UPDATE: This article was originally posted on August 27, 2018. It has been updated with new information and tips below.
With the Media Lab, the Entrepreneurship and Innovation track, and a motto of “Mens et Manus,” or “Mind and Hand,” MIT Sloan is a hotbed for professionals seeking to work with cutting-edge industries and entrepreneurs alike.
However, with the number of MBA applicants hoping to land jobs in technology and entrepreneurship increasing every year, landing a spot at MIT Sloan has become more challenging than ever.
That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you use your Sloan admissions essays to stand out. We’ve rounded up our best tips and links to MIT Sloan MBA sample essays to ensure you give your Haas application your best shot.
1. Who is MIT Sloan looking for?
(Photo courtesy of @mitsloan on Instagram)
“MIT Sloan students are informed and responsible global citizens with the vision, drive, and practical experience to make significant contributions to their organizations and to the world.” MIT Sloan Admissions Team
As one of the prestigious M7 schools, the average MIT Sloan student tends to have a demonstrated track record of academic excellence and a high GMAT/GRE score. The ~400 admits to the Class of 2024 had a median GMAT score of 730. GRE verbal scores ranged from 157-168 and quant scores ranged from 158-169.
However, with a major focus on diversity (it’s been the theme of Sloan’s interview essay for the past several years), it’s no surprise that MIT Sloan’s admissions team works hard to continually increase the diversity of perspectives present in its class. The Class of 2024 had 63 countries represented and included 32% of students from underrepresented U.S. minorities and 46% women.
According to the admissions team, they also look beyond the numbers to ensure applicants fit with Sloan’s values. 
(Source: MIT Sloan’s Website)
In addition, MIT Sloan tends to favor applicants who demonstrate excellence and commitment both at the office and in the community.
So, if this sounds like a community in which you’d be right at home, you’ll have to think of the ways in which you align with the main characteristics of MIT Sloan’s students. This means forming your business school brand and then focusing on the aspects of that brand that align with collaborative leadership, analytical thinking, and a commitment to solving urgent issues in business and society.
2. How should I answer MIT Sloan essay questions?
This year, MIT has retained its famous cover letter question and has retained the same instructions for the video essay question. Given the limited amount of space you have, you need to make sure every word paints a picture of your accomplishments and potential additions to the MIT Sloan community.
The following analyses demonstrate how you may do that.
2.1. Cover Letter
MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative — true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity and respect passion.
Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence, include one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation).
After taking a short break from the cover letter question, MIT Sloan reinstated it several years ago, and it seems this “essay” is here to stay.
This is not surprising, considering how well the task of writing a cover letter aligns with Sloan’s goal of admitting practical candidates with a demonstrated track record of success. The cover letter, thus, allows you to concisely and pragmatically feature your key accomplishments, demonstrate your career plan, and demonstrate to Sloan’s admissions committee that you “fit” with their program.
Though it may sound obvious, approach this essay as though you are applying for a new job. A good professional cover letter opens by demonstrating your strengths and creating a strong picture of the value you can contribute to your future organization.
You should begin your MIT Sloan cover letter by doing the same. First, consider your background and professional history. Which examples show you are an innovator (a core value at Sloan)? What shows that you are passionate about the career you have chosen but are also practical enough to get results day in and day out?
After choosing 2-3 examples that show you thinking outside the box and offering pragmatic solutions to challenging business problems, as well as examples that demonstrate your leadership skills, consider how you might tell these stories in a short yet powerful way.
Then, begin your letter. We suggest you avoid a boring “My name is X, and I am applying to join Sloan” opening. Instead, craft a compelling hook introduction that not only grabs the reader’s interest, but that also sets the stage for the themes you will explore in your letter (opening with a line about teamwork then spending your whole essay talking about innovation, for example, would not be a good match).
TOP TIP: Dedicate roughly 75% of your essay to your past examples. Make sure these are told in STAR format.
After you show MIT Sloan what you’ve already accomplished (and make sure you do this well, MIT Sloan believes strongly that the best indicator of success is past behavior), you might want to mention a bit about your goals if it gives necessary context to why you are pursuing an MBA. In most cases, we find adding at least a brief summary of the mission or path you plan to explore in the future leads to a stronger overall cover letter.
Then, end the essay by giving one or two examples of what kind of student you will be at MIT Sloan and why Sloan is the right choice to help you achieve your goals. You do not want to include a laundry list of classes and clubs, but a few, well-chosen examples and connections to how the MIT Sloan MBA experience will serve you well.
TOP TIP: Format your cover letter essay as a traditional cover letter. Elements like your address, your salutation and your closing do not count towards your final word count.
Need more guidance? Our MBA Resource Center has dozens of MIT Sloan essays that worked to get our clients admitted to help you plan out a winning MIT Sloan essay. Our library also includes guides for all top global MBA programs, detailed essay brainstorms, interview tips and mocks, CV templates, and recommendation letter guides. Click to join!
2.2. Video Statement
Introduce yourself to your future classmates. Here’s your chance to put a face with a name, let your personality shine through, be conversational, be yourself. We can’t wait to meet you!
Videos should adhere to the following guidelines:
No more than 1 minute (60 second) in length
Single take (no editing)
Speaking directly to the camera
Do not include background music or subtitles
Note: While we ask you to introduce yourself to your future classmates in this video, the video will not be shared beyond the admissions committee and is for use in the application process only.
Considering the short amount of time you have to make an impression on MIT, your goal with this essay is to introduce yourself to your classmates, and the best introductions usually contain a selection of interesting stories.
To start brainstorming which topics you might want to include, imagine you’re at your first day of work and need to introduce yourself to your team. What would you want to make sure your new colleagues know about you? Or, better yet, if a new colleague joined and was introducing himself, what would you want to know about him?
Since you’ll have your entire cover letter to discuss your professional achievements, we suggest you focus more here on your personal interests than on examples of big wins at work.
Of course, in your introduction, feel free to mention what you do for a living and give the necessary context for the experiences you do mention, but spend the majority of the video essay going beyond your profession.
So think about what makes you YOU beyond what the school has already learned about you in your CV, letters of recommendation, and cover letters.
You might want to devote your entire minute to one topic (for example, a client this year discussed her passion for fencing and her experience creating the first women’s fencing club at her university). If you do choose this route, you may want to consider filming your video in a creative environment that reflects your interest (the client mentioned above filmed her video wearing her fencing gear).
However, if you have many different interests and would like to talk about several of them, this approach also works. Make sure you are able to fully describe what you’re interested in and why it’s important to you. A laundry list of extracurricular achievements is not the goal here. If you choose this option, try to record in a somewhat neutral environment so the focus is 100% on you. Nonetheless, we see videos focused on a single topic tend to do better overall.
Finally, you might want to mention briefly how the theme you have developed connects to MIT Sloan and how you can contribute to the school. They don’t want to see a full-blown “Why MIT” statement, since they have asked you to speak to your classmates! However, if your whole video is about your passion for social impact, you might want to mention how how you’d share this passion of yours with fellow Sloanies. Or, if you use the fencing club example above, you might want to end by mentioning you’d like to create Sloan’s first Fencing Club! You don’t want to overdo it, however!
TOP TIP: Try to choose a background or setting that complements your video. To again cite the fencing example, this client recorded her video in her fencing uniform, removing her mask right before introducing herself. Another client, who talked about her passion for Italian cooking and her sabbatical year at a cooking school in Rome, filmed from her kitchen. There is no right or wrong answer here, so be creative!
No matter where you record, check your sound quality and lighting to make sure you will be easy to see and hear.
Finally, we suggest you write a script and practice recording yourself several times to get just the right take. Usually, clients are able to comfortably fit about 170 words of content into 1 minute. After recording yourself a few times, you may want to send a few options to friends, family, or trusted advisors to get their take on which clip to send. The most important thing is to show MIT your winning personality!
Make sure you do not exceed the 1:00 limit.
2.3. Optional Short Answer Question
Applicants are invited to expand on their background by responding to the following optional 250 word short answer question:
How has the world you come from shaped who you are today? For example, your family, culture, community, all help to shape aspects of your identity. Please use this opportunity if you would like to share more about your background.
This question is truly optional; applicants will not be evaluated more positively or negatively should they choose to respond. This is an opportunity for you to share more about yourself with the Admissions Committee, should you choose to do so.
MIT Sloan values applicants who can contribute to its greater community and the educational experience for all. This question offers you the chance to give the admissions committee more information about what makes you you, as well as show how you will contribute to the overall diversity of the class.
There is really no “right” answer to this question. We have seen clients discuss how growing up in a low-income context fueled them to overcome adversity and, later, share this success with other people in their communities. Other clients have talked about their varied multicultural experiences gave them a unique view of the world. When considering what to add here, I would suggest you think about what unique perspective you’ll bring to the MIT community and what experiences have shaped you to become this person.
Though this essay is optional, since MIT’s application is so short, we suggest that you take advantage of it. Just make sure you don’t repeat information that can be found in your cover letter or video.
2.4. Additional Information Essay
Please provide any additional information you would like the Admissions Committee to know that may be helpful in evaluating your candidacy (i.e. choice of recommenders, areas of concern in your academic record, other extenuating circumstances, etc.). This information should be provided in a written format. (200 words or less).
Like all other elements of the MIT application, keep this short and sweet. We have written extensively on the issue of optional essays, giving tips and tricks for how to address issues like low GMAT scores or poor academic performance here.
2.5. The Interview Essays
MIT Sloan has also long required candidates who are called to interview to submit an additional essay. The questions themselves will be confirmed upon interview invitation.
Looking for MIT Sloan MBA essay examples? Check out our real sample essays that got our clients admitted here.
3. Make Sure you Get Into MIT Sloan
One of the most common mistakes we see in MBA essays is that candidates fail to tell compelling stories. This is important because if your stories are not compelling, they will not be persuasive. At the same time, they must be backed by strong examples that establish a track record of success and prove to the admissions committees why you belong at their school.
Striking this balance between content and creativity can be tough, however, as succeeding means not only choosing the right stories but ensuring they are told in an optimal manner.
This is why our iterative developmental feedback process here at Ellin Lolis Consulting helps you mold your message through the application of our storytelling expertise until it reflects exactly what makes your profile stand out and show fit with your target program.
Not only can you take advantage of our iterative feedback process through multiple edits – you can also benefit from it after a single review! If your budget is tight, our editors will be happy to help polish your text as much as possible and leave “bonus comments” so you can keep working on it on your own!
No matter how long we work with you, we will always ensure your essays shine. Sign up to work with our team of storytelling experts and get accepted.
4. MIT Sloan Deadlines
Here are the deadlines for the 2023-2024 season. You can access the MIT Sloan application here.
Real MBA Essays That Got People In
School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted
