Trivia Tuesday: Structuring the Student Body at Yale SOM
The structure of the first-year class tends to shape the MBA experience, affecting the friends students make, the teamwork skills they learn, and the peer support they receive. In this week’s Trivia Tuesday, we turn our attention to the Clear Admit Guide to the Yale School of Management to learn more about the class structure at Yale SOM:
“At the end of pre-term, Yale’s first-year class is divided into four cohorts, referred to as Blue, Gold, Silver and Green. Students report that the bonds within these groups are usually strong, and since students take all of their core courses with their cohort, inside jokes and camaraderie tend to develop throughout the year. In addition to classroom and group work, cohorts band together for good-natured extracurricular competition.
“Within the cohorts, students are assigned to learning teams of eight to nine people each. As is the case at most business schools that break their student bodies into smaller units, both these teams and the larger cohorts are constructed with an eye to capturing the diversity of the class and ensuring that students are introduced to others with varying backgrounds and areas of expertise.
“Though most of the year is spent with one’s cohort, students have the opportunity to work with students from other cohorts through the Leadership Development Program (LDP), which is set to be fully revamped and in place by the time first-year students enter the program in Fall 2012. The LDP is is a unique mentorship and support system at Yale that offers incoming students a forum in which they can refine their professional and personal aspirations. Through the LDP, groups of 20 first-years are advised by two second-year students and one faculty member. Groups meet two or three times each semester, often in the home of one of the advisors; students are also able to meet one-on-one with advisors to discuss issues they are having.
“Students report that these group and individual LDP sessions are helpful in keeping them focused on their long-term goals, as well as in tackling more immediate issues. Participants also comment that their close contact with faculty members and second-year students through LDP strengthens their sense of connection with the SOM community.
“Though each cohort spends a significant amount of time together in and outside of the classroom during the first year, students report that cohort culture does not continue into the second year. By this point, students’ coursework consists entirely of electives, and new social networks form around shared professional and academic interests.”
For more information about the first-year experience at Yale SOM, be sure to check out the Clear Admit School Guide to Yale. All Clear Admit School Guides are available for immediate purchase and download on the Clear Admit shop.
You could win a Clear Admit Guide! Based on today’s post, we’ll be running a trivia contest on Twitter. Be sure to follow us and play for your chance to win!
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