MIT Sloan School of Management — MBA Program & Application Overview

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management is different in that it is not talking about management in the abstract. As part of the world’s leading research institution, they are bringing together today’s brightest minds to solve global complex problems. They exist at the intersection of business and technology, exploring the future of work. The students that come out of MIT Sloan launch companies that kick off local economies all over the world. The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and generate ideas that advance management practice.

Class Profile (2024)

• Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Class Size: 408
• Acceptance Rate: 15%
• Average Work Experience: 5 years
• Average GMAT: 690-760
• Average GRE: 158-169 Quant, 157-168 Verbal
• Average GPA: 3.62
• Women: 46% of class
• International: 40% of class

Application Overview (2023-2024)

Sloan Deadlines

Round 1: September 27, 2023

• Decisions Released: December 12, 2023

Round 2: January 17, 2024

• Decisions Released: April 5, 2024

Round 3: April 8, 2024

• Decisions Released: May 16, 2024

Deferred Round 1: TBA for 2023-2024 cycle

Deferred Round 2: TBA for 2023-2024 cycle

GMAT/GRE

Sloan believes that the GMAT and GRE are important because they play a role in the holistic evaluation of a student.

Because of the ongoing pandemic, the admissions committee will continue to accept the remote/at-home version of these exams. If you have any problems taking the exam, you can also submit a test waiver. To request a waiver, go to the “Test Scores” section of the application and fill out the waiver request form.

You will submit a self-reported GMAT score or GRE score, either the traditional or online version of the exams.

Learn more here: GMAT vs. GRE for Business School—Which to Take and How to Ace Both

MIT Video Statement

There are no essays required for the application. However, you will be required to submit a video statement during your application.

• In this first video, you will 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.
• Videos should be no more than one minute in length and consist of a single take (no editing) and you should speak directly to the camera without any background music or subtitles.
• Deferred MBA applicants will also be required to submit a second video statement that will appear as a page within the application, once the other parts of your application are completed. Although MIT Sloan does not provide a specific prompt in advance, the question is designed to help the adcom get to know you better, see how you express yourself, and assess your communication style. Note that this video does not require prior preparation.

Recommendations

MIT Recommender Requirements

You are required to submit one letter of recommendation for Sloan.

Since the recommendation letter can tell a lot about you, make sure that you select someone qualified to speak about you in professional contexts and your potential as a leader.

• Ideally, the recommendation should come from a professional contact, preferably a manager or a supervisor. MIT Sloan does not accept recommendations from friends or family.
• MIT Sloan uses the GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation. You may learn more about it here: Letters of Recommendation Made Easier
• To add the recommender’s contact information, you will need to go to the Recommendation Letter section of the application. After completing it, they will be sent instructions on how to submit their letter.
• It will be your responsibility to remind your recommender to make sure that the letter is submitted on time and received by the deadline date for the round you are applying.

Learn more here: How to Get the Perfect MBA Recommendation Letter—With Examples

Additional References

In this section, you will provide contact information for two additional professional references. If MIT still has questions after reading your application, they will reach out to one or both of the references you have provided.

• Similar to your recommenders, the references should be able to speak about your professional and/or academic background.
• They should be different from your previously given recommenders.

MIT Sloan Interviews

Interviews are given by invitation only and it is a required step in the process for admitted students.

• An interview means that your application has reached an advanced stage of consideration; however, it does not guarantee admission.
• If you are invited for an interview, you will be asked to respond to two additional questions prior to the interview. The details will be included in the interview invitation.

Learn more here: How to Ace Your MBA Interview: With Prep Questions & Answers and MIT Sloan: Interview Tips | 2021

Other Application Items

Application Fee

• There is a nonrefundable $250 application fee that is required upon submission of your application.
• The following can waive their application fees:
  • Veteran or active duty US military personnel
  • Current Teach for America members or alumni
  • Current Peace Corps members
  • MLT/Jumpstart MBA Prep Fellows
  • Forté MBA Launch Participants

Cover Letter

• MIT Sloan is looking for students whose personal characteristics show that they will make the most of the opportunities given to them at MIT, both academic and non-academic. They are in pursuit of students whose presence will enhance the experience of others—thoughtful leaders with a drive to put their mark on the world.
• On that note, you will need to submit a cover letter officially stating that you seek a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. The letter should be in standard business format and include one or more professional examples of why you meet the criteria stated above. The letter should be addressed to the Admissions Committee and consist of 300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation.

Resume

• As part of the application, you will submit a one-page resume to help the admissions committee easily track your academic and career path.
• Make sure to focus on your role and the results, not just on the job title.
• For formatting, don’t go over a single page and use Times New Roman size 10. Submit in PDF form.
• Write the following in chronological order:
  • Education: Include awards, scholarships, and memberships to professional organizations
  • Work Experience: Should include company name, title, and bullets that show results and demonstrate your skill set
  • Additional information: Should cover extracurricular activities/community service, technical skills/certifications, and any special skills/interests. Also include other languages spoken if applicable.

Organizational Chart

To better understand your current role and the impact you have on your team and department, you will be asked to submit an organizational chart. This is to clearly understand the internal structure, including where you sit and your line of reporting.

• This should not be more than two pages.
• When possible, give as many details as you can. It is okay to redact names as well.
• Make sure that your position, to whom you report, and who reports to you can be easily identified.
• If your recommender or references are part of the organizational chart, please highlight their names.
• Click here to view a sample organizational chart.

Academic Transcripts

• Scan and upload your transcript(s) from all colleges and universities you have attended or currently attending. If you are currently enrolled, upload your most up-to-date transcript.
• Please make sure that your transcripts are legible when uploading them.
• All applicants should hold a four-year undergraduate degree or three-year equivalent degree from an accredited university by time of matriculation.
• Do not send any hard copies of official academic transcripts.
• Upload the original and certified translation of your transcripts if they are not printed in English.
• If you are having difficulty uploading your document, make sure it is not “digitally signed” or encrypted. If this happens, print out your transcript, scan it, and upload the PDF.
• Once you are admitted to the program, you will be required to submit an official signed and sealed transcript from all the schools you have attended. If there are any discrepancies between the scanned and official transcripts, it may result in the withdrawal of the admission offer.

Relevant Coursework and Professional Certifications

All types of undergraduate majors are welcome, there are no academic prerequisites. With that in mind, they want to understand what relevant coursework you have completed to assess how you might handle the core curriculum of the MBA courses. In your application, you will be asked to include which courses (if any) of the following subjects you have taken. The grade for each course should also be included.

• Calculus
• Communications
• Computer Programming
• Linear Algebra
• Microeconomics
• Organizational Behavior
• Probability
• Statistics

Additionally, if you were able to earn special certifications or have some professional development courses, you may include that as well. You may submit professional certifications such as CFA, CPA, ACCA, among others; non-degree coursework such as MITx MicroMasters, CORe, edX, MBA Math; or any other non-degree coursework you have completed.

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MIT Sloan Deferred Program

This application is designed for students around the globe who are ambitious and forward-thinking and who want to be able to secure their place in a future MIT Sloan MBA class.

• After admission, you will be able to work for 2-5 years before beginning your MBA program at MIT.
• The following undergraduate students are eligible for the MBA Deferred application:
  • You are in your final year of undergraduate studies
  • You will graduate between August 2022 and September 2023
  • You will not enroll in an MD, JD, or Ph.D. program immediately after graduation
  • You have not had any full-time work experience except internships or co-op experiences
• For graduate students, you can apply if you:
  • Are in your final year of graduate school
  • Will graduate between August 2022 and September 2023
  • Started graduate school immediately after undergraduate studies
  • Have not had any full-time work experience except internships or co-op experiences
• The application process is the same except for two things:
  • You will be required to submit two letters of recommendation, rather than one
  • The application fee is waived for all deferred applicants

Read more: MIT Sloan Early Admission Deferred MBA Program: What You Need to Know

Sloan Admissions Coaches on Leland

… and many more! Click here for our full roster of world-class MBA admissions coaches.

MIT Sloan MBA Program Overview

Curriculum

The two-year, full-time MBA program offers intellectual discovery and expert faculty from MIT. This is combined with the flexibility to customize your coursework in line with your goals. During the first semester, you will take core courses, after which you will choose your electives and other real-world learning experiences.

Semester 1, Core Classes

During your first semester, which is your core semester, you will be carefully grouped into six cohorts of MBA students with a diverse mix of backgrounds, interests, and experiences. MIT’s tradition is to name the cohorts after a body of water: Atlantic, Baltic, Caribbean, Indian, Mediterranean, and Pacific. The cohort is then divided into smaller teams that move together as a group through the core semester, creating a strong bond that lasts throughout the MBA classroom experience, and even beyond.

Required core classes:

• Economic Analysis for Business Decisions
• Data, Models, and Decisions
• Communication for Leaders
• Organizational Processes
• Financial Accounting

Optional core courses:

• Managerial Finance
• Intro to Operations Management
• Competitive Strategy
• Marketing Innovation

Semesters 2-4, Track

After the core curriculum, you will have three semesters to create the program that’s right for you. In total, you should have 144 units of electives. You may also take up to three approved, non-MIT Sloan or Harvard University electives. Some students also choose to write a thesis during their second year.

MIT Sloan offers a program called “Tracks,” which is limited to MBA students, as well as “Certificates,” which is open to all MIT graduate students, in order to provide you with a wide range of options from which you can focus your studies and interests.

The Different Tracks:

• Finance Track
  • In this track, you will be able to learn about the foundations of FinTech, investment banking, and more.
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation Track
  • If you want to become a founder of a startup, this is the best track for you.
• Enterprise Management Track
  • If you want to be in management after graduation, this track will help you learn the cross-functional skills that you will need to lead small and large organizations.
• Learn more here: Which MBA Track is right for you?

MIT Culture

MIT’s motto is mens et manus, meaning “mind and hand.” MIT is all about experiential learning because they know that, above all, education is for practical application. At MIT Sloan, you will apply your knowledge and skills in a way that will help the world.

The centerpiece of their MBA experience is experiential learning. They make use of hands-on learning experiences throughout the curriculum. Through Action Learning Labs, MIT Sloan Intensive Period, and the MIT Independent Activities Period, you will get to repeatedly practice management skills.

• Action Learning is an experience where students work with a certain organizational profile. This may include startups, domestic companies, multinational corporations, and non-profits in the greater Boston area, across the USA, or around the world.
• The Sloan Intensive Period (SIP) is an important part of the student experience. It is offered during the Fall Core Semester for the Core SIP and in the Spring Semesters for the Elective SIP. The main theme focuses specifically on leadership and ethics, drawing direction from the mission of MIT Sloan. Both are taught by exceptional faculty and vetted external practitioners.
• The Independent Activities Period (IAP) is held in January over a four-week period. This is when the faculty and students are freed from regularly scheduled classes and undergo flexible teaching and learning for independent study and research.

Leadership in Action: From the start of day one, MBA students are thinking, “What problem are we trying to solve?” For them, bold leadership comes when brilliant minds take intelligent risks, are unafraid of complexity and chaos, and are always on the lookout for new and better ways.

Faculty

Adaptive behaviors. Little's Law. John Sterman's work on System Dynamics. Nobel Prize winners. This is the caliber of the professors you will meet at Sloan who will challenge your next big idea because for them, your success is their success.

• There is an air of informality at MIT born of mutual respect. Every faculty is accomplished and assumes you are too. Since you are at MIT, they believe that you are capable of creating something interesting and meaningful. Each perspective is respected and embraced. All the professors, researchers, and industry experts are down to earth.
• Meet the MIT Sloan Faculty here.

MIT Centers and Initiatives

The MIT Centers and Initiatives are the hubs for research and innovation that bring faculty, students, and organizations together to collaborate and experiment.

• MIT Sustainability Initiative: Its mission is to provide the best education that applies to real-world problems and to empower leaders to act so that humans and nature can thrive for generations to come. This is done through the joint efforts of MIT students, faculty, alumni, researchers, and their partners in business, government, NGOs, and hybrid organizations.
• Good Companies, Good Jobs Initiative: This is a combination of classroom, fieldwork, and online MITx offerings which explore strategies and tools to build good companies and good jobs. It is a semester-long course during which students grapple with the historical and modern-day complexities of the country’s challenges through readings, interviews, and discussions.
• The MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE): This initiative consists of a team of internationally recognized leaders and researchers who examine how people and business work together to succeed in times of rapid digital transformation.

Campus

Located at the heart of Cambridge’s Kendall Square neighborhood, the MIT Sloan School of Management campus is surrounded by biotech companies, tech giants, startups, and research labs. There is also a wide variety of restaurants, outdoor activities, arts, music, and culture. In the same area as nearly 60 colleges and universities, Sloan is an exciting hub for creative and intellectual energy.

Joint Degree Programs

MIT Leaders for Global Operations (LGO)

• The LGO program is a joint degree from the Sloan School of Management and the MIT School of Engineering. It prepares you to become an innovative business leader with technical skills that will help you implement complex operations and technology solutions. You will earn 2 degrees in 2 years during which you will build your own program to pursue your research interests and career opportunities.

MIT Sloan and MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning

• This dual-degree program offered by MIT Sloan and the MIT Department of Urban Studies (DUSP) allows students to pursue an MBA and a master’s degree in city planning. The students must spend one full academic year at each program, then split the third academic year with primary registration in each program for one additional semester.

MIT Sloan and Harvard Kennedy School of Government

• In conjunction with Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, this dual-degree program equips students to receive both an MBA and a Master's in Public Administration or a Master's in Public Policy in three years. This degree is applicable to students who plan to pursue careers in international management, economic development, or government.

MBA Applications Q&A from the Admissions Council

MIT Sloan Campus Tour

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MIT FAQs

What is MIT’s admissions criteria and what do you look for in a candidate?

• Their goal is to create a vibrant learning environment abundant with diverse ideas and life experiences. This is why they welcome applicants from all over the world, and from all areas of study. They look for students whose personal characteristics show that they will make the most of the opportunities presented to them at MIT, both academic and non-academic.

How does the Admissions process work?

• After each application deadline, the Admissions Committee reviews all applications. Based on the initial assessment, a group of applicants are invited to interview.

Who makes up the Admissions Committee?

• It is composed of professional staff members within the MIT community. They will review your application and a member of the team will conduct your interview. Current students are not included in the evaluation process.

Are some parts of the application weighted more than others?

• The Admissions Committee will carefully review your application. No single component is more important than another.

Does MIT let applicants apply as a couple?

• You must submit separate applications that will be considered individually. However, there is a place in the application where you can note if a family member, spouse, or significant other is applying as well.

Does MIT Sloan have rolling admissions?

• No, they review applications in three rounds, each with their own deadline. They begin the review process immediately after the deadline.

Are there advantages to applying in Round 1?

• There are more available seats in the class during Round 1 and Round 2 so it is better to apply during these rounds. They also admit candidates in Round 3 so you should apply only once you have fully completed your application to the best of your ability.

Can I apply in multiple application rounds?

• You can only apply once per year. The LGO applicants must apply during one of the LGO rounds and they will automatically be considered for both LGO and MBA. If you are not accepted, LGO applicants cannot apply to another MBA round in the same year.

How does the waitlist work at MIT Sloan?

• Once you are waitlisted in a round and accept a place in the waitlist, you will be automatically considered in the next round and will receive another updated decision during that round.

Does MIT offer deferrals?

• It is only approved on a case-by-case basis. All applicants are encouraged to apply only in the year they hope to matriculate.

What is the format of the interview?

• Once you are invited to interview, you will meet one-on-one with a member of the Admissions Committee. They conduct behavioral interviews where you will be asked to provide specific examples of personal and professional behavior. It will last for 30 minutes.

What is MIT Sloan looking for when interviewing candidates?

• Their goal in the interview is to get to know you better. They look forward to hearing specific examples of your skills in building relationships and leadership. Additionally, they look for professional presentation and communication, as well as English language proficiency.

When are interviews for each round?

• Round 1 interviews are done during late October through early December; round 2 interviews are in February and March; round 3 interviews are in May.

If I did my undergraduate studies outside of the United States, should I convert my GPA?

• No, conversion is not needed for your online application. Just enter the grading system used by your school. The committee is very much familiar with the different grading systems and can evaluate it on their end.

My university does not provide class rank. What should I do?

• Since many schools do not provide a class ranking system, you can leave this blank.

How relevant is my undergraduate GPA to the Admissions Committee?

• The committee will want to see your undergraduate GPA, but they know that this is just one component of your application, and they will review it with your coursework. They do not require a minimum GPA for admission.

Does MIT require a minimum acceptable GMAT/GRE score?

• There is no minimum test score on either test. You can review the class profile to give you an idea on the average scores of the admitted students.

Do I need a TOEFL/IELTS score to apply to the MBA Program?

• They do not require the TOEFL/IELTS.

Since a TOEFL score is not required, how do they measure English speaking ability?

• They measure it during the interview.

Final Note

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