The Yale SOM Video Essay Questions – And How to Successfully Answer Them

UPDATE: This article was originally posted on September 18, 2019. It has been updated with new information and tips below. 

With curricular flexibility that allows students to take classes across Yale’s many faculties (not just the business school!), Yale SOM is a top choice for engaged, globally-minded leaders who seek to make a meaningful difference in the world, all while benefiting from an Ivy League education. 

Despite this fact, many applicants dedicate countless hours to writing Yale’s admissions essays and then rush through the video essay component. 

This is a huge mistake. 

In addition to giving the admissions committee the chance to “put a face with a name,” the Yale SOM video essay is an essential part of the Yale application, as it allows committee members to determine if your communication style and values are a good fit with the Yale community. 

In fact, in our experience helping our Yale applicants secure a place at the school, we have noticed that the video essay can be as influential in an applicant’s admissions decision as the admissions interview. 

That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you understand how the Yale video essay works and have shared a list of Yale video essay questions to ensure you put your best foot forward! 

 

Why does Yale require a video essay?

When we first started working with Yale applicants many years ago, the video essay component had not yet been introduced. However, after being one of the first business schools to incorporate the video essay into their admissions process, this component has quickly become a critical part of the application. 

That’s because it gives the admissions committee the chance to truly “meet” candidates — as well as identify red flags in potential members of the Yale community. 

 

How does the Yale video essay work?

The way the video essay works is very simple. 

After submitting your application, you will receive an email from a company called Kira Talent. This email will contain a link that allows you to access the video essay platform. 

After signing in and starting the session, you will get three Yale video essay questions in total, one at a time. All will be random, but each question falls into a certain category (more on that below!). 

Timing:

• For questions 1 and 2, you will have 20 seconds to think and 60 seconds to answer. 
• For question 3, you will have 30 seconds to think and up to 90 seconds to answer. 
• You will be able to stop the question and move on if you finish before the time runs out.

The format

If you’ve taken the TOEFL exam, you’ve already practiced for the type of format you can expect in the Yale video essay! 

After signing in and “starting” the session, a video will appear on the screen. This video will show a member of the Yale community, who will read the question you are tasked with answering. The question will also appear in written form under the video. 

After the time runs out, the screen video will disappear, and your image will be visible on the screen. At this point, your 20 or 30 seconds to think will automatically appear. 

After the preparation time runs out, the clock to answer (60 or 90 seconds!) will start, and you will need to give your answer during this period of time. Remember: you cannot redo any of the Yale video essay questions. 

After you answer the question, the system will upload your answer to the server (depending on your connection this can take a while) and will present you with the next question. 

DO NOT leave your computer during the upload time, even if it’s taking a while. You cannot pause the process, and you may end up missing questions!

The Behavioral Assessment

Yale also has a unique separate video essay requirement: the behavioral assessment. 

Unlike the video essay, the behavioral assessment is a fixed-choice assessment conducted by ETS that does not require any previous preparation. It is designed to measure a set of “interpersonal and intrapersonal competencies associated with business school success,” according to the Yale SOM site. 

This assessment consists of 120 paired statements, and you’ll need to choose which of the two statements best describes them. No preparation is required for the Behavioral Assessment as there are no right or wrong answers.

The behavioral assessment should be completed in a single sitting and should take you about 20 minutes to complete. 

 

Technical requirements

Given past applicants’ issues with iPad and mobile versions of the application, we strongly suggest you record your answer on a computer. 

If you do end up experiencing technical issues, access the support page here. 

Deadlines

Regardless of when you submit your application, you need to submit your responses to the Yale video essay questions no more than 48 hours after the round’s deadline. Find Yale’s most current application deadlines here. 

If you submit your application early, you can submit the Yale video essay questions at any time, as long as you make the final deadline.  

 

Answer time limits

For questions 1 and 2, you will have 20 seconds to think and 60 seconds to answer. 

For question 3, you will have 30 seconds to think and up to 90 seconds to answer. 

You will be able to stop the question and move on if you finish before the time runs out.

 

Which types of questions are asked?

The Yale video essay questions are grouped into three different categories, each with a different focus. 

 

Group 1: MBA Motivations

The first question in the Yale SOM video essay will focus on your interest in Yale or the reason you are pursuing an MBA.

(Photo courtesy of @yalesom on Instagram)

This might take the form of “Why Yale?”, or “What are you expecting to learn at Yale?”. Conversely, they may also ask why you think now is a good moment in your career to stop and go to business school. They obviously want to be sure that you have researched Yale and have good reasons for applying for an MBA.

For this section, refer back to your goals essay, reflect, and be honest with yourself about why you’re applying to Yale. Maybe you like the program’s focus on diversity, maybe the raw case method, or perhaps you have colleagues who attended and spoke highly of Yale. 

The curriculum should also be a selling point for you, as well as the clubs and campus life, the diversity of the students, the experience of the teachers, and the internships and alumni network.

Now, please don’t reel off that list! It won’t be personal enough to you. 

Instead, clearly articulate your top three or four reasons for applying to Yale, and speak about them.

You don’t need to spend much time introducing this topic, saying “There are three main reasons why I want to attend Yale” and then giving us the reasons is more than enough.

It’s always good to include something that shows you’ve researched the program, so mentioning something specific, be it the academic modules or a specific club you want to join is a must for a winning video essay. 

Sample Questions

• Why are you pursuing an MBA at this point in your life?
• Why are you doing an MBA now?
• Why Yale?

 

Group 2: Behavioral questions

Yale is a community that values purpose-driven, adaptable people who work well in teams and are strong communicators. 

For that reason, Yale often asks questions aimed at determining if you work well with others and will be a positive addition to the Yale community. 

These questions won’t specifically ask, “Do you like working in a team,” but if you can keep in mind that this is a chance to show how you interact with others, you’ll have a good starting point for this question.

Typically questions range from how you help someone who needs advice, to your management style to how you handle conflict.

To do well in this question, it’s great to draw on examples, and to be clear and to the point. 

Furthermore, make sure to show your human side and demonstrate that you genuinely care for others and want the teams you join to succeed. It can be easy to answer in a very conversational way, but doing so can often lead to an answer without a point, so make sure you use your planning time to structure the key elements of your answer. 

For this question, you want to make sure you’re showing what you do and use active language.

Your answer will want to show that you’re mature, that you’re emotionally intelligent, that you can see the bigger picture, that you’re empathetic, and that you make a positive contribution to those around you.

If the question is about helping someone with a problem, tell us what you do. Perhaps you first like to listen, then help them get clear on what they really want, and then decide together on some next steps.

If the question is about your management style, be precise. Tell them how you manage people and why. Maybe you’re very hands-off, and like to give everyone the opportunity to take responsibility within their role, as you think this empowers them the most to learn and develop. Maybe you’re more hands-on and like to make sure your team knows they can come to you with problems, as giving people too much freedom too soon can actually be overwhelming to them.

Regardless, make sure to show your reasons for your actions and demonstrate that you’re a person who embraces collaboration and who sees setbacks as opportunities for learning.

Sample Questions

• Tell us about a time you found out you couldn’t do something alone. What was it? When did you realize that you couldn’t do it alone? What did you learn?
• Tell us about a time you took a risk. What did you learn?
• Tell us about a time you experienced a professional failure. What did you learn from it?
• Tell us about a conflict you have had with your boss/with a team at work. How did you manage to resolve it?
• What accomplishment are you proudest of?
• Tell us about an organization or activity to which you have devoted a significant amount of time. Why was it meaningful to you?
• What will your classmates be most surprised to learn about you?
• What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received that you also shared with other people? / What is the most important feedback you’ve ever received?
• Tell us about a time you worked with diversity in the workplace.
• Tell us about a time you contributed to improving a process in your organization.
• Tell us about a time when you faced a conflict on a team that affected its productivity. How did you face it?
• Tell us about a positive impact that you made. Why was it important to you?
• Whose leadership style do you admire and why?
• Tell us about a time you contributed to your company or community. 
• Tell us about a time you created a good environment in your personal or professional life. 
• What’s the biggest misperception co-workers might have about you?
• Tell us about a time when you had to reshape a strategy due to a sudden change in the scenario.
• Tell us about a relationship you leveraged to reach your goals and how you did it. 
• Tell us about a time when you had to deliver a tough task at the last minute. 
• Tell us about a time when you solved a problem in a creative way. 

 

Group 3: The thinking question

In addition to the traditional interview questions, you will also be required to answer a thinking question (similar to a case study) during the Yale video essay.

The key to the thinking question is to see how you think on your feet (and, as a result, test how well you’ll do with Yale’s raw case method). 

The point of this task is to see if you can present a clear idea and demonstrate good critical thinking abilities, not to get the “right” answer. As such, focus on using your answer to walk through a clear, well-reasoned answer to the prompt. 

Sample Questions

• It is better for a leader to have a superficial knowledge of many topics than to be an expert in one topic. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
• Providing health insurance for employees is the most pressing issue for business leaders at the moment. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? 
• It is more important to judge people by their actions than by their intentions. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?
• Failure is a better teacher than success. Do you agree or disagree?
• Artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it will eliminate. Do you agree or disagree?
• Sustainability should be prioritized over profitability for all businesses. Do you agree or disagree?
• Work-life balance is the key to employee satisfaction. Do you agree or disagree?
• Leaders should prioritize empathy over efficiency in decision-making. Do you agree or disagree?
• The success of a company is determined more by its corporate culture than by its business strategy. Do you agree or disagree?
• Remote work will lead to decreased innovation in the long term. Do you agree or disagree?
• Sustainability should be prioritized over profitability for all businesses. Do you agree or disagree?

 

The difference between a good and great Yale SOM video essay

Given the importance of the video essay in your Yale SOM application, it’s crucial to make sure you don’t just have a good video essay but that you have a great video essay. 

Now that you’ve learned how the video essay will work, we’ve gathered our top 5 tips here to ensure your video essay performance brings you one step closer to reaching your goal of attending Yale. 

 

Make sure you get into Yale SOM

You have stressed about every aspect of your Yale application, and now you are ready to record your video essay! With the right preparation, this can be your chance to shine and get a highly-coveted spot at Yale. 

However, maybe you don’t know where to start in preparing, or maybe you ramble on and lose your focus while answering. Maybe you’ve even downloaded the sample questions and written out your answers. The problem is, when you try to apply these templates to your own story, it doesn’t quite work.

Our video essay prep focuses on helping you determine how to present yourself to Yale while using appropriate, impact-driven language without being artificial, or worse, robotic.

Regardless of where you’re from or what type of experience you have, we are focused on helping you do your best. 

Want to put the Ellin Lolis advantage to work for you? Schedule your preparation session with our team of video essay experts today!