As the 2017-18 MBA application cycle kicks off, the Yale School of Management has made some changes in the admission process to its full-time MBA program aimed at facilitating each candidate to demonstrate his or her strengths.
The first step in this direction is in allowing the applicants to submit their letters of recommendation in Mandarin or Spanish. The expenses and logistics of translation will be borne by the School, says a post in Yale SoM MBA blog.
This pilot initiative gives applicants the broadest possible choice in recommenders and removes hurdles for those working or studying outside of the United States. The school aims to expand this option to additional languages in the future.
Secondly, the School has introduced an optional résumé template and a series of video tips in several sections throughout the application. This extra guidance is expected to be helpful for the candidates.
The blog carries an interview with Laurel Grodman ’06, director of admissions, analytics, and evaluation for the full-time MBA program, on some of the most frequently asked questions about admissions.
He said Yale SOM will continue to partner with the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management (CGSM), a national not-for-profit and premier organization for diversity and inclusion in American business.
The School has a tiered application fee structure and application fee waivers for select categories of applicants. They include: Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) MBA Prep Fellows; Current or former Forté MBA Launchers;
Current or former Peace Corps volunteers; Current staff or alumni of Teach for America, Teach for China, or Teach for India; Active U.S. military or U.S. veterans; Current Yale graduate students; Yale undergraduate students applying to the Silver Scholars Program.
On the changes made in the application process, Grodman said, “Every year we reflect on our application process to ensure that what we ask not only assists in our evaluation, but also allows the committee to build a multi-dimensional picture of each candidate.
“Providing more guidance throughout the application, directly from our team, hopefully, will send a signal that we really want candidates to do well and put their best selves forward,” he added.
Asked what the admissions team looks for in a candidate, he says there is no ideal or single profile candidate. “In a broad sense, we’re looking for people who are intellectually curious and who have demonstrated the desire and potential to lead, which we value in our community members during their time at Yale SOM and beyond.
“There are so many different, highly individual ways in which candidates can demonstrate these qualities, and authenticity is very important to us. Tell us your story, in your voice,” he added.
About the weightage given to test scores and GPA, Grodman said while the scores and undergraduate performance are useful indicators of an applicant’s ability to handle the rigorous academic program, these are considered in tandem with several other factors. “They are not assigned a specific weight, and we have no minimum cutoffs. Instead, we look at all components of your application and make every effort to find evidence that you can succeed in the program based on your professional, academic, and personal experiences,” he said.
Asked about best choices for recommendations, he said those with a first-hand knowledge of the applicant and his/her capabilities would be more valuable than someone with an impressive title. Thus the focus should be on those who know the candidate well and could lend perspective based on a close professional relationship.
Mostly, they will be seniors at the workplace. Ideally, one of the recommendations should be from a current supervisor. The two persons thus chosen should also be able to talk about complementary skill sets or strengths or perhaps an area that is not well represented elsewhere in the application.
Whether the video questions a substitute for the interview, he replied in the negative. It provides an opportunity to bring a more multi-dimensional quality to their candidacy beyond the written application. The questions allow the admissions committee to assess the applicant’s spoken language ability. It has in fact allowed the school to eliminate the English Language Test requirement for non-native speakers.
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The admissions committee is also able to evaluate how well the applicant is able to think on his/her feet, an important skill in the MBA classroom and in life. “Some of the questions also provide insight into particular competencies that we value in our students. While this is perhaps the most anxiety-producing aspect of the application, I tell candidates to rest assured that the video questions nearly always cast a positive light on the application as a whole,” he added.
Yale SoM will be holding a live Online Application Tips Panel event on August 7 featuring members of the admissions team. The event will be recorded for those who are unable to attend. The admissions team is currently travelling the world this summer and fall to meet with prospective students in a number of different venues and platforms.(Image source:wikipedia.org)
