Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made. (500 words maximum)
Commitment to an idea, cause, or dream forms the basis of our passions and achievements.
The Yale MBA admissions team wants to know about what really matters to you through your biggest commitment. Before they admit you to their MBA class, they seek to understand who you are based on your values and commitments.
For this MBA essay, you could write about a particular value, attitude, or approach toward life that you have developed within yourself and are deeply committed to.
And if this is indeed your biggest one, then your life must have taken a path determined by this commitment.
Reflecting on your life choices and identifying the crucial milestones in your life will help you uncover the underlying themes about what really matters to you and could take you towards an answer to your biggest commitment.
Whatever you choose to talk about would reveal your deep and personal self to Yale admissions. So be also mindful that what you choose to talk about will also be used to evaluate your fit with not only Yale MBA but also your intent for MBA. Since pursuing an MBA is a really big decision, so ideally your life's biggest commitment should be directly or indirectly connected with your MBA plans.
If any aspect of your candidacy needs further explanation (unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, academic performance, promotions or recognitions, etc.), please provide a brief description here.
The main question in any optional essay is to decide whether you need to write it at all.
Do not use this essay to summarize your entire MBA application. Also do not submit your optional essay as an addendum to any of your essays or because you feel the quality of your earlier essay is improvable - in which case you should actually increase your efforts in the earlier essay and leave the optional essay alone.
You could use this optional essay to explain shortfalls in your application that you feel are truly detrimental to your candidature. Areas of underperformance (academic or professional or GMAT) or events which stick out (gaps in your resumes or second MBA) or application issues (reapplications) can be commented on if you have an explanation that is intelligent, interesting, and credible.
Yale MBA application requires you to submit a one-page resume along with details about your employment and academics. The typical MBA resume format consists of employment, education, and extracurricular details. MBA resume tips
In your Yale application, you will be asked to provide two MBA letters of recommendation - from your current or previous supervisors.
As per Yale's MBA admissions team: ideally one of your recommendations will be from your current supervisor. However, sometimes this is not possible. In these cases, we would suggest you look to your most recent former supervisor. The more insight your recommenders can provide in their evaluations, the better we’re able to understand your story and gauge your potential. You may also want to think about finding two recommenders who can speak to different strengths and skills sets.
Like many top business schools in the US, Yale MBA application constitutes of letter of recommendation questions from the GMAC MBA letter of recommendation template. MBA LOR tips
As is the policy with most top business schools, Yale MBA interviews are conducted only by invitation. Students typically would receive an invite 4-6 weeks after submitting their MBA applications.
The 30-minute interview conducted by a second-year student or an admissions officer, is blind, meaning your interviewer will only know what they see on your resume. MBA interview tips