Hey, man. Who can say? Their application and interview may have had little in common with the sort of work you're posting up here. But rather than focus on a minority of "bad work" could you tell us who at Yale, faculty or graduates, have excited you? You seem interested in the prestige of their school of art, and the weight an MFA might carry when it comes time to face the "politics of hiring," but what has the school generated that really gets you going?
You also mention that you've heard interesting work is coming out of the West Coast. But what work interests you? Where are the artists you admire and how can you plug yourself in to work with them?
I don't think that the faculty and reviewers at any top schools want to hear that your aim with an MFA is to teach. Even if it's the truth, deep down. These programs are looking for students interested in spending a few years (or a lifetime, really) with an absolute focus on their art.