Calling all MIT Sloan Fall 2011 Applicants!

I'm inclined to believe it. Hopefully that increases my chances

I think gmatclub traffic may be down more than applications are, although I would gladly accept a 50% reduction in application volume.

That said - it does look like forum participation is down by some percentage this year. I'll be curious to see if any schools report a significant decline in round 1 application volume.

1) About the cover letter, we are required to "Describe your accomplishments and include an example of how you had an impact on a group or organization".
The issue I see is that I may overlap my accomplishments written in the CL with the essays' stories. For example, one of my accomplishments fits perfectly well in the essay question 3. And it is likely that in the 2nd question I will use another of my accomplishments described in the CL.

Should I use different strategy? or it is fine to repeat things? Could I write something like "please see question 3 for more detail"?

As an applicant, your strategy would be better if you dont repeat information. You will come across as a candidate with more breadth this way. Alternatively, you could state a high level accomplishment with impact quantified and get into specifics for one of the essays.
Eg: accomp in CL: Led a team of XX people to deliver a product Y and generate $XXX for my company Z. In the essay, you could talk about a specific phase of the project where you took an initiative on an idea and implemented it. Also, I would keep all the essays and CL self-sustaining (no explicit references to other essays).

2) I have a big story for question 1, but the problem is that it occurred 5 years ago. However, it had great impact in myself, personally and professionally. In fact, my career has been influenced for that decision and I think it is essential to write about it as it shows them a lot about who am I.Do you think it will be a big issue to write about something that happened out of the 3-years period? I could use the additional essay to explain why I decided to write about it.

I would try not to violate the 3 year rule that they explicitly ask. However, I'd make an exception only if the experience is really profound and once again, really really profound. Try to show continuity of that incident into the last 3 years. Otherwise, refrain from using the story.

3) I have a third recommender that I'd like to add in the application. Do you think the fact of using an extra recommender may hurt me or otherwise help me?

A good recommendation at best, retains or very marginally improves your chances that stem from your application. A bad recommendation can decrease them. So, a 3rd reco is of not much help. Just avoid it.

4) About the 50 lines of the CV, it does include the "empty lines" or only the written ones? Do you think it is fine to go over the limit a bit? I have 54 written lines of the CV submitted for other schools...