Meet MIT Sloan’s MBA Class Of 2023

PASSIONATE, OPEN, AND COLLABORATIVE

Inspired, no doubt. At MIT Sloan, Mueller has found a cohort who are just as committed and capable as he is. “I became even more inspired to leave my mark on the world after meeting just a few Sloanies,” he asserts. “Their positive and forward-looking attitudes are contagious. Some of the world’s most successful leaders know that to be successful, you must surround yourself with the best. I am grateful for that opportunity with my 450+ classmates.”

Passion is just one of the qualities that unites the Class of 2023. Austin Cole, for one, has been struck by the openness of classmates and alumni. “[Everyone] I’ve spoken [with] or met so far has been so open and forthcoming about their experiences in the program and beyond,” he notes. “I’m someone who is coming into business school with varied experiences…but hoping to pursue more ‘non-traditional’ post-business school opportunities. As a result, I’ve been encouraged to meet so many Sloanies who are open to pursuing new ways of solving challenges; motivated by a desire to fulfill their professional and personal goals beyond a narrow set of jobs; and are trying to solve some of the most persistent issues of our time.”

Beyond open and passionate, Christina Peña has found her peers to be extremely collaborative. “Everyone has really embodied the spirit of “Sloanies helping Sloanies,” jumping in to answer questions or to provide support in the transition to b-school. Immediately upon accepting my seat at Sloan, I was added to WhatsApp and Slack groups, where second years and alumni have been so accommodating and have scheduled multiple calls to allow us to seek advice from them.”

FORGET BEANTOWN…THINK BIOTECH BOOMTOWN

The best part? Sloan MBAs are joining the larger MIT ecosystem, 11,000 students and 136,000 alumni strong — a wealth of future collaborators, investors, and subject matter experts who are plugged into the world’s most powerful employers and networks. Make no mistake: the MIT name goes a long way. After all, MIT boasts the founders of top brands like E*Trade, Biogen, Bose, Hewlett Packard, Campbell Soup, and iRobot. At the same time, MIT alumni invented the worldwide web, GPS, and email, helped unravel the human genome, and advanced nuclear fission, solar energy, and air conditioning. The university even produced the first digital computer as part of the Project Whirlwind partnership with the U.S. Navy.

In addition, MIT is located in the Boston metro, home to nearly three dozen postsecondary institutions and 150,000 students. That’s a wealth of talent coming out of top institutions like Harvard, Babson College, Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern University…not to mention university-sponsored resources like the MIT Delta v Accelerator, Harvard Innovation Labs, and MIT Global Startup Lab. Indeed, the region is a magnet for angels, entrepreneurs, tech and scientific talents, and creatives. And leaders have built support systems ranging from Cleantech Open Accelerator to the FinTech Sandbox program. Not surprisingly, the region is already home to over 1,000 biotech firms, while garnering increasing traction in areas in artificial intelligence, robotics, and cybersecurity. That means investment, with Massachusetts-based startups raising $17.4 billion dollars in the first two quarters of 2021 alone.

Location is one reason why Sloan alumni like Rukmini Sarkar rave about their alma mater. “Sloan made everything seem possible, especially in the context of MIT and the wider Boston ecosystem,” writes the 2020 graduate who works in the Boston Consulting Group’s London office. “As someone who is particularly interested in energy and climate topics, I was thrilled to be surrounded by a vibrant community of classmates and entrepreneurs working on countless cutting-edge ideas in the field.”

DON’T NEED TO BE A QUANT HERE

…or fields. After all, the larger MIT ranks as the top engineering and computer sciences university in the United States according to U.S. News, excelling in fields as diverse as environmental health and mobile applications. Hence, MIT Sloan is a “choose your adventure” program with three semesters (and a summer) to tap into the larger MIT community.

“MIT Sloan gave me the perfect combination of tech, finance and entrepreneurship,” notes Riana Shah, a 2021 grad and P&Q Best & Brightest. “Many business schools run in a silo and are not as integrated within the larger institution – MIT Sloan is definitely not one of those schools. I loved getting to interact with and get involved with things happening on the main campus at the Media Lab and the Legatum Center.”

Just don’t make the mistake of assuming Sloan is a haven for nerdy quant jocks who only speak techie, Shah adds. “In my experience, my classmates are equal parts poet and equal parts quant. The incredible thing about Sloan is that you can come here with no quantitative experience and the professors and classes are equipped to bring you up to speed if that is something you wish to spend time on. I came in with no real finance background and I’m headed into an investment banking career after school. I credit my generous professors and classmates who helped me learn.”

Ask the Class of 2023 what words come to mind with MIT, many naturally pivot to “Innovation.” “Whether it’s pushing the state-of-the-art in technological advancements or introducing new products that enhance users’ lives, students and faculty at MIT are obsessed with creating value in never-before-seen ways,” explains Sean Oh. “As I learn more about how Sloanies have helped turn these innovations into new ventures, I can’t help but be excited to become an active contributor in this community.”

Contributor? Christina Peña would use different terms for her MIT classmates: problem solvers and do-ers. “Obviously, MIT attracts incredibly intelligent people, but what has struck me the most is that people at MIT aren’t just sitting around talking or reading about a problem; they’re getting out there and tackling those problems head-on, and they’re not doing it alone because they understand the power of having a strong team to do good work. My experiences with the program have only reinforced that. I attended the 100K competition virtually and was so inspired by all the pitches made by student teams addressing issues from climate change to developmental disorders.”

ALL NUMBERS POINTING UP

Historically, MIT Sloan ranks among the most selective MBA programs, accepting just 14%-18% of all applicants. In recent years, Sloan has emerged as an increasingly popular destination too. During the 2020-2021 cycle, the school received 7,112 applications, up 762 from 2020 (and 1,852  from 2019). Overall, the Class of 2023 is comprised of 450 students.

This year’s class also features students from 64 countries, up from 51 the year before. By the same token, 43% of the class hails from overseas, a 10% increase over the previous year. Another 44% of the class is women, an all-time high for Sloan. Nearly a quarter of the class (23%) consists of underrepresented minorities.

Another positive sign for the Class of 2023? The median GMAT returned to 730 after a five point slip in 2020. Average undergraduate GPAs rose from 3.54 to 3.59 over the past year, with GRE scores coming in at 158-169 (Quant) and 157-168 (both in the mid-80% range). As undergraduates, the largest percentage of the class majored in Engineering (33%). Economics and Business majors make up 19% and 18% of the class respectively. Math and Science (9%), Social Science (6%), Humanities (4%), and Computer Science (3%) majors also make up substantive segments of the class.

Professionally, the class brings a wide array of industry experience. Consulting (22%) and Financial Services (21%) lead the pack, followed by Technology (16%) and Government, Education, and Nonprofit (12%). Healthcare, Energy, Consumer Products, Manufacturing, Media and Entertainment, and Transportation practitioners are also represented in the class.

Sloan’s programming is equally diverse. Earlier this year, business school deans and MBA directors ranked Sloan #1 for Production, Project Management, and Business Analytics in a U.S. News survey. The same segment also pegged Sloan in the Top 5 for Supply Chain, Entrepreneurship, and Finance programming. Notably, P&Q has found that 23% of Sloan’s electives focus on entrepreneurship. At the same time, nearly 70% of Sloan students are members of an entrepreneurial-themed club — the highest percentage of any full-time MBA program.

A REAL WORLD LAB

Still, it is experiential learning where MIT Sloan truly stands out. A program hallmark is its Action Learning Labs. A series of electives, Action Learning Labs enable MBAs to work with startups, corporations, and non-profits. These cover a regions (China, Israel, United States) and industries (Digital Product Management, Healthcare, Finance), where Sloanies can scale ventures, enter new markets, and streamline operations. To date, nearly 25,000 organizations have hosted Action Learning Labs, with specific projects including expanding access to education in Africa and the internet in rural India and reducing waste in the seafood industry and traffic congestion in Brazil.

Among the Class of 2023, the G-Lab — Global Entrepreneurship Lab — has certainly stirred excitement. “I was drawn to Sloan because of the emphasis on bringing learning out of the classroom into real project-based experiential learning,” explains Rebecca Durr. “G-Lab takes that hands-on learning to an even more practical yet complex level by focusing on the dual factors of both culture and economics in growing a startup. One of my goals in getting an MBA is to promote more female-led ventures in STEM, and G-Lab will help build my skillset in problem-solving within a unique cultural and often intersectional analytical framework.”

Austin Cole is gearing up for the S-Lab (Sustainable Business) for similar reasons. “I’m looking forward to working directly with companies that are grappling with challenges that embrace the complexity of business, climate, and society. There is obviously a common interest among business school students, but I think what sets MIT Sloan apart is the ability to get practical experience working closely with organizations who are trying to solve real business problems in real-time.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH MAURA HERSON

What’s next at MIT Sloan? A few months ago, P&Q reached to Maura Herson, assistant dean of the MBA program at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Here are her thoughts on new developments and unique differentiators at the school.

P&Q: What are the two most exciting developments at your program and how will they enrich the MBA experience for current and future MBAs?

MH: “MIT Sloan continues to build on the work we began last year to sustain important conversations around Diversity, Equity and Inclusions (DEI) issues across the two-year MBA experience. This begins during orientation with a racial dialogue discussion, and continues in the classroom where every core course has incorporated modules about the negative effects of implicit bias. Then, during the Sloan Intensive Period (SIP) in October, all first year MBAs will engage in a new two-day interactive workshop focused on understanding systemic issues, including systemic racism.

Returning MBA students expressed interest in learning about DEI issues in different industries. Ray Reagans, MIT Sloan’s Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is collaborating with faculty, students and the Career Development Office on a workshop that will seed ongoing conversations about how DEI issues present in tech v. consulting v. finance and other industries.  The goal, as always, is to develop critical thinking about DEI in our future leaders.”

Next Page: Profiles of 9 First Year Sloan MBAs