Yale Silver Scholar Program

Question

Hello everyone,

I am planning to apply for Yale silver scholar program in the next 2-3 months. I am from India and currently in the final year of my engineering. I would like to know how many students are accepted in this program and how many usually apply i.e. student seat ratio for the same

geometric · Answer

Would you post some more information about the program for the many people like myself that don't know much about it?

Here's what I've found: https://mba.yale.edu/MBA/admissions/appl ... iors.shtml

Basically, it's a 3 year MBA program that you pursue immediately after you complete undergrad. The middle year is an internship.

One of my first questions I would have when considering this is how it's perceived by MBB/IB's and how the students are placed in internships (both the process and the quality of internships on paper). They list some example companies, but without context. I also can't find anything out about the selectivity of the program.

ApooKhote · Answer

I know as much as you do about it..i read somewhere that they accept only like 8 students per batch n glue them wid the 2 year mba program batch..but m not sure n i wanna confirm n if possible get to know more about it tooo

geometric · Answer

Do some research on this and share your findings with us so we can help you in your decision process!

ApooKhote · Answer

i did get your point..was just wondering if anyone who got into Yale through the same program could share some info on this.

OhDenny · Answer

Hi There,

Not a Silver Scholar, but I did meet most of the SS's in my incoming class, and they are amazing people. From what I understand, approximately 6-8 students are selected each year, though I don't know how big the applicant pool is. Of the 4 I met, 1 was international (though going to school in the States). They were all some of the smartest, most accomplished college seniors I've ever met. I know there is no way I would have had the maturity to apply and be accepted when I was their age.

There should be a way to reach out to current Silver Scholar's through the Admissions office. I know one of this past year's student bloggers was a Scholar, so you should read her posts to get more info: https://blogs.som.yale.edu/ (Her name is Justine).

Good luck!

international · Answer

Each year, 6 to 8 Silver Scholars are selected out of more than 500 (and growing) highly qualified applicants, all of which are college seniors. To your question, this program accepts approximately 1% of all applicants. Yale SOM's Silver Scholar program is unique - it's the only program designed especially for college seniors by a top ten" business school. Two other top ten business schools (Stanford and Harvard Business School) have a similarly competitive program (Stanford admits 10-20 college seniors through direct entry and HBS's 2+2 program provides college juniors a guaranteed slot post-college graduation if they successfully complete two years of employment by an approved employer), but these are merely an entry into Stanford's and HBS's standard MBA program. Yale SOM's Silver Scholar program is customized for college seniors because Silver Scholars attend their first year of business school, then take a one year internship, followed by a final year of business school.

The Yale Silver Scholar program was initially established to identify a handful of extraordinary Yale College seniors for direct admission into Yale SOM but in 2007, the program was expanded beyond Yale College and now considers all college seniors for admission. The average admit accepted by Yale SOM has five years of business experience, so Silver Scholars candidates must differentiate themselves and show those making the admissions decision that they have the maturity, curiosity, leadership, and academic prowess to be contributing SOM team members. There are many ways to evaluate the success of the Silver Scholars program, but one way that I found most impressive is that Silver Scholars graduates are hired at compensation levels equal to their fellow Yale SOM classmates.

So if you are (or soon will be) a college senior, already have an extraordinary track record, and seek a unique way to gain a competitive career advantage by attending a top ranked business school , it's worth considering Yale SOM's Silver Scholar program.

JeremyLin · Answer

The Silver Scholar program sounds very interesting, and I’ve always been curious about it. Wondering if some insider can shed some light.

international  mentioned that SS receive similar compensation as regular MBA. Does anyone know the jobs/functions they go into? The reason being, most post-MBA recruiters look for some kind of experience, especially for managerial tracked positions. The jobs that don’t look strongly at experience/age are analyst types of roles, either in corporate, consulting, or banking. Even then, I feel top tier organizations would be hesitant to hire someone with 1 year internship experience at the MBA level. For example, are those hired at BCG working as analysts or consultants? How many of the SS are returning to their intern company? Other top 15 business schools also discreetly admit college seniors; I know some at Wharton and Fuqua. However, these college seniors faced significant challenge finding a job. Is Yale’s 1 year internship addressing this?

Also, do SS have additional resources on top of the standard YSOM MBA career assistance in obtaining the 1 year internship, since it’s a departure from the norm? What are the additional challenges facing SS in obtaining these internships?

international · Answer

All good questions. Here's the quesiton I would ask. First, assume that the average top tier MBA school admit has five years of biz experience (which is consistent with SOM's admit record) and business school is a two year investment, then a top tier MBA grad is seven years into their career when they graduate from b school. Next, the SS is a three year commitment and four years after a SS graduates from SOM, they will be seven years into their career. The question is who will be doing better, all things being equal, seven years into their career - a freshly minted MBA grad with five years of pre-MBA experience or a SS that has four years of post-MBA experience. That's the potentially million dollar question prospective SS applicants must ponder.

Much of what is written on forums like this are individuals' opinons (and subject to enthusiasm or misinformation) and there is very little info formally documented on SS because there have only been about 70 Silver Scholars since the program's inception in 2002. But here's a hint - Google "Young ‘Silver scholars’ defy the sceptics" and read the article at the FT published in 2010. It will help a little, but at least it's a credible source. My bet is that no insider will post responses to your questons because it's not the SS way, so your best bet is to contact admissions at SOM or to do a bit more research.

The comments made by the SOM 2014 admit are consistent with how SOM students that have had SS on their study teams feel, and now I've said all that I can say about Yale SOM's Silver Scholars program. Good luck on your research.

JeremyLin · Answer

There is no doubt that a SS would do better 4 years out of MBA than a fresh MBA. The question is the long-term “success”. Since the 1st job right out of school has a strong influence on future career progression. If SS were set back on their 1st job, and used their career change card, it would be curious to see how they fair 10 or 20 years down the line.

I’m sure SS have other options after UG. I wonder would it be better to get work experience and see how they like the field they pursued? This way, if they don’t like the field, they will have an easier time switching careers. I’m sure they would still be able to get into a great MBA program after a few years of experience under their belt.

OhDenny · Answer

That's also a very good question, but I'm afraid there isn't an answer that either International or I could give you. Since the SS program is less than 10 years old, there's no way to see the data on long-term career paths. You may want to dig around for career stats or anecdotes from those who went to B-School directly from undergrad - this will probably be the best comparison, as even 2+2 is less than 10 years old. In my non-expert opinion, I'd be more than happy to hire a SS based on the perceived maturity level required to hold your own with folks in their late 20's and early 30's who've been in the workforce for 8+ years. It also doesn't hurt that Scholars are likely going to be the smartest kids in the class with very defined senses of what they'd like to get out of B-School. If you don't already know what you'd like to do after school, or aren't willing to commit yet, (which is  totally understandable and normal , by the way), then it may be better to take 2-3 years and get into the workforce to find what drives you.

GyanOne · Answer

Highest Success Rate for Yale Silver Scholars - Top Early MBA

Talk about selectivity! While tomes have already been written about how selective Stanford, Harvard, and Haas are (see this article from Businessweek and this one from Poets&Quants), few look at the Yale Silver Scholars program which has an acceptance rate that is as low as – if not lower – than Stanford’s 6.8%. Around 200 applicants from around the globe apply for the program every year, and only around 10 make it. If one considers that these applicants must vie for admission to the competitive Yale program without any work experience, the odds are even tougher.

https://www.gyanone.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Yale-SOM.jpg

Pretty much the only MBA program of its kind 
The one exception that differentiates the Yale program from all others is that while other schools offer direct admissions with certain pre-conditions to their regular MBA programs, Yale offers its Silver Scholars a different path. Successful applicants spend three years at the Yale MBA (against the normal two), the second of which is spent in a full-time internship. Not only does this provide valuable exposure to a professional environment in one’s area of choice, but also acts as a great way to explore the career path that one wishes to ultimately take on later.

There are other, arguably more minor, points too. Students in this program spend the first year at Yale SOM with one MBA Class, and their third year with another. This will lead to more networking opportunities.

Nor are Silver Scholars wanting in terms of professional opportunities. The Yale website lists top-notch firms that hire these students for internships. The big names include BCG, Motorola, Time Inc., and Coca-Cola

Career paths for Silver Scholars

MBAbot · Answer

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