Yale SOM Essay Guide
Yale School of Management
Grade your Yale SOM essay against the mission-driven lens.
Yale SOM's biggest commitment essay rewards depth over breadth. Pick the commitment that has cost you the most — and explain what the cost was.
What readers look for
The Yale SOM reader's lens
- 01A commitment that has actually cost you time or money
- 02Connection to Yale SOM's mission of business and society
- 03A career arc that integrates the two
- 04Specificity — not slogan-level values
See example prompts
Browse this season's Yale SOM essays
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Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made.
500 word limit
Grade with this prompt
Common pitfalls
What gets Yale SOM essays rejected
- ✗ Picking a commitment that hasn't cost anything
- ✗ Slogan-level 'making the world better' language
- ✗ Ignoring the business-and-society mission
How our critique works
Three steps for Yale SOM
01
Paste your Yale SOM draft and the prompt.
02
We grade against the Yale SOM-specific rubric, not generic essay rules.
03
You get an overall score, paragraph-level flags, and the three fixes that move your score the most.
FAQ
Yale SOM essay questions
Also applying to
Other programs Yale SOM applicants target
Related reading
Deeper guides
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