And…. it’s a wrap!
With the MIT Sloan deadline today, Round 2 has finished up, and it’s a very appropriate time for us to announce our 2017-2018 Radcom of the Year!
This is a tradition we just started in 2016 when we recognized which MBA admissions team at a top school is the most applicant-friendly in its processes, policies and procedures.
We cited at the time things like their latest Round 2 deadline, which we’re celebrating again today, and also the fact that they do not require a TOEFL for any applicants.
Well guess what?
This year, MIT Sloan wins it again!
We were determined to wipe the slate clean and evaluate all schools from a fresh perspective this year, looking for evidence of applicant-friendliness coming in hopefully new ways. While we are seeing an assortment of positives and some new(ish) developments from other schools, we have to again tout the late Round 2 deadline from Sloan that was truly a godsend for many stressed-out BSers who were cramming to get multiple apps done over the past few weeks. In addition, MIT fixed one of the biggest problems with its app requirements by going to the standardized letter of recommendation this season.
Which school gets close runner-up?
NYU also has maintained a later Round 2 deadline for practically ever, which most definitely has endeared them to the ‘Snark’s heart.
In addition, this year NYU innovated with program offerings through the introduction of accelerated specialty MBAs in tech and fashion, and a very cool option of allowing concurrent apps to two or more through one set of essays. We also dig their new EQ Endorsement requirement, though it did create some stress for some BSers and some confusion at first when some people asked a recommender to also submit the EQ endorsement (the adcom wants it from a new person). Since NYU also has a later deadline, for both Round 2 and for Round 1, we did consider giving them the big Radcom Award trophy this year instead of MIT. However, we couldn’t do it since their second essay question proved REALLY challenging for applicants who are only applying to the full-time program. Hopefully they’ll change it for the next-season app.
We also saw another small thing at MIT that bumped them solidly into the lead:
Most schls will prob do the same, but @MITSloanAdcom is only one we've seen to inform hurricane-affected applcnts they will extend deadline
— Essay Snark (@EssaySnark) September 19, 2017
That was when the 140-char limit was in effect at Twitter! Funny how we had 2 abbrev8 stuff B4
In case that wasn’t self-explanatory: The hurricanes that went through Texas and Florida last year hit right during Round 1 deadlines. MIT Sloan was the only school we saw actively communicating through social media that they would extend deadlines for anyone directly impacted. Other schools certainly were flexible with applicants too but it was MIT that seemed most visibly proactive on it, just from what we observed.
In addition, MIT continues to host monthly chats — the most frequent of any other school that we know of. They’ve also done video info sessions and lots of online sessions with students; again, other schools do these, but we don’t see they happening as often elsewhere. MIT has a new mandatory video essay in their app this year, which may seem like an onerous requirement for the applicant but it’s honestly the BEST way for you BSers to share who you are with them — way better than the real-time video questions that get recorded as part of the Kellogg and Yale apps (and counting; we expect the number of schools using that option to surely grow in the coming seasons). The real time questions are also a positive innovation, but giving BSers the opportunity to record a full uninterrupted minute on whatever they like, the way that MIT does — and re-record a couple times to make sure that they’re coming across as intended (!) — this is a kinder, gentler option that can let BSers feel more confident overall in what they have captured.
To all of you BSers who’ve just in the past 24 hours completed this process: GOOD LUCK! We’re sure you did a great job!!
To the adcom at MIT Sloan: Thanks for continuing to be The Radcom again for another year!!
From MIT Sloan:
Tell us what you think.