The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business is one of the leading business schools in Canada. Known for its design approach to MBA education and strong emphasis on problem solving, Rotman’s program has grown in renown.
This year’s essay questions will enable you to show that you have the self-knowledge and personal insight to make the most of the Rotman MBA and will benefit from and contribute within its “creative methodology.”
Essay Question: When you reflect 10 years from now, how will you measure your MBA experience? (500 words maximum)
This is a goals question – a goals question with a big twist. The way it is worded requires you to indicate the impacts you want your MBA experience to have over a decade. Impacts (concrete and non-concrete) are what you can “measure.” And the impacts you hope for in turn illuminate your perspective and your values. While you can and should discuss a vision for your career that includes some desired impacts (and how you’ll measure success), you also can and probably should discuss some impacts for you as a human being and for your life.
I suggest sketching out ideas and outlining them before writing this essay. With only 500 words, you’ll have to be selective about the points you want to make; these preliminary steps will allow you to see how it’s coming together before you spend time drafting.
Reflection Question: List 3-5 attributes or characteristics that best describe you.
With these scant words, you should both reinforce your main application and essay message(s) and, also, add a little something extra and new – but that doesn’t contradict those other points. So, if your main message revolves around excellent soft skills and persuasion, look for another complementary point, e.g., risk-taker, that may not be emphasized but that is still reflective of you – and that will also be consistent with your profile and application even if not the most prominent point.
Required video interview (2 questions) with a new timed written response component (10 minutes in length).
Without knowing what the questions are, your best approach is to approach the video interview with both your own application and the Rotman program fresh in your mind. This will help you to simultaneously avoid both (a) being redundant and (b) being contradictory or inconsistent. This written response is new this year. I suggest viewing and approaching it as a continuation of the dialogue. It presents special challenges, particularly for non-native English speakers and writers who may typically take more time to polish their writing in English. While it’s natural for a follow-up piece like this essay to be less polished and thought through than essays on which you reasonably spend much more time, it also shouldn’t sound like a different person or present such a gap in English writing fluency that it raises doubts in the adcom. If you are worried about these things – practice. Give yourself sample topics and a 5-10 minute response window. Use tough questions, to make the actual one (hopefully) seem easier! (NOTE: The Rotman website gives an example – not an actual sample – question).
Here are some additional resources for the video question:
• Tips for Video MBA Essay Questions
• MBA Video Essays: A Conversation with Rotman’s Niki da Silva
• 2015 Admission Straight Talk Interview with Rotman’s Niki da Silva
If you would like professional guidance with your Toronto Rotman MBA application, check out Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Toronto Rotman application.
***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***
Cindy Tokumitsu has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA programs in her 15+ years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!
Related Resources:
• Why MBA?, free guide to acing the MBA goals essay question
• “I’m Smart, Really I Am!” Proving Character Traits in your Essays
• 8 To-Dos for Canadians Applying to U.S. Med Schools
This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com.
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