How I Got Into a Program with a 5% Acceptance Rate

My name is Sarra, and I'm a high school senior from Tunisia. Where I’m from, we have a culture that heavily focuses on studying, and doing extracurriculars isn't as common. But I've always tried to be as involved as possible.

I'm part of a lot of international student communities on social media, so I heard about YYAS through those channels. I hoped it would help me develop my confidence, leadership, and speaking skills. It absolutely did the job.

The application process was pretty long, and my procrastination meant I spent a month on it. It has a few essays and of course test scores and English proficiency scores. I submitted certificates from Amideast certifying my English at the B2 level.

The first essay was centered around a prompt that said "Tell us about a time where you challenged an idea or belief in your community or country." I wrote about how in Tunisia, studying is extremely repetitive and all consuming, and how I challenged that belief by following my passion and doing lots of hobbies, clubs, and programs.

In another essay, we had to write about something that influenced or shaped us. I wrote about my family's diversity - I have cousins from all over so I wrote about out how each summer we'd share our cultures and learn from each other.

From Runner-Up to Event Organizer

I'm involved in a lot of extracurriculars, but YYAS only allowed us to submit 3. My strategy was to show a different trait in each activity. My IT club showed commitment, organizing the IWD Hackathon showed leadership, and volunteering with Red Crescent showed service.

My love for IT all started with my mom's IT club. Little by little, I started participating in more activities. I competed in TeensInAI hackathons for 3 years, and I was the runner-up every time. Eventually, my friend and I decided to take initiative and organize it rather than participating.

Organizing an event was extremely difficult. Especially getting people to register and stay organized, but I was grateful for the opportunity. I also participated in Stanford Code in Place, which was a 6-week Python program. I learned a lot from the professors, and it was really interesting.

I was also a RISE finalist, which was my first major competitive experience. It opened the door to a lot of opportunities for me and got me introduced to the broader international student community. I got rejected at first, but I applied again, learning from my first experience.

I've also been volunteering at Red Crescent for 3 years, and I really enjoy all the team building activities. During Ramadan, we cook for people for an entire month, and we also collect donations. It's a really nice community, and I've made a lot of friends.

The Email I Was Too Scared to Open

I was previously rejected from YYGS, so I was extremely scared to open my YYAS email. But when I got it, I was extremely happy. I apply to so many programs that my parents don't even keep track of all of them, but they were really happy for me.

Until they found out that I'd have to travel alone.

They were scared for me, understandably. It was my first time ever leaving Tunisia, let alone traveling solo. The program itself is free, and thankfully I got a scholarship for my flight.

The whole summer I was really excited, but during the last week I suddenly got anxious. I was really scared of planes, but I got over it! If you're traveling solo, I'd definitely advise you to pack lots of snacks and comfortable clothes.

A Castle-Like Campus in Nairobi

I attended YYAS during Summer 2025, and it was held at Brookhouse International School in Nairobi, Kenya. The campus was huge and looked like a castle - it even had geese (which almost bit some people), peacocks, cats, and monkeys walking around.

On the first day, after sleeping and recovering from the long trip, we played lots of games and started getting to know each other. I met my Moroccan roommate through WhatsApp a few days before the program, and we instantly became besties.

During "family time" - small groups led by Yale alumni instructors - I got to know people from all over Africa. The instructors were all Yale students, so we got to hear real stories about campus life and what studying at Yale is actually like.

The program schedule was definitely rigorous - we started at 7:30 and didn't finish until around 9pm. Unlike YYGS, we had seminars, not tracks. I chose Water Wars in Africa, and one about the connection between chemistry and music. That was my favorite - the experiments were super cool.

I found making friends really easy - it was the perfect environment. Everybody was so excited and social, and made friends really fast. After dinner we'd play football on the field, play basketball, sit and talk in the girls common room, and watch movies and play games. One highlight I'll never forget: a bunch of people scream-singing Hamilton lyrics together.

We still have a WhatsApp group together, and I talk often on Instagram with my closest friends. The community continues to do great things, and they encourage me every day.

The Night I Faced My Fear of Public Speaking

On the second day, we had a student speaker series where selected students gave talks on everything from free will to cultural traditions to original poetry. My roommate was one of the speakers - she was so confident, and even did a roll-over on stage. She talked about how life isn't a fixed script but a draft we're welcome to edit whenever we want. That really stuck with me.

Later in the week, we had a talent show. People brought instruments from their countries, others showcased dances they'd been rehearsing all week (you'd just see them practicing choreography around campus), some sang, and someone played piano. I performed an Arabic song, which was honestly terrifying but so fun. It was my favorite night of the whole program.

Building an App to Fight Unemployment

We had this culminating activity, called the Design for Impact project. We worked on it every day after dinner and it involved a lot of research. Since there were randomly assigned teams, we got to work with people we don't usually hang out with, which was a great opportunity to get to know more people.

Our project chose to address graduate unemployment in Tunisia. We built an app connecting graduates with companies, which also offered workshops for job-specific soft skills.

Working on it was really fun - we'd all eat snacks and spend late nights collaborating, and my teammates were from all over Africa. I enjoyed presenting, but it was really intense, as everybody had amazing projects. My favorite one involved recycling and planting trees, and was really interesting although they didn't end up winning.

Meeting the CEO of Wikimedia

One of my favorite parts of the program was the speaker series. We were fortunate to meet countless speakers and founders.

We met Maryana Iskander, CEO of Wikimedia. She told us all about her journey and gave us advice about how to stand out as a leader.

We also met doctors from Yale School of Medicine, entrepreneurs from companies like Disney and Wall Street, and admissions officers from universities around the world. We were able to have lunch with the officers and ask a lot of questions, and my dream school (Minerva University) was also there. The next day, we had an admissions fair where we could learn more about each program.

What I Learned About Africa

The program really changed my perspective towards Africa - I never knew how cool it was. As a Tunisian who'd never left my country, being exposed to all those cultures was mind blowing.

For example, I'd always thought the Nile belonged to Egypt, until I learned about the dam conflicts and water rights disputes between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan.

At lunch, I brought Tunisian Harissa for everybody to try. Watching my non-North African friends try it for the first time and love it made me so happy. Those little cultural exchange moments happened constantly.

Feeding Giraffes & Cultural Night

One afternoon, they took us to the Giraffe Center in Nairobi. We got to feed giraffes - like, actually hand-feed them - and go on a little hike. It was such a fun break from the intensive schedule, and we got to buy souvenirs.

On the last night, we had a culture night where everyone wore their traditional clothes. The colors, the couture, the accessories - everyone was gorgeous. A lot of us brought local food from our home countries to share. We danced to different music, saw traditional dances, and just celebrated each other's cultures. It was amazing.

Why I Cried On The Last Day

On the last day, I asked people how they were feeling. Everyone said the same thing: sad it was ending, but grateful for the experience.

I was crying. I didn't expect to cry, but I did.

Growing up in Tunisia, I wasn't surrounded by that many people who cared about extracurriculars or global issues. Everyone was just focused on rote memorization. But at YYAS, I was surrounded by people who were genuinely passionate, outgoing, and ambitious. For the first time, I felt understood.

I even got more comfortable vlogging as the days went on - being around that many confident, passionate, outspoken people rubbed off on me.

What YYAS Gave Me (And Why You Should Apply)

The biggest thing I've gotten since YYAS is confidence and access to this brilliant community. I believe in myself more now, and I'm applying to universities abroad knowing I can handle it.

I'd recommend YYAS to everybody, especially Tunisian students.

You can't let fear stop you - you have to do those extracurriculars and see your involvement as cool, not embarrassing. And if you're scared to travel alone, do it anyway. It'll be one of the best experiences of your life.