The MIT Sloan School of Management MBA Admissions: Everything You Need to Know

 

The MIT Sloan School of Management claims to be a different type of business school. In fact, its students (aka “Sloanies”) frequently say that MIT Sloan is the “anti-MBA MBA.” By this they mean it is a place of humility and “niceness,” where previous success counts a lot more than talking about goals that might or might not actually be achievable.

What does an MIT Sloan student look like? No simple answer exists. Although the stereotypical Sloan student might be a geeky engineer, one walk through Sloan’s campus at the heart of MIT (located in Cambridge’s Kendall Square neighborhood, which has been called the “Silicon Valley of biotech”) belies this idea. MIT Sloan’s varied alumni base includes entrepreneurs (such as Robin Chase, founder of Zipcar; Brian Halligan, co-founder of HubSpot; and Robert Metcalfe, founder of 3Com), a pretty impressive roster of corporate titans (such as John W. Thompson, former board chairman of Microsoft; Bill Ford and Alan Mulally, former CEOs of Ford Motor Company; and Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP), a larger-than-expected number of politicians (such as the late Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations; Benjamin Netanyahu, former prime minister of Israel; and U.S. congressman Jake Auchincloss), and a few wild cards (such as Daryl Morey, sports analytics guru of first the Houston Rockets and now the Philadelphia 76ers; Nitin Nohria, former dean of Harvard Business School; and even a winner of The Apprentice, Randal Pinkett.

 

How to Get Into MIT's Sloan School of Management: mbaMission's Sloan Insider’s Guide

The MIT Sloan School of Management Insider’s Guide

After consulting with MIT Sloan MBA students, Sloan admissions committee members, and alumni about their MIT Sloan experiences, we have prepared our Insider’s Guide to the MIT Sloan School of Management. We take an in-depth look at life as a Sloanie, highlighting how the school’s location, class size, curriculum, teaching methods, facilities, alumni involvement, and rankings all affect its culture and MBA experience. Then we delve into MIT Sloan’s faculty and professional student clubs, revealing how they facilitate the careers of MIT Sloan MBA students. Through our guide, you will learn more about the spirit of innovation that runs through MIT Sloan, starting with the “mother ship,” the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship; the MIT delta v, which helps Sloanies become entrepreneurs before they even graduate; and the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, one of the first business plan competitions in the country. In recent years, MIT Sloan has developed certificate programs in sustainability, health care, and business analytics, representing the wide-ranging interests of the school’s community.

Getting MBA students out of the classroom has been a key focus at Sloan over the past 20 years, leading to the creation of MIT Sloan Action Learning labs. Through this program, MIT Sloan students are immersed in real-world business problems and given the opportunity to develop their leadership skills. MIT Sloan Action Learning labs focus on disciplines such as operations, product management, and entrepreneurship; allow students to travel to such countries as Israel, China, and India; and drill down on subjects such as digital design, analytics, and sustainability. A recent and popular MIT Sloan Action Learning lab is “USA Lab: Bridging the American Divides,” which focuses on using entrepreneurship to improve local economies. MIT Sloan dean David Schmittlein has been at the helm of the school since 2007, and through our guide, you will experience the remarkable program that continues to develop under his watch.

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MIT Sloan School of Management Interview Guide

The MIT Sloan School of Management Interview Guide

MIT Sloan interviews—almost always conducted by MIT Sloan MBA admissions staff—are friendly and relaxed. But they are also comprehensive, with the interviewer reviewing the candidate’s entire application prior to the Sloan interview. Many of the questions are behavioral in nature, meaning the applicant is asked about their previous experiences—for example, times when they applied their leadership skills or particular challenges they faced as part of a team. This is in line with Sloan’s belief that the greatest indicator of how a person will behave in the future is how they have behaved in the past; what the Sloan admissions officer is looking to do is gain insight into your decision-making abilities and your values.

Further, you will need to be ready to share why you are a good fit for Sloan. An MIT Sloan applicant must explain not just why they want to earn an MBA but also why they want to earn an MBA at Sloan in particular. MIT Sloan considers itself a different type of business school and wants its applicants to understand that as well. For sample interview questions and commentary from past students, check out our MIT Sloan School of Management Interview Guide.

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MIT Sloan MBA Essay Tips, 2023–2024

Rather than framing its required application essay as a traditional “essay,” the MIT Sloan School of Management instead requests that applicants submit a “cover letter,” including even the standard formal correspondence elements of an address and opening salutation. Writing cover letters will undoubtedly be a large part of students’ career development efforts at Sloan, after all, so why not start now? Candidates must also submit a one-minute self-introduction video in which they are expected to convey their personality and basically “be themselves.” Some MBA programs use video essays to evaluate candidates’ communication skills, grace under pressure, and potential to contribute to classroom discussions, and even though Sloan’s admissions committee will likely be able to glean hints about these qualities through its video, its primary purpose appears to be to reveal who the school’s applicants are as living, breathing people, rather than one-dimensional aggregates of words and numbers in a folder. As we have noted in the past, while somewhat unorthodox, the school’s “essays” allow applicants to deliver a balanced view of their professional and personal profiles, with a good amount of leeway for creativity.

In our essay analysis, we provide in-depth guidance on each of MIT Sloan’s 2023–2024 pre-interview essay questions, as well as the main essays that all Sloan applicants must submit:

  • Cover Letter: MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative—true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity and respect passion.

    Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence, include one or more examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation).
  • Video: 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 seconds) in length
    • Single take (no editing)
    • Speaking directly to the camera
    • Do not include background music or subtitles
  • Pre-Interview Essay 1: The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice. We believe that a commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and well-being is a key component of both principled leadership and sound management practice. In 250 words or less, please describe a time when you contributed toward making a work environment or organization more welcoming, inclusive, and diverse.
  • Pre-Interview Essay 2: We are interested in learning more about how you use data to make decisions and analyze results. Please select one of the following prompts to respond to:
    • In 250 words to less, please describe a recent data driven decision you had to make, and include one slide presenting your analysis. The slide may include a data visualization example and should present data used in a professional context. Your slide must be uploaded as a PDF.
    • Please select an existing data visualization and in 250 words or less explain why it matters to you. The data visualization should be uploaded as a PDF. Examples may come from current events, a business analysis, or personal research.

Click here to read our analysis


MIT Sloan MBA Class Profile (Class of 2024)

Class Size 408
Median GMAT 730
GMAT Range (Middle 80%) 690–760
Median GPA 3.62
GRE Quant Range (Middle 80%) 158–169
GRE Verbal Range (Middle 80%) 157–168
Average Years of Work Experience 5
Women 46%
International 40%
Countries Represented 63
Underrepresented Minority
(as a percent of students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Includes U.S. citizens or permanent residents who self-identify as one of the following: Black/African American; Hispanic/Latinx; Native American or Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander)
32%

MIT Sloan School of Management Rankings

The MIT Sloan School of Management has consistently been ranked one of the top ten, if not the top five, most popular business schools for many years. In the 2023 Financial Times rankings, the school was in eighth place within the United States and 11th in the world, in a tie with Duke Fuqua and Chicago Booth. Still firmly entrenched in the U.S. News & World Report rankings’ top ten, the school stood in fourth place in the 2023 survey. Sloan was also listed in the top five in the following U.S. News specialty rankings: business analytics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems, production/operations, and supply chain/logistics.

MIT Sloan MBA Application Deadlines (2023–2024)

Round 1
September 29, 2023

Round 1 Decision
December 12, 2023

Round 2
January 17, 2024

Round 2 Decision
April 5, 2024

Round 3
April 8, 2024

Round 3 Decision
May 16, 2024

mbaMission Testimonials from MIT Sloan Applicants

Julie-Anne is amazing - helped me secure 2 of my target schools

Profile: Management Consultant at MBB
Nationality: India
GMAT: 750 Q50 V42
Admits: Wharton, MIT Sloan

I onboarded Julie-Anne for my application process after speaking to multiple consultants because I really liked her approach from the off. During our 30-minute free consultation, she understood my profile, background and motivations deeply. She even sent a detailed summary of our discussion along with her preliminary thoughts right after. This really impressed me and stood out for me vs. other consultants.

Throughout the application process, Julie-Anne was always there for me, as a consultant and a mentor. She was thoughtful, creative and a calming presence. On multiple occasions, she went out of her way to help me - such as responding back within less than the prescribed time when I was under pressure. There were times when I was less responsive than I should have been but Julie-Anne ensured I was always on my heels - which was a major reason why I was able to meet all my deadlines. Julie-Anne's main focus was always ensuring that I put my best foot forward and she ensured that was the case, even if it meant not sticking to the prescribed SLAs at times. For example, if she felt my performance in behavioral interviews was not up to scratch, she kept doing mock interviews till I was able to perform to my best capability.

In addition, I felt MBAMission's resources were very strong - covering a gamut of information, from brainstorming about your story, to choosing and contacting your recommenders, to getting off the waitlist. I have seen resources from other admissions consultants and I strongly consider MBAMission to be the best of the lot.

In summary, I am very grateful to Julie-Anne for her help and support, and strongly attribute my success in the application process to her.

Excellent Listener, Extremely Efficient, Amazing Insights!

I highly recommend choosing mbaMission, and Harold specifically...Why go with Harold?
  1. Crafting the right story:
    • Laying the groundwork: Harold took enough time to understand my convoluted background and my aspirations in life. Like many who are seeking graduate school, not everything was a clear cut for me. I’m still figuring things out. In that sense, the process of understanding my story was a lot of work for both of us, but it was not a mechanical one.
    • Drilling down on the important stories: After the brainstorming session, I uncovered parts of my story that I didn’t think they were worth speaking of in the first place. For example, I had a frustrating terrible experience with my start-up that I was not proud of to tell the truth. However, Harold advised a new angle on how to use this story in a way that reflected humility and growth, we are humans and not perfect creatures after all :).
    • The right writing style while maintaining authenticity and your own voice: When writing something deeply personal I tend to be super conversational. While that’s good, maybe, some level of professionalism is still required. Harold was super helpful in pointing out when I went a little overboard with my style. That also meant that I often tend to exceed the word limit to get my point across (similar to what I’m doing now :)! ). As he puts it, he has a super power for cutting unnecessary sentences.

  2. Navigating the nuances of the application process:
    • Test Scores: As I explained earlier, I was not sure about my test scores. Balancing my test scores with my story, as well as being conscious of the limited time have, Harold advised me to maintain my current score and use the time I have to prefect my essays. This turned out to be a very pivotal advice as it allowed me to really focus on my essays. This was very bold of Harold to say, and counter to what many who knew my scores have advised. I trusted him and went with his recommendation (despite any outcome of the application process, his rationale made sense to me and it was all about prioritization of effort. It was still my decision to follow this advice or not!)
    • Selecting recommenders: I had some difficult choices to make for determining which recommenders I should go with. Harold gave me great insights on how to set my strategy for recommenders (guess what, it worked!)
    • How to engage with admissions team: Before meeting Harold, I was often not sure on how to approach certain topics with the admissions team. I didn’t want to on-the-nose with admissions. I thought it might backfire. However, Harold was super helpful in letting me know which types of communication with admissions are acceptable. He even helped in looking at some of the emails that I was about to send!

  3. Interview prep:
    • By far this was one of the most aspects I benefited from using Harold’s services. He prepped me really well for the interview. I walked to the interview with much more confidence compared to what would’ve been the case had I done it myself. The style of the interview and the questions he asked me was very close to what I got in the interview.

  4. Making an incredibly concise and powerful CV
Important final note: When soliciting professional help for your applications, know that not one consultant would have a wand that would magically get you admitted. It’s really hard work form your part. The consultant will guide you every step of the way, but it’s your own application, your own voice and above all else, your future. As helpful as Harold was to me, I had to put in a lot of effort and make sure we were always on top of things and on schedule. A great advantage of Harold’s help was the constant guidance. In my previous experience without Harold, I would always get bogged down into very minor details that would make me lose track of the big picture. After using Harold’s help, he acted as a true anchor for me during the application process. Of course lets address the elephant in the room, this is not a cheap service! So this is a personal choice that depends on your financial situation, how badly you want the MBA and how comfortable you felt in the free session. Chemistry is important with the consultant! So use your free session wisely and only go when comfortable. If we go back in time, I would go with Harold every single time, regardless of being admitted or not!

Final result: Full disclosure, I got admitted into both MIT Sloan and Chicago . I opted to go with MIT (in addition to HKS, where I will start at next fall hopefully).
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