Yale SOM MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
As all applicants must do when applying to the Yale SOM, you need to make the most of its single required essay, but you also need to take the time to make every box in the application a home run. Do not treat them as afterthoughts; your job descriptions and activity history are very important. Write and edit these portions carefully. Focus on achievements. Quantify when possible, and keep Yale’s commitment to “educating leaders for business and society” front and center in your responses.
Ready to get to work on your Yale SOM application? Read on.
Yale SOM application essay tips
Last year’s three options were very well received by applicants, so Yale SOM is bringing them back again this year. The three prompts offer applicants the chance to write what truly matters to them, whether that is a particular personal or professional commitment, a community, or challenge. Take your time to ponder on what has been most important or impactful in your life and choose the prompt that best describes it.
Yale SOM Essay option #1
Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made. Why is this commitment meaningful to you and what actions have you taken to support it?
This essay question is based not only on the premise that actions speak louder than words but also on the premise that past behavior predicts future behavior.
So, in your essay, you want to show that you are a person who follows through on commitments. Think about times when you make a significant commitment and fulfilled it. Do you tend to make big commitments? What are the results? What impact have you had as a result of your most important or consequential commitment? What was the impact on you?
An anecdotal response, in which you tell the story of the commitment you made, could be very effective. What was the challenge or problem that triggered the commitment? How did you follow up? What was the outcome, and why is it meaningful to you? Did you successfully solve the initial problem or achieve your goal(s) in meeting the challenge?
You can start with the moment of challenge or with the moment of triumph. If you choose the latter, be sure to go back, provide context, and recount your story of commitment, resolve, hurdles overcome, and challenges handled. If the impact has lasted – on you and others – succinctly include that part of the story, too.
Yale SOM Essay option #2
Describe the community that has been most meaningful to you. What is the most valuable thing you have gained from being a part of this community and what is the most important thing you have contributed to this community?
If you choose to respond to this prompt, start by thinking about a community you either currently belong to or belonged to in the past, and choose the one in which and from which you believe you have learned the most, or to which you contributed the most.
This could be related to a volunteer activity you regularly participate in, a network or community of like-minded people you belong to, or even a professional organization you are part of.
If you choose to write about a community you belonged many years ago, be sure to discuss how that experience is still relevant today, how it impacted you to this day, and in what way.
We recommend dedicating the first third of the essay to describing the community and the nature of your involvement. Then, spend the second third discussing what you have learned from your experiences in – and potentially from other members of – that community, focusing especially on the one or two most important ones. In the final third of the essay, highlight the most important contributions you have made to the community.
Yale SOM Essay option #3
Describe the most significant challenge you have faced. How have you confronted this challenge and how has it shaped you as a person?
Using the SAR (Situation, Action, Results), STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result), or CAR (Context/Challenge, Action, Result) framework, describe for the admissions committee the most important challenge you have had to address in your life, either personal or professional. In the first part of the essay, clearly describe the issue and why it was or has been difficult for you. Then, discuss how you confronted the challenge, what you specifically did to deal with and overcome it. Finish with how the experience helped shape you into the person you are today. Explain for the adcom what you learned and how you grew as a result.
A key part of this prompt are the words “most significant”. Don’t just talk about any challenge you have faced but it has to be the most significant you have had. It has to be something that has shaped you into the person you are today, how it has allowed you to grow, and why you are better because of it.
Yale SOM application deadlines
| Application deadline | |
| Round 1 | September 10, 2024 |
| Round 2 | January 7, 2025 |
| Round 3 | April 8, 2025 |
Source: Yale SOM website
***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with the Yale SOM directly to verify its essay questions, instructions, and deadlines.***
Yale SOM class profile
Here is a look at the Yale SOM Class of 2025 (data taken from the Yale SOM website):
Total enrollment: 339
Women: 40%
International passport holders (includes U.S. permanent residents and dual citizens): 50%
LGBTQ+: 13%
First-generation college students: 16%
Joint-degree students: 6%
Average years of work experience: 5.1
U.S. students of color (% of U.S. students who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, Asian American, Black/African American, or Hispanic/Latinx): 48%
U.S. underrepresented students of color (% of U.S. students who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, Black/African American, or Hispanic/Latinx): 18%
Median undergraduate GPA: 3.64
80% range of undergraduate GPA: 3.30-3.91
Median GMAT: 720
Middle 80% GMAT range: 680-760
Median GRE-V: 164
Middle 80% GRE-V range: 158-169
Median GRE-Q: 166
Middle 80% GRE-Q range: 158-170
Students with GRE scores: 37%
Countries represented: 46
Citizenship by region (based on primary and secondary citizenship):
- North America: 61%
- Asia Pacific: 27%
- Caribbean and Latin America: 6%
- Africa and Middle East: 3%
- Europe: 3%
Undergraduate majors:
- STEM: 35%
- Humanities and Social Sciences: 25%
- Business: 22%
- Economics: 18%
Pre-MBA industry:
- Financial services: 24%
- Consulting: 18%
- Nonprofit: 9%
- Technology: 12%
- Government: 11%
- Healthcare (including products and services): 6%
- Manufacturing: 5%
- Energy: 2%
- Media/Entertainment: 3%
- Consumer packaged goods: 5%
- Real estate: 2%
- Retail: 1%
- Transportation/Logistics: 1%
- Hospitality 1%
- Other: 1%
Pre-MBA function:
- Consulting: 27%
- Other: 20%
- Finance/Accounting: 19%
- General management: 15%
- Marketing/Sales: 7%
- Operations/Logistics: 7%
- Information technology: 5%
Pre-MBA sector:
- For-profit: 81%
- Government: 11%
- Nonprofit: 8%
Former associate director of admissions at the Yale School of Management, director of MBA admissions at MSU Broad, and consultant at Cardiff Business School in the United Kingdom, Esmeralda Cardenal has guided Accepted clients to acceptance in various graduate programs since 2014, including MBA and master’s in finance, business analytics, data science, sustainability, and public policy. Want Esmeralda to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!
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