Accomplished and Talented Class of 2012 Arrives at SOM

As the 235 students of the Yale SOM Class of 2012 get to know each other, they'll learn about where their classmates went to school, about the jobs they held, maybe a little about their hometowns. They'll quickly see that their peers are accomplished not just at school or work, but in sports, the arts, science, and community work.

The new students have lived and worked in more than 30 countries, including the United States, France, England, China, India, Brazil, Jordan, Ghana, Chile, Italy, and Indonesia. They speak even more languages, including all of the Romance languages, several Chinese dialects, Hindi, Russian, Arabic, Swahili, Korean, the Krio spoken in Sierra Lione, and Cambodia’s Khmer. They’ve been employed by a variety of organizations, including financial firms such as Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, and UBS; major consulting firms McKinsey, BCG, and Booz Allen Hamilton; the U.S. Army and Air Force; Google and Apple; Tata and Ford Motor Company; Teach For America, the Peace Corps, and Human Rights Watch. And they’ve started their own companies — a wireless company in Niger, a law firm, a financial services company, and several internet startups.

One student was awarded a Bronze Star for actions in Iraq, while another was given an award by Mayor Michael Bloomberg for her charitable work in New York City. One student received a silver medal for a Cabernet he made at the Sonoma County Fair, three were Fulbright Scholars, and another performed with the Lyric Opera in Malaysia. SOM students have been ballerinas, choreographers, concert violinists, and short story writers. They have also excelled in athletics, competing on the national stage in tennis; Big Ten football; college rugby, swimming, track, and squash; and numerous marathons and triathlons. They have served their communities around the world, working in microfinance, refugee relief, anti-hunger campaigns, and education. One student started an organization that is documenting the stories of survivors of the Khmer Rouge genocide, as well as directing a movie on her own family's story of escaping Cambodia.

Yale SOM has long been a leader in recruiting a diverse and talented student body. The Class of 2012 is 36% female, 27% international, and 21% U.S. minority. Members of the class hail from five continents, and boast a college GPA of 3.52 with an average score of 722 on the GMAT.

"Every year, I look forward to meeting the new class of MBA students," says Dean Sharon Oster, who will be teaching the introductory economics module during the first weeks of the term. "And every year I am delighted to find that my high expectations about the incoming class are exceeded."

The school's 10-day orientation began on August 11, with a series of events, challenges, and trips designed to introduce new students to Yale SOM's integrated MBA experience. While there's an ice cream social, clambake, and an introduction to the city’s many culinary choices, students are launched immediately into the rigors of the curriculum. On their second day of orientation, students begin the Audubon Street Project, a competition between various teams to come up with business plans for an empty storefront in New Haven’s Arts District. On the last official day of orientation, students travel to New York for company visits and a reception at the New York Stock Exchange. Core courses for first-year students begin August 23, while electives for second-year students start on September 1.

Watch a video of members from the Class 2012 discussing what
they’ve learned in their first days as MBA students.