I'm a Canadian citizen currently working in investment banking in New York and am interested in applying to Rotman. However, my undergrad GPA is below their stated "soft" cutoff of 3.0. I don't really have a good excuse for it; I was a lazy student who enjoyed learning but didn't care to do the work. (Anyone who wants to question my work ethic: I've been pulling 70+ hour weeks for over two years now. I just didn't care to work for grades; I got satisfaction from learning itself.) The only mildly mitigating factors might be the fact I went to an Ivy League school, majored in Mathematics -- not the easiest subject -- and also spent 20-40 hours a week as a writer and editor for my college's daily paper.

Assuming I have great essays and recommendations -- I'm good at expressing myself on paper and I can get glowing recommendations from very senior people at my firm -- and a 740+ GMAT, is it still a real longshot?

Anyone with a serious answer...?

Huh? It was a serious answer. If you expect the old "don't worry, Rotman takes a holistic approach for ..." that is useless advice. Rotman needs to recruit students with high GMAT scores to go up in the rankings and the probabilities of getting in with a 700+ GMAT are close to 1. Read past forums to see the big effrot by Rotman to recruit 700+ scores. Anyway, good luck in the application process mate.

If not, don't worry. Many things are out of control at this stage anyway. The only thing we can improve are GMAT scores and essays.

Rotman lives and breathes for students like you. They want to be considered with the big players in the states and your experience working in IB in New York before going to their school basically guarantees your admission. The unreal GMAT score you have is just icing on the cake. Despite what their website may say, it's not a stringent application process. When I applied, I got in with a phone interview about two weeks after I submitted the application, and I am positive it was because of my GMAT score, which is piddly in comparison to yours.

I was always annoyed by this suggestion when I was applying three years ago, but have you considered applying to more esteemed programs? I'm not saying Rotman is bad, but having just come out of a comparable Canadian MBA program and with lots of friends who went to Rotman, I'm not sure the opportunities are as fruitful for us in Canada. The quality of education is there, but the quality of administration (which is honestly the only reason most of us go for an MBA instead of an MPA, MF or MSc.) is just not as good in Canadian schools. Your experience in NYC is already what most of Rotman students aspire to attain after graduation and I'd be cautious of the buyer's remorse you'd likely have for not going to a more worldly school.

What I'm trying to say is with your profile, the question should be positioned whether Rotman is good enough for you, not whether you're good enough for them, because you are a shoe-in at that school.