This week, I had my interview at with Sloan.  As you might recall from a previous blog, this interview must be with one of the admissions staff, who has read and understands your application.  This was great for several reasons, of which I will touch on.

This week, I had my interview at with Sloan.  As you might recall from a previous blog, this interview must be with one of the admissions staff, who has read and understands your application.  This was great for several reasons, of which I will touch on.

Firstly, the interview went really well.  It was very relaxed and the interviewer made me feel very comfortable.  One of the most powerful tools they used, is actually quite simple - the interviewer went through my application and made some comments that showed that they really did review it.  After spending weeks and weeks on essays, let alone the cost involved, speaking to someone who is reading your essay is a very motivating influence.

Anyway, the interview was a "Behavioural past events" type interview, which meant that the focus is on how you acted in the past. Hence, to most questions, I needed to respond with an example from my past indicating: what the situation was, how I acted and ultimately, what I learnt from the experience.

One point that was mentioned (could have been at the lunch, or by the interviewer) was that Sloan undertook a study several years ago to determine what attributes determine a successful MBA student.  After pulling all the data together, they found that the only indicator of success was past success or past exhibition of leadership traits.  It is for this reason, that Sloan does not ask what your future goals are, as some 80% of MIT MBAs actually change their minds and careers during the course.  Ultimately, Sloan's research found that even if you change careers or change your mind, the odds are that you will be successful as long as you have past examples of success.  I guess this also explains the interview technique.

Anyway, I'll need to wait for all the admissions officers to get together (there are many travelling to do interviews around the world, as well as the one's in the US) to make their decision.

I guess that means more waiting!

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