Essay:
Prompt: What is your motivation for applying for an Executive MBA at this point in your career? Please discuss your interest in the Yale SOM MBA for Executives program, your area of focus, and your professional and personal goals. (500 words maximum)
Let us start by breaking down the question into its components:
- What is the reason for your decision to pursue an MBA?
- Why now in your career?
- Why the Yale SOM Executive MBA program?
- What is the area of focus that you will pursue at the EMBA?
- What are your professional goals?
- What are your personal goals?
Why the Yale SOM EMBA?
- What skills or knowledge that you lack today that you wish to pursue?
- What skills or knowledge that you want to build upon that will help you achieve goals? (You might achieve your goals on your own, but not as well or as easily.)
- What are Yale SOM's specific offerings (courses, star professors, clubs, organizations, programs, events, etc.) that will help you gain what you lack or wish to build upon? How will you engage with those offerings to prepare to reach your goals? (Don't write a long list; focus on the offerings that you will really engage in and benefit from.)
- How will the Yale SOM culture prepare you as a leader?
Professional Goals
- What is your immediate career goal that you wish to pursue while you are attending the Yale SOM program? Tell them what expanded roles that you seek. Tell them why this is your career goal (your motivation), and what experience and skills you currently have.
- What is your long-term career goal (meaning 5-10 years after your graduation)? Tell them why this is your goal.
Personal Goals
Yale SOM’s mission: educating leaders for business and society.
From Yale SOM: "You will build a foundation to elevate your leadership perspective and lead at the nexus of business and society."
- What do you wish to achieve that is at that nexus?
- What kind of leader do you wish to become?
Prompt: Cite a statistic that you find shocking. As a leader for business and society,
- what actions could you take to address this challenge, and
- what would be your guiding principles and values?
(500 words maximum)
The answer to this should be related to your personal and professional goals from the previous essay.
Related to your area of focus, answer the following:
- Why have you selected this area of focus?
- Please describe how your current professional role relates to your chosen area of focus.
(Word count: 150-250 words)
The questions behind the questions are:
- How are your career interests and goals related to the area of focus. (You might also want to answer how did these interests developed.)
- What kind of exposure have you had so far to this area?
- What steps have you already taken to explore your interest in this area?
- What enables you to pursue this area successfully at Yale SOM?
Optional Essay
Prompt: If any aspect of your candidacy needs further explanation (unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, academic performance, promotions or recognitions, etc.), please provide a brief description here. (200 words maximum)