This document provides 5 tips for applying to MIT Sloan's MBA program. [1] Apply quickly but do not rush your application. [2] MIT Sloan values excellent execution over strategy, so take time to thoughtfully answer essays. [3] MIT wants unique, reflective answers rather than cut-and-paste responses. [4] Embrace the cover letter as an opportunity to concisely introduce yourself. [5] Last year's ambiguous essay question about decision-making without full information reflects MIT's interest in applicants who can navigate uncertainty.

1. 5 Tips for Applying to MIT
Sloan
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2. 5 Tips for Applying to
MIT Sloan
MIT Sloan is one of "those" schools -
the ones that seem to slip into the
nooks and crannies of the
admissions process. People don't
talk about Sloan as much as its elite
counterparts.

3. 5 Tips for Applying to
MIT Sloan
Nobody immediately thinks about it
in terms of being a top 5 program
until you start digging and realize,
wow, this program is insanely good.

4. Continuation
Most importantly, because of its unique
end-of-October deadline and equally
unique two-round admissions process,
we would wager that application quality
on Sloan apps is far lower than on other
top programs (which is a *massive*
problem if you want to be admitted
there).

5. Continuation
Candidates often don't even start on their
Sloan apps until after the October 3-16
gauntlet of deadlines and then they race to
finish because they fear waiting until the
"last" round. Indeed, since today is October
4th, it's something of a "last call" for Sloan
interest. If you want to be serious about
getting into MIT, you had better get started -
and that includes bringing on a consultant.

6. Continuation
Many top consultants find themselves
freeing up and breathing again after
getting through the flurry of
HBS/Wharton/GSB/INSEAD/Booth/Col
umbia and they can actually take you
on. For instance, both of our owners, a
few of our super duper all-stars, and
our MIT specialist all have room to take
on 1 or 2 people right now ...

7. Continuation
but we haver to move fast. Which leads
to our 5 Tips posts, with an eye toward
improving the quality of Sloan
applications and moving with intent and
speed. In fact, let's start with this idea of
"speed":

8. 1. "Be quick, but don't hurry."
The late, great UCLA basketball
coach John Wooden had many
fantastic, quotable expressions
("never mistake activity for
achievement" is our favorite), but this
is one of the best for business school
applications.

9. Continuation
Getting something done in a timely
fashion is important, but not if you are
hurrying through the process. Just
because Sloan only has two deadlines
does not turn Round 2 into a de facto
Round 3. It's still Round 2, which is the
most popular round of admissions at
pretty much every MBA program.

10. Continuation
If it is going to be a fire drill to get your
application done, don't rush it. Wait. If
you are just trying to throw one more
Round 1 dart, don't. Wait. It's okay to
be quick and efficient and certain in
your efforts, but don't hurry. Our rule of
thumb is don't try to apply to Sloan
Round 1 if you don't have your Cover
Letter done by October 15. This is
especially important because…

11. 2. Know that MIT Sloan is
an execution-dependent
application.
To borrow from another industry (my
main industry, in fact), there are two
dreaded words in Hollywood when a
producer or executive hears your
movie or television pitch: "execution
dependent."

12. Continuation
It means that the concept alone isn't
enough to start making plans around;
you are going to have to write the
script. And it's going to need to be
good! Well, in the b-school
environment, these words don't carry
the same negative connotation. In fact,
it's often a good thing, because it
rewards excellence. But what do we
mean by this phrase?

13. Continuation
When you are an expert trying to break
down various applications, there are
pretty much two ways of viewing an
essay set. One is strategy-dependent,
where just knowing how to attack the
questions - where to put X and where to
put Y - is half the battle. To us, Wharton
is this way.

14. Continuation
We have a very specific strategy for
how to get all of the "right" content into
the tricky Wharton questions, which
takes the pressure of the actual
execution. With Sloan, there's nothing
magical about the questions. It's all
about how you execute the answers.
So take the time to do it right! Surely
you can just copy and paste from other
apps though, right? Not so fast…

15. 3. Understand that MIT wants
a different kind of answer.
By the time you get to Sloan, you
might have 3-to-4 sets of essays in
the bag. Lots of cut and paste
opportunities, right? Nope. MIT Sloan
is a different animal than these other
programs. They want to know how
you think.

16. Continuation
They want to know what you feel about
things. It's not just Situation,
Complication, Action, Results as so
many stories are. That accomplishment
essay from HBS probably isn't going to
be nearly deep enough. It might get
there, once you go from 400 words to a
different kind of 500 words, but that's
no cut and paste.

17. Continuation
The leadership story you used for Tuck
2 better be really deep and focused on
thoughtful examination, or it's going to
read like a pure cut-and-paste (which it
is). We could go on and on, but you get
the idea. MIT requires that you step
back and really put some thought into
this. There's going to be some trial and
error.

18. Continuation
You are going to want to have someone
really smart on the other end of an
email connection or phone line so you
can bounce ideas off them and search
for the right stories. We don't often put
a lot of stock in school branding
slogans (you can search and easily find
our thoughts on Kellogg's new
Frankenstein marketing slogan),

19. Continuation
but MIT Sloan has always had a great
way of summing up their approach:
"Thoughts, Feelings, Words, and
Actions." Notice that actions come last,
meaning that equal or greater value is
given to the ability to think, feel, and
articulate. Most applications are loaded
with brute force actions that drive the
narrative forward. Not MIT Sloan.
Repeat: not MIT Sloan!

20. 4. Embrace the Cover Letter.
For many, when they think of Sloan,
they think immediately of the
infamous cover letter essay
assignment.

21. Continuation
Like the other infamous MIT admissions
tradition - the behavioral interview - the
cover letter is a great way for Sloan to
figure out who has dexterity of skill and
intelligence, rather than just rote
portrayal of those traits. Rod Garcia,
the man to whom the cover letter must
be addressed,

22. Continuation
has often stated that MIT Sloan is
looking for that which has predictive
value. End of story. If they can't learn
something predictive, it's not worth
anything. It's part of the reason they
don't have a goals essay - they find
little predictive value in you merely
telling them what you plan to do.

23. Continuation
They want to know WHAT YOU HAVE
DONE. They want to know WHO YOU
ARE. So tell them! The cover letter is
not a hard essay - it's a gift from the
MBA gods. You get to sit down and say
"here is who I am and what I want."

24. Continuation
Don't try to turn this into your goals
essay. Don't turn it into a love letter to
MIT. Can you mention your goals?
Sure. Can you mention why you want to
go to Sloan? Of course (and you
should!). But this letter should sum you
up.

25. Continuation
It should tell them what you want (a
spot in the class) and it should tell them
who you are and what you have done
(focusing on making an impact). Our
rule of thumb is this: if they would not
be able to admit you solely off the cover
letter, you don't have a good MIT Sloan
cover letter.

26. 5. Remember the not-so-
distant past, which is last
year's Essay 3.
MIT had a new question for Essay 3
last year, which has been jettisoned
in favor of ... nothing.

27. Continuation
There is no Essay 3 now, as they went
with a Cover Letter and two essays,
probably to spare the eyesight and
sanity of their reads (MIT doesn't farm
out a lot of work). That said, we can
learn a TON from last year's essay,
which read:

28. Continuation
Please describe a time when you had
to make a decision without having all
the information you needed. Translated:
show us you can navigate ambiguity.
This was one of the most beautiful
essay questions that any school has
introduced in quite some time. Why?
Because the entire process of applying
to b-school is an exercise in navigating
ambiguity.

29. Continuation
There are not easy answers to
everything. You can't go on a forum
and gain certainty through consensus
of opinion. You can't float your career
goals at a dinner party and group think
it. You can't know for sure that you are
always making the right decision.

30. Continuation
The people who succeed in this
process (and I'm referring to people
who work with us, so in fairness, they
have already added an expert to the
equation) are the ones who can plant
their feet, stand tall, and make a
decision.

31. Continuation
They can ultimately say "yes, this is the
right story for this essay" or "thank you
for presenting me with X, Y, Z, now I
am going with my gut here." They are
the ones who roll with the punches in
an interview, understanding that it won't
be perfect, but it can still be good.

32. Continuation
They set their recommenders up for
success by sitting down for coffee,
sharing information, and then trusting
that person to do the job (rather than
getting involved and turning the rec
letter into a essay with someone else's
name on it).

33. Continuation
In years of doing this, what we have
noticed more than anything is that
some people have the courage of their
convictions and some people are just
leaves blowing in the wind. You can
guess which group does well.

34. Continuation
Embrace the spirit of this essay prompt
from last year, and this application
(which is still loaded with ambiguity),
and this whole process with the
courage of your convictions. Show that
you can navigate ambiguity.

35. Continuation
Share with Sloan - and with everyone,
for that matter - that you can survey the
landscape, do your best to acquire info,
and then charge forward with passion,
confidence, and determination. It will be
your gift to the school, to your
consultant, and to yourself.

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