MIT SLOAN 2009 MBA Deadlines

Deadline                           Notification Date 

Round 1               Oct. 28, 2008                   Feb. 2, 2009 

Round 2               Jan. 13, 2009                    Apr. 6, 2009

Applications Must Be Received By 12 noon Pacific Standard Time (2000 GMT) On The Deadline Date.

MIT SLOAN 2009 MBA ESSAY QUESTIONS

My comments below are in red. This year's application is very similar to last year's application, with one new question, and a reshuffling of the deck for the remaining questions.

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 résumé is welcomed and encouraged. The résumé should not be more than one page in length (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 Slovakia with a budget of $X. It came in on time and under budget" conveys infinitely more.

Cover Letter
Prepare a cover letter (up to 500 words) seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Describe your accomplishments and include an example of how you had an impact on a group or organization. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions.

Like all cover letters, this is a sales document. Make your case for admission using your accomplishments, and specifically one where you "had an impact on a group or organization." How do the talents revealed in this example demonstrate fit with the Sloan program, its tight-knit community, and its innovative culture? 

Essays
We are interested in learning more about you and how you work, think, and act. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response. Please limit the experiences you discuss to those which have occurred in the past three years.

In each of the essays please describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.

The devil is in the details, and Sloan wants them for each of these stories. Look for moments that stand out in your mind. You don't have room for anything but those stand-outs.

All applicants:

• Essay 1: Please tell us about a challenging interaction you had with a person or group. (500 words or less, limited to one page)

Last year's #2. You could use a professional experience or a non-professional one for this -- sports, community service, or even the arts could provide you with a situation where a team that you were a part of had members going in different direction, or where you simply were dealing with a person you found difficult, or even a person you normally get along with but disagreed with.  What did you think? What did you say? How did you overcome the challenge?

• Essay 2: Please tell us about a time when you defended your idea. (500 words or less, limited to one page)

Last year's #3. When did you persuade others to follow your lead? How was your idea challenged or attacked?  How did you defend it? With logic, facts, humor, or interpersonal skill?  A combination? If you can, in addition to revealing what you thought, felt, said, and did, describe the outcome. How did your response influence and contribute? Quantify if possible.

• Essay 3: Please tell us about a time when you executed a plan. (500 words or less, limited to one page)

This question relates directly to the MIT Sloan emphasis on innovation as well as its motto: mens et manus or "mind and hand." How can you translate your ideas from potential to reality, from thought to action? More important to MIT, when have you done so and how?

• Essay 4: Please tell the Admissions Committee whatever else you would like us to know. (250 words or less, limited to one page)

New question. If there is some facet of your experience, be it professional, academic or personal, that you have not discussed elsewhere and would like the adcom to know about, include it here. Give them another reason to admit you, but don't submit the grand summary, appeal, or closing statement. Keep it focused and cogent.

If you take a step back and look at these four questions, the first three clearly relate to MIT Sloan's core values: innovation, leadership, and collaboration as well as its motto of mens et manus . MIT Sloan -- and this is true of most schools -- wants to see that you have the qualities it values, and it wants to enhance what's already there.  Keep those values in mind as you choose what and how to portray yourself  in your essays. Also realize that if you don't share those values or can't demonstrate that you share them, you are probably not a fit for MIT Sloan

Supplemental Information
You may use this section to address any specific circumstances related to your academic background. (250 words or less, limited to one page)

Since MIT has turned #4 into a optional questions, I would use this one really to address specific circumstances that may have affected your academic performance or that may transform a good record into an exceptional record, for example working your way through school and maintaining  a high GPA.

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