Yale SOM MBA Essay Analysis 2026-27
Yale SOM 今年的 essay 題目跟去年差不多，有點像 HBS 往年的大哉問，要讓學生花更多時間思考。R1 的申請截止日期為9月15日，R2 的截止日期為 2027年1月6日。(推薦閱讀：與Adcom有約》不只MBA課程，Yale SOM享有學校豐富資源，讓學生客製化課表！）
Essay
We want to know what matters to you, and our essay question is designed to help us gain insight into your background, passions, motivations, responsibilities, ideals, identities, challenges, or aspirations, depending on where you take your response. To ensure that you’re able to write about something important to you, we offer you three essay prompts from which to choose:
1) Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made. Why is this commitment meaningful to you and what actions have you taken to support it?
2) Describe the community that has been most meaningful to you. What is the most valuable thing you have gained from being a part of this community and what is the most important thing you have contributed to this community?
3) Describe the most significant challenge you have faced. How have you confronted this challenge and how has it shaped you as a person?
Choose the prompt that speaks most strongly to you and about which you have the most enthusiasm. In answering the prompt – whichever one it is – you should think about the life experiences that have been most meaningful to you and that you most want to communicate to the committee, and pick the question that will best allow you to express that aspect of yourself.
We find that the most compelling essays are the ones that are truly most important to you, so make sure that’s your guide in choosing what to write about; don’t try to guess what we’re looking for or what you think we want to hear. Importantly, regardless of which prompt you choose, you’ll want to support your essay with concrete examples.
The word limit (though not necessarily the goal) is 500 words.
Yale SOM 已經連續幾年都出同樣的題目，而從2023年開始，改成一個三選一的題目。雖然題目描述五百字的字數限制，是僅供參考，也就是想提醒申請者，如果你的故事已經講完了，真的不用寫499字來告訴學校，你很努力湊滿字數；當然，我還是建議至少要寫四百字以上。
第一個選項 biggest commitment，源自於 Organizational Behavior 的教授 Amy Wrzesniewski，她說：「參考申請者未來的計畫果然有助於了解這個人，但過去做過的成就，更可以代表一個人。」學校近一步解釋，表示希望瞭解申請者怎麼做出個人或職業上的承諾，而且如何達到這個承諾，並強調希望申請者不要一直想著學校想看到什麼，而是忠於自己。
幾年前，我曾拜訪 Yale SOM 校園，和招生委員會見面，也曾經和當時招生辦公室的 Diana 和 Kristen 通話，他們當時表示，這個 Yale SOM 連續出了至少五年的題目，是問你人生至今的最大成就，除了看你的領導者特質，也想看你處理危機的能力，甚至是你的熱情所在。(延伸閱讀：2019台灣MBA高峰論壇》產業界線逐漸模糊，Yale SOM極力培育跨產業領袖)
特別要注意的是，不建議選擇一個只能展現你「專業能力」的成就，如果你是科技公司研發人員，你寫自己研究出如何厲害的專利，但從頭到尾沒有和別人合作的地方，或需要溝通協調的地方，這不是商學院想要看到的成就，而且在履歷表就可以寫到這項專利，不用花一整篇 essay 來大書特書。(同場加映：產業、頭銜擺一邊，你在職場的影響力，才是錄取關鍵)
雖然這一題可以當成人生中最大成就的題目來寫，但題目是問 “commitment”，這兩者稍有不同，我輔導錄取頂尖商學院的學生，在 essay 裡多半有展現自己 “take initiative” 的例子，或者展現自己的熱情所在，不管是工作上還是工作外的，因為這比較算是一種 “commitment”，而我也常常舉例告訴學生，把被指派的事情做好，不算傑出，MBA 希望找的是可以主動替老闆、公司、團體想，怎麼樣可以把該做的事情做得更好，或者做大家都沒有想過，但對團體好的事情，所以無論是幫公司內部流程優化、創立什麼樣的團體、爭取沒有人想過可以爭取到的客戶，都可以是好的例子。(延伸閱讀：2018台灣MBA高峰論壇》培養全球領袖，Yale SOM讓「領導力」概念深植每堂課！)
第二個選項，問申請者有沒有致力於貢獻一個 community 的經驗，這可以是一個慈善團體、學校社團，甚至是自己創的組織、自己家庭參加的教會（但是宗教細節不建議深入描寫、討論）。Yale SOM 在亞洲的名氣高，素有培育公營、私營部門領袖的搖籃之稱，隨著時代的改變，越來越多人認為，發揮影響力比只想著賺大錢更為重要，而這也是 Yale SOM 重要的核心價值。（推薦閱讀：選校抉擇時刻，突破刻板印象！Yale SOM MBA Catherine：學長姐友善互助，這就是我想去的學校！）
如果你曾經當社團幹部，做了一些你覺得對社團成員或大眾有利的事，甚至創立一個非營利組織，都可以寫在這篇裡，重點是事情要夠有影響力（impact），因為 Yale SOM 很重視影響力，對曾展現社會影響力的學生，更是重視。我有學生入學後跟我分享 ，Yale SOM 重視 social impact 的程度超乎想像，像是熱門的管顧社，有三分之一學生想投入教育、社會企業相關的專案，學校提供的資源、環境，讓學生更有動力展現社會影響力。(推薦閱讀:為世界注入正能量！社會企業課程正夯，MBA名校也學得到)
第三個選項就是比較常見的 behavioral question，所謂 behavioral question 就是問你曾經在什麼情況下，如何展現某種能力，你可以舉一個工作上的大專案，展現你的領導能力、團隊合作精神，如果是這樣，請你描述專案內容、參與的人員、困難度、需要領導力、團隊合作的地方。很多學生會說，我工作經驗才三四年，沒有當過別人的上司，應該沒辦法寫出好的 leadership example；但是，其實當一些專案的負責人，或者一個大案子其中一部分的領導者，也可以展現領導力，展現你如何把一個牽涉多個部門的案子做好。再次提醒，essay 的重點是 Why – 你為什麼覺得這就是問題、你為什麼選擇這樣解決問題，而不只是 What – 你多厲害，這件事對公司帶來多少收益，因為 What 在履歷表、推薦信上，已經有足夠證明了。（推薦閱讀：為什麼要念MBA ？這會是你最初、最重要也可能是難回答的題目）
另一個吸引申請者的原因，則是 Yale SOM 的班級規模較小（一班約300多人），在我和 Yale 招生委員會的 Diana、Kristen 聊天的過程中，他們也特別提到 SOM 的小班制，源自於學校希望維持學生緊密度的堅持，其實從數年前，SOM 就從240人，逐漸增班成目前的360人左右（2025年甚至有380人入學，其中有兩個我的學生，和我說台灣錄取生多達九位）；因為小班制，學校確保每個學生可運用的學校資源足夠，再加上大名鼎鼎的耶魯大學、耶魯法學院等豐富資源，學生的學術品質相對嚴謹。（延伸閱讀：找實習、學 AI，還去了非洲！Yale SOM Catherine：MBA 第一年，最喜歡學校的「人」！）
Video Questions: Hearing from you directly
Like the Behavioral Assessment, you’ll complete the video questions after you submit your application and pay the application fee. The video questions are not a substitute for the interview. Instead, they provide a unique way for us to assess your communication and English language skills, and enable us to create a more dynamic, multi-dimensional portrait of your candidacy.
To complete the video questions, you will receive a set of two previously recorded questions asked by admissions team members. The questions are similar to typical interview questions. There are no “trick questions;” we’re not trying to stump you.
For each question, you will have 60 seconds to deliver your response. The responses do not require any specific knowledge or preparation beyond the practice tool you can use before answering the questions, and your responses will be used with a “light touch,” as we say–they won’t make or break your application.
To prepare for the video questions, it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with the 60-second time frame for delivering your response. You don’t want to feel rushed, and you don’t want to run out of time getting to the heart of your answer. Also, be sure you have a good internet connection and are in a quiet, private space. While it is entertaining for the Admissions Committee when the unexpected colleague, partner, or pet joins your session, you will undoubtedly feel better about the exercise if you eliminate any potential for surprises!
And lastly, while it may be tempting, don’t use AI when completing your video questions. We have a statement on AI use in our application, and, in summary, reading from a script or relying heavily on notes defeats the purpose of the video questions and could undermine an otherwise strong candidacy. The video questions are meant to be spontaneous and provide us with an opportunity to get to know you and assess how you communicate. We’ll be disappointed if instead we get to know your AI platform of choice.
Behavioral Assessment: Going beyond the academic record
Yale SOM is committed to continuous innovation in the ways we identify future members of our community. The Behavioral Assessment might be the most unique of these innovations.
The Behavioral Assessment is an online exercise administered by ETS, the testing service behind the GRE. But unlike the GMAT and the GRE, which are tests of certain cognitive abilities, the Behavioral Assessment is a non-cognitive instrument that measures a set of inter- and intrapersonal competencies that are associated with academic success in business school. We look at it alongside, and sometimes as a counterpoint to, traditional academic metrics. And much like any other piece of the application, the Behavioral Assessment will never be the deciding factor for admission but will instead be used in combination with the rest of a candidate’s profile.
The exercise itself should take about 25 minutes to complete. You will receive 130 pairs of statements, one pair at a time, from which you’re asked to select the statement that best aligns with your own behaviors. The assessment is adaptive, so no two candidates will receive the exact same set of statements. No preparation is necessary to take the assessment, and no special knowledge is required.
Know that our use of this assessment is meant to be additive–it’s geared towards allowing the Admissions Committee to take more chances on candidates whose traditional metrics may not be the best predictors of success. To truly fulfill Yale SOM’s mission of educating leaders for business and society, we need a community of students whose backgrounds, experiences, and interests are diverse and expansive. If we limit ourselves only to applicants who perform best on traditional academic measures like the GMAT, the GRE, or undergraduate GPA, we may miss out on candidates with extraordinary professional experience or personal backgrounds that would add vital perspectives to the classroom. At the same time, it’s our responsibility to ensure we bring students into the program who will succeed in the classroom—we don’t want to set up students for failure. The Behavioral Assessment gives us an additional piece of information to use in assessing who will perform effectively in the curriculum, specifically by helping us predict who will perform better than their academic history would suggest.
Yale SOM 在送出申請、付完申請費之後，還會收到兩個東西。第一個是兩題 video questions，每題60秒。學校說題目「跟一般面試題差不多」，也提供練習工具，官方甚至寫「不需要特別準備」，只要先熟悉60秒有多長。
學校也特別提到，他們要看到的，是你當下的反應，所以也特別提醒，照著稿念、或太依賴筆記，會削弱一份原本很強的申請表。學校也提供了關於 video essay 的相關影片。
我每年都會提醒學生，60秒大概是250個英文字，而很多人第一次練面試時，都過了40秒還在鋪陳背
景，也因此會建議大家要事前做些練習，熟悉時間的長短以及敘述結構、表達方式。
另一個是 Behavioral Assessment，這是由 ETS 設計，有 130 組配對敘述，大約 25 分鐘。它測的不是聰不聰明，是人際和自我管理的傾向。這一項沒辦法準備，也不需要準備，照實選就好。關於 Behavioral Assessment，可以看學校提供的影片了解更多。
每年都有學生 essay 寫到申請截止日的最後一刻，送出去之後才發現，後面還有事情要做。上述這兩個關卡，都是在交出申請後才會發生，所以記得將這些關卡排進你的時程裡。
Application Deadline:
- Round 1: September 15, 2026
- Round 2: January 6, 2027
- Round 3: April 7, 2027
如果你確定想申請MBA，想跟Sabina聊更多，歡迎填寫免費評估表格，將會有專人與你聯繫喔！
想和Sabina有更多即時互動與問答嗎？歡迎關注Sabina姐分享MBA大小事，登愣 粉絲團
對申請美國Top 30大學有興趣？歡迎關注RocketAdmit網站、RocketAdmit粉絲團