters each)

• Official School Transcript

• One Recommendation (doesn’t have to write a recommendation letter, they just have to rate the student on a scale of 1-10 on given criteria)

• Application Fee; 70$ for Early Action and 85$

  for Regular Action (You can apply for a Fee Waiver through a school official)

• OPTIONAL: English fluency test scores (TOEFL or Duo

  Lingo)

• OPTIONAL: Financial Aid Package

The Financial Aid Package covers all on-campus components of the program (housing, meals, curriculum materials, etc.), but travel is not covered so participants have to pay for their travel costs themselves. The total cost for attending the on-campus components is 6500$ and financial aid can cover up to the full cost of tuition as well. To be eligible, you have to submit some documents like bank statements and reasons on why you require a scholarship to attend the program.

After and only after completing all the fields in the application, the application is to be submitted. The committee at Yale will go through the applications and select the participants based on those applications.

Passport Process:

After I was selected, I had only a few months remaining before I had to send my college all necessary travel documents to make sure I was participating in the program. Therefore, the first step was to make my passport. I applied for emergency passport due to the time constraints. For that, we went to Kathmandu, filled out all necessary forms at an agency, and in the span of 3 days, my passport was ready. This process wasn’t much hassle when disregarding the hour long lines we had to stand on but other than that, it was quick.

Visa Process:

As soon as I got my passport, I applied for my Visa (B1/B2).
The visa process was fairly easy so I finished the form all by myself. The
application process can be summarized as below:

• First, I filled up the DS-160 form available at https://ceac.state.gov/ceac/

• Then I created an account and filled out all the details at https://www.ustraveldocs.com/np/ after paying the visa fee (160$) at Nepal Investment Bank.

• When I submitted the application, the date that I actually got was July 31, 2024. As I had applied for a B1/B2 visa, I had the option of applying for an emergency passport.

• So, I applied for the emergency passport option after completing the application, attaching my visa letter from YYGS, and stating the fact that I had to submit flight details to Yale Staff only a few months from then.

• A few days later, my request for emergency visa was granted and I picked an early date at my convenience.

• The visa interview was fairly easy, owing to the fact that I had my college’s visa letter. As soon as they read the letter, I was granted a visa with multiple entries for 5 years.

Flight Experience:

I travelled through Turkish Airlines both ways and my transit was at Istanbul, Turkey. The transit was 2 hours 30 minutes on my flight from Nepal to USA. My flight got delayed at Nepal so I had only about half an hour transit left when I got to Turkey. It was all very rushed and I don’t remember a lot of the transit. While coming back however, I had a 4 hours long transit and it was fun to roam around the airport, taking in the Turkish culture. I had a slight health mishap on the way back, but the flight attendees were really kind and helped me all through it. In all and all, I would definitely recommend Turkish Airlines for first time travelers with regards to the following benefits:

• Almost equal flight time from Nepal and USA to the transit making it a comfortable flight.

• The food is really good, especially if you request for a special meal (Hindu Non-Veg) on your flight ticket.

• The crew is really hospitable and caring.

• The entertainment selection on the screen is of wide variety.

It was truly an enjoyable experience for me since it was my first international travel and also the very first time I traveled alone. Once you reach USA, you have to go through a screening process at Immigration where they ask you some questions about your stay including but not limited to the purpose of your visit, the amount of cash you are carrying, and where you are staying. It is important to remain confident and answer honestly for the easiest experience. For me, the process took just about 5 minutes.

Overall Experience:

YYGS session 2 started from July 2, 2023. That day, we were provided a name card we were supposed to carry everywhere along with a proxy card as well as a key to our individual rooms. The proxy cards could get us into any college premise we wanted to go to, which gave us as many rights as undergrad Yale Students have. Using the proxy cards we could get into the seminar rooms, dining hall, lecture halls, art galleries, libraries and so much more.

At YYGS, my academic track of choice was Literature, Philosophy and Culture and the Seminars I attended were “Global Music Production” and “Double Double Toil and Trouble: Adapting Shakespeare as a Dramaturg”. I loved both the seminars and learned a lot from them. My favorite was the seminar in Dramaturgy since I got to analyze several of Shakespeare’s works, derive meaning from them and create an adaptation of my own.

My family time was composed of 10 people and my Instructor, Bel. She was truly the best instructor and mentor, never sugarcoating the truth and bringing such varied topics to the table. Family time was one of the best parts of YYGS, with everyone from different backgrounds; there was such cultural variety and so many different ideas to understand.

Similarly, my Capstone Project was on Cultural Identity where the 4 of us worked together to present an idea of the cultural diversity on Campus by conducting interviews with the students. Our sample questions included favorite cuisine, favorite show/book/movie, festival of importance, and so much more. It was a wonderful experience getting to know everyone’s personal take of their culture making it more personal and beautiful. 

During Free Times, we’d play pool, air hockey, foosball, volleyball with our friends, and go exploring different places. Some of the most memorable places we went to during our stay were Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, which, fun fact, holds the oldest and first ever published Bible, Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University Art Gallery, Gray Matter Books Bookstore, Yale University Bookstore all which are major parts of Yale’s history.

During the student showcase, we had students from different parts of the world showcasing their cultures and talents and I, too, am proud to say, presented our beautiful Nepali culture, waving the flag of Nepal, by playing the Bansuri. It was such a wonderful, emotional and heartwarming moment to be representing my country on such a big platform with something I enjoy and love more than anything else; music.

YYGS was of just 2 weeks but in that time, I learnt much more than ever; I learnt about more than just academics, I learnt the value of friendships, I learnt about myself. And for that I’m so truly thankful to Yale. Thankful because this one experience has truly changed my life and no words can ever be able to express how much I treasure the time I spent at Yale.

“No matter how your heart is grieving
if you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true”