With the application now live, you may have questions about how to submit your strongest application to the LGO program. The admissions team is here to help! We are always looking for candidates who are creative, passionate about their interests, and bring diverse experiences and perspectives to the community, and want to help you be successful in your application process.
Take a look at this list of tips for things to keep in mind when you’re putting your LGO application together:
- Do your research: Applying to grad school is a huge decision and applying to dual-degree grad program is an even bigger decision! LGO is very unique so it’s important to take time to dig into the structure of the program to understand some of its nuances, like the 6-month industry-based research internship and thesis requirement, our collaboration with partner companies, and the research areas you’re drawn to within an engineering department. The more specific you can be about why LGO makes sense for you in your application, the easier it will be to see your alignment with the program.
- Reflect on your professional and personal journey: This ties into the above advice, putting together an application takes some time to organize your reasons for why this is the right time to pursue your MS/MBA, and why it makes sense at this point in your journey. While researching the program, think about how it can help you open doors to what you want to get out of new research, career, and network opportunities.
- Talk to us: Reach out to us about your interests and if you have questions – we’re here to help you navigate how to put your application together, how to pick the best engineering department for you, and connect you with members of the LGO community.
- Don’t stress about the application rounds: Regardless of whether you apply in Round 1 or Round 2, your application will undergo the same review process. It’s best to focus on when you feel you can submit your strongest application to the program and go with that timeline.*
- Leadership experience – formal or informal – is great: If your job title isn’t a formal leadership position, that’s ok! Perhaps you have mentored junior employees, or are involved in an affinity group, or active in other volunteer work – these are all worth highlighting to showcase your leadership involvement so far. If these types of roles don’t all fit on the 1-page resume, you can add more context in the work experience section of your application, or reach out to us if you need further advice.
- Recommenders: Choose people who know you well and can give specific examples: We are not looking for recommenders who have a dazzling job title if they haven’t worked with you closely. For both the professional and technical recommendations, try to find folx who can speak to your day-to-day projects and problem-solving abilities, teamwork, and future potential. People like current or former direct supervisors or other senior managers you’ve worked with are often used for both types of letters. Other ideas could be a client with whom you’ve worked with significantly, a former professor, a chief engineer, or data scientist.
- Be yourself: Candidates from a mix of distances traveled and industry backgrounds join LGO each year, and when they graduate go in many different directions. We want to admit a group of students who can learn from one another and share new ideas from their experiences with their classmates. One of the special qualities of LGO is how every student will complete their MBA and MS in Engineering in 2 years a little differently, so we encourage you to be authentic about yourself and your story when sharing why LGO is the best next step for you.
*Speaking of timeline…with the nuances of the review process across each of the 7 engineering departments and Sloan, most LGO applicants receive their final admission decision in Round 2 (March 1, 2023). So while we do indeed admit applicants in Round 1, if you’re waitlisted after Round 1 don’t be discouraged, as this is common for many candidates who are then admitted in Round 2.
