MIT MBA Admissions Director speaks to ARINGO Consultants

MIT Sloan Director of Admissions, Rod Garci talks to ARINGO Consultants and gives valuable tips for their clients!

In an ARINGO consultants’ conversation with the MIT Sloan Director of Admissions, Rod Garcia, Mr. Garcia provided a few interesting tips for the application process:

* The school looks for diversity. “Engineers, non-profits, entertainment, banking, finance. I’ll caution you on focusing only on ‘fitting in.’ We get a lot of people who look the same. The challenge is to distinguish yourself.” Specific attributes they look for include the ability to build long-term business relationships, drive and ambition, and the ability to set goals and achieve them.

* In addition, Sloan is open to career-changers and encourages applicants to maintain an open mind about their futures and use their business school experience to explore new options.

* Mr. Garcia advises applicants to visit the campus if possible. The applicants can then show how they feel about the place, and perhaps relate to some aspects of the school personally.

* Regarding the unique element of the MIT application – the cover letter, Mr. Garcia explained that this requirement is intended to check the quality of the applicant’s business-style writing. This can be especially important for applicants who are engineers – to demonstrate their familiarity and experience with the business world.

* Mr. Garcia advises applicants not to come to the interview over-prepared. Maintain some spontaneity to show the interviewer who you really are.