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.
Sloan MIT 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.
Sloan MIT Cover Letter Tips
Write a formal sales document in cover letter format which highlights your key achievements, includes a leadership or team impact example, explains why you should be admitted to MIT Sloan and also mentions why you are interested in Sloan MIT...gasp.. And yes, this will also act as your "goals essay" (unless you plan to use the fourth Sloan essay to that purpose).
Now, what could be simpler?!
The "impact impact on a group or organization" portion is new this year and tries to compensate for editing out last year's first Sloan essay question: "Please tell us about a time when you had an impact on a group or organization. Describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did."
Since this is an all-purpose essay (oops.. cover letter) a holistic picture of your candidature needs to be presented. Choosing an "impact example" that merges with the overall theme of your cover letter content would help things.
Sloan MIT Essay 1
Please tell us about a challenging interaction you had with a person or group. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
Sloan MIT Essay 1 Tips
For selecting the particular situation for the essay, look back to identify professional or personal circumstances when you found your interaction with a group/team or individual particularly challenging. While this essay could focus on your people skills, leadership abilities, your communication skills or any other relevant quality which you want to highlight, the what, why & how of the challenge and its resolution will determine the strength of the essay.
Like in all essay packages, but even more so here, make the final choice of the example keeping in mind the content, theme and examples you have picked for the other three essays.
Though your essay does not have to be a fairy tale, a cheerful conclusion to this story (and the following ones) would be preferred - why depress people when you can help it?
Key: Describe what you thought, felt, said, and did in the situation - in a way that best expresses the qualities/skills you have chosen to highlight.
Sloan MIT Essay 2
Please tell us about a time when you defended your idea. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
Sloan MIT Essay 2 Tips
What are the general circumstances in which a person might find himself/herself fighting popular opinion? It could be the result of an innovative idea. Or perhaps a principled stand. Or.. well you can think too!
What were your motivations? What was your reasoning? How did you (try to) win over an unenthusiastic or hesitant stakeholders.
It is not essential that this be a "success" story where ultimately everyone agrees with your point of view. A display of your strength of character, robust value system, and/or intellectual courage might be adequate to polish off the essay. However it will be even better if you can additionally showcase your diplomatic communication, persuasive skills and effective reasoning - AND end the story with overall consensus (everybody lives happily ever after!).
Sloan has stipulated a three year time-frame from which the stories can be chosen - increasing it from two years in last season's application. While a five year period would have been welcome, even this seemingly small expansion, would considerably widen the scope of choice for most applicants.
Sloan MIT Essay 3
Please tell us about a time when you executed a plan. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
Sloan MIT Essay 3 Tips
Describe in detail the process, actions and steps that you took to convert a plan on paper into tangible actuality. While the plan could have been individually executed - one in which you had a leadership role will almost always add greater value.
The heart of the essay would be your approach to executing ideas - how you manage, organize, plan, synchronize, and execute.
Like in all the Sloan "thought, felt, said, and did" essays the purpose is to judge your approach and attitude in a previous situation since that might be reflection of your manner and method in future situations (at Sloan and later) too.
Sloan MIT Essay 4
Please tell the Admissions Committee whatever else you would like us to know. (250 words or less, limited to one page)
Sloan MIT Essay 4 Tips
Now this is an Harvard style optional essay - one which you have to answer anyway.
Use it for any purpose you feel will enhance your application, keeping in mind the themes tackled in the other essays.
The content of the essay can range from highlighting specific achievements to underlining your non-work/community activities or describing any quality of substantive value that could not not find a place in the other essays (and cover letter). This could even be made into a goals essay - if it has not been adequately tackled in the cover letter.
Sloan Supplemental Information Essay
You may use this section to address any specific circumstances related to your academic background. (250 words or less, limited to one page)
Sloan Supplemental Information Essay Tips
Use this optional essay to address areas of concern in your academic background that might be detrimental to your Sloan MIT candidature. Academic underperformance, gaps in your academic resume, an earlier MBA etc. are some potential weaknesses that you might want to tackle.
However, as I keep saying, attempt the optional essay only if you feel that it will improve the factual and material strength of your application. If you cannot give convincing, non-trivial reasons for the supposed weakness areas - DO NOT submit your Sloan supplemental information essay. Seek to submit truly enhancing perspectives or information that might make a difference to your application.
One other situation when this essay is acceptable is to describe an extraordinarily positive information related to your academics that CANNOT be accommodated anywhere else in the Sloan MIT application.
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