2007-2008 application requirements

Now that summer has hit its midpoint, potential applicants are beginning to turn their attention to the upcoming admissions season. Here in the admissions office, we have been working hard to prepare for the new year, and hope to bring our online application live within the next week or so. In the meantime, I wanted to highlight some of the changes to our application process and requirements. First, for applicants for whom English was not the primary language of instruction at their undergraduate or graduate institution, we will accept the IELTS test this year in addition to the TOEFL. We have also clarified that international applicants with a three-year degree are eligible to apply, although most such applicants whose degree was completed in fewer than the 16 total years of education typical in the United States also have a masters degree as well. Moreover, for all applicants, we have changed our requirements and will no longer require the submission of official transcripts to apply to Yale SOM, as we have in past years. Instead, applicants will be able to upload their transcripts in .pdf form or submit copies of their transcripts by mail. We will require official transcripts in order to enroll, but applicants will not need to provide them to apply. Through each of these changes, we hope to make the application process a simpler and easier one. Finally, I am pleased to preview our three essay topics for the upcoming application season. Each essay has a 500-word maximum. The first essay, similar to past years, is entitled "Why an MBA?" It asks applicants to "describe your short- and long-term goals and how your previous experience and an MBA will help you to achieve these goals." The second essay is a leadership example, which specifically asks applicants to "[d]escribe a situation in which your leadership and/or teamwork had a significant impact." The third essay is a personal statement, in which applicants are asked to develop a question or topic of their choice and answer it in essay form. In addition, there is also a 200-word optional essay that allows applicants to provide further information about an aspect of their candidacy that might require further explanation. I hope this information is helpful to those of you thinking of applying to Yale SOM, and helps give a head-start to those of you who are looking to begin working on your application as soon as possible.