Happy New Year! With the Round 2application deadline a week away on January 9, I thought it would be a goodtime to talk about video questions, a new element in this year’s Yale SOM application.

    We introduced video questions this seasonas a way to get a fuller, more complete sense of all applicants, rather thanonly being able to hear directly from those applicants we invite to interview with us. After reviewing this year’s first-round applications, our sense isthat the video questions have helped applicants present their candidacies more effectively than they would from a purely “paper” application, and we haveheard from applicants themselves that they found the process to be quitepositive, despite concerns about their familiarity with the format (if you’veever Skyped, you’re familiar with the format).

     For Round 2 applicants who have yet tocomplete their video questions, I offer a few thoughts and insights.

     You willbe asked to answer three questions: first, an open-ended, introductory questionabout yourself; next, a “behavioral” question similar to what you would beasked in a business school or job interview that asks how you handled a certainprofessional situation; and finally, a “thought” question that offers astatement and asks if you agree or disagree with it, and why. The questions aremeant to give us a better sense of who you are, how you act, and how you think.

      The questions themselves do not take long to answer—you can complete them in a single 15-minute session, and all you needis a webcam and an internet connection to do so. Each question gives you 20seconds to think about the answer and up to 90 seconds for the response(although you don’t need to use all 90 seconds—something I think some Round 1applicants wished they knew!). And they do not require extensive preparation;the time you spent preparing your application and thinking about yourself andyour academic and professional experiences should serve you well for the video questions. I would especially emphasize that we do not expect perfection with these questions. We know that they are unrehearsed, extemporaneous, in-the-moment responses. We are more concerned about the thoughtfulness of your responses than the “polish” of the presentation.  (That said, please do dress appropriately.)

     For those of you applying by our Round 2deadline, you have until deadline at the 5 p.m. on January 9 to complete the questions(candidates applying to us through the Consortium for Graduate Study inManagement will receive the video questions after submitting their applicationsto the Consortium by its January 5 deadline.) If you have any questions about your application before thedeadline—whether about the video questions or anything else—feel free to emailus atmba.admissions@yale.edu.  Good luck!

Bruce DelMonico

Assistant Dean and Director

Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions