MIT Cover Letter question.

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MIT Cover Letter question.

by TrueLie » Tue Dec 13, 2011 7:40 am
Hi all,

In the cover letter of MIT Sloan we have to write about how we had an impact on a group or an organization. If this story is the same with the story in on of other essays, can we just briefly mention it in the cover letter and say that this story is described in detail in the another essay or we have to choose another story to write in the cover letter?

Thank you very much.

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by essaysnark » Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:39 am
This is not advised. It's a much stronger strategy to bring in new material in every essay (including the cover letter). Yes, the material you go into detail on in the essays can be summarized in the CL as part of your "accomplishments" (but no cross-referencing please! https://essaysnark.blocked/2011/12/ ... ssays.html). However, you should have DIFFERENT stories for the CL "impact" example and each of the essays.

You have such limited space, it's best to take full advantage of it by giving the adcom as many different facets of your profile as you possibly can. Repeating content indicates that maybe you just don't have that much to talk about, which would be pointing to weakness in the profile.

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by TrueLie » Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:50 am
essaysnark wrote:This is not advised. It's a much stronger strategy to bring in new material in every essay (including the cover letter). Yes, the material you go into detail on in the essays can be summarized in the CL as part of your "accomplishments" (but no cross-referencing please! https://essaysnark.blocked/2011/12/ ... ssays.html). However, you should have DIFFERENT stories for the CL "impact" example and each of the essays.

You have such limited space, it's best to take full advantage of it by giving the adcom as many different facets of your profile as you possibly can. Repeating content indicates that maybe you just don't have that much to talk about, which would be pointing to weakness in the profile.

EssaySnark
Thank you very much. Your advice helped me very much.

I have another question: May I write about an impact to an organization which I do not belong to? (For example, to a charity organization during one volunteer action).

Thank you again.

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by essaysnark » Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:53 am
TrueLie wrote:I have another question: May I write about an impact to an organization which I do not belong to? (For example, to a charity organization during one volunteer action).
Don't see why not! If there's anything unusual about your relationship with that organization then you might want to briefly explain it; or, you could tell the reader why you got involved with it, if you think they need more context. The adcoms do like to see ongoing involvement and long-term commitment to community organizations but if you had enough of an impact with a one-shot deal, then sure, it could qualify. They'll be interested to see your ACTIONS and the OUTCOMES in order to evalute the worth of it (and yes it's tough to get all of that into the limited space of the CL!!) but if the "impact" was big enough, go for it!!

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by TrueLie » Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:22 am
Amazing advices :) I have a last question: MIT does not require candidates to tell about their career goals. However, should I discuss my career goal in the cover letter to show that MIT Sloan really fits my career goal? Or should I use this precious space of only 500 words to tell more about my accomplishments and impacts?