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MIT 2007 Application Tips

July 17, 2006 By

MIT Sloan 2007 Deadlines

                                                             Round 1                Round 2

Submission Deadlines             Nov. 1, 2006                  Jan. 10, 2007

Decision Dates                            Jan. 29, 2007               April 2, 2007

MIT Sloan MBA & LFM Essay Questions and Tips 

Here are my tips for MIT Sloan’s 2007 application. I will try something new this time — indenting instead of putting my tips in red. If  you prefer one approach or the other, please leave me a comment. 

Cover Letter
Prepare a cover letter (up to 500 words) seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Please comment on your career goals and those factors which influenced you to pursue an MBA education at MIT Sloan. The cover letter provides a chance for you to discuss your passions, values, and interests. Through what you write we hope to discover whether you will thrive at MIT Sloan and how you will contribute to our diverse community. Address your cover letter to Mr. Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions.

Like all cover letters, this is a sales document. Make you case for admission. What are you going to bring to the school? Where is your fit with the Sloan program. How will Sloan, with its tight community, focus on leadership, and emphasis on innovation, bridge the gap between your past experience and your future goals?

Résumé
Please prepare a business résumé that includes your employment history in reverse chronological order, with titles, dates, and whether you worked part time or full time. Your educational record should also be in reverse chronological order and should indicate dates of attendance and degree(s) earned. Other information appropriate to a business resume is welcomed and encouraged. The résumé should not be more than one page long (up to 50 lines).

Go beyond mere job description to highlight achievement. If your title is "consultant.’ Saying that you "consulted on projects" is uninformative at best. Writing that you "led a 6-member team working on a biotech outsourcing project to Eastern Europe with a budget of X and that you came in on time and under budget", says much, much more.

Essays
Use the essays to tell us more about you and how you work, think, and behave. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response. Include what you thought, felt, said, and did. Please select experiences or events from the past one to two years.

More than that, the essays are a chance for you to discuss your passions, values, interests, and goals. Emphasize those experiences that were most important and meaningful for you — which may not necessarily be those that were most outwardly prestigious. Be sincere and be specific. There is no one "right" kind of MIT Sloan student; in fact, MIT Sloan deliberately builds each class to unite varied strengths and perspectives. Tell us what particular experiences and expertise you will bring to the mix. The essay instructions and questions are included below.

As I did last year, I bolded the above paragraph. I think it is a critical piece of instruction. Don’t write what you think they want to know. Write with sincerity about what’s most important to you.

Filed Under: MBA Admissions, MIT Sloan Tagged With: , , ,
  • Wants MIT

    Hi,

    Great analysis.
    Re: question 4: I wonder whether it’s ok to talk about a time when I had an idea but to took it into action I worked with a team.
    I can write that I did X, and I did Y. But reality is that you work with others even whom you lead to do things.

    Thanks!

  • Linda Abraham

    Sure. It could work really well. Good luck!

  • http://www.mblog.com.mx Bernardo

    Hi,
    I was wondering if talking about one’s childhood dream of studying at MIT would be too lame…that’s after all, one of my deepest motivations anyways

  • Linda Abraham

    Frankly, I think it is a little lame and might make you seem immature. They want to know why as an adult with adult thought-processes want to attend Sloan.

  • Clever

    Will there be any disadvantage writing a little more than 500 words per essay?

    Also, how long should the supplemental info. be?

    Thanks in advance!

  • Linda Abraham

    Our rule of thumb is not more than 10% over the word limit. So "a little bit" is OK.

    I would try to keep it under 500 words. This question should not be the equivalent of a kitchen sink, the back of the bedroom closet, or the local (brain) dump. It should be a coherent, focused essay that highlights something(s) you believe the adcom should know and that you didn’t have room to include in the other essays.

    Good luck!

  • Applicant

    In 2007 Sloan supplemental info there are 5 items, 2 market with a 500 word limit. Does this mean 500 word limit for these 2 only? I am a bit confused on the word limitation here.

    1. List the leadership activities in which you have actively participated, including your responsibilities and positions held in the organization, and dates. Provide contact names(s) and contact information for each leadership activity.

    2. List your academic and/or professional awards, including the basis for your selection and the date(s) of the honor(s).

    3. List your hobbies, interests, and activities, including any significant accomplishments related to them.

    4. Special circumstances related to your academic program which you would like to mention (up to 500 words).

    5. Whatever else you would like the Admissions Committee to know (up to 500 words).

  • Linda Abraham

    Yes, the five-hundred word limit applies to #4 and #5. But 1-3 ask you to "list" not "expound on." ;-) Good luck!

  • Akshay

    Hi Linda,
    I would want your comments on following.
    - If I have taken GRE on 30th sept, 2002, can I use that score to report instead of a not-so-good GMAT that I took few months back.
    How does it reflect on my candidature, when I am choosing to report an ‘old’ Not-Gmat score.!
    I am considering – Stanford (already sent score), MIT (I haven’t sent).

    - When I took GRE, AWA wasn’t a written section, instead it was a normal score on 800 scale. So, no AWA on scale of 2-6 to report.

    Thanks in advance

  • Akshay

    Linda,
    You may ignore this comment, I have got an answer from adcom itself.
    Thanks

  • Carlo

    Aren’t the supplemental questions optional? This text is from the actual online application (notice the "may"): "You may provide additional information about any of the following topics that you consider relevant"

  • Linda Abraham

    Reading the MIT web site, I don’t believe the supplemental questions are optional. Even if you check and the office says they are optional, I think not responding to these supplemental questions is missing an opportunity to provide the adcom with more reasons to admit you. If you are applying to MIT and want to have a good chance of acceptance, you should have more to tell them and can use the supplemental material to tell it. In my mind, even if they say it is optional, it is really optional in name only. A competitive applicant will have what to say. And this is a competitive process. Good luck!

  • Bambo

    I’m currently writing my Sloan essays for admission in fall 2008.

    But i need an alumnus to have me read it and tell me if I’m in the right direction. Can anyone help me?