Yale School Of Management (SOM) is one of the top business schools in the United States, known for its rigorous academic curriculum and prestigious alumni network. With a moderately competitive acceptance rate of 33%, gaining admission to Yale SOM is no easy feat for aspiring business leaders. The institution prides itself on admitting a diverse and driven cohort of students who demonstrate strong potential for success in the field of business.

To be considered for admission to Yale SOM, applicants must meet certain academic and professional requirements. The median GMAT score for admitted students is 720, while the median undergraduate GPA is 3.60. For those who opt to take the GRE, median scores typically fall around 164 Verbal and 166 Quant. In addition to these standardized test scores, applicants are also expected to demonstrate leadership qualities, a strong work ethic, and a clear vision for their future in business.

The admission process for Yale SOM is highly competitive and selective. Prospective students must submit a comprehensive application that includes essays, letters of recommendation, and a resume detailing their academic and professional achievements. Admissions decisions are based on a holistic review of each applicant’s background and potential for success in the program. Successful candidates are invited to participate in an interview as part of the final selection process.

Yale SOM Business School Acceptance Rate	33%
GPA Requirement	3.60
Median GMAT Score	720
Median GRE Verbal Score	164
Median GRE Quant Score	166

Yale School of Management offers admissions highly selectively with an acceptance rate of 16%. Yale School of Management offers Masters in Business Administration, Management Masters, Research-Based Doctoral degrees in Management as well as Executive programs.

Having a highly competitive 16% acceptance rate, a good student to faculty ratio of 14:1 and ranked as one of the best value schools makes it an ideally tough choice for both international as well as in-state students.

In response to COVID 19, Yale School of Management has suspended all in-person operations through the end of the Spring semester. Yale School of Management is providing remote education in the response of pandemic while all the documents’ submission is accepted electronically by the university.

• Yale School of Management admits students in three seasons: Fall, Spring &Summer.
• The admission process is carried out online through the Yale School of Management Online Application Portal.
• Required documents are to be submitted online and the university asks to mail additional documents depending on your category as an applicant by mail.
• Deadlines are program-specific. The applications for various programs for round 3 intake for the 2021 class are open till April 2020.
• Financial aid is available for international students and merit-based grants/scholarships are also autos credited as per the student’s academic performance.
• There are pretty jobs available on-campus so that students can assist their expenses.

Yale School of Management Ranking

As one would expect of a business school with such a prestigious parent university as Yale, the Yale School of Management is highly ranked among business schools in the United States and worldwide. 

Organizations such as QS World University Rankings, the Financial Times, U.S. News and World Report, and others all regard the Yale School of Management highly.

QS World University Rankings placed the Yale School of Management in 2020 at number 7 in its EMBA Rankings – North America list and at number 12 in its EMBA Rankings – Global list.

The Financial Times ranked the business school’s MBA program at number 9 in its MBA 2022 list and at number 4 in its Global MBA Ranking 2021 list.

2019 saw Forbes place the Yale School of Management at number 11 in its list of the best business schools.

US News and World Report gave Yale’s business school the number 7 spot in its 2023 list of the best business schools. For specialty rankings, the school placed even higher, at number 6 for the management and number 1 for the non-profit categories.

Bloomberg’s Best B-Schools 2022-2023 list places the Yale School of Management at number 10 among business schools in the United States. This ranking is an increase of two spots from the school’s place in the same list for the 2021-2022 year.

Whether looking at MBA programs for executives or regular MBA programs for those who are earlier in their careers, the Yale School of Management regularly places highly in the rankings lists from multiple institutions.

Yale School of Management Requirements

Keeping with the trend of many universities and schools reviewing a candidate’s overall strength and qualities, the Yale School of Management reviews applicants holistically. The application is completed online through the school’s application portal.

In order to be considered for admission into the school’s MBA program, applicants must hold an accredited four-year bachelor’s degree or its equivalent from an international institution of higher learning. 

Additional application materials required by the school include transcripts from all previously attended universities or colleges, the application essay, two letters of recommendation, GMAT or GRE scores, answers to the school’s video questions, a completed behavioral assessment, and the school’s application fee, if applicable.

Applicants will submit unofficial copies of all transcripts during the application process and will be required to submit official copies upon being conditionally accepted into the program. 

Similarly, students will self-report all valid GRE or GMAT scores, and the school will request official scores upon conditional admission.

The essay question asks applicants to describe the most significant commitment they have ever made and how they fulfilled it.

No minimum GPA or GRE/GMAT score is needed to apply to the business school.

Applicants are not required to have previous work experience, although most do. The Silver Scholars program provides a pathway for college seniors to enter the program directly out of college.

Letters of recommendation should be from people who can speak to the applicant’s professional achievements and characteristics.

Yale’s behavioral assessment seeks to elicit an understanding of an applicant’s characteristics associated with success in business school, and the video questions and answers are designed to give the admission committee an understanding of the candidate’s communication skills before an invitation to interview is extended.

All applicants are required to participate in an interview with the admission committee as a condition for admission to the program.

The program offers three admission rounds with deadlines on September 13, January 5, and April 11. Decisions for each admission round are released on December 6, March 24, and May 18.

Yale SOM MBA: Complete Guide to Admissions

The Yale School of Management (SOM) is an elite school at one of the United States’ oldest universities. Is Yale good for MBA studies? In some ways, the reputation of Yale’s business school precedes itself; it is without doubt a top ranked MBA.  Is it a good fit for you personally? Below, we’ll take a closer look at Yale’s MBA program, including information on the curriculum, application process, and the average Yale School of Management GMAT score.

Yale SOM MBA Program: GMAT Scores, Acceptance Rate, and GPA

When it comes to the class stats for students accepted at Yale, the academic numbers are a great place to start! First, GPA: what GPA do you need for the Yale MBA? Students admitted to Yale SOM’s class of 2022 have a median GMAT score of 3.65.  The middle 80% of admitted students’ GPAs range from 3.31-3.92. Next, let’s talk test scores. Successful applicants have a median GMAT score of 720, with the middle 80% of accepted students scoring between a 680 and 760.  The median GRE score is 165 for Verbal and 164 for Quant, with a middle 80% range of 158-170 for both sections. Yale SOM applies these numbers to arrive at an acceptance rate of 29.7%.

The scores of GRE applicants deserve some additional attention because Yale is on the cutting edge of a growing trend: the acceptance of GRE as an alternative to the GMAT. In 2019, 24% of the incoming Yale SOM class submitted GRE scores. That, in and of itself, is already a high number compared to many other top MBA programs. But then, in 2020, the number of accepted GRE test takers jumped up to 35% for the class of 2022. That’s a nearly 50% increase in students admitted with GRE as opposed to GMAT scores!  If you prefer the GRE to the GMAT, Yale may be an especially good choice for you. (And if you want to take the GRE, Magoosh can help!)

Special Tips for a Top Yale MBA GMAT Score

But then, this is the Magoosh GMAT blog, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t share some GMAT thoughts with you as well. If you’re determined to take the exam and earn a GMAT score that is competitive at Yale, you can begin the process by following these four simple steps:

1. Start by taking one of our GMAT Diagnostic Exams.
2. Decide how much time you need to study—3 months is usually ideal.
3. Pick a location, choose a date, and register for your exam on MBA.com.
4. Start studying with Magoosh!

Now, let’s go beyond admissions stats and get a good overview of the whole class profile for the Yale Master’s Degree in Business Administration program:

Yale MBA Class Profile

Total enrollment	350
Median GRE score	164 (Q) 164 (V)
Median GMAT score	720
Median GPA	3.65
Acceptance rate	29.7%
Women	39%
First generation university students	10%
LGBTQ+	8%
U.S. Students of Color	32%
Underrepresented Minorities	11%
International citizens	40%
Average work experience	4.5 years

(Sources: Yale School of Management, U.S. News and World Report)

That table provides a good snapshot. But if you want to know more, Yale has you covered. Check out the official Yale SOM MBA class profile page for more info on demographics for accepted students, as well as the academic and professional backgrounds of the newest cohort.

Yale MBA Rankings

Since Yale began offering the MBA in 1999, the school has quickly become one of the most prestigious in the world. The Yale School of Management is regularly ranked in the top 15 programs of the United States, and often cracks the top 10. Currently, Forbes places the Yale MBA program at number 11 nationwide, while U.S. News and World Report puts it at an impressive number 9.

How to Get in to the Yale School of Management: Application Process

The Yale School of Management accepts applications in three rounds throughout the year. The round 1 deadline is in September, round 2 in January, and round 3 in April.

SOM applicants will need to fulfill the following requirements:

• Complete the online application form, including one essay
• Provide university transcripts (SOM admission requires a four-year bachelor’s degree or its international equivalent)
• Submit GMAT or GRE scores
• Submit two professional recommendations (one of which should ideally come from a recent supervisor/manager)
• Record and submit live answers to three video questions
  • You’ll have between 60 and 90 seconds to give each video response.
  • The videos are another way for admissions to learn more about all of the applicants, and also to test English proficiency, which is why Yale does NOT ask applicants for IELTS or TOEFL scores.
• Pay a sliding-scale application fee of $125 to $225. The fee may be waived for candidates who meet one of the following criteria:
  • Current/former U.S. military member
  • Current Yale graduate student, or current undergraduate student applying to the Silver Scholars program
  • Management Leadership for Tomorrow MBA Prep Fellows
  • Forté MBA Launchers or Rising Star participants
  • Peace Corps volunteers
  • MBA Prep Fellows from Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT)
  • College seniors and alumni wo participate in QuestBridge
  • Current staff or alumni of Teach for America, Teach for China, Teach for India, or any other Teach for All partner program
• Schedule an in-person interview if selected to do so.

This set of application requirements can feel intimidating at first. However, Yale does offer a lot of support, as well as additional information that really demystifies the admissions process. To learn more, see Yale’s Admissions page, Application Guide, and Application FAQ.

Yale SOM MBA Curriculum

How difficult is the Yale MBA coursework?  Let’s look at the curriculum. Yale’s “integrated curriculum” prepares students for multi-faceted roles within an organization by focusing on how areas like marketing, strategy, accounting, and finance all interact one with another.

In each semester, first-year students can expect to study not only individual B-school disciplines, but also the intersections and overlap among them. For example, first-year studies might interweave the basics of economics with the different impacts these economic principles have on different stakeholders within an organization or system.

In their second year, Yale students take elective courses to develop specific expertise in a field of their choosing. Students can learn the nuances of negotiation or advanced management, to give just two examples. Furthermore, students are welcome to take courses from Yale departments outside the SOM.

All Yale SOM students must also fulfill a global studies requirement, which involves international study and/or travel.

What is the Yale MBA program famous for?

From orientation through graduation, students enjoy a number of unusual features of the Yale MBA program.

Dual Degrees and Integration Between Yale MBA and the Rest of Yale University

One feature that helps Yale’s school of management stand out is its dual degrees. As you’ll see on the Yale SOM dual degree web page, Yale MBA candidates have many opportunities to pair their MBA with another discipline and double-major.

The generous double-major pairings that can go with the Yale MBA are part of the Yale initiative to integrate the SOM curriculum with the university as a whole. Because of this, Yale MBA students can take elective classes from many other departments at the university. For more information, see Yale SOM’s “Connection to the Host University” page.

Community Engagement

In addition, Yale’s full-time MBA program is exceptional when it comes to supporting its students and graduates in community engagement and public service careers.  One way the Yale School of Management does this is through its student loan forgiveness program. This program is specifically for graduates who go on to work in the public sector or in nonprofit fields (NGOs, sustainability, community support, etc…).  Similarly, the Yale School of Management hosts the Broad Center, a facility that helps students to prepare for leadership in public education, with an emphasis on underserved communities.

The “Raw” Case: A Different Approach to Case Studies

Like most graduate schools of business, the Yale School of Management uses case studies. Unlike most graduate schools of business, Yale’s MBA students present and organize their findings in what the Yale SOM refers to as “raw” cases. A raw case presents its information in a group of web pages that readers can access in any order they like. The idea is to make academic findings as accessible and easy to navigate as other kinds of popular, public-facing web content.

An Organizational Core Curriculum for the Yale MBA

In its core courses, the Yale MBA program gives special attention to organizational perspectives– a look at how companies function from the top down and the bottom up, as well as an examination of the place an organization has in its community and in society at large. Yale’s curriculum embraces complexity and recognizes that a business’ structure and component parts are about so much more than just the CEO! For details on this, you can read Yale MBA’s description of its year one core curriculum.

Employment Outcomes

Last but certainly not least, let’s look at what a Yale MBA can do for your career. After all, career advancement is why you’re interested in an MBA in the first place, isn’t it?

Job Offer and Acceptance Rate

Here are a few quick numbers to get you started: According to the Yale School of Management’s own very detailed employment report, 92.4% of the Yale MBA graduates who are seeking jobs receive a job offer within three months of graduation. Most of the graduates who are offered jobs accept them; 91.4% of job seeking Yale SOM alumni accept an offer within three months of graduation.

Average Starting Pay

“Yeah, yeah,” you might be saying. “I’ve got a good chance of getting a job with a Yale MBA. But what about pay?” Don’t worry, I didn’t forget that– and neither did Yale! In the Yale SOM’s overview of their detailed employment report, you can see that there are two median salaries: one for graduates who accept jobs in the U.S., and another for graduates who accept jobs overseas.

In America, the median salary for a new Yale SOM graduate is $145k. Each region in the U.S. has its own median though, and the range for those medians is $136k (South) to $152k (Midwest).

When Yale MBA graduates go abroad, they earn a bit less. Here, the median– calculated between job placements in Europe and Asia is $110,699. And the two regional medians Europe gives are $106,610 for Asia, and $112,134 for Europe.

The fields you might work vary even more than do the regions. Still, two fields take up the lion’s share of job placements for Yale MBA holders: consulting (36.9%) and finance (23.3%).

For more details, check out the above-linked in-depth employment report and employment report overview. Ultimately, these numbers just might be the most important factors in your final decision. After all, an MBA is all about return on investment!

How much does a Yale MBA cost?

Let’s have a look at the other important component of return on investment: the up-front cost! The “sticker price” for a Yale MBA is high. The Cost Information page for the Yale School of Management currently lists tuition and fees at $76,770. When additional costs of living and study are factored in, the final cost is calculated at $104,752.

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce those costs if you choose to pursue a Yale MBA. For info on how to cut costs and to apply for scholarships and other support, see the Yale SOM’s Funding Resources and Affording Your MBA pages.

Still not convinced Yale is your best option? Or do you perhaps want to treat Yale as just one possible option? In that case head on over to the Magoosh Top 25 MBA list. That list is a great starting point for exploring admissions and school info for many other excellent B-schools!