MIT Sloan School of Management
MBAFair 2024 chat transcript
Representatives:
- Katherine Farrar | Associate Director | Office of Admissions
- Carmel Appel Raskin | MBA 2019
- Liat Arad | SFMBA 2019
- Matan Ravid | MBA 2020
School brochure: click to open
Q&A with admissions: click to open
2024 Chat Transcript:
MIT_Sloan
Dror out
MIT_Sloan
Alright, thank you for your questions and good luck. See you on Zoom
MIT_Sloan
toda capara im just like you
Dan P.
אתה כוכב דרור
MIT_Sloan
linkedin*
Thai Shalev
Thank you very much for your honest answers!! Is there a way to contact you if I have further questions?
MIT_Sloan
Friends we have 3 more minutes of chat with me please submit your last questions
MIT_Sloan
barak that's a bit above average that is strong thats for teaching me something new
MIT_Sloan
By the way - it might be that an MBA doesn't help with your 5/3/1 year/s plan
MIT_Sloan
You don't have to know its alright to come with an open mind, its also great to know what you want and how to get there. My tip: think where you want to be in 5, 3, and 1 years/year from now and think if an MBA will get you there or not?
Mine: Before the admission I wanted to build a company with amazing partners, get married bring kids and buy a house.
The MBA for me was a safety net for not fundraising with my original partners, if that won't work my plan was to find other partners and try for a year and if that won't work go to consulting or tech. Luckily it worked. Still need to buy a house but all the rest is done :)
Barak
695 GMAT Focus is ±740 GMAT. Is that the AVG in the class?
Dan P.
Dror - how does one choose the specializations? do I need to know in advance what I want to study and where I want to work?
MIT_Sloan
Its pretty rare but doable Barak always worth a shot, 695 GMAT isn't strong compared to class average FYI
Barak
Hey there,
I do not hold an undergraduate degree but have a strong GMAT score (695 GMAT Focus) and an excellent career record in tech and military intelligence, including management experience. Would I still be considered for the MBA program? How significant is the lack of an undergraduate degree given that I surpass all other criteria?
MIT_Sloan
I'm an alumni not an MIT employee so all deadlines and clubs and all of that I don't know and google or chatgpt can help
MIT_Sloan
Ofir: Google
MIT_Sloan
Yuval -
Every business school needs diversity, do locals compete with locals and internationals with internationals. Be competitive with the story and impact you have and planning to bring with you.
MIT_Sloan
When I started the MBA we were 3 students with an idea, no company yet, this was a safety net for me in case we don't fundraise. Sometime Israeli startups fail to understand the go to market and the culture in the US. So my cofounders and I thought it would be good to have a founder in the US from the start that can learn that. I promised them that if we fundraised I'll drop out of the MBA. We raised the pre-seed round on October 2019 and I was about to drop, them COVID hit and I did my MBA online while building the company. Finally the main reason I went on it was fomo - fear of missing out. If I will be successful in life in 20 years I wouldn't care if i did an mba or not, if I won't be, then there are 2 cases, one was - I tried and even with an MBA I didn't make it, that sucks, but i'm fine with it, the other will be - you could have gotten an MBA and you would have made it, that one was hard for we to let go of.
Ofir
What are the closest application deadlines?
yuval
How should international students who are impacted by visa restrictions position themselves to be competitive with other applicants? Do domestic students have an advantage when applying to your programs?
Neder
Why did you decide to pursue an MBA after already starting your company? What were you hoping to gain from the experience, and did it meet your expectations?
MIT_Sloan
I would say yes. You want the admissions to hear about you not just directly from you. So if a student is sending an email its not a bad thing. However, try to know if that student represents what MIT is looking for. MIT sometimes brings in people who aren't a good fit and if that person send an email about you it might not be the best.
Lior
Is it very important to network with current students while applying, does it help with increasing my chances of admit?
MIT_Sloan
Yoni:
There are many recruitment opportunities, career development center that helps you, and mingling. At the end its up to you.
MIT_Sloan
Thai:
It depends on what visa you are, it ain't easy, I have a greencard as my wife is America so other Israeli students can help.
MIT_Sloan
Alon:
Come with you to the US? Generally yes depends on Visa.
Come with you to class? Probably to a couple but not all the time
MIT_Sloan
Ofir:
1.In my opinion MIT is the most pro Israel, still needs improvement but the situation is better here then other places. Access to strong engineering talent, great brand. Every school has something good, MIT is tech.
2. Many but I'm not the source for that, google is.
3. You can choose how to allocate your time, if you decide to do that you will.
Yoni
Dror - how does one find a job post the mba? it there a local website? or simply with connections in the mba?
Thai Shalev
How hard is it to get a visa to work after school? And if you know, do spouses receive a residence permit or a work visa?
alon
if I am admitted, can my wife come with me?
Ofir
1.What sets you apart as a business school compared to other schools?
2.Do you have any programs or courses for students that have mechanical engineering background?
3. How are the social activities in the campus? do you have the time to engage in social activities that are not related to school directly?
MIT_Sloan
Neder: the specialization is good to meet peers and professors who are passionate about it and have important relationships same as the startup courses. I liked them but not for the academic part of it more connections.
MIT_Sloan
Asher - I would google MIT Sloan MBA clubs or talk to alumni
MIT_Sloan
Hi Ofri: I served for 7 years and started when I was 32, it doesn't matter honestly, in my opinion 1 year won't be enought to figure out what you want to do, but if you know what you want to do then 2 years is too much. So it depends on do you know what is your next station?
Neder
Hi Dror, from what I’ve learned about the MIT Sloan program, there is a specialization in healthcare. I’m curious how this specialization manifested for you as the founder of Eleaos, a healthtech startup.
MIT_Sloan
Tal: Its about your story.
Asher
Where can I see information about a program with Israeli students?
Ofri
Hi MIT, I have 9 years of IDF experience. should I apply to the 2-year MBA (at 31, I might be too old) or to the 1Y (am I not too young?) help me :)
MIT_Sloan
There are clubs for Israeli students yes. I'm not familiar of a program with the IDF
MIT_Sloan
I got in with 690 and heard of people get with less, not high chances but doable depends on.....you guess it right - how you tell your story.
MIT_Sloan
Happy to hear :),
We were working as a team as part of Zell and came up with healthcare before I started the MBA.
I'm not aware of a specific subject but the theme should be impact, what impact are you going to bring to the world short term and long term and why?
Asher
I heard about a program with the idf is that true?
Asher
Hi is their a special program for Israeli studen?
Maya
I have a score less than 700, but I have a strong work experience, can I use it to compensate for my score?
Tal
Thank you, Dror, for answering our questions. If I come from a non-quantitative background, such as journalism with a B.A. in humanities, do I need to gain experience in business-oriented industries like tech or finance before applying for an MBA in MIT?
Thai Shalev
I'm looking to hear from you about your personal experience so this is exactly what I was looking for :)
Is the field of healthcare something you have dealt with before or did the idea for the company come during your studies?
Is there a specific topic that you think is important for the admissions committee to address in the essays (that is not specifically detailed in the question itself)? Any subject that the school puts special emphasis on?
MIT_Sloan
No idea - google and whats on the website... not many options and it is expensive.
Maya
What are the different types of scholarship opportunities available to us?
MIT_Sloan
Military service can count as work ex it depends on how you tell your story, no discounts
MIT_Sloan
No MIT MBA isn't targeting engineers at all
MIT_Sloan
Re the GMAT I don't know the answer, I would say it depends on when you send your updated grade, there are probably guidelines for that on the admissions website.
Yuval Weiss
Does military service count as professional experience? Is there a distinction between time as an officer and other periods of service?
Zvika
Hi MIT. I am a finance professional working in an investment team for 2 years. Are MIT MBA mainly looking for engineers for the MBA?
MIT_Sloan
Sure, I'm sot 100% sure the answer will be what you are looking for :).
I applied to a couple of top schools: Harvard, Stanford, Booth, Kellogg and Sloan. I got mostly "No" and was waitlisted at Kellogg and MIT. I was admitted only to MIT hence I went for it.
The company we founded is Eleos Health - we help providers of behavioral healthcare provide better care and save 50% of their documentation time.
adi
If I apply with low GMAT but improve it after the deadline, will you accept an update?
Thai Shalev
Thanks for the quick answers! Could you please tell us a little about the company you founded and why you chose to study at MIT?
kk
thank you for answering about deferred MBA:)
MIT_Sloan
For the first question that was asked, yes there is a thing as deferred admission. That means you are admitted but need to wait a year (I was deferred after I was waitlisted)
MIT_Sloan
There aren't many options, there are lists on the website, but not many, some organizations donate scholarships too. Also sometimes writing a letter to the admissions team post admission can help.
Ezra Dohan
What are the scholarship options for Israeli candidates?
MIT_Sloan
Load is something that in my perspective the student can control, if you are looking for A+ or for B, compared to the regular MBA, LGO is more dense as it is also an engineering degree. But you can always work around it. I went for B grades in my MBA and founded a company at the same time. So its up to you.
MIT_Sloan
Yes, the sooner you apply the better, think about it that there are 400 seats +- after round 1 there are less seats, same for scholarships, there aren't many to begin with, so the more you wait the less $ available
Thai Shalev
In addition, from your experience or from what you have seen with others, what is the level of load in the LGO program?
adi
hi Dror, Is there any difference in Round 1 or Round 2 applications? Admission or scholarship wise?
MIT_Sloan
1. Above 700
2. Yes there are many activities and clubs for significant others (SOs)
3. I don't know that as an Alum but you can google when registration usually open or email the admission team
Thai Shalev
Hello, I have a few questions:
1. Which GMAT result do you consider to be competitive?
2. Do you have special activities for students' spouses?
3. when will registration open for August/September 2025? And when will it close?
MIT_Sloan
Thanks you for your question. There is no minimum or maximum work-ex needed as far as I know. Its more how you tell your story about the work-ex that you have. I'm not familiar with a masters that doesn't require GMAT/GRE
kk
Hi, good evening!
please help me with these questions
I have a work-ex of 2 years in different organizations. is this accepted? what is the Minimum work years required to get into MBA program?
I have work ex in Bank of America but I left it to come back to my hometown and currently working at Charted Accountant firm, while preparing for exams, Do this impact negatively?
If I scored less in GMAT- Quant section. Will any other quantitative skills value in place of that?
Do you have option of deferred MBA if work ex is less than what is required?
Is leadership positions at undergraduate college counts as work ex (professional experience) or not?
Is there any other masters degree related to finance, management, accounting or entrepreneurship Which do not require GMAT/GRE. only standardized tests TOEFL/IELTS
MIT_Sloan
Hello all this is Dror Zaide MBA 2021, I hope everyone is having a good weekend/week