The MIT Sloan Fellows is a one (1) year MBA program designed for, what MIT refers to as, “experienced leaders and mid-career professionals.” A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant experience is required and candidates should be seeking to make a difference on a global scale.

The 12-month program begins with orientation in April.  The programs most recent cohort comprised about 110 students from 37 countries. The coursework takes place at the MIT Sloan School of Management campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 

We recently had the pleasure of helping a client successfully apply to the MIT Sloan Fellows program and thought it may be helpful to share his interview experience debrief.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________________________________________________________________________________

The admissions team at MIT Sloan hosted a student lunch following the interview, so I only had a 30-minute window with the interviewer. Although I had corresponded with the MIT Sloan Fellows admissions team prior to submitting my application, this was my first time meeting the admissions interviewer.  I met the interviewer in her office.

She began the interview by telling me about the admissions process and informed me that she had read my application in its entirety and knew that I had been on campus – it felt like she knew everything about me. She first asked for an elevator pitch – a 30 second presentation of what I do. I took the opportunity to tie in how MIT would impact my career and, in turn, make my elevator pitch better.

The rest of the questions were behavioral, like “How do you support your employees?” and “How do you handle challenging situations at work?” Here I took the opportunity to give specific examples of my actions and how it led to positive outcomes. All of the interviewer’s questions were straight forward.

In the final 10 minutes, I had the opportunity to ask questions I had prepared, specifically addressing topics about program enhancements and living in Cambridge. I had prepared well in advance, so I wasn’t stuck on any questions.

• Interview location: in person, on campus

• Interviewer: Admission Team Member

• Interview type: Semi-formal, but still friendly 

• Types of question: mostly behavioral  

• Takeaways: Go in prepared not only to be asked questions related to your work, but also to ask questions to the admissions team. They need to know that you have taken time to prepare. Above all, be yourself.

 Need help preparing for your interview? Reach out to Sia Admissions.

ABOUT SIA ADMISSIONS:

Sia Admissions Consulting is a boutique firm based in New York City. We specialize in coaching students of diverse background navigate university admissions process. Our goal is to partner with students to help them characterize and reflect their individuality in all areas of the admissions application. 

At Sia, we firmly believe that “one-size” does not fit all—each student has his or her story that, if communicated properly, a university admissions committee is eager to hear; therefore, we coach each student in originally telling his or her story. Our partnership with each student consists of  – (i) recognizing the student’s story by asking poignant questions which help us (ii) identify the quintessence of his or her strengths and aspirations, so we may (iii) build an idiosyncratic strategy that helps the student distinctively present his or her story. Our aim is to coach student in showcasing a unique application that communicates their individuality as an ideal candidate for the field and institution of choice.