MIT Sloan Essay Guide

Quick facts: MIT Sloan 2026–2027

Why MIT Sloan essays are different

For 2027 entry, MIT Sloan's only required written item is a cover letter of 300 words or fewer (excluding address and salutation), addressed to the Admissions Committee and asking for a place in the MBA program, with one or more professional examples that show you meet Sloan's stated criteria. The other required pieces are two video questions: a 90-second, single-take answer about who you are, where you come from and what has shaped you, and a randomly generated open-ended question. The 250-word essay some older guides describe does not appear in the 2027-entry requirements. Applicants invited to interview submit one more short-answer response, with the prompt given in the invitation. Round 1 closed September 29, 2026. Round 2 closes January 12, 2027 at 3:00 p.m. ET, and there is no Round 3. MBA Essay Critic is an AI tool with no connection to MIT. It critiques the cover letter, and the pre-interview short answer if you paste in the prompt you received. It does not review the videos.

• 01

  What Sloan says it looks for

  “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 demand integrity and respect passion.” Source: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/mba/admissions/how-to-apply

• 02

  Cover-letter format and purpose (15%)

  Business-letter conventions, addressed to the Admissions Committee, and an actual request for a place in the program.

• 03

  Professional examples as evidence (35%)

  Concrete situations: what you did, how, and the result. Behavior that shows a doer.

• 04

  Fit to Sloan's stated criteria (25%)

  Intellect, drive, independence, creativity, integrity and impact, shown through the examples.

• 05

  Concision and structure (15%)

  300 words, and every sentence earns its place.

• 06

  Voice (10%)

  Confident, not boastful.

Some prompts are shortened here; the school's application site has the exact wording. MIT Sloan application site

Cover letter: Submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA program, in standard business correspondence, with one or more professional examples that illustrate why you meet the desired criteria, addressed to the Admissions Committee.

300 words excluding address and salutation

300 words limit

Grade with this prompt

Pre-interview short answer (invited applicants only): paste the prompt you received with your invitation.

Optional

Grade with this prompt

1. 01

   Read Sloan's criteria paragraph and underline the qualities it names: thoughtful leadership, intellectual ability, drive, independence, authenticity, creativity, integrity.

2. 02

   Pick one or more professional examples where you can say what you did, how, and what happened as a result.

3. 03

   Set the draft up as a business letter addressed to the Admissions Committee that asks for a place in the program.

4. 04

   Cut to 300 words or fewer, not counting the address and salutation.

5. 05

   Run the letter through the critique. If you are invited to interview, paste the short-answer prompt from your invitation into the tool as well.

A strong Sloan cover letter reads like real business correspondence. It is addressed to the Admissions Committee, asks plainly for a place, and spends most of its 300 words on professional examples that show the applicant doing things: what they did, how, and the result. Sloan's qualities come through the examples rather than as adjectives, and the tone is confident without boasting.

Want to see a fully scored example? Read a real HBS essay critique

• ✗ A personal statement instead of a letter

  Sloan asks for “standard business correspondence” addressed to the Admissions Committee. A “why MBA” essay with a salutation added does not meet the brief.

• ✗ Adjectives without examples

  The prompt asks for professional examples that illustrate the criteria. Calling yourself creative or driven is not evidence.

• ✗ Treating it as a goals essay

  The letter's job is to show you meet Sloan's criteria, not to lay out a career plan.

• ✗ Going over 300 words

  The limit excludes the address and salutation, but nothing else.