Yale SOM 2013 - Calling All Applicants

We could debate this until the cows come home, but there's really no point...and you could've probably finished the video in that time

Look, no one here knows the exact role those videos are gonna play in the process. But you also don't know your official decision until the 16th. If I were in your shoes, I would do it because I'd want to take every step possible to show I'm interested and strengthen my candidacy. For me, this would be a no-brainer.

I don't appreciate paying $225 for Yale to review my application and then they throw a last minute fake requirement onto me because they don't have enough resources to conduct proper interviews. They can get bent. Not doing it. And I plan on calling up the AdCom to let them know that a last minute video interview request makes them look scattered and incompetent. What prevented them from announcing this might be a possibility from the start? Nothing. It was a poorly planned last ditch effort to cover their understaffed asses.

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Just remember: we want Yale more than Yale wants us. If we are not happy with the school, there are millions of other people who will do anything to get our spot. This video interview is not a substitute of a "real interview". If my and/or your application was strong enough to warrant a "real interview" invite, we would have gotten it in the first place.

I just did my video interview, and in my opinion, it's a great idea. Yes, I was not happy to see Yale rolling this out late in the game, especially round 3, but I think starting next year, these video interviews will add a new dimension to our applications - in a positive way. The questions are very easy and anyone who is capable of attending a top business should be able to come up with good answers.

IMO Round 3 is a wildcard for any school. Yale isn't the first school to put something new into their R3 application, nor will it be the last. Wharton started the Team Based Discussions (TBDs) in last year's R3 cycle; Ross started them in this year's R2 cycle even. Booth included a video component for it's waitlisted candidates. The R3/April/May/June time is a chance for schools to try out something new/"innovative" with a smaller sample size and a more limited time frame -- to see if it's something worth rolling out in a larger scope the following year(s).

Hailmary is exactly right: at this stage of the process, you want the school more than the school wants you. If you don't want to submit a video, many more applicants will more than willingly do so in your place. If you have other schools you've been accepted to, maybe this is a sign that you've already made up your mind to go elsewhere. Congratulations, and ... now is probably a good time to let this one go.

You do know that the admissions committee members talk with the adcoms at other schools, right? If you ever want to go to business school, I'd highly recommend not doing this. This process sucks and it invariably makes us feel small and helpless, but lashing out at the adcom at Yale won't end up doing you any favors. Nor will it likely make you feel better for very long, for that matter.

Also, to the few & the proud R3-ers who have been invited to in-person interviews, please take a minute to update your profiles! And obviously next week, we'll hope all those "I"s turn into "A"s!

Just wanted to (sorta) echo the fact that R3 interview invites are always amazing -- and you should be proud! I'd personally welcome an "interesting" / "new" situation... perhaps it might give me the opportunity to distinguish myself! In any case, good luck to R3 and wishing you all the very best!

On a personal level, I've yet to visit campus post-admission, but today I just squared away housing (with five of my soon-to-be-closest-friends -- hahaha) and am getting super excited about the entire thing! Looking forward to the next steps!

If this were a late 90s romantic comedy filled to the brim with cliches (i.e., the best kind of romantic comedy), we'd hear a voice-over of Hugh Grant droning, "The Oxford English Dictionary defines 'Ding,' a noun, as slang for a rejection. What the good men and women of that quaint university town forgot to mention while compiling their lexicon was the versatility of such a word. A ding to one's ego, intelligence and, yes, even one's heart." We'll all be in love within an hour and a half, is what I'm getting at.

FYI for anyone debating the Wowzer video interview.

The video interview IS required of everyone. And per a phone conversation with admissions, if you submit it now, they will review it to round out your application.

Doesn't seem worth risking, so I would advise all interested in going to Yale to do it. I'd say to do it with minimal prep and than not to do it all- even if chances are slim at this stage. Who knows, maybe it'll be used to get you on the wait list.

Would they still invite for interview this late??? I mean it's only two days until the deadline so I'd really be surprised if anything still happened. Or am I wrong?

Probably not. But I would still do the interview. Small chance is better than no chance... It could get you on the waitlist perhaps.

I'm not advising anyone who hasn't been invited for a "real" interview to get their hopes up. I'm just suggesting that not doing the interview may be reducing one's chance to zero.

Any ideas as to what time tomorrow R3 should find out? Seems like it went well into the evening last year.

I didn't get an interview invite, so I am guessing that i will be getting Ding/WL email by last afternoon.

In Round 2, there were calls throughout the day, starting around maybe 10 or 11am EST (mine was around noon) and ending around 5-5:30pm. All emails (including accepts, dings, WLs) went out right after 5. Good luck, guys! Super excited to see some of you in August

Wow--no dings until the end of the day? Yale really knows how to make people sweat! Probably very few calls going out tomorrow, so hopefully they accelerate the process a bit.

Good luck today, everyone. For those of you that received "real" interviews, I hope there is a call in your future. For the rest of us, I hope it at least means some waitlist action! At least for those that want it.

Good luck everyone! Fingers, toes, etc. crossed.