Advice on Sloan's Essays

[MBAreapplicant84]

Hello,

Just wanted to get some thoughts. Here is Sloan's first essay prompt, "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. Discuss how you will contribute toward advancing the mission based on examples of past work and activities." Would it be better to discuss a couple different stories or just one story, but go into a little more depth?

Thanks,
MBAreapplicant84

[money9111]

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer to this question or a better/worse way. I think that whichever way you can write the strongest essay is the way to go. I'm not sure what the word limit is, but how many short stories could you write? If you did do this then I would advise you to have a general theme that is clearly laid out. Since it's asking for examples based on past work experiences and activities there is room for "mini-stories" but you'll have to tie them back to the overarching theme that you're trying to make a case for.

[MBAreapplicant84]

Thanks money9111!

[money9111]

not a problem!

[CriticalSquareMBA]

MIT values both specificity and depth. While other programs may value a narrative that includes multiple references or anecdotes, you will do better with MIT essays to provide one impactful example and present it across multiple bands of understanding.

Specifically, don't just tell them facts or recount an experience. Go further. What were you thinking? What were you feeling? How did your internal thought process impact your external actions? What did you learn from it? What are some things you'll take forward to further the mission that MIT puts forward for its students?

For Sloan, specificity and depth are key to their essays.

I hope that helps!

Bhavik

[MBAreapplicant84]

Thanks for that insight Bhavik!