MIT Sloan’s application looks nothing like the standard “Career Goals + Why This School?” set. There is no goals essay and no “Why Sloan?” prompt. Instead, the admissions committee asks you to argue your own case in a 300-word cover letter, reveal your formative background in a 250-word essay, and present yourself live in two video components—one you prepare, one you cannot.
Add the organizational chart and additional references, and Sloan is clearly screening for evidence over polish: who you actually are, what you’ve actually done, and how you come across without a script. This guide walks through the current prompts and discusses how to approach each.
The written (or filmed) components of the Sloan application, not including recommendation letters, are:
The written work here is unusually compact: a single 300-word letter carries the written weight, and the two videos do the personal storytelling. That makes Sloan a precision exercise. The pieces are read together as one portrait, and the fastest way to weaken your application is to repeat yourself—using a video question to retell the same anecdote you already wrote down in the cover letter. Plan the set as a whole before you draft any single piece.
MIT Sloan seeks students whose personal characteristics demonstrate that they will make the most of the incredible opportunities at MIT, both academic and non-academic. We are on a quest to find those whose presence will enhance the experience of other students. We seek thoughtful leaders with exceptional intellectual abilities and the drive and determination to put their stamp on the world. We welcome people who are independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative—true doers. We want people who can redefine solutions to conventional problems, and strive to preempt unconventional dilemmas with cutting-edge ideas. We demand integrity and respect passion.
Taking the above into consideration, please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program. Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence, include one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria above, and be addressed to the Admissions Committee (300 words or fewer, excluding address and salutation).
This is Sloan’s flagship essay, and it is deliberately unusual: a literal business cover letter rather than a reflective personal statement. Sloan wants a direct, evidence-based case for your admission—the same way you’d argue for a role you’re qualified for—and the prompt tells you exactly how it will be evaluated. Reread the paragraph of criteria (“thoughtful leaders,” “independent, authentic, and fearlessly creative—true doers,” “redefine solutions to conventional problems,” “integrity,” “passion”) and treat it as a rubric.
The decisive instruction is one or more professional examples. Vague claims of leadership are to be avoided; focus on specific actions. Pick one or two professional episodes where you solved a problem others had given up on, took a stand that cost you something, built or fixed something concrete, and show the results.
Don’t try to hit all of Sloan’s adjectives—it inevitably comes across as forced and inauthentic. Choose the two or three your evidence genuinely supports and prove those. The strongest cover letters read as confident, concrete arguments, not checklists.
Note the constraints precisely. The word count covers the body only—the address block and salutation don’t count against your 300. Keep the form of standard business correspondence (date, “Dear Members of the Admissions Committee,” a signed close), so that the letter strikes the tone that’s being asked for.
Each year, Menlo Coaching advises a small group of candidates applying to the M7 and other leading MBA programs.
We've been trusted by 2000+ applicants from MBB, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, Amazon, and more.
With highly personalized guidance from experienced, full-time admissions consultants and unlimited, comprehensive packages, we help applicants submit winning applications.
Are you interested in becoming a client?
The most-shared sample letters online are precisely what you should not imitate. Sloan reads thousands of these; a structure or phrasing that’s circulating in example essays raises a red flag, and the professional accomplishments that make a letter work cannot be templated; they have to be yours. Use examples to understand the form, but fill it with evidence only you can supply.
Every applicant has a story that can’t be captured in a resume. Take up to 90 seconds to share yours: who you are, where you come from, and what’s shaped the person you are today. Be conversational, be yourself. We can’t wait to meet you.
Videos should adhere to the following guidelines:
- No more than 90 seconds long
- Single take (no editing)
- Speaking directly to the camera
- Do not include background music or subtitles
- Speak authentically to the camera — in your own words, as if talking to a friend. Avoid reading from a script or pre-written response
(Upload file, 90-second video)
This is the video you control completely. You write it, you record as many takes as you need, and you upload the one you like—so there’s no excuse for a weak one. The prompt has changed this cycle: instead of introducing yourself to your future classmates, Sloan now asks directly for your story—who you are, where you come from, and what’s shaped you. With the written background essay gone, this video inherits its job: origins, context, and values, delivered in your own voice.
Ninety seconds is roughly 200–225 spoken words, so you have room for one narrative thread, not a biography. Pick the one or two formative details that actually explain you—a place, a constraint, a tradition, a turning point—and connect them to who you are today. Depth beats coverage: a single, concrete story told naturally will do more than a highlight reel of your whole life.
The biggest trap is over-preparation. A word-for-word memorized script reads as stiff and staged on camera—and the guidelines now say so explicitly: speak in your own words, as if talking to a friend. Practice the beats until you’re comfortable, but don’t lock in exact sentences. And mind the setting: good lighting, a clean and professional background, clear audio. (No empty tequila bottles in the shot.)
All MBA applicants will be prompted to respond to a randomly generated, open-ended question. The question is designed to help us get to know you better; to see how you express yourself and to assess fit with the MIT Sloan culture. It does not require prior preparation.
Video Question 2 is part of your required application materials and will appear as a page within the application, once the other parts of your application are completed. Applicants are given 5 seconds to prepare for a 60-second response.
The following are examples of questions that may be asked in the Video Question 2:
- What achievement are you most proud of and why?
- Tell us about a time a classmate or colleague wasn’t contributing to a group project. What did you do?
(Record in the application portal, 5 seconds to prepare for a 60-second video)
This is the one component you cannot rehearse and cannot redo. The question is randomized, it appears inside the portal after the rest of your application is complete, and you get 5 seconds to think and 60 seconds to answer—one take, no second chances. Sloan wants to see how you think and speak on your feet, not how well you can polish a prepared answer. That’s also why they explicitly advise against reading your response—a delivery that looks scripted defeats the entire point of the exercise.
You can’t prepare the answer, but you can absolutely prepare the skill. The example questions are simple and open-ended. Rehearse the format: pull a list of common behavioral and “get-to-know-you” questions, give yourself 5 seconds and a 60-second timer, and practice answering out loud on camera until structuring a quick response feels natural. A simple mental template—one clear point, one specific example, a brief takeaway—keeps you from rambling when the clock starts.
Handle the logistics in advance so they don’t sink you. Use a wired internet connection, a current version of Chrome or Firefox, and a working webcam and microphone, and grant browser permissions before you start. Sit somewhere quiet and well lit. Because it’s one take, the goal isn’t a perfect answer—it’s a calm, clear, genuine one. A composed 80% beats a flustered scramble for perfection every time.
To help us better understand your current role and the impact that you have on your team and department, please submit an organizational chart. We should be able to clearly understand the internal structure of your organization, where you sit in your organization, and your line of reporting.
Organizational charts should not be more than two pages and keep the following in mind:
- Give us as much detail as possible (names, titles, etc.) but it’s ok to redact names if you need to.
- Please circle your role in red so that your position is easily identifiable.
- Make sure we can easily identify where you are, to whom you report, and if applicable, who reports to you.
- If your recommender or references are on your organizational chart (they may not be, and that’s ok!), please highlight them for us.
- If you are a consultant, entrepreneur, or affiliated with the military review our FAQs for suggestions on how to approach the organizational chart.
(Upload file. 2 pages are the limit; Sloan’s sample chart is 1 page.)
The organizational chart is one of Sloan’s signature requirements, and it’s easy to underrate as a formality. It isn’t. The committee uses it to understand visually where you sit in your organization—your level, your span of control, your chain of command—and to see the real scope behind a job title that might otherwise be ambiguous. It also lets them place your recommenders and references in context, which is why the prompt asks you to highlight them if they appear.
Make it instantly legible. Circle your own role in red as instructed, show clearly who you report to and who reports to you, and include enough titles that a reader can grasp your level at a glance—redacting names if confidentiality requires, but keeping titles and structure intact. The goal is for an admissions reader to understand your position in five seconds, so favor clarity over completeness; a sprawling, unreadable corporate tree helps no one.
If your situation doesn’t fit a standard hierarchy, use the special-considerations guidance rather than forcing it. Consultants should chart a representative recent engagement team, not the whole firm. Entrepreneurs should put themselves at the center with branches to clients, suppliers, investors, and board. Military applicants with subsequent civilian roles may submit two charts. In every case, the chart should make your job’s actual scope and impact obvious.
Two more required pieces sit alongside the essays and videos. Treat them with the same care, even though neither is a writing prompt in the usual sense:
MIT Sloan’s application rewards evidence and self-awareness over polish. With no goals essay to hide behind, your case is made through a 300-word cover letter that argues from real accomplishments and two videos that show whether you’re the same person on camera as on paper. The components are read together, so the worst outcome is repetition—a spoken answer that’s just what you already wrote. Plan the set as a whole: the cover letter proves what you’ve done, the prepared video shows who you are and where you come from, and the impromptu video brings both to life in real time.
Elevate your Sloan MBA application with strategic MBA coaching and insider insights from experienced consultants.
Lainie Blum Cogan
Sr. Consultant & Director
Education: BA, MA
Since 2008, Lainie has worked with a wide variety of MBA applicants, including dual-degree candidates, nonprofit entrepreneurs, PE professionals, and more. A published author, Lainie draws on her writing and storytelling abilities to help applicants target top programs, and her track record includes acceptances from every M7 program—plus hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship awards.
Answer timed questions and review your recordings.