The Application Process

MIT Sloan Interview Tips by a recent alumnus

A bit of background about yourself.

I graduated from MIT Sloan in 2009. Prior to Sloan I had several experiences in network marketing. While there I focused on building up my marketing experience through labs and various consulting type experiences. I spent my summer internship at Samsung Headquarters in Korea, after Sloan I moved on to a rotational program with Hewlett- Packard.

How was your experience at MIT Sloan? Has MIT Sloan met all your career and personal aspirations? What did you like the most at MIT Sloan?

My experience at Sloan was beyond imagination! While any top MBA program will offer stellar classes and professors, MIT Sloan gives you a real opportunity to build hands on experience with top companies and non-profits allowing you to build contacts, a professional network, and an idea of what life is like in various industries/companies. While there I took the opportunity to participate in multiple labs, two to three month consulting projects organized through clubs or classes. These experiences truly shaped my MBA and prepared me to find a great post-MBA opportunity despite graduating in a tough economy. While at Sloan I was also able to participate in various global opportunities through both Sloan and MIT- wide organizations, I ended up doing consulting work in India, Malaysia, Korean and Italy and taking a spring break trips with to Thailand, South Korea and even North Korea!

What is the importance of interviews in the overall selection process at MIT? Is it a make or break after the interview? Or, does it form a parameter in the applicant's candidature?

I think the interview process is extremely important at MIT since the class size is so small compared to many other programs. The admissions committee is very involved in reading essays and using interviews to try and really gauge a candidate's fit for the program! If you are accepted and you bump into them after the fact they will all know who you are, where you're from, and what you've done!

How should a potential candidate prepare for the MIT Sloan interviews?

Since MIT Sloan focuses on behavioral based interviews it is very important to prepare beforehand. While a candidate should review the standard questions of"Why an MBA" and "Why MIT," what is perhaps most useful is to go through your resume and past experiences and prepare your stories. It's important to really hone in on all of your experience since the most important questions will come in the form of "tell me about a time when..." MIT Admissions committee suggests using that STAR method for preparing for interviews (Situation - Task- Action- Result). I would suggest going through each of your experiences and structuring them using STAR before hand to help deliver clear and concise answers. It can be easy to get off topic or ramble on when you are in the interview. Preparing STAR structure in advance and practicing through mock interviews can quell this tendency.

What dresscode would you suggest for the MIT Sloan interview?

I would suggest going to your interview in Business Dress, a suit to be more specific. MIT stresses "professional standards" and this is their chance to get an idea of how you would present yourself to companies and alumni

What are the three typical mistakes that the candidates commit during the MIT Sloan interviews?

Not showing YOUR personality: Sometimes candidates do not open up in the interview or worse attempt to be the candidate they feel the school is looking for. MIT Sloan has a large focus on community and seeing who you are is key to their process. The student body is diverse and features all sorts of profiles. The interview process is your one moment to shine and truly show who you are !

Not being prepared to give examples: Sometimes candidates come in without preparing for "tell me about a time when" questions. This lack of preparation combined with anxiety/nervousness can lead to them having trouble when it comes time to give their stories or examples.

Not doing school specific homework:

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