From the Assistant Dean for Admissions: What Happens After ‘Submit’

The period right after you apply can be a difficult one. Normally, when you complete a project, you receive relatively quick feedback on how it went. In the case of an MBA application, though, the feedback can take months. Just submitting an application is a big step that takes a great deal of commitment, especially when you have many other obligations to juggle. With that in mind, I congratulate you on completing the MBA application process. The process is meant to be one of introspection and self-discovery, and you should know more about yourself at the end of it than you did at the beginning. That alone is valuable, regardless of the outcome of your application.

Even though things seem quiet on your end, the Admissions Committee here at Yale SOM is already hard at work. We’ve already met once as a full committee to kick off the review process and have started to review applications. Over the next several weeks, we will meet roughly once a week—sometimes more often—to make decisions on whom to interview. In fact, the first wave of interview invitations will likely be on its way shortly! We make these interview decisions as a committee, and then after the interviews are complete we will meet again as a committee to make final admissions decisions. So in addition to each application being reviewed by two members of the admissions committee, many of the applications are discussed by the committee twice: once when we decide whom to interview and once when we decide whom to admit. The process is very labor-intensive, but we feel that it is important to give each candidate the fullest consideration possible.

Between now and the Round 1 decision release date on December 6, we will continue to evaluate applications and send out interview invitations on a rolling basis. Some candidates will receive a notification toward the middle of the round that the review process has been completed and they will not be admitted. The remaining applicants will receive a decision on December 6. (Note that even though we require an interview for everyone we admit, not being interviewed does not necessarily mean you will be denied.)

In the meantime, there are many resources to help you continue to learn about the Yale School of Management. I would suggest in particular visiting the Admissions Ambassadors page, which we recently updated with more information about student ambassadors and improved search. It’s a great resource to learn more about the school by connecting directly with current students.

Best of luck with your application. We look forward to being back in touch with you as soon as possible and, as always, we invite you to stay in touch with us if you have any questions about our process.