Day in the Life of MIT Sloan Fellows MBA Student: AI, Travel, and the MIT ecosystem
- 2 hours ago
- 12 min read
Abdullah worked in investment and strategy in Saudi Arabia’s Oil and Gas sector for 16 years, with key regional players like Aramco and the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Three years into his investment planning role at the PIF, he decided to apply to the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA program, which he started last June. Now, in the final stage of his MBA program, Abdullah sat down with us to discuss his experience at MIT Sloan, what the Fellows mid-career MBA program is like from the inside, and whether the MBA program is worth it in this economy.
Watch our full interview below:
Q. What does a typical day look like in the MIT Sloan Fellows program?
Abdullah: The program is one year long. You’re basically taking two years of a typical MBA and compressing it into one. During the Fall and Spring semesters, you design your own schedule, so it really depends on how you want your day to look. You can make it heavier and more involved, or keep it lighter depending on how you manage your time.
If you take a normal class load, you’ll probably be in school for a minimum of 3-4 hours a day, and then spend another 3-4 hours working on different things depending on the classes you pick. MIT focuses on working in teams, which helps you learn about others and develop your leadership skills at the same time. This also ties into offerings like the Action Labs.
A typical day can vary. For example, in the Fall, I had classes starting at 10 in the morning and sometimes going until 6, with breaks in between where I would work with my groups and coordinate meetings. Sometimes I would end up doing homework at night. On other days, I might not have much to do for school, so I would go to meetings, attend events, and meet new people.
Sam Weeks: Is it difficult?
Abdullah: “Difficult” is subjective. For me, I’m taking classes I enjoy, often in completely new subjects. I could choose to take more intense or “crazy” classes if I wanted to, but they might be less interesting to me.
For example, I took a quantum class even though I have nothing to do with quantum. It wasn’t hard for me because I didn’t need to become a scientist. I just wanted to understand what quantum is and what’s happening in that space today.
On the other hand, there are times when I’ll explore things out of curiosity, like visiting a lab, for instance, checking out what MIT is doing in fusion. Overall, there’s nothing inherently difficult. MIT supports you in passing classes and makes sure you’re learning. The biggest factor is how much effort you put in and how you manage your time.
Q. Does the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA have a grade non-disclosure policy?
Abdullah: One thing I told the incoming MBA class was that when you come to school, forget about grades. MIT doesn't really care about your grades. If you do your homework and manage your time well, you will pass. The focus is more on learning. People in my class do want As, but it’s not our ultimate goal. This isn’t undergrad MIT!
Q. Is the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA tech-focused?
Abdullah: Sloan is actually ranked #1 now in the FT Global rankings. Let me zoom out a bit. In the Fellows program, we have 9 core classes that we don’t get to choose. You come in the summer and take 7 classes, then you have one fixed class in the fall and one in the spring. The rest of the classes are up to you.
For example, you can take classes in computer science or engineering outside or within Sloan and make your experience very technical. You could make it more focused on soft skills, if you like.
You can take AI classes, finance classes, leadership classes, analytics, healthcare, management; it depends on what you want to focus on and what you feel you’re lacking. There are also certificates in specific courses that you can earn. I wanted to focus on finance classes, but also on AI. So, I’ve been taking classes on different areas I want to be exposed to: machine learning, deep learning, global business, robotics, and AI and money. But I also know other people who took more leadership classes instead.
Q. There’s an argument to be made against going to business school in the age of AI. What would you say to that?
Abdullah: I hear both sides. Both could be right, but I still believe that being in school – interacting with people, speaking to professors, and actually seeing people build AI – is very different from just sitting behind a screen and interacting with an AI tool or self-teaching.
Being part of the MIT ecosystem is beyond just having a degree. There’s so much happening every day at MIT, and in the broader ecosystem around Harvard and the Cambridge area, including the companies there, that you constantly feel like you’re missing out even when you’re doing a lot. At the beginning, people feel stressed trying to capture everything because it’s overwhelming and exciting at the same time. But over time, you realize you don’t have the capacity to do everything, and it just becomes part of living and being there.
Q. What's the coolest thing you've done in the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA program?
Abdullah : This might sound cheesy, but I loved sitting in Simon Johnson’s class. He won the Nobel Prize for economics in 2025. Not because he won the prize, just because he's so brilliant. He took my degree to another level. I took 2 classes with him.
I had heard from people that the professor you pick can be more important than the subject you pick, and I didn’t feel that until his class. That was the most awesome thing I did!
Besides this, taking AI classes in quantum, and just being outside the normal business setting is also something I’ve loved.
Q. Have you traveled during your degree?
Abdullah: To travel outside of school, it really comes down to time management: how you design your schedule, how you handle your homework, how you work with your group, and how you coordinate. I’ve seen a lot of people manage travel alongside running companies. I have classmates who own companies back in their home countries and fly back and forth, which is hard but manageable.
Personally, I’ve traveled twice. I went to DC for a conference in the middle of the school week and just emailed my professors, who were very supportive. I also went to Atlanta over a long weekend and took a couple of extra days. I managed fine.
So in terms of traveling, yes, you can. Usually, there are no classes on Fridays, so it’s like a default long weekend. You still need to coordinate with your groups, so it depends on how flexible your schedule is and how demanding your projects are.
With the school, there are two trips during the year: one to New York around October, and one to DC around February. We just wrapped up the DC module. These are usually about 3 days long, where you meet guest speakers and visit places like the World Bank or embassies. It’s a really fun part of the program.
During the New York module, alumni like CEOs or senior VPs come and speak. In the DC module, we had both alumni speakers and recent alumni joining us as part of the cohort to attend sessions. The idea is to mingle with people who graduated from the same program, even going back to the 90s. They also host 3-4 events throughout the year where alumni are invited for networking sessions, so roughly one every quarter. Overall, MIT makes it very easy to meet not just your classmates, but also alumni.
Q. Tell us about what the MIT Sloan MBA Action Learning Labs are actually like.
Abdullah: I’ve taken 2 Action Learning Labs.
One was the Team and Leadership Lab, where they place you in a group for the entire summer. In the first half, the focus is on getting to know each other. You work with an executive coach as a team and also have individual coaching. In the second half, you actually start working together on challenging projects under time pressure. The idea is to see how you interact in real situations. It’s very hands-on. Every week, your executive coach observes and gives you feedback, while you also give feedback to each other. There are specific exercises designed to test your leadership, which is something you wouldn’t get in a typical classroom where someone is just telling you what leadership is. This lab runs for about three months.
The second Action Learning Lab I took was ULAB, which is based on “U theory” and also focuses on leadership, but from the perspective of the emerging future rather than the past. That includes how you think about the future within yourself or within an organization. It can feel abstract at times, but the professor, Otto Scharmer, makes it a unique experience. Overall, I chose to focus more on leadership labs than other types because, with 15-16 years of experience, I know I’ll be going back to managing teams. This felt like the most relevant area for me to develop further.
Q. Is 1 year long enough for an MBA program?
Abdullah: I actually spoke to the school about extending my program! It does feel like one year isn’t enough if you want to immerse yourself fully in the school. I can’t believe we’re almost about to finish. It’s fast and you can’t get enough.
Q. How often do MIT Sloan Fellows interact with other MIT programs, like the full-time MBA students?
Abdullah: MIT Sloan has several different programs like the Master of Finance, Master of Data Analytics, the regular full-time MBA, the Sloan Fellows MBA, and the Executive MBA. There are around 6-7 programs in total. Once you move beyond the core classes, especially for Sloan Fellows, you start taking classes with students from all these programs. So I’ve been in classes with people from the Master of Finance, the two-year MBA, and the Executive MBA, and they really make sure you connect with them.
They do this in a couple of ways. Sometimes they assign you to groups and intentionally mix students across programs, so you’re not just working with other Sloan Fellows. Other times, you can choose your own group. You could stick with your cohort, or decide to work with students from other programs like the Executive MBA or the 2-year MBA.
In addition, you also interact beyond Sloan. MIT allows cross-registration with Harvard, so you can have Harvard students in your classes. You also get exposure to the wider MIT community. For example, I recently worked on a 6-week-long project with a PhD Computer Science student who wasn’t part of Sloan at all. She was incredibly smart and I could rely on her for the more technical aspects of the project while contributing in other ways. It made the experience very fun and collaborative.
So you’re not just interacting within your program, but across the broader MIT and even Harvard ecosystem.
Q. As a Sloan Fellow, there must be a lot of classmates with families, some of whom may have even moved to Boston. How have they handled it?
Abdullah: We have a lot of classmates with families, some with 3-4 children, and they’ve been enjoying the experience a lot. They sometimes travel even more than the rest of us. Whenever there’s a break or a long weekend, they’re often the first to go out and explore. I don’t want to speak on their behalf, but it seems like they’ve settled in quickly, like getting their kids into school, renting a place, and really immersing themselves in the program.
I don’t really see a big difference between single students and those with families. As long as you arrive on time and get the logistics sorted, things fall into place.
Q. As an international student, how do you manage the cost of the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA program?
Abdullah : It is very expensive. Boston is not cheap. But the way I look at it, it’s the value that’s important to me. It’s a one-lifetime experience.
Q. For a mid-career program like MIT Sloan Fellows, a lot of the class might be sponsored, plan to return to their existing companies, or pivot to a new role. What would you say is the proportion of people who have committed to going back to their companies?
Abdullah : I would say about 40-45% of the class is either in the process of creating their own companies, or they already have their own businesses. Approximately 30% of the class is sponsored and has to go back to their companies. The remaining 30-35% would be recruiting for regular corporate roles.
Q. How is the recruiting landscape at the moment for MIT Sloan Fellows?
Abdullah : If you’re an international student, it hasn’t been easy. In a two-year MBA, you have a structured recruiting process, typically with 5-6 years of experience already plus an internship. Companies are targeting that exact profile.
For MIT Sloan Fellows, we come into the program with 10-15 years of experience, so the fit isn’t as straightforward. For example, I can’t just go to a place like JP Morgan and apply for an Analyst role. That wouldn’t make sense at this stage. So the target market becomes much narrower, and roles have to be very specific to your level of experience, which makes matching harder.
The second challenge is that once you start the program, you learn a lot and begin to change your perspective. You come in wanting one thing, but with time and exposure, you often realize you want something different, which can make the job search less linear.
The third, and probably the most important challenge, is being an international candidate. Companies often ask why they should hire an international candidate over a domestic one. In applications, you’ll usually see questions like whether you’re legally allowed to work in the U.S. (which you are, through OPT), but then they ask if you will require sponsorship now or in the future. The moment you say yes, it can change how your application is processed.
That said, some people in the class have secured jobs, but it’s not the majority. A lot depends on who you know and how you network. Meeting CEOs, connecting with people across companies, and working your way through those relationships can make a difference. The school does support you through a career office that helps with resumes, connects you with people where possible, and facilitates the process, but they can’t directly get you a job. Recruiting can be tricky, and as a result, many people in the program end up creating their own companies.
Sam: Do you think that the different groups – the sponsored people versus the entrepreneurs versus the job hunters – are getting different amounts of value out of the MBA?
Abdullah : Yes. I’ll give you an example. I know sponsored students who came in knowing exactly what classes they wanted to take even before the semester started, and structured their coursework around that.
On the other hand, entrepreneurs approach it differently. They look for where the entrepreneurship ecosystem is. For example, they take fintech classes, entrepreneurship labs, VC classes, and anything that aligns with what they’ll be doing after the program. They’re thinking ahead to raising funds, speaking to customers, and building their ventures, so their class choices reflect that.
So the value they get from the program is different. Entrepreneurs also tend to spend more time in places like the Martin Center, which supports them through their journey. They attend events there, take relevant classes, and really immerse themselves in that ecosystem. In contrast, sponsored students are more focused and want to go deep into 1-2 key areas because they know they’re going back to a specific role or company.
So overall, how you approach the program, and the value you get from it, really depends on your goals.
Q. Are there any specific personality types that seem to thrive in the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA?
Abdullah: Of course. If you’re curious about learning, you will get the most out of it. And if you don’t want to learn much, you can also get by without learning much. It all comes down to how much you want it, how much effort you put in, and how you choose to use this year.
You could also be somewhere in the middle: you can enjoy being in school and still do things outside of it. MIT is not like you’re just sitting in your apartment, buried in books.
You could be in classes all the time or you could take it lighter and not push yourself as much. Or you can balance both and just enjoy the journey. I’ve seen different types of people. For example, there are people who are very quiet in class, but when you talk to them one-on-one, they’re some of the smartest people there. On the other hand, there are people who speak in every single class, and you can clearly see the difference in style. Personality plays a big part in it.
Q. Is the MIT Sloan Fellows MBA worth it?
Abdullah: I’ll speak to my own situation. I worked during my Bachelor’s, went into the workforce full-time, then did my Master’s, and now I’m doing an MBA after working again. The opportunity cost has been very high. It could also potentially slow my progression if I were to stay in the same career, considering it’s a one-year pause.
But at the same time, the MIT Sloan Fellows has been the highlight of my academic journey across all my degrees. It exposes you to people from all over the world in a way I hadn’t experienced before. Being at MIT, having access to the ecosystem, the faculty, the students, the different centers, companies – it’s something you really can’t find anywhere else. If I could go back, I would 100% make the same decision again.
For me, MBA is different. If you’re hesitant or don’t believe in its value, then don’t do it. For me, I believed it would add value, and it absolutely did.
Beyond the classes, just being around people from different backgrounds, working on problems together, and seeing how differently people think is also mind-opening. You interact with people from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North America, South America and see perspectives you wouldn’t otherwise. That kind of learning happens outside the classroom and adds a lot to you as a person and as a leader. I didn’t get that level of diversity in my previous degrees. I would definitely do it again.
MIT actually encourages you to stay connected after the program. For example, you can return as a visiting Sloan Fellow and take classes for a semester alongside current students in an area you want. As an alum, you would pay a discounted fee. Another option is during January, when the school is technically off, but executive education runs short 2-4 day long courses that alumni get early access to. It becomes a great networking opportunity.
It’s been an amazing journey!
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