Yale SOM released its essays and application deadlines today. The program decided to maintain the same prompts it has used over the past few years, and I understand why. The three options provide for the main essay, regardless of which one you end up choosing, gives the admissions committee great insight into WHO YOU ARE. With the emergence of AI tools and the impact of politics on universities, MBA admissions offices are placing a greater value on applicants’ authentic perspectives, original ideas and viewpoints, genuine experiences, and passion-driven, empathetic leadership. Yale SOM is no different, and they’re sticking with essays that directly tap into this approach. Below, I will walk you through how I think you should approach the school’s main essay.
First, here are the deadlines:
· Round 1 Deadline: September 10, 2025
· Round 2 Deadline: January 6, 2026
· Round 3 Deadline: April 14, 2026
Now, let’s dive into the main Yale SOM essay, starting with the full prompt and instructions:
We want to know what matters to you, and our essay question is designed to help us gain insight into your background, passions, motivations, responsibilities, ideals, identities, challenges, or aspirations, depending on where you take your response. To ensure that you’re able to write about something important to you, we offer you three essay prompts from which to choose:
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?
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?
3) Describe the most significant challenge you have faced. How have you confronted this challenge and how has it shaped you as a person?
Choose the prompt that speaks most strongly to you and about which you have the most enthusiasm. In answering the prompt – whichever one it is – you should think about the life experiences that have been most meaningful to you and that you most want to communicate to the committee, and pick the question that will best allow you to express that aspect of yourself. We find that the most compelling essays are the ones that are truly important to you, so make sure that’s your guide in choosing what to write about; don’t try to guess what we’re looking for or what you think we want to hear. Importantly, regardless of which prompt you choose, you’ll want to support your essay with concrete examples.
The word limit (though not necessarily the goal) is 500 words.
The additional instructions here are clear. Pick the option that resonates with you. Note: A few years ago, Yale only had one option – the “biggest commitment” prompt – so, all things being equal, I do feel like this connects into Yale’s commitment to social enterprise. By showing how your commitment (to an idea, community, cause, career vision, etc) is part of your MISSION, you’re able to show WHO YOU ARE.
That said, regardless of which option you choose, you should attack this essay in the same way. So, how should you attack this question?
For starters, let’s take stock in some of the important Yale elements from the past. In prior years, the admissions office asked questions that explicitly drove at the following ideas:
Leadership
Intellectual curiosity
Interdisciplinary learning
Impact on others
Global reach
Yale commitment (student and alum)
Can you incorporate these ideas into an introspective, reflective essay? Not only do I believe that the answer is “yes,” but I believe that harkening back to these Yale elements can provide some solid structure for finding the right topic.
Ingredients I believe you should use:
1. Contribution to SOM. I’m starting with the end here, but I think this is how you should conclude your essay. You will be telling a reflective story from the past, but I suggest ending by applying how the lessons learned from that experience will dictate future experiences … mainly your time at Yale and how you will further the SOM tradition as a student and then as an alum. NOTE: a smooth and natural conclusion to an impact essay is to finish with a forward-looking statement of contribution (“I want to take the lessons learned through this experience and apply them to situation X”), so the end of the essay is the perfect place to make this play.
2. Impact on others. Look, let me be clear: if there is a topic just screaming out for you to write about and that will engage a reader and blow her/his mind, go that direction. But absent that, I would find an instance where your commitment had a positive impact on other people. It’s a pillar of the school, it creates a generosity of spirit in your essay, and it naturally steers you away from myopic subjects.
3A. Thirst for knowledge. I am sort of combining pure intellectual curiosity here with Yale’s love of interdisciplinary learning. Yale SOM really tapes into the entire university in a way that is both smart (its Yale, after all), somewhat unique among b-schools (I would say only Booth and MIT feature as much cross-department engagement), and where the future of grad school education is headed. They are proud and they should be. And if you want to go to Yale, I have to assume this is a big draw for you. (It honestly should be.) You obviously won’t be able to write an essay that is reflective and powerful and talk about “interdisciplinary learning” or you will sound like a fraud. But truly wanting to experience something new, learn from others, explore a new path, take a risk - all are human ways of hitting on something similar and tapping into something that is key to SOM.
3B. Other cultures. If the above doesn’t work, another good option is to center your story on engaging with other cultures, tapping into the global world we all live in and that Yale values.
Overall, if you have at least two of these – but ideally three – you will be turning a rather vague question (with enormous potential for navel gazing) into something specific and powerful and, most of all, directed at your audience.
Next, how do we weave these elements together? Like this:
Intro/Situation – Thesis statement (of course), followed by the setup information. Get the pieces on the chessboard and make sure the reader knows what you are talking about. Give the proper names and the necessary details so they can follow along. In case it needs to be stated, let's do so: you are telling one specific story here. This is the biggest commitment you have ever made/community that is the most meaningful to you/most significant challenge you have faced. Biggest/Most is in the eye of the beholder. This is about what shaped you or defines you. For example, if we’re focusing on your “biggest commitment,” don’t be boxed into thinking “picking my college” or “proposing to my wife” or “buying a house” or these concrete ideas (unless there is a defining story there). It could have been choosing to invest in a co-worker that everyone else was giving up – and only in hindsight did you realize why this was the “biggest.”
Complications – This is where you raise the stakes in any “impact essay” and you do it by explaining what made the Situation (described above) an exceptional one. Working off the above thoughts, stakes can come from a lot of places, but are usually best when they are internal – meaning the pressure you felt or the opportunity that awaited you or the chance to truly understand yourself, etc. External stakes tend to fall flat in most cases. Per the above “ingredients,” the stakes for you here would ideally involve some chance to explore a burning curiosity or to connect with people unlike yourself.
Actions and Results – Actions should be pretty self-explanatory, but make sure they are clearly defined. Most people want to write an entire essay on actions, but those typically are boring and a bit worthless, because there is no context to tell us why the actions are important. Be confident enough to display just the necessary amount of action, while sandwiching with proper setup, stakes, and results. (To use my favorite sandwich analogy, would you rather have three slices of turkey on a delicious sandwich, or 10 slices of turkey that you eat in a giant gob? Yes, actions are the turkey here.) For results, to make this Yale SOM, the ideal essay would have an impact element to it. Whatever driver pushed you to take these steps, let them lead you to commitment and then to impact.
Lessons Learned (and application of them, aka contribution to SOM) – Like an email with a long subject line, I kind of already said everything in the header, but you want to share what you learned from that experience and then how you will bring that with you to Yale SOM.
This information should provide a solid foundation for you to begin your Yale SOM application. If you’re interested in discussing your Yale SOM application and/or reviewing sample Yale SOM essays from successful past clients, please reach out to schedule an initial MBA admissions consultation: https://www.amerasiaconsulting.com/contact
You can also email me directly at dhoff@amerasiaconsulting.com