MIT Sloan Fellows 2012 Essay Questions
This 2012 MIT Sloan Fellows Admissions tip post is one of a series of posts providing Executive MBA application and essay advice for applicants to top EMBA programs around the world.
Statement of Objectives: What are your immediate and ultimate professional objectives for attending the program. Specifically, please indicate how your objectives fit with the purposes of the MIT Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership and indicate what you would contribute to the Sloan Fellows community. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
Translation: What do you want to do immediately after attending the Sloan Fellows program and farther into the future that requires you to attend the Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership?
Clearly you will need to know about the Sloan Fellows Program's goals and objectives. Realize that the long name is there for a reason. It reveals the program's purpose. Do you need to know about "Innovation and Global Leadership"? You should be able to demonstrate that you need those skills to achieve your goals.
For further insight into the MIT Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership, please see my 2010 interview with Stephen Sacca, Director of the MIT Sloan Fellows Program.
Essay 1: Discuss a defining experience in your development as a leader. How did this experience demonstrate your strengths and weaknesses? (500 words or less, limited to one page)
Choose your crowning leadership example and briefly provide some of the challenges you faced, how you handled them, and the impact of your leadership. Make sure you answer the last part of the question. Focus on the strengths, but please show the maturity and self-awareness to honestly reveal a weakness -- one that the Sloan Fellows Program may actually help you address.
Essay 2: Discuss a time when you made an unpopular decision. What did you learn from the experience? (500 words or less, limited to one page)
Leadership and innovation frequently cause the person in charge to take an unpopular position. Advocating change (innovating) is frequently opposed. When have you faced such flack? What did you learn that will improve your ability to spearhead in the face of human headwinds?
Please answer only ONE of the next two essays.
First of wall which of these options should you choose? The one that allows you to write most easily and with the most enthusiasm; the one that will produce an essay that complements the other essays and information found in your application. You want your each essay to add value.
Essay 3: Please give an example of when you were part of a high or low performing team. Describe your position in the team and how you contributed to making it successful, or if low performing, what actions you did take (or, in retrospect, would have taken) to improve the performance. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
This question is about impact in a team setting. Whether the team was performing well or poorly, describe the story of your team. What challenges did it face? How did you help it meet those challenges? Or, what should you have done?
OR
Essay 4: Please give an example of a significant innovation (product or process) that you developed for your organization. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
This is a pretty straightforward question and actually gives you a little room to go in a direction of your choosing, as long as you reveal how you innovated for your organization. You could start with the innovation or with the problem that propelled an innovative solution. Discuss some of the challenges you faced, how you resolved them, and ultimately the impact of your innovation.
MIT Sloan Fellows 2012 Deadlines
The application deadlines for the next MIT Sloan Fellows class are:
- November 15, for non-U.S. citizens and U.S. citizens currently residing outside of the United States.
- January 16, for U.S. citizens currently residing in the United States.
Admissions decisions will be announced before March 31, 2012.
By Linda Abraham, President and Founder of Accepted.com.
