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MIT Sloan MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2023-2024], Class Profile

According to its website, MIT Sloan is looking for individuals from all around the world who demonstrate the following:

  • Leadership and an ability to inspire others
  • A collaborative spirit and focus on community
  • Intellectual curiosity and analytical strength
  • Creativity to generate new solutions to existing challenges
  • Growth in both professional and personal endeavors

To uncover these attributes, the MIT Sloan MBA application continues to include its signature cover letter and resume requirements. It also retains the video component and organizational chart.

Ready to get to work on your MIT Sloan application? Read on.

MIT Sloan application essay tips

Short answer: Professional aspirations

(150 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

  • What are your short-term career goals?

You should be able to answer MIT’s short answer question easily. If not, you shouldn’t be applying yet.

I see this as the typical 60-second “elevator pitch.” If you were to meet someone from your dream company in an elevator, what could you tell them in one sentence that would pique their interest and make them want to know more about you? You have room for more than one sentence here, so provide a little context. What skills do you already have, and where is the gap? What motivates you to pursue this post-MBA goal? Is there a longer-term goal that motivates your short-term one? You won’t have room to answer all these questions, but strategically choose those that are most relevant, and be sure to answer the “why.” You really need to know something about the industry or functional area you are targeting to answer this question succinctly and clearly. Don’t just say, “I want to do management consulting because I’m a good problem solver.” That won’t make you stand out from the hundreds of other applicants who will say the same thing!

<<Applying to MIT Sloan? Listen to our podcast interview with the Director of Admissions>>

MIT Sloan MBA video statement

Introduce yourself to your future classmates. Here’s your chance to put a face with a name, let your personality shine through, be conversational, be yourself. We can’t wait to meet you! 

Videos should adhere to the following guidelines:

  • No more than 1 minute (60 second) in length
  • Single take (no editing)
  • Speaking directly to the camera
  • Do not include background music or subtitles

The video statement was introduced at MIT Sloan about six years ago. Your goal here is this: deliver your statement with poise and presence. I suggest you outline a 60-second statement that you would use to introduce yourself to your classmates (not the admissions committee members; they’re just important flies on the wall who happen to be listening in).

Don’t be too casual; your classmates are your future professional network and social group, but do be friendly and remember to smile. What would you tell them about yourself? What would show that you are already a member of MIT’s community – you just don’t happen to pay tuition yet?

Here are a few tips for the video part of this exercise. First, practice in front of a webcam so that you get used to talking to a little lens that has no affect, feedback, or expression. Recording yourself on video is not the same as talking on Skype with another human being. Second, I suggest you put a smiley face just above or below the camera to remind you to smile at appropriate points in your statement. Third, view your practice videos, looking for poise and presence. During some of the practices, maybe have a friend present to encourage you, but also practice without anyone else in the room. We at Accepted are happy to help you prepare, too.

For the real video statement, dress in business or business casual attire. If you’re not confident that your attire is appropriate, it probably isn’t; dress more conservatively. Make sure your location is quiet and that roommates, pets, and children are in a location where they won’t be heard or disturb you. Make sure your background is neutral and not a distraction. Blank walls make a great background.

Watch: Two big mistakes people make about applying to MIT Sloan

MIT Sloan MBA organizational chart

To help us better understand your current role and the impact that you have on your team and department, please submit an organizational chart. We should be able to clearly understand the internal structure of your organization, where you sit in your organization, and your line of reporting.

Organizational charts should not be more than two pages and keep the following in mind:

  • Give us as much detail as possible (names, titles, etc.) but it’s ok to redact names if you need to.
  • Please circle your role in red so that your position is easily identifiable.
  • Make sure we can easily identify where you are, to whom you report, and if applicable, who reports to you.
  • If your recommender or references are on your organizational chart (they may not be, and that’s ok!), please highlight them for us.
  • If you are a consultant, entrepreneur, or affiliated with the military review our FAQs for suggestions on how to approach the organizational chart.

MIT Sloan’s organizational chart is a way tof illustratinge your role within your organization for the admissions team. The goal is to clearly show your line of reporting, including your peers, supervisors, supervisors’ peers, and any direct reports you might have. If you have received a promotion, make sure to highlight both your current and previous roles.

Not in a traditional organization? The admissions team suggests that for some (e.g., entrepreneurs, or contractors), it might be more helpful to put yourself in the center of the chart and build out from there with respect to those you interact with on a regular basis.  A consultant, on the other hand, might select a specific project and identify the players involved in the project from both the consulting firm’s side and the client’ side.  

CREATE A SUCCESSFUL MIT SLOAN MBA APPLICATION! >>

MIT Sloan optional short answer

Applicants are invited to expand on their background by responding to the following optional 250 word short answer question:

How has the world you come from shaped who you are today? For example, your family, culture, community, all help to shape aspects of your identity. Please use this opportunity if you would like to share more about your background.

This is an opportunity for you to share more about yourself with the Admissions Committee, should you choose to do so.

This optional short-answer question is a great place to share information about yourself that you couldn’t fit into other areas of the application. Notice, however, that this question does not mention your professional life. Most often, circumstances that truly shape who we are today come from a situation that impacted us personally. Despite what we have achieved, we all have taken different paths to arrive at this point. Take time to reflect – what truly impacted you? For instance, did you face some sort of adversity and persevered? Share what you overcame. Have you made a difference in your community? Share how you have done so. In both cases, be sure to include how the situation helped to shape aspects of your identity. MIT Sloan wants to know more about your personal background and how its community will benefit from your being a part of it.

MIT Sloan application deadlines

Application DeadlineDecisions Released
Round 1September 27, 2023December 12, 2023
Round 2January 17, 2024April 5, 2024
Round 3April 8, 2024May 16, 2024

*Applications must be submitted by 3:00 p.m. EST

Source: MIT Sloan website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with MIT Sloan directly to verify its essay questions, instructions, and deadlines.***

MIT Sloan class profile

Here’s a look at the MIT Sloan Class of 2024 (data taken from the MIT Sloan website):

Class size: 408

Average years of work experience: 5

Women: 46%

International: 40%

Underrepresented minority: 32% 

Countries represented: 63

Median undergraduate GPA: 3.62

Median GMAT: 730

GMAT range (middle 80%): 690-760

GRE Quant range (middle 80%): 158-169

GRE Verbal range (middle 80%): 157-168

Pre-MBA industry:

  • Consulting: 23%
  • Financial Services: 23%
  • Technology: 14%
  • Government, Education, Nonprofit: 14%
  • Other: 7%
  • Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, Biotech: 6%
  • Energy: 4%
  • Manufacturing: 3%
  • Consumer Products, Retail: 3%
  • Automotive, Transportation, Defense: 2%
  • Media, Entertainment, Sports: 0.5%

Undergraduate majors:

  • Engineering: 29%
  • Business: 23%
  • Economics: 17%
  • Science and Math:15%
  • Social Science: 10%
  • Humanities: 2%
  • Computer Science: 2%
  • Law: 1%
  • Other: 1%

Do you see yourself as a future graduate of MIT Sloan?

Accepted has the resources to help you decide which program is right for you:

For expert guidance with your MIT Sloan MBA application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages, which includes comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped applicants get accepted to MIT Sloan’s MBA program and look forward to helping you, too!

As the former executive director of admissions at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School and assistant dean of admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School and the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School, has 23 years’ experience overseeing admissions committees and has reviewed more than 38,000 applications for the MBA and master’s programs in management of information systems, computational finance, business analytics, and product management.  Want Kelly to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Kelly Wilson: With 23 years leading admissions offices at Carnegie Mellon Tepper, Georgetown McDonough, and Pittsburgh Katz, Kelly has a deep understanding of what top MBA programs value in their students. In her last position at CMU Tepper as Executive Director and Assistant Dean of Admissions, she oversaw admissions committees for the MBA and master’s programs in Management of Information Systems, Computational Finance, Business Analytics, and Product Management.
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