Yale SOM Calling all 2018 intake applicants - Class of 2020

I lost my hope with Yale as well. The thing I can't understand is that in 2015 I've applied to Tuck and Booth with only 1,5 years of WE, in the last round. I was interviewed with both despite my low GPA (I am international so it is not as horrible as US schools might believe but still). Ended in rejection, (terrible interview with Booth alum/unclear post-MBA goals with Tuck, it was interview invite not open interview by the way) but it was last round and as I said only 1,5 years of WE didn't help. But I can't understand a rejection without an interview

Anyway it seems like Yale invited flawless candidates up until now, all with 3.3+ GPA/720+ GMAT/No Reapplicants as far as I can see. So maybe they have a ranking system to review the applications, I don't know.

Best luck to all!

Oh my gosh guys. There's so much negativity and anxiety in this thread!

Please remember that not all invites have gone out, they are still reviewing applications and it really serves no purpose stressing about it. ITS OUTSIDE YOUR CONTROL. "You can only control the controllable". Try and stay positive - for example focus on other things.

For me, even tho I find myself thinking about my applications all the time (to the extent of having trouble sleeping) I am trying to focus on 1) interview prep 2) my extra-curriculars which had been de-prioritised 3) catching up with friends I have neglected during the process 4) getting back into learning a language 5) keep hitting goals and developing at work 6) going back to the gym which I had also neglected.

By remaining focused on your career, mental/physical health and other things, hopefully you distract yourself from something you don't have control over.

My husband/fiancé is at Stanford at the moment, just started his MBA and this time last year, when he had submitted his applications, he literally hit submit and forgot about it. He stayed really positive throughout the process, didn't read forums/reddit and ended up getting offers from Harvard, Stanford and Booth. I'm definitely more anxious/stressed than he was but trying my best to remain focused and positive. Please try and do the same!!!

Btw - I haven't been posting much because I have wanted to stay away from the stress/anxiety here but wanted to offer my 2 cents and support to everyone! We are all in the same boat here.

All the best <3


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I love this advice! It's much healthier (and more fun) to focus on these activities while we wait. And on the bright side-- in the worst case scenario that we are rejected-- at least we will be in shape, enjoying our extracurricular activities, and caught up with our close friends

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To be honest with you, I like your approach and your husband’s experience last year, but frankly we are not in the same boat.

For example, the uncertainty is really varied for different people and I am not sure if being positive is the best way or the healthiest way to look at things. I am my most productive when I constantly doubt myself and my insecurities help me improve the quality of the work I produce.

I don’t think pessimism is a bad thing (neither do a lot of people, for example Stockdale’s paradox), and it is humbling that even after getting rejected everywhere last year, my failure helped me improve my GMAT score, get a promotion and get up to reapply and then some this year.

As for the forums, it’s much more than just anxiety. I like being in the same room as other people going through the same thing and to be really honest, there is fun in waiting for doom to happen all together. If you were in the HBS chat earlier this week you’d know what I mean.


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Thank you for sharing your view. I agree with all your points! I would like you to know that I am the pessimistic/stressed out/jaded one in our relationship and am shocked at his positivity sometimes! I think pessimism/pressure/stress has its place. And I agree with you, there's a certain camaraderie in the anxiety.

For what it's worth, my pessimism and stress have definitely propelled me forward in both my career and applications (nothing like a deadline to get things done).

So your points are all valid! BUT my point remains which is that the applications are over, so other than interview prep, there's nothing to be gained. You've submitted now is time to take a break from beating yourself up and putting yourself under all that pressure! Life is for living, go and have some fun with it!

Also. Your comment "I am not sure if being positive is the best way or the healthiest way to look at things" is completely different to my world view right now. So we are going to have to agree to disagree on that one.

Btw - I used to think the exact same as you but my husband has changed my mind. Life is so much easier when you approach it with calm and positivity, and you can be just as or EVEN MORE successful with a positive mindset. Take my husband as an example, he got into the top business schools! The best example that comes to mind was when we were studying GMAT. He would come home excited about this new maths thing he learnt and I would get SO ANNOYED with him because I hated GMAT and had to pressure myself/stress myself to study. I ended up with 720 and he got 770. I think his score was in part due to his positive approach to studying GMAT (like, he actually convinced himself to enjoy it). Maybe if I had done the same, I would have gotten a better score. I'm
Just not that positive though!

Ultimately, this is just a fairly anonymous forum. And these are my personal thoughts on the matter. At the end of the day, you have your life and I have mine. I genuinely wish you all the best as a reapplicant! <3


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fullns - thank you for that incredibly thoughtful response. I am glad your husband helped you be calmer. You know what the strangest part is, I am a calm person generally. Last year induced incredible stress and (at the same time the feeling of uncertainty), and that actually led me to join a gym and get swole I needed a place to vent my frustration and the squat rack seemed like a great place to do that.

That said, I would love to see you at Yale SOM and all the other places you are looking to get into. Generally thoughtful responses such as yours are rare in the forums these days as everybody is busy being anxious, but I am really glad you took the time out.

I hope we both get in this year. That is a very positive thought

I think different things work for different people. There is no one right way to go through this process. It's great to give advice on how to cope and I love many of the tips both of you have given but I would personally stop short of saying one way is better than the other because I am aware that what works for me is not going to work for everyone and telling someone that dealing with things in a certain way is better that what they're currently doing can be more harmful than helpful.

But many of us are still filling out applications for mid October deadlines which I think has an effect on the amount of time we spend on the forums. Yale also has one of the most mentally tough interview invite policies and that is likely causing the posts here to be more negative than usual at this time and I would assume it will go down the further we go through the round.

I love the camaraderie in these forums and will support both of y'all through your preferred coping method because this is a tough process and we're all in the same boat now!


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This is what I am listening to while working at a friend's home office (my laptop died on me yesterday)

Any 80s fan out there?

Invited on Sept 21.

Invited to Interview on: 2017/09/21
Heard back via: Email
Location: United States
GMAT: 760, Q49, V44
WE: 36 months
Industry: Consulting
Submited on: 2017/09/13
Invited on: 2017/09/21

Good luck on your interview! Let us know how it goes!


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Of course I thought there was another wave. Wait, was there?


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No! The above one was from September 21


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Ugh. Is that an automated post? Even GMATClub is playing with our feelings then?


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Whoa I was just updating my decision tracker, didn't know it is going to post automatically on the forum. Good luck guys, hope you see you all on the interview day!

I am also very tired of waiting. Couldn't have even imagined that this process would be so mindblowing. Everyone is giving advice to stay relaxed. I can understand this approach. I was a volleyball player and know the feeling of competing in front of 10k visitors. It was heartbreaking nervotic atmosphere. And I also told myself to relax everytime.

However, application process should not be of the same level of pressure, you know. But it is. In my case, I am not a financial analytic, not a consultant. I am an entrepreneur in quite small businesses (up to $1.5mil annual revenue) and a former professional athlete. For me MBA is the only way to get additional business knowledge. Without it, I won't have opportunities for developing my own business and go towards my other entrepreneurial goals.

And then you realize that MBA is the only way to achieve your goals. Everyone is telling you that you have a great super story, great GMAT, but that seems to mean nothing. And you wait month after month, get declines from schools and your dream starts to fade with each decline. You can do nothing. This whole thing is not under your control. And that is the reason why it is impossible to relax.

Of course it is easy to relax when you are an investment banker with huge salary and WE. You are already fine, but MBA will give you additional money and opportunities. You know that even if you don't get an offer, you will reapply next year. Plus minus one year does not make a big difference for you. Sooner or later they will admit you anyway.

And, yes, it is very frustrating to not get an interview. Because in fact they declined you without even getting to know. This is what is really irritates me. There is not enough space in the application forms of several schools to tell my story. Yale, at least has video questions, which is good. And I hope to get an interview invite to at least try to tell them the rest of the story. Otherwise, I won't even have the chance.

Just got an invite. 4:59PM ET.

Congratulations. That’s a surprise. I didn’t get one and now I have officially lost hope in Yale.


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