MIT Sloan Releases 2016-17 MBA App Requirements

MIT Sloan has released its deadlines and application instructions for the Class of 2019:

Round 1 deadline: Sep. 15, 2016 (3 pm EST), Decision notification: Dec. 19, 2016
Round 2 deadline: Jan. 17, 2016 (3 pm EST), Decision notification: Apr. 3, 2017
Round 3 deadline: Apr. 10, 2017 (3 pm EST), Decision notification: May 17, 2017

Sloan has dropped its “principled, innovative leaders” main essay 1 as well as the two “created a competitive advantage” and “inspired others” prompts for essay 2. In their place remains only a cover letter (250 words), the resume requirement, and the multimedia Additional Information ‘optional’ essay:

Please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Senior Director of Admissions. (250 words or fewer)

Please submit a resume that includes your employment history and academic record in reverse chronological order. Other information appropriate to a business resume is welcomed and encouraged. (no more than 1 page in length)

The Admissions Committee invites you to share additional information about yourself, in any format. If you choose a multimedia format, please host the information on a website and provide us with the URL.
Suggested guidelines:
Please keep all videos and media limited to 2:00 minutes total in length.
Please keep all written essays to 500 words or less.
If hosting your submission on a website, please ensure you provide an unprotected link (no password required).

Clearly, if ever there was an optional essay that was not optional it’s this one. With only a 250-word cover letter left through which to present yourself, this ‘optional’ must capture the rest of you in either 2 minutes of multimedia content or 500 words. In our experience, successful applicants use the multimedia essay to communicate their personality and differentiators in a creative and un-buttoned-down manner. Show that you;re excited about where you are now, where you’re going, and Sloan.