What should be on a Yale application checklist for a high school senior?

For Yale, a high school senior should have ready the application itself through the Common Application, Coalition Application, or QuestBridge Application, plus the Yale-specific questions and the required Yale short-answer and essay responses. You also need your high school transcript, a school report from your counselor, two teacher recommendations, and the counselor recommendation.

A practical Yale checklist looks like this: basic biographical information, activities list, honors list, application fee or fee waiver, Yale supplemental writing responses, official high school transcript, counselor school report, counselor recommendation, two teacher recommendations, and standardized test scores if you are submitting them. International applicants may also need English proficiency testing, and some applicants submit an arts supplement through the Yale admissions process if it is a serious part of their profile.

You should also have your senior-year course schedule ready, because Yale wants to see your current classes.

One useful way to organize it is by what you control versus what your school sends. You control the main application, activities, honors, essays, fee, and any self-reported test scores. Your school handles the transcript, school report, counselor letter, teacher letters, and midyear report, so those should be requested well before the deadline.