The following Yale SOM interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant.
Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. The school had a full day of activities planned out for us prospective students. At the same time, people were nervous, asking about how the interview went for you (if you went before them), etc. I personally chose to have my interview at the beginning of the day. Pros: don’t feel stressed throughout the day and the activities, can enjoy the activities to the fullest without your mind wandering towards thoughts about the interview, it feels good to be able to give advice to others and be of help. Cons: have to plan the transit really well so to not be late in the morning, when the buses can run full or have mixups (I had these – two bus changes because of long waits by driver for bus behind), cannot use information given throughout the day for interesting/”fresh” talking points at the interview. All in, if you are well prepared, you’ll do well. Just small details to consider.
I was interviewed by a 2nd-year student whose background was similar to mine (not sure if this selection is done on purpose by the adcom), and it was a blind interview.
Questions I was asked:
– Tell me about how you went from “X” industry to “Y” industry
– Why do you think that private markets are better at solving social problems? (stemmed from the conversation)
– Why MBA)?
– Have you already tried to go into [target industry[? What happened?
– What do you want to recruit for at the MBA? Internship plans, etc
– What courses would you like to take?
– If you had to define SOM in one word, what would it be?
– How do you think you could contribute to SOM?
– Do you have any questions for me?
– Is there anything you want me to tell the admissions committee?
What surprised me about that day was (again) how much the school cares for each student at an individual level.
What I concluded about SOM from this experience (the whole Interview Day) was that it is a fantastic place with people with so many different backgrounds, and that is rapidly expanding its network and growing stronger as an MBA program.
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