MIT Sloan MBA Interview Questions 2023-24
Updated: Jan 31
Ranked #6 in QS, #4 in US News, #10 in Bloomberg, and #11 in the FT rankings for 2023-24, MIT Sloan is a member of the M7 business schools. Sloan’s class size is around 400, not the biggest nor the smallest of US MBA programs. Average work experience of the class is 5 years. The median GMAT is 730 (middle 80% between 700 and 760) and the median GRE is approximately 324 (middle 80% between 312 and 335).
As you enter the interview stage of your MIT Sloan MBA application, you will need to learn how Sloan structures its interview, the questions you’re likely to hear from the Adcom, and important deadlines.
In this MIT Sloan Interview Guide, you'll find all that - and more. We'll explain how the MIT Sloan interview process works, give you example essays for Sloan's two 250 word pre-interview essay questions, and provide you with our top tips on how to ace the Sloan MBA interview.
The MIT Sloan Interview Process
Before the interview, you’ll be asked to answer 2 more essay questions. This is in addition to your application essays. Your deadline to answer these questions is 24 hours before the scheduled interview time.
All MIT Sloan interviews are virtual. Your interviewer will be a member of Sloan’s AdCom.
Note that this is NOT a blind interview; the interviewer will have read your entire application, watched your one-minute video essay, and read your two pre-interview essays. So, when you answer the interview questions, you’ll want to include solid follow-ups to material that you have previously discussed in your application. This isn’t about re-hashing what you already said; try to bring a new perspective or include new information/data in your answers.
Typically, your interview will be split into three distinct parts:
The interviewer asks questions to dig deeper into certain aspects of your resume, application essays, or video essay.
You’ll be asked behavioral questions, similar to many other business school interviews. MIT takes the view that past performance is the best indicator of future success.
You’ll ask questions of the interviewer. This is where you can really demonstrate your fit with the school. Remember that this is a two-way street - consider what sincerely interests you in Sloan above other top MBA programs. This is your chance to make sure that MIT Sloan’s MBA is aligned with your goals. Make sure that the questions you’re asking are NOT stuff that’s readily available on the Sloan website.
MIT Sloan Pre-Interview Essays 2023 - 24
Required Question 1
The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice. We believe that a commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and well-being is a key component of both principled leadership and sound management practice.
In 250 words or less, please describe a time when you contributed toward making a work environment or organization more welcoming, inclusive, and diverse.
MIT Sloan considers diversity, equity, and inclusion a key feature of its program. Modern business school programs are built to reflect the diverse professional environments graduates will enter post-MBA, and it’s guaranteed that you’ll spend a lot of time interacting with people from very different backgrounds and outlooks from your own. Perhaps it goes without saying, but being able to thrive in (and contribute to) this setting is a key leadership trait.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion questions can be difficult, particularly for those from overrepresented backgrounds, but we’ve got you covered. Learn how to answer the DEI question in this blog post.
Note that this essay question gives you only 250 words. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for multiple stories. Go through the brainstorming process in the above blog post, pick your most impressive story, and run with that–just make sure it’s consistent with the narrative you’re presenting in your other essays and videos!
Example Sloan Required Interview Essay 1:
Not long after I joined Amazon, I was encouraged by a female coworker to join the FemTech Collective, a support group for women in tech. As a man, I was apprehensive. I thought I would be intruding, or taking up space. But I couldn’t have been more wrong: the group was warm, inclusive, and welcoming of my support.
During Women’s History Month in March 2023, the FemTech Collective gave a multimedia presentation at the British Library celebrating the role of female programmers in building some of the earliest general purpose computers, ENIAC and UNIVAC. As an organizer, I liaised with the British Library administration, managed social media accounts, posted flyers, and ultimately managed to pack nearly 200 people into the Library’s foyer for our presentation. Tickets for the presentation cost a nominal fee; all profits went to charities supporting tech education for girls in secondary school.
I was particularly inspired by the stories of women professionals who fought to keep their jobs while facing sexual harassment and other structural workplace barriers. These conversations helped me better understand how systemic challenges influence career opportunities and job performance. I am committed to using my resources and voice as an ally, and aim to platform women in the workplace and beyond. Currently, I work as a mentorship coordinator for the FemTech College, placing talented young women with female tech industry mentors.
Required Question 2
We are interested in learning more about how you use data to make decisions and analyze results. Please select one of the following prompts to respond to:
Please select an existing data visualization and in 250 words or less explain why it matters to you. The data visualization should be uploaded as a PDF. Examples may come from current events, a business analysis, or personal research.
In 250 words or less, please describe a recent data driven decision you had to make, and include one slide presenting your analysis. The slide may include a data visualization example and should present data used in a professional context. Your slide must be uploaded as a PDF.
In our experience, the majority of applicants choose to answer the second question prompt. That’s because it’s broad enough that most will be able to answer it; even those who don’t work with data every day may find it easier to pick a reasonable data-based example.
Remember that no one expects you to share sensitive or proprietary information, so it is assumed that you will take any sensitive information out of the visualization before presenting it to Sloan.
If you choose the first prompt (typically, applicants who are in a role that doesn’t involve data analysis / data-based decision making do so), select a relevant data visualization that is closely aligned with your work or goals. Explain how it matters to you - ideally, it will be connected to your professional purpose.
If you choose the second prompt, note:
Sloan wants to see how you approach this data from a business perspective, so ensure that you clearly demonstrate how you used this data to drive a recent business decision.
Sloan wants to see how you organize the data visually: clear, structured presentation is important.
Clearly explain your analysis of the data and how it factored into the decision-making process. If this is difficult, consider using a different data set and/or visualization.
A good structure to use for your decision story is the SCAR format.
Example Sloan Required Interview Essay 2:
In 2021, Dunhill changed the front page of its website. Initially, this dramatically reduced the number of leads generated through our site. Within weeks, the company’s Google rank dropped dramatically. Having invested a lot of time and money in the website revamp, management was displeased with the data and argued that we should return to the reliable, if old, website design.
Something didn’t seem right to me. So I used analytics tools including WebSite Auditor, Ahrefs, and Google Analytics to run different visualizations. I found that the Bounce Rate (essentially where someone clicks on to the website but then hits the Back button), was higher than before but still not dramatically so.
I worked through different permutations of the data until I finally used the visualization provided, which filed the Bounce Rate by country. The numbers for the UK, where the company is based, were as expected. However, numbers for the rest of the world, including substantial markets such as India and the US, had increased sharply.
This led me to investigate the front page of the site. We inferred that the changes to the site and its lead generation copy gave preference to the UK over other markets, apparently even leading clients to think that our services were UK-specific. Further research with new leads confirmed as much, and we summarily changed the copy.
Within several weeks, our ranking improved and our lead generation was back to pre-change levels plus about ten percent.
What MIT Sloan is Looking For
Unsurprisingly, Sloan holds its students to a high academic standard, given its high GMAT/GRE class averages. Remember that MIT tends to embrace an Engineering perspective. This means they look for people who can bring a creative, practical perspective to existing problems and preempt solutions for the future.
Throughout the essays and interview topics, you’ll also find a focus on community and collaboration. Sloan is looking for people who contribute not only in the workplace, but also to the community. In other words, Sloan is looking for, as they say, “true doers.”
Sloan says, “MIT Sloan students are informed and responsible global citizens with the vision, drive, and practical experience to make significant contributions to their organizations and the world.” This starts with core values, which Sloan lists as:
–Leadership
–Community and Collaboration
–Intellectual curiosity
–Creativity in responding to challenges
–Personal and professional growth
In addition to its core values, Sloan is committed to DEI issues. 46% of the Sloan class of 2025 is female. More than 60 countries are represented within this cohort, and over a quarter of students come from underrepresented backgrounds.
MIT Sloan Interview Schedule 2023 - 2024
MIT Sloan Interview Schedule | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 |
Application Deadline: | 27 September 2023 | 17 January 2024 | 08 April 2024 |
Interviews: | Early November 2023 | Mid-February 2024 | Mid-May 2024 |
Decisions: | 12 December 2023 | 05 April 2024 | 16 May 2024 |
MIT Sloan Interview Questions
Preliminaries
The interview will start with a handful of preliminary questions. Here are sample questions from previous interviews:
Has anything changed on your CV/resume since you submitted your application?
Have you achieved anything you’d like to share since you submitted your application?
Explain your data visualization image.
Give me a walk-through of your CV (including follow-ups)
General Questions
Why an MBA? Why now?
Why MIT Sloan?
What other schools have you applied to?
If you were accepted at every school you applied to, how will you decide where to go?
What are your job responsibilities day-to-day?
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
What is a particular accomplishment of the past year that you’d like to share.
What are your short- and long-term goals?
Further questions about Interview Essays
Behavioral Questions
These answers can be recycled as behavior questions are often similar school-to-school. Feel free to use similar responses at different interviews.
Tell us about your strengths and weaknesses.
Describe a time that an outcome did not meet your expectations.
Describe a time that you failed.
Describe a time that you needed to ask for help.
Suggest how your colleagues, friends, or clients would describe you.
Leadership and Teamwork
Sloan is looking for leaders who will contribute both to their companies and to the world at large. Your answers here will demonstrate leadership skills, your potential, and your value as part of a collaborative effort.
Describe how you handle conflict.
Describe a time that you found your job difficult to handle.
Describe a situation where your input influenced someone’s decision.
Describe a particular challenging interpersonal situation.
Describe your leadership style. Explain a situation where it has been successful. Explain a situation where it has been unsuccessful.
Describe a poor teamwork experience.
Describe how you would handle a team member who is failing to contribute sufficiently to a project.
Tell us about the role(s) you tend to play in a team.
Describe your strengths and weaknesses as a team member.
Describe your experience in a diverse team.
Describe a time when someone else needed your help.
Give an example of a time you mentored someone/describe your mentorship style.
Goals and Projects
Describe a time that you took a risk and learned a lesson.
Describe a time that you brought an innovative solution to a project.
Give an example of a recent goal and how you achieved it.
Conclusion Questions
These are a set of standard questions. You might find 3) to be a challenge; it’s pretty bold, so have a good response lined up!
Do you have any questions for me?
Is there anything else you’d like to ask?
Among all the interviewees we are seeing today, what makes you think we should let you in?
Tips to Ace the MIT Sloan Interview
Here are a number of Sloan-specific tips that we have developed in working with hundreds of clients.
As mentioned earlier, any interviewer will have read your application essays (similar to the HBS interview structure) and watched your video. With this in mind, make sure that you have anecdotes, examples, and stories that aren’t simply paraphrased from your previously submitted application materials.
Use these new examples to communicate interests and motivations. While preparing your answers, keep Sloan’s core principles of leadership, community, collaboration, and internal drive in mind. Make sure that you can speak about these at length, particularly if the interviewer asks numerous follow-ups.
Stick to the core narrative, particularly with the Behavioral questions.
Remember that much of this interview is to assess how you fit into the Sloan MBA cohort. Sloan wants to build a diverse class, so it’s good to highlight how your own unique qualities will add value.
Even though your interview will be online, remember to dress as well as you would for an in-person interview. Apply our tips on perfecting your video essays. TL;DR: wear shoes and socks, even if the Adcom can’t see them.
Again, note that MIT looks at things from an Engineering perspective: your past behavior will be treated as an indicator of your future progress. In other words, it’s not about what you would do, it’s about what you did do. Describe your achievements fairly-yet-positively in your stories.
If you receive a question you haven’t prepared an answer for, don’t panic! It happens. Feel free to ask for a moment to gather your thoughts; nothing will disrupt your performance more than lurching off in the wrong direction. You might also unobtrusively use props (e.g. drinking from your glass of water) should you need to have a break to think. If you really don’t have a good, true anecdote in mind, it is OK to imagine a hypothetical situation. Stick to real life when possible, though. Always remember that this question has likely been presented to test how you think on your feet, so calmness, poise, and directness will be the name of the game.
Use the SCAR method where possible; this allows you to share the relevant information yet keeps your stories logical, short, and clear.
It’s always useful to send a follow-up thank you note to the interviewers. You’ll have access to the interviewers' names before the interview, so look up their email addresses. You might not receive a response given how busy the Adcom is, but your action will be noticed.
Check out more interview advice and practice, including video interview simulations, in the Interview Guide course on MBAConsultant.com.
There’s no substitute for practice! Get in touch to book a mock interview.
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