Located on Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven, Connecticut, United States, The Yale University School of Management has earned the school a unique place among the nation’s top MBA programs.
Unlike its peers who shape up student’s career path towards their dream jobs, The Yale School of Management provides students a direct path to some of the biggest firms and companies in the world by its unique teaching method. The institute takes pride in taking pride in teaching its students to approach business with an eye not just on profit, but also on social issues and consequences.
To meet their needs for this end, the school has recently unveiled a new core curriculum in which some one-dimensional courses have been sacrificed in favor of interdisciplinary courses that allow students to approach business problems from various angles.
The school’s curriculum is apt for those who are looking around for an “outside the box” business school experience.
Admissions and Tuition:
The Yale School of Management carefully selects its students. Out of a total of 2000 candidates that apply each year to the institute, less than 500 are typically granted offers of admission, making the institute select a minimum of 25% students from the stream of its applicants. This testifies the fact that Yale is one of the most selective MBA programs in the world. Candidates who are fortunate and accomplished enough to be a part of this relatively small number of admitted students typically exhibit strengths in all facets of their application, from their numbers, to their work experience, to their essays and letters of recommendation. The following figures provide key statistical information.
“Yale’s admitted students score higher than 700 on the GMAT and boast undergraduate GPAs of around 3.5. In terms of work experience, admitted students have worked for an average of nearly 5 years before beginning their MBA pursuit. Of course, Yale judges the work experience of applicants not just in terms of quantity, but also in terms of quality, and looks for applicants who have received promotions in the work place as well as high praise from employers through letters of recommendation.”
While normal MBA schools look out for these grades, Yale looks out for something additional. The university is fond of applicants with strong records of nonprofit and extra-curricular service, a fact that should come as no surprise given the school’s reputation. Applicants who lack this sort of experience but nevertheless value such causes can relay this fact to the admissions committee of Yale through their essays, which can play a large part in an applicant’s success if they are well-written and heartfelt.
In terms of tuition, students of the Yale School of Management charged $43,700 for the 2008-2009 academic years. Of course, Yale students are more than glad to pay this hefty sum for their MBA, given the vastly improved career prospects and salary hike that they are likely to obtain upon graduation. In fact, according to data compiled in part by BusinessWeek, Yale students, on average, see an impressive 98% post-MBA salary increase.
Academics and Curriculum:
Students at the Yale School of Management can expect an especially fulfilling MBA experience. All this is possible because of the school’s small class sizes, its lack of GPAs, and its new curriculum, current and future students at the Yale School of Management. Typically, Yale’s student body is the smallest among top business schools, allowing students the opportunity to establish relationships with most of their classmates and professors. Perhaps more importantly, small class sizes also enable students to secure a spot in the electives of their choice with relative and unusual ease, as an impressive 99% of students are reportedly able to enroll in all of their first-choice electives. These electives, as well as core courses, are certainly made more enjoyable by the fact that Yale does not publish or calculate student GPAs thereby enabling the students to focus on understanding course material rather than competing for top spots with classmates.
Typically, Yale’s student body is the smallest among top business schools, allowing students the opportunity to establish relationships with most of their classmates and professors. Perhaps more importantly, small class sizes also enable students to secure a spot in the electives of their choice with relative and unusual ease, as an impressive 99% of students are reportedly able to enroll in all of their first-choice electives. These electives, as well as core courses, are certainly made more enjoyable by the fact that Yale does not publish or calculate student GPAs thereby enabling students to focus on understanding course material rather than competing for top spots with classmates. Yale’s newly unveiled core curriculum, which includes more interdisciplinary courses, should also add to the academic quality of the Yale MBA, as it allows students to approach matters of business not only from traditional managerial perspectives, but also from less focused-on perspectives such as those of shareholders and customers. These factors, added to the impressive quality of Yale’s professors, ensure that applicants who choose to pursue their MBA at Yale will leave the school with a one-of-a-kind academic experience.
Quality of Life:
Despite the fact that the city of New Haven has somewhat of a bad reputation in many circles, students of the Yale School of Management generally seem to view New Haven as a great place to pursue an MBA mainly due to the easy housing facility found in the nearby area. This is mainly due to the ease of the housing search in the city. Most of the students are able to find suitable apartments or houses within walking distance of the business school campus.
The nightlife of the city is also typically praised by Yale students, who can party and socialize at any one of the many bars in New Haven, including those that are mainly populated by Yale graduate students.
Business school students also have plenty of opportunity to build strong networks with their classmates through the numerous social events organized by the school and its student organizations throughout the academic year, including popular weekly bar outings. Thanks to the small size of the school, it is not uncommon for half of the student body to attend one of Yale’s social events, a fact that allows this student body to become more tight-knit than usual.
For many students, this familial environment is one of the most enjoyable and memorable parts of the business school experience at Yale, as it allows them to know almost all of their classmates by name and to establish lasting personal and business relationships with many of these classmates. These further help them in making their own family relationships.
The major drawback of life in New Haven, on the other hand, is the weather of the area, which can be a challenge to many students during the winter months, although usually not enough of a challenge to significantly detract from an otherwise high quality of life.
Employment Prospects:
For students of the Yale School of Management, employment prospects are solid throughout the country and the world, and are especially strong in the Northeast. In a typical year, more than half of the school’s students stay in the tri-state area to begin their post-MBA careers, many of whom join one of the many large firms and organizations based in Manhattan. Some of the top employers of Yale grads are Lehman Brothers, Citigroup, General Electric, Merrill Lynch, and American Express, along with dozens of other heavy-hitters of the business world. Typically, about 75% of the school’s students are employed by graduation, while nearly 9 in 10 are employed three months thereafter.
Many of the job offers that lead to students’ employment are facilitated by the efforts of Yale’s Career Development Office, which prepares students for the job search with mock interviews and other forms of training.
In terms of functional areas, about half of Yale grads usually enter the finance sector each year, while about one-fourth enter the consulting field.
Further, according to the school, average overall compensation, including base salary, bonuses, and other guaranteed compensation for the Class of 2007 at Yale was $152,795. Certainly, this fact makes the nearly $50,000 rate of yearly tuition at Yale much more palatable.
In Sum:
The Yale University School of Management offers one of the most prestigious MBA degrees in the world, and continues to set itself apart from other MBA programs through its emphasis on social matters in business. For applicants with hopes of utilizing their business education to better serve society, there may not be a better place to earn an MBA. This is not however without the additional compensation package one is expected to get post their two years of wonderful experience.
Contact Information:
Admissions Office
Box 208200
New Haven, CT 06520
203.432.5932 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 203.432.5932 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
[email protected]
http://mba.yale.edu/MBA/admissions/apply/
Quick Reference:
2009 U.S. News Ranking: 13th
Average GMAT score: 700
Average undergraduate GPA: 3.47
Application fee: $200
Application deadline: 3/12
Entering class size: 200
Yearly Tuition: $43,700 (2008-2009)
Percent of graduates employed 3 months after graduation: 88%
Average starting salary and bonus: $118,964