Hey Everyone - Welcome to the MIT Sloan Class of 2015 Applicant Thread!! The admissions season is upon us, and Sloan has joined the charge, releasing their deadlines and essay topics for 2012-2013. In the coming months, I'll try to keep this thread as up to date on everything Sloan as I can, but to start things off, here's a cache of information on Sloan for both this year, and past years.

MBA Program Application Deadlines and Important Dates - for August 2013 Entry:

Round I
Application Submission

• Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 - 3 pm ET

Decision Release

• Tuesday, Jan 29, 2013

Reply By

• Friday, Mar 8, 2013

Round II
Application Submission

• Thursday, Dec 27, 2012 - 3 pm ET

Decision Release

• Tuesday, Apr 2, 2013

Reply By

• Friday, May 24, 2013

*Reapplicants may submit their applications by the Round I or by the Round 2 deadline. LGO reapplicants must submit their reapplications by the LGO deadline.
**Decisions will be released early for some candidates who will be denied admission without an interview.

Application Elements

1. Cover Letter
2. Resume
3. Essays
4. Letters of Recommendation
5. Transcript
6. Test Scores
7. Application Fee

________________________________________________________

1. Cover Letter

Please prepare a cover letter (up to 500 words) seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should describe your accomplishments, address any extenuating circumstances that may apply to your application, and conform to standard business correspondence. Your letter should be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Senior Director of Admissions.

2. Resume

Please prepare a business resume that includes your employment history in reverse chronological order, with titles, dates, and whether you worked part-time or full-time. Your educational record should also be in reverse chronological order and should indicate dates of attendance and degree(s) earned. Other information appropriate to a business resume is welcomed and encouraged. The resume should not be more than one page in length (up to 50 lines).

3. Essays

We are interested in learning more about 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.

Essay 1: Please describe a time when you had to convince a person or a group of your idea. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)
Essay 2: Please describe a time when you overcame a personal setback. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

Supplemental Information (Optional)
The Admissions Committee invites you to share anything else you would like us or your future classmates to know about you. This may be in written or multimedia format. Please do not use Flash Media Player, and include a URL where it can be accessed online. Written essays should be 300 words or fewer.

4. Letters of Recommendation

MBA applicants must submit two letters of recommendation. Professional recommendations are preferred from individuals who are able to speak with certainty about your professional achievements and potential. Recommenders must submit recommendations online. We do not accept mailed recommendations. Recommendations may be in either letter or short answer format and should not exceed two pages each.

Please choose recommenders who are able to provide specific answers to the following questions:

• How long and in what capacity have you known the applicant?
• How does the applicant stand out from others in a similar capacity?
• Please give an example of the applicant's impact on a person, group, or organization.
• Please give a representative example of how the applicant interacts with other people.
• Which of the applicant's personal or professional characteristics would you change?
• Please tell us anything else you think we should know about this applicant.

5. Academic Records (Transcripts)

Please scan and upload copies of your academic records. Do not mail in your official academic records or transcripts.

Applicants invited to interview will be required to provide an official transcript from each school attended. Any discrepancy between the scanned transcripts and official transcripts may result in a rejection in our decision or a withdrawal of our offer of admission.

6. Test Scores

The GMAT or GRE is required of all applicants and must be taken before submitting your application. Once your online application is submitted, we will not allow replacement of your test scores. Only tests taken after September 1, 2008 will be considered. The TOEFL or IELTS is not required for MBA or LGO applicants.

MBA GMAT School Code: X5X-QS-41
MBA GRE School Code: 3791

7. Application Fee

MBA Application Fee: $250.00

___________________________________________________

CLASS PROFILE

Full-time students in newest entering class (2010-2011) that are:
Female: 38 %
International: 38 %

Students from following regions:
Africa: 1 %
Asia: 18 %
Europe: 8 %
North America: 64 %
Latin America and the Caribbean: 9 %

Percentage of U.S. students in newest entering class that are:
African American: 8 %
Asian American: 24 %
Hispanic or Latino American: 15 %
Native American: 1 %
White (Non-Hispanic): 46 %
Chose not to report: 6 %

Percentage of U.S. students in newest entering class who are from the following regions:
Northeast: 52 %
Mid-Atlantic: 9 %
South: 9 %
Southwest: 7 %
Midwest: 5 %
West: 18 %

Work Experience
Mean months of work experience of newest entering class: 58
Median months of work experience of newest entering class: 60
Middle 80% range of work experience of newest entering class in months:
From: 36
To: 96

Age
Median age of entering class: 28
Mean age of entering class: 28

GMAT score distribution (incoming class):
Average GMAT Score: 710
50th Percentile (median): 710

(Official Class Profile Page: http://mitsloan.mit.edu/mba/student-exp ... rofile.php)

One of my essays went back 3.5 years from when I submitted. Still got in. I think it depends on how relevant and/or impressive your experience was.

About the choice of recommenders, I was wondering if I can have a supervisor and a peer review from my current organization. As they will be best able to comment on my working style and about the 'latest' me. Or should I go safely with a supervisor from a previous organization.

Can't go wrong with Sloan as far as entrepreneurship is concerned. All the best to this year's applicants.

Cheers,
Der alte Fritz.

In for R1.
_________________

hey chintamani,

Given the specific wording on the MIT Sloan website, getting a recommendation form a peer does not seem to be a problem. They ask for recos from "individuals who are able to speak with certainty about your professional achievements and potential", and, unlike other schools, are not particular about recos only from superiors.
However, given that the entire process is highly subjective, I'd recommend that you give the Sloan Admissions Office a quick call/email, and find out whether a peer recommendation will be okay with them - ultimately, what they tell you is what matters . Do keep us posted on what they say.

Cheers,
WanderLust

In for R1 !

Good luck 2013 candidates! Be sure to check our last year's thread for essay strategies, campus visit debriefs, interview debriefs, and more.

I highly recommend visiting for the Ambassador's program (official campus visit) once classes start in Sept. Great way to demonstrate interest and get insights from the adcom and current students. The group session with an admissions person was very useful for answering questions and getting tidbits such as acceptance stats and tips. I attended an MBA fair where MIT participated but really didn't find it all that useful. You basically get a 3 minute conversation with the rep at the booth before people behind you start getting antsy...

How, oh how do you plan to tackle the required optional essay? Multimedia is new this year! And they seem to accept hyperlinks, unlike Chicago.

Thanks a lot for setting this up. Its a great tool indeed