From the Director of Admissions: Application Tips

Here at Yale SOM, the semester has drawn to a close; first-year students celebrated the end of exams earlier this week. It’s also an exciting time of year in the admissions cycle. Congratulations to all of the Round 1 applicants who have recently learned of their admission to the Yale School of Management. We are excited to welcome you all to the Yale community!

For those of you targeting our Round 2 application deadline on January 8, 2015, I encourage you to view our recently recorded Application Tips Panel. From this hour-long presentation, we’ve clipped seven segments, so you can hear advice from our admissions team on items most relevant to you.

Topics: Transcripts and Test Scores ·The Essay · Resume/Work Experience · Recommendations · Video Questions · Interviews · Scholarships/Financial Aid

Here’s some more general advice for those preparing applications:

• Be yourself. You want to stand out from the rest of the applicant pool. The best way to do that is to tell us who you really are, not what you think we want to hear. It sounds simple, but it’s incredibly powerful and important.
• Don’t hide from your weaknesses.  There’s no such thing as a perfect applicant.  Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Obviously you will want to highlight your strengths in your application, but don’t ignore your weaknesses. Addressing them on your terms and helping us understand them can be more effective than hoping we don’t notice them.

Our students are traveling throughout the world for break, and they’re excited to meet with prospective applicants. I encourage you check out our list of more than 30 student-hosted Winter Socials. There’s no better way to learn about the Yale SOM experience than by speaking to current students.

Wishing a very happy new year. We look forward to seeing your application in Round 2!