MBA Admissions Q&A: Yale SOM

The business school of the prestigious Ivy League university, Yale School of Management (Yale SOM) has grown in its reputation as one of the leading providers of an MBA in the US since the degree was first offered by the school as recently (in US terms) as 1999. In the 2014/15 edition of QS’s regional MBA rankings, Yale SOM sits just outside the top 10 for North America, having risen from 17th position the year prior.

Yale’s MBA program aims to be multidisciplinary in its approach and runs on an ‘integrative curriculum’ – a curriculum that has been tweaked- on the basis of student and alumni feedback – as recently as this year.

If your interest in applying to Yale SOM has been piqued, you might find it useful to know that the school advises you not to get too tied up with acceptance rates or notions of what you expect its perfect applicant to be like, but to concentrate on putting across your application in an honest manner, complete with details of genuine passions and interests - regardless of whether or not you think these might be rare or commonplace in the applicant pool. Melissa Fogerty, Yale SOM’s deputy director of admissions explains further in the following Q&A:

What is the typical acceptance rate to the Yale SOM MBA program?

Last year’s acceptance rate to the Yale SOM MBA program was 21%. Selectivity will vary slightly depending on the application volume in a given year, so the admissions committee encourages candidates to focus on presenting their strongest possible individual application, which they can control, rather than becoming too preoccupied with the overall rate of acceptance, which is outside of their control.

What are the most important aspects of the Yale MBA application process besides GMAT score, prior GPA, and current job position?

At Yale SOM, the admissions committee takes a holistic approach to application review and no one element is determinative. In addition to an applicant’s test scores (GMAT or GRE), academic performance (courses taken, grades achieved and overall GPA), and work history, the committee also closely reviews the applicant’s essay, letters of recommendation, video questions and interview. All of the elements combined create an entire picture of an applicant, helping us to determine whether the applicant will be a strong addition to our program.

What is a common mistake you see applicants make?

One mistake we see applicants make is tailoring their application to what they ‘think’ the admissions committee wants to hear, rather than presenting themselves authentically throughout their application. The strongest applications are those where an applicant shares what is really important to that individual. We want to hear what an applicant is truly passionate about, even if their background or interests are prevalent in the MBA application pool.

What is something you would like to see applicants do more often?

The admissions team would like to see applicants engage with our community as much as possible at each stage in the application process – not because we are evaluating candidates based on their level of engagement – but because this will allow the applicant to decide whether our program is truly the right fit for them. We offer many ways for applicants to connect with current students, alumni and faculty as well as admissions staff – from in-person events around the world, online events and campus visits, to our admissions ambassadors (current students who are available to answer questions from prospective students).

What does the Yale SOM application process look like?

At Yale SOM, we offer three rounds of application – September, January and April. To apply to the MBA program, applicants must have a four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited US institution, or the international equivalent, and must have taken either the GMAT or the GRE. Applicants must also fill out the online application form (which includes an essay), provide transcripts from every college or university attended, submit two professional recommendations, complete the video questions and pay the application fee. The application process has slight variations for Silver Scholars (a way for a handful of college seniors to progress directly to an MBA and to then graduate in three years), Consortium applicants (those who apply via the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management – an alliance that tasks itself with addressing the underrepresentation of minority groups in US business education), joint degree applicants, and re-applicants.

How can a candidate overcome a lower GMAT score?

Yale SOM will accept either the GMAT or the GRE. Prospective students may view our class profile to see the median GMAT and middle 80% GMAT range for our most recent class. It is important to note that there is no minimum GMAT or GRE score required to apply to Yale SOM. The admissions committee reviews all applications regardless of test score and credits the highest score an applicant received if they have taken the GMAT and/or GRE more than once. We understand that not everyone excels in a formal test-taking environment, which is why applicants should be confident that the committee views their application in a holistic manner, giving credit for an excellent academic record, work history or personal statement that is more indicative of individual ability.

MBA admissions tips

Essay(s): When writing the essay, it’s important for an applicant to remember the basics: follow the instructions (number of essays, word count), and answer the question being asked. It’s important to tailor the essay to the school to which an applicant is applying, rather than trying to fit one essay into each school’s application. The admissions committee is very careful to ask a question to which we are interested in reading an applicant’s response, so it is important to answer our question directly. It can be helpful to share your essay response with a friend, without sharing the original question with them, and to see if they can guess what the question was. If they guess correctly, your essay is on the right track!

Interview: The interview is an important part of the application process and is where the applicant has an opportunity to present him or herself professionally and tell his or her story. Not only is it an important evaluative element for the admissions committee, but it is a two-way street: the interview is also an opportunity for an applicant to learn more about our program from a member of our community – either a trained, second-year student interviewer or member of the admissions committee. We encourage applicants to come prepared with intelligent questions – not something they could simply learn from the school’s website. Remember that you should be evaluating the school, just as much as the school is evaluating you.

Letter(s) of recommendation: The best letters of recommendation come from a current supervisor who has been in a position to evaluate the applicant in a work environment. If the applicant can’t get a recommendation from their current supervisor or chooses not to, it can be a good idea to explain that decision briefly in the optional information section. There are certain scenarios where a current supervisor isn’t a good choice, such as a recent change in supervisor, a current supervisor who is also a relative (as in a family-owned small business, for example) or a current supervisor who hasn’t been informed of the applicant’s plans to leave for business school. In that case, a prior supervisor, another supervising individual within the organization, client, supplier or other objective third party could be a good choice. It’s more important to choose an individual within your organization who knows you well than to seek out someone with an impressive title or a connection to our school. It’s ok to check with our admissions team if you are unsure whether a recommender is a good choice.

CV/résumé: A common pitfall that we see is applicants who upload whatever file is saved on their computer as ‘My Résumé’ without tailoring it at all to the MBA application process. The résumé one prepares to apply to a job is not necessarily the same résumé that an applicant should submit as part of an MBA application. Remember that you are applying for the role of ‘MBA student’ and think about your résumé as one piece of the overall puzzle of your application – your application should speak as a whole. It should fit neatly with the timelines you’ve discussed elsewhere in your application and quantify your achievements in each role, rather than simply describing your job responsibilities. Clarity and conciseness are also key.

School visit: A school visit is not required in order to apply, but the admissions team encourages you to come to campus when you are able – before applying, for your interview, or as an admitted student at our welcome weekend – to sit in on classes, meet current students, faculty and staff, and to get a true feeling for our community. We look forward to welcoming you to New Haven and showing you our new facility (since January 2014), Edward P. Evans Hall!