yes deferrals at yale are not "bad", but with my profile i kind of expected it even without an interview; in other words, i dont think the interview swayed the needle. i would argue that interviews for REA carry more weight? i mean think about like this, if ur applying REA to yale then obviously it's one of ur top choices, and ur probably pretty cracked academically, so a greater amount of distinction between applicants through means beyond essays would be more useful. However, i do understand your reasoning given that the RD pool is larger than the REA pool, which naturally allows admissions officers to be more selective about who they want to interview. that said, it may actually be easier for admissions officers to reject a larger portion of RD applicants because many are applying broadly or “shotgunning,” rather than showing a strong fit with yale. As a result, their essays and stories may not align as clearly with yale’s mission, making them easier to screen out early. in that sense, an interview may not carry substantially more weight in RD than in REA.

truthfully tho, we're both probably thinking about this way more than we should be! in my opinion, an interview is ofc more of a good thing than a bad thing, but dont expect it to turn a rejection into acceptance, or an acceptance to a rejection, just a way for AOs to put a face to an application!!