From the Director of Admissions: The Path of an Application

Our first application deadline passed late last month and the round two deadline—January 9, 2014—is fast approaching. Whether you applied already or are planning to do so in the new year, you may be wondering what happens to your application once you hit the “Submit” button. Below are some insights into our process, as well as information about some upcoming events that can help you learn more about Yale SOM.

The Review Process

After an application is submitted, it is reviewed by two different members of the Admissions Committee. We look holistically at candidates’ profiles. There is no set weight to each application element, and no one aspect of an application alone is determinative. We are looking for candidates not only with strong academic backgrounds, professional experience, and leadership potential, but also with other qualities, such as broadmindedness, intellectual curiosity, and analytical rigor, that contribute to the distinctiveness of Yale SOM. Our goal is to build a diverse class of 300 students who will thrive in the SOM community and who can benefit and learn from each other’s varied backgrounds, experiences, interests, and aspirations.

Video Questions and Interviews

We introduced a new application element this year: video questions. As part of the application, each Yale SOM applicant is required to respond to three short, pre-recorded questions by video using a webcam. The responses are live; applicants have 20 seconds to think about their answer to each question and up to 90 seconds to respond to each question. The intent is that this new application element will be another opportunity for applicants to tell us more about themselves than we would otherwise learn from things like essays and recommendations.

Video questions do not replace in-person interviews, which are granted by invitation of the Admissions Committee. We are just beginning to extend first-round interview invitations, which we will do throughout the round. We interview roughly 30% of our applicant pool and extend offers of admission to a little over half of the people we interview. So an interview invitation is certainly a good sign, but it is by no means predictive of the ultimate outcome of your candidacy. The format of the interview is behavioral in nature: we will ask you questions about your past experiences and decisions to get a better sense of how you act and think. The best way to prepare for an interview is to know your résumé, re-read your application essays, and have a good sense of what you have done well—and not so well—in the past, and why.

Admissions Decisions

All first-round candidates will hear from us by December 9, 2013. If you have any questions during the application process, please feel free to email mba.admissions@yale.edu.

Upcoming Online Events

Whether you have applied already or not, there are a number of upcoming opportunities to learn more about the school. In addition to our in-person events, we have a number of special online events, including an online reception next week with the Admissions Office and a series of online chats later this month and early next month with our Career Development Office for candidates interested in consulting, finance, marketing, technology, nonprofit management, and entrepreneurship. You can register for any of these chats on our website.