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(4.7) |
As an untraditional business school candidate, I was worried about the culture of the school and did not want to end up at an unsupportive school full of shallow boring finance bros to whom I could not relate. I was so pleasantly surprised by my experience at Yale. My fellow students are the best part of the school. Every single one of them (even those few who might appear to be what I initially dreaded) is interesting and worth knowing. The vast majority of them are kind and helpful and caring. I have met some of my favorite people in the world at the school (lifelong friends) and that itself is worth the $$$.
On top of that, I have switched to a totally new career, doubled my pre-MBA salary, and learned so many new subjects that I am so glad I know now. Academics were tough at the beginning of school for those of us who had never touched a problem set before, but the difficulty ended up being very rewarding. Previously I thought I hated required curricula, but I am so grateful for Yale's first-year core classes for forcing me to learn things I would've been too scared to learn otherwise.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
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As others have mentioned, SOM is a highly passionate and mission-driven institution. I've been consistently inspired by my peers and in awe of what they seek to accomplish with their MBA education for business and society. The student body culture, in my opinion, is another defining hallmark of the SOM experience--folks here genuinely care about each other's personal and professional success. Given that it's Yale, academic excellence is expected and the curriculum/workload can be rigorous at times, though there is a robust support system in place. In terms of recruiting, a large number of students pursue finance and consulting, though others also have technology, non-profit, and entrepreneurial interests.
For future applicants, I'd suggest reaching out to current students to gain deeper insight into the community. Don't be afraid to contact Admissions Ambassadors or Club Leaders!
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
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Few opportunities come around that are as life-changing as the Silver Scholar program at SOM was for me - the Silver Scholars program is for students straight out of undergrad to pursue an MBA at SOM. I matriculated in 2012 with the class of 2014 and, due to the parameters of the program, spent two years working full-time at my dream company, and then returned to SOM to complete my final year of courses and study and graduate in 2016. I believe that the Silver Scholars program is representative of the forward-looking direction of SOM and the fact that the institution is not afraid to take risks and innovate.
Over these four years that I was in the program, I was able to see SOM evolve into an even more global business school, with the maturation of the Global Network for Advanced Management. During my second year, I was proud to count over 50% of the student population from different countries, providing a distinctly global feel. Many of my closest friends were from foreign countries and now I feel grateful to have friends from all over the world.
The most remarkable thing about SOM is the community - not just our small and large learning teams, our cohort, our class, or our school, but the fact that SOM strives to be the most closely-integrated business school with it's parent university, which translates into one of the highest percentages of joint-degree candidates and the flexibility to take as many of our electives outside of SOM as you wish. I made countless of friends from SOM, but also from Yale College, the Jackson Institute, the School of Public Health, and the Law School, just to name a few.
This, combined with the immensely tight-knit alumni community that has among the highest rates of annual alumni contributions to their alma mater, makes me confident that I made the right choice - a choice that will continue to pay dividends and a school that I can count on for the duration of my professional career and beyond.
Coming from a social sciences and public policy background in undergrad, SOM's core curriculum provided me the business tools and frameworks to serve as a Senior Manager in the Research and Development division of the company that I returned to after the conclusion of my MBA.
I am grateful for the distinct attention that SOM professors provide their students - frequently going above and beyond the call of duty in helping individuals like me - who overdid it during one of our one-week intensive modules, and got pneumonia. My professors were very understanding and took time to help bring me up to speed, one-on-one on course material, even though they taught hundreds of students at the time. This example is representative of the fact that Professors are passionate about their work and research, but doubly so about teaching students at SOM. I never expected to regularly head over to Professor's houses for tea, or see them at weekly hackathons/pizza parties. SOM professors dedicated to getting to know the students, and ever since I graduated, keep in touch with us as well.
All of the resources are there to get any job you could ever want; it's a function of using those resources - whether they are the Career Development Office, peers, and alumni - and putting in hard work to land your dream job.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
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Yale SOM has been a solid experience thus far. I'm currently a 2nd-semester first-year student. The core curriculum is excellent at integrating multiple perspectives. You must do readings for class, or will find that you're not learning much, as much of class time is reserved for discussions of cases.
Evans Hall, the sole facility of Yale SOM, is a high-tech, brand-new building. Visually, it's an incredible place.
The Career office is incredibly helpful for career coaching needs. School seems to land a high number of IB and Consulting internships which do convert successfully into full-time job offers.
While the student body seems low on quant skills, I am hoping that quant-focused electives do not shy away from challenging the student body (I have not yet completed any electives, as we just began them last week).
New Haven is a great city. Good restaurants, and lots of young people (most of whom are yale-affiliated in some way)
Core curriculum is low on quant topics, and most quant-heavy courses (Sourcing & Managing Funds, Operations Engine) have dedicated TA-led weekly review sessions (likely because the student body as a whole seems less comfortable with quantitative topics and needs the extra help).
I did not recruit for IB, but heard anecdotally that most students interested in IB land an offer due to the relatively small number of students hoping to go into banking. The Consulting Club is top-notch at preparing students for case interviews and teh consulting process.
Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
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Fantastic program, enabled me to meet my personal and professional goals for b-school. I had an MBB internship and will be returning, have had the opportunity to lead clubs, and to meet CEOs of F500 companies - both in large part due to the smaller class size at Yale. I've also had the opportunity to take a class at Yale Law, as well as Yale college. Excellent facilities, and an improving faculty. The b-school is definitely going places - each year the incoming class seems better than the last, and recruiting outcomes are also on a positive trajectory, particularly in consulting.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
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I have been most impressed by the facilities at the school. The SOM campus is breathtaking but I also like the fact that you are not just limited to SOM. You can connect with any part of the wider university. In addition, I really did not expect the level of diversity I have encountered in the school. The school is soooooooo diverse but yet very friendly and collaborative. As an international student, it is highly recommended. However, if you are looking to incubate a business idea, I am not sure SOM is doing a lot in that regard. Entrepreneurship is almost at the back end and you will need extra self-motivation to continue in this track.
Overall BSchool experience (3.0)
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I was shifting from working at a for-profit to a non-profit and found Yale to be amazing for both. While there, I considered sticking with for-profit and working in impact investing, but decided to do that at a non-profit. Honestly, the curriculum prepares you for both and I could have chosen either. The students are amazing, hardworking, kind, and thoughtful. I learned a great deal from my classmates. The professors are always willing to work with students and the small class size allows students to form strong relationships with professors. There are many opportunities to take classes at other schools, work on research projects, and explore as many interests as you can find time to explore. It was an incredible experience!
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
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Positives:
The community is great. Everyone is very supportive, grade non-disclosure totally matters and helps keep the class from being competitive from each other in a negative way. There are plenty of interesting electives, and if you have anything else you're interested in, there is access to all other parts of Yale (I took a full year of Spanish at the college, for example). Joint degrees are all over the place and always bring an interesting perspective. Consulting is killing it, banking and tech do very well, and the people outside those three top industries often seem to find interesting and unusual work.
Negatives:
As it is a newer school with a slightly smaller alumni network than its peer schools, some of the niche areas (PE/VC, IM) are harder to break into, just by virtue of having fewer people to talk to. I certainly wouldn't mind shortening the core as well. While the focus on the non-profit sector is totally overblown on GMATClub, we do lack some of the really top business backgrounds in the class- not too many from high finance or MBB for example.
Overall: I still think Yale is a buy-low opportunity. Classes have only gotten stronger over the past 15 years or so, and as those alums move up in their jobs the PEVC opportunities will start to come, and the alumni network will become much more powerful. The amount of access to people here is amazing- I went to a speaker session last semester that included John Kerry, Hank Paulson, and Jeff Immelt, and that's just one of the examples of the types of access that Yale as a university can get you.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
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One of the reasons I joined SOM was because of its upward trajectory in the last few years. Being here I can truly feel that I am a part of something special. We have classmates who gave up positions at higher ranked schools (no scholarship was not a decision making factor) to be a part of this amazing school. The class itself is amazing, with folks from all across the globe with all kinds of experiences. Everyone is supportive, and you feel like you are a part of the family.
The one areas where SOM can improve though is their placement in the tech sector. But I guess our location is not doing us any favors in that regards.
Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
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The community at Yale SOM is simply amazing. You get to meet people from all over the world and the pool of students is very diverse. In addition to being diverse, everyone has stellar academics and past professional experiences. A truly amazing setting to grow and learn over 2 years.
Whether it is during recruiting or exam season, everyone is helping each other and as a far as I know everyone got the job they wanted from the MBA. It opened me doors to work in top consulting and tech firms in the US during my internship and after graduation. This was one of my main goal coming from Europe.
The fact that SOM is embedded in the greater Yale also helps to expand your learning reach. You can take classes at the law school or any other school on campus.
Finally, New Haven is not New York or Boston but has its benefits. You get to spend a ton of time with your classmates and create deep relationships (since yale is pretty much everything that exists in new haven). It also saves you on expenses since food and rent are much cheaper than in a larger US city.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
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