Yale EMBA candidates can now begin working on their essays for the 2022-2023 application cycle. This year, the Yale EMBA application includes two required essays and one optional essay.
To better assess whether the Yale EMBA program could be a good match for you, visit the school’s latest class profile for the class of 2023. On average, the Yale EMBA class of 2023 had 14 years of professional experience and 50% had an advanced degree.
The class is made up of 47% women, 34% students born outside the US, and 28% US under-represented students of color.
Below, Personal MBA Coach has noted the 2022-2023 Yale EMBA application deadlines along with our tips for writing this year’s Yale EMBA essays.
The 2022-2023 Yale EMBA Application Deadlines Are:
Round 1: November 1, 2022
Round 2: January 30, 2023
Round 3: March 28, 2023
2022-2023 Yale EMBA Essays:
Yale EMBA Essay 1: 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)
This is a somewhat traditional “goals/why MBA” essay: You want to link where you are today with where you want to go in your future AND show how a Yale EMBA will help you get there.
Start by briefly telling the AdCom where you are in your career, what you do, and what skills and abilities you have mastered. Then share your goals, both short-term and long-term, as specifically as you can. To find out more about how to effectively articulate your post-MBA goals, check out this blog.
Next, you want to summarize what skills you need to acquire to reach those goals. Indeed, a key component of this essay is showing what motivates your decision to apply for an EMBA at this point, so you want to state the skills you want to develop and the new knowledge you are hoping to master through the Yale EMBA program.
Finally, spend the rest of the essay telling the Yale Admissions Committee how you will spend your time at Yale SOM. Be sure to share specifics about each class or program to show not only that you have researched the school in detail, but to show what you are interested in and how these experiences will prepare you for your future goals. Yale SOM knows what it offers, so you do not need to tell them: tell them why it matters to you.
Your area of focus, classes, initiatives—singularly and together they should show that you have thoughtfully traced a path for yourself at Yale and that awarding you a spot in the EMBA program is justified by your intent, plan, and promise.
Yale EMBA Essay 2: 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)
Two essential choices undergird a strong essay here: the statistic and the solidity of your analysis of it.
We recommend choosing a statistic that you care about and that you truly find to be shocking. This will inspire in you a genuine call to action and make it easier for you to chart a series of actions you would do to change this “fact.”
Set out by citing the statistic clearly. Make sure the meaning is unambiguous and state it: turn the statistic around and quantify it in the most vivid way. For example, “That means that 80 percent of the money spent on XXX is wasted.” Or “That means that more than half the potatoes shipped to American grocery stores get thrown away because they are blemished.”
In determining your course of action, you want to state your values (though they should also be self-evident, implicitly, in your actions): “In a world facing droughts and climate change refugee crises, food waste is unjustifiable, and I seek to persuade the American consumer to look beyond blemishes to the true cost of waste.“ Or “I am incensed by injustice and, in determining a course of action to rectify this problem, I am guided by a desire to make education accessible to all children.”
Then very practically and specifically detail what you would do. Pie-in-the-sky ideas will not do here. While good rhetorical fiber helps an essay, you want your solutions to be grounded and supported by data.
If the statistic you have chosen allows, try to capture subtlety in it; draw inferences that are not obvious, for example, and come up with a creative solution!
Optional Information: 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)
Yale EMBA candidates should choose to respond to the optional essay question only if they have specific extenuating circumstances. Find out more about how and when to answer optional essay prompts here.
For those seeking guidance throughout the EMBA application process, Personal MBA Coach is here to help maximize your chances of admission via our Executive MBA admissions consulting packages.
