Blog Archive Yale School of Management Essay Analysis, 20172018

Blog Archive Yale School of Management Essay Analysis, 2017â€"2018 *Please note: You are viewing an essay analysis from the 2017-2018 admissions cycle.  Click here to view our collection of essay analyses for the current admissions season.   The Yale School of Management (SOM) is staying the course this year with its single application essay, joining Harvard Business School in using the same essay query as last season. The school has made no modifications to its one prompt, whose 500-word limit does not offer a lot of room to make an impression on the admissions committee. Having commented last year in a Yale SOM blog post that the “seemingly simple and straightforward question” was composed with assistance from one of the school’s organizational behavior professors, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions Bruce DelMonico added in a more recent post that the admissions committee “is interested not just in the commitment itself but also in how you [applicants] approach the commitment and the behaviors that support it.” Clearly, the Yale SOM has invested some truly purposeful effort into constructing a query that will reveal something specific from and about the individuals targeting its MBA program. In our ana lysis, we explore how you can maximize your opportunity to shine with this forthright prompt… Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made.   (500 words maximum) You may initially think that this prompt is rather narrow in scope, allowing you space to share the story of just a single professional or community project and nothing more. Although you can certainly discuss your dedication to a particular project or cause, you are definitely not restricted to this approach. Consider this: you can also be committed to an idea (e.g., personal liberty) or a value (e.g., creating opportunity for others), and approaching your essay from this angle instead could enable you to share much more of and about yourself with the SOM admissions committee. For example, you might relate a few anecdotes that on the surface seem unrelatedâ€"drawing from different parts of your lifeâ€"but that all support and illustrate how you are guided by a particular value. Or, to return to the example of personal liberty as a theme, you could show how you take control of your academic and professional paths, adhering steadfastly to your values and vision. Whatever you choose to feature as the focus of your commitment, your actions and decisions, manifest via a variety of experiences, must allow you to own it as a genuine part of who you are as an individual. Identifying a theme that you think no one else will ever use is not your goal here; presenting authentic anecdotes that powerfully support your selected theme is what is important. However, if you prefer to focus on a single anecdote, the commitment you claim must be truly inordinate. Being particularly proud of an accomplishment is not enough to make it an effective topic for this essay. You need to demonstrate your constancy and dedication in the face of challenges or resistance, revealing that your connection to the experience was hard won. Strive to show that you have been resolute in following a sometimes difficult path and have doggedly stayed on course, citing clear examples to illustrate your steadfastness. Nothing commonplace will work hereâ€"you must make your reader truly understand your journey and leave him or her more impressed by your effort than the outcome. For a thorough exploration of the Yale SOM  academic program/merits, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, academic environment, and other key features, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to the  Yale School of Management. The Next Stepâ€"Mastering Your Yale SOM  Interview: Many MBA candidates find admissions interviews stressful and intimidating, but mastering this important element of the application process is definitely possibleâ€"the key is informed preparation. To help you on your way to this high level of preparation, we offer our free Interview Primers. Download your free copy of the Yale SOM  Interview Primer today. Share ThisTweet 2017-2018 Business School MBA Essay Analysis Yale University (School of Management)