Exit Interview with MIT Sloan admit

[beatthegmat]

Hi Folks,

One of our very own community members, canada_sms--whom you might remember from his epic 760 GMAT Debrief--has agreed to do an in-person video 'exit interview' to recap his journey to getting admitted to MIT Sloan's MBA program.

What kinds of questions would you like me to ask him? The interview will take place in early March.

Thanks in advance.

[komal]

My top 3 questions would be : -

1. What are the top three things to consider BEFORE deciding to do an MBA?

2. As an admit to one of the top tier business schools what is the single most important advice you would give to top-school aspirants?

3. It is a well known fact that every single step towards the mba admission is a cumbersome and often tiresome process (right from beating the gmat to selecting a school to personal interview). Pls. share a few words of wisdom to INSPIRE and MOTIVATE mba aspirants.

[money9111]

Through my preparation it seems like there's an evident hurdle one must cross to go from 650 -> 700, in the way that they arrive at their answers. Is there a similar hurdle to go from 700 ->750+ and if so, what's the main difference you've seen in the way that a 700 level test taker may think vs. a 750 level test taker?

[Osirus@VeritasPrep]

A sloan student

What industry was he in before applying?

What did he focus on in his essays to sell himself to Sloan?

Did he have to foccus on entrepreneurship to sell himself as being a fit in the Sloan culture?

Did he express interest in their global semester abroad program in his application?

What advice can he give those of us that desire to go to Sloan?

How did the Sloan interview differ from the other interviews he received?

[beatthegmat]

@komal, @money9111, @osirus0830 - LOVE these questions!

Keep them coming! I may have to pair down to a smaller set for the actual interview, but I'm sure canada_sms will be down to answer questions after the interview.

Thanks!

[hk]

owing to the reputation and the low acceptance rate at MIT i would ask him, what in his opinion would be the most significant factor that helped him get an admit? (Reasoning behind this ques is that not everyone with a 760 makes it thro' to MIT)

Also, what would be his advice to future applicants? OR What in his opinion would be the one aspect that future MIT aspirants should work hard on or concentrate more on inorder to improve their candidacy?

[crackgmat007]

This is a great initiative. I am looking forward for the interview. Here are my questions:

1. Sloan's essay questions are unique. How did you go about the cover letter? What do you think differentiated you from the crowd?
2. What are the differentiating factors of Sloan MBA program?
3. I heard that Sloan is known for 'Entrepreneurship and innovation'. Did you demonstrate these in your essays?
4. Unlike other schools, Sloan provides an interview guide. What was the interviewer focusing on? (e.g. team work, leadership)
5. How was your interview experience? Any questions you would like to share?
6. If you could do your essays again, is there anything you would do differently?

[beatthegmat]

Thanks everyone for the questions! I've compiled your questions and tried to narrow down to the few big questions that seemed most commonly asked on this thread.

canada_sms and I are meeting up next week to record the exit interview! Hope to do more of these in the future.

[fibbonnaci]

I would also like to get a viewpoint on the work ex part. Some of the top B schools are looking at grads with low work ex. Though I generally hear that Sloan prefers people with pretty good number of years as work ex, I would like to get clarity on that part.
1) Does low work ex have an impact on gaining admission at Sloan? If so, what advice would you give to applicants to enhance their chances and make an impressive profile inspite of their low work ex.

2) One of my favorite questions(thanks to money9111 for sharing it on the blog)- what are the 3 words that would describe the Sloan program.

[beatthegmat]

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that Samir's exit interview is now live: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/03/ ... -interview

I tried to incorporate many of your questions, but given the limited time I had to narrow down to a few. Hope you enjoy the interview--it's a 2-part series and the second part comes out next week.

Thanks!