Intern
Joined: 19 Dec 2011
Posts: 11
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Concentration: Operations, Technology
GPA: 3.54
WE:Engineering (Consumer Electronics)
Re: 2012 MIT Sloan Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) Thread
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08 Feb 2012, 12:51
A few of my thoughts from InterviewFest…
- Really great to meet current and prospective students. Everyone was quite impressive and very down to earth. It definitely made me want to get into the program even more, as I could see myself becoming good friends with these people. There was karaoke on Saturday night, which just shows they don’t take themselves too seriously.
- I had visited before and already had a good idea what the program was about, but this time I got to see a few internship presentations for the class of 2012, and pick up a booklet with abstracts for the class. That was really helpful in understanding the kinds of projects LGOs were working on and the kinds of internships that were available.
- I was surprised to see as many international applicants as I did. I met people from Korea, Germany, Israel, Mexico, even Australia, and there were probably more I don’t remember. During my interview, I asked about how the recession has affected turnover of sponsor companies, and she responded that is was a blessing in disguise because it made LGO look outside to more international and more non-traditional companies, so I wonder if that's driven more international students.
- I tried not to get ahead of myself and start thinking about housing, but it did come up a few times. You are at MIT for 9-12 months (depending on whether you do on- or off-cycle internships) then gone for 6+ months (unless you stay local) then back for 5 months. It’s a lot of moving, and makes it hard to sign a lease. On campus housing is an option, but most people seem to live off campus.
- Another thing I realized was that because of the 6 month internship, most students were away during fall recruiting season, and so many had to do recruiting from far away, or occasionally fly back to MIT. I would love to do an international internship, but that is definitely something to keep in mind. That being said, it sounds like LGOs had no problem finding jobs. I think nearly all the class of 2012 had already accepted job offers.
- As for the interview itself, it was typical Sloan behavior interview. My interviewer was Sloan/LGO adcom, though I had heard some others were contracted out and not necessarily affiliated from Sloan. Personally, I think I boned it—I’m not a good interviewer and some of her follow up questions I just did not have good answers to. While others had said theirs were very conversational, I felt mine was very interview-like. They also ask why LGO, and what sponsor companies you would be interested in working with. I scoured the student blogs for interview advice, but I can't post links yet.
- It seemed more often than not people I spoke to were only applying to LGO and not any other programs. Also heard last year they accept 53 and 50 enrolled. That's ridiculous yield. I have no idea how they make admissions decisions, it doesn't seem like having a strong interest in LGO is enough of a differentiator.
Now the waiting game begins...