Yale SOM invites only some applicants to interview after an initial round of eliminations.
The Yale School of Management interview is conducted by either a member of the Admissions Committee or a trained, second-year MBA student. Which you get is dependent on the interview site. Jump ahead to read more about the Yale interviewer.
The interview is 30 minutes and ends with unfailing regularity at that mark. Jump ahead to read more about the consistent length.
Yale SOM applicants who are invited to interview come to campus to be interviewed by a second-year student. If such a trip is impossible, virtual interviews or interviews in major metropolitan hubs are conducted by members of the Admissions Committee. Jump ahead to read more about the Yale MBA interview location.
Yale conducts a blind, one-on-one interview where the interviewer has access only to your resume. Jump ahead to read more on the format.
Don’t get edged out now. Nail your MBA Interviews with Menlo Coaching!
| App Submission | Schedule Interview By | Decision | |
| Round 1 | September 10, 2024 | Rolling | December 05, 2024 |
| Round 2 | January 07, 2025 | Rolling | March 20, 2025 |
| Round 3 | April 08, 2025 | Rolling | May 15, 2025 |
The Yale SOM admissions team gives every applicant three randomized questions to which they must respond in a recorded video message. No two applicants will have the same set of questions. It should be noted, however, that these video questions are not considered part of the interview process: the video questions are given to every person who submits an application, whereas interviews are only offered to certain applicants after an initial elimination round. Two of the questions will give you a twenty second prep period before giving you one minute to anwer. The final question has a 30 second prep period and a 90 second answer period. You do not need to fill the entirety of the time provided.
Drawing from Menlo Coaching’s extensive client database of first-hand interview reports, this section offers the most up-to-date information on Yale’s MBA interview process.
Yale School of Management interviews are conducted by trained, second year students if the interview is held on-campus and by admissions officers if the interview is conducted virtually or at an off-campus location.
As AdCom members or current students in the Yale SOM program, the interviewers have a clear understanding of the ideal applicant. However, due to the extremely regular nature of the interviews (see “Length” section below), there is less room for the personality of the interviewer to come through in the conversation.
Clients interviewing in 2019, before the pandemic, noted that even though interviews were conducted by current students, Admissions Committee members were present at all stages.
The Yale SOM interview is exactly 30 minutes. The vast majority of Menlo Coaching clients noted the strict time limit and that the interview process was spelled out very clearly by the interviewers. Many clients reported that there were no substantive introductory remarks or resume walk-throughs, which makes sense given that the interview time is so strictly observed. Similarly, interviewers have a standard list of questions from which they do not deviate.
One client reported that follow-up questions are only asked when the interviewee fails to completely answer a question; in this particular case, the client related that, when asked about a time they had failed and what they had learned, they were not clear enough in the second half of their answer, prompting the interviewer to ask for clarification.
Despite the strict time limit, many clients reported that interviewers gave out their school email addresses and encouraged them to reach out with any questions that they did not have time to ask during the interview itself.
In previous years, applicants invited to interview were encouraged to fly to New Haven where the interview was conducted by a current student, trained by the Admissions Committee.
COVID-19 disruptions led to some changes in some of Yale’s admission policies, and, as a result, interviews are now available both at off-campus locations around the world and virtually. There is currently no need to fly to New Haven for the interview, and Yale SOM have confirmed that online and in-person interviews will be considered equally.
As with any virtual business engagement, applicants should make sure that they have a high-speed wired Internet connection, good lighting, and that they point their computer camera at eye level.
The format of the Yale SOM interview is “blind,” meaning that the interviewer receives only a copy of the candidate’s resume.
Because many Yale interviewers are current students, the 30 minute interview draws from a list of standard questions, with follow-ups only in cases where the question has not been answered completely. These questions, even if there is a slight difference in topic, also follow a very recognizable sequence (which is listed in the Sample Questions section below).
The interview typically ends with a 5-10 minute cushion, during which the applicant can ask questions of the interviewer. This usually leads to the exchange of emails mentioned above.
If you’re interested in prepping for your MBA interview with the Menlo Coaching team, reach out today! We offer mock interviews and school-specific training for HBS, Wharton, Sloan and more!
This section follows the Yale MBA interview “question-by-question,” or in rough chronological order. Like the details in the section above, these questions are sourced from Menlo Coaching’s client database of first-hand interview reports.
You can use the questions below to conduct mock interviews that mimic an actual conversation with a Yale interviewer, be they second year student or AdCom member. In this particular case, the first three questions were asked interchangeably while the last three were always present.
For best results, however, consider seeking expert help via Menlo Coaching’s interview prep service.
If you’re looking for guidance on how to answer questions like these with confidence, you can find detailed breakdowns for MBA interview questions here.
