Photo courtesy Kirk Cheney

BYU-Idaho student accepted into Yale’s graduate school

Keli Glade GLA05002@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

The $70 application fee might be enough to scare anyone from applying to Yale Law School. Add a slim six percent acceptance rate, and the situation seems grim. But Kirk Cheney, a senior from Earlysville, Va., not only got accepted to Yale, he credits BYU-Idaho with his success. 

The application process for what U.S. News and World Report rated the No. 1 law school is no small feat. First, Cheney needed to take the Law School Admittance Test. After a year and a half of constant studying and preparation, he took the test and received a score in the 99th percentile.

He also needed to write an essay that not only showed his writing, thinking and editing skills, but, according to the J.D. Application Brochure for Fall 2006, needed to portray his intellectual concerns or passions, sense of humor and ability to think across disciplines.

After five drafts of his essay, Cheney debated if applying to Yale was worth it. He estimated he had a mere 15 percent chance of getting accepted. He decided it couldn’t hurt, paid the $70 application fee and sent in his application in October 2005.

Three days before Christmas, Cheney got a voice mail from Yale. He seriously thought he had forgotten a part of his application or someone was playing a joke on him. He called Yale and got the good news that he was, no joke, welcome to the No. 1 law school in the nation.

“I just kind of mumbled,” Cheney said about his conversation with the Yale representative. “I was really in disbelief!”

Two of Cheney’s professors, Casey Hurley and Josh Holt, were not surprised about his acceptance.

“In the classes I had with him, grade-wise he was probably consistently the highest scorer on exams,” Holt said.

Holt was also impressed with Cheney’s wide range of extracurricular activities.

“Most students think ‘I’ve just gotta be a good student,’” he said. “He was more than just a scholar.”

Hurley was quick to compliment her former student.

“He kind of fits President Hinckley’s description of ordinary students who become exceptional,” she said. “He is extremely intelligent, an extremely good writer and he has everything it takes to become a good lawyer.”

Cheney was adamant about BYU-I being a springboard for his acceptance. He was able to tap into a variety of different clubs and leadership positions that no other college could have provide. He was CEO of his group’s business for Integrated Business Core.

Other colleges have too many students, Cheney said. A good letter of recommendation is hard to come by, and clubs and leadership positions are too competitive.

Cheney and his wife, Gretchen, will be living with some family friends in Connecticut. Yale students will be admitted in April. Yale put him in touch with the other Latter-day Saint students attending. Cheney makes three. One is from Berkeley and the other from BYU.

What does his wife think about moving from her home state?

“She’s very excited,” said Cheney. “She’ll have a fat pocketbook for the rest of her life!”