Ask Rotman School of Management Admissions

Hello hell0w0rld,

Without seeing all of your profile it is hard to say anything definitively but all else being equal you definitely have a competitive profile. Have you already applied? If not or if any have any questions, please email us at mba@rotman.utoronto.ca and we can further help from there.

Thanks,

Hi,
I applied to Rotman in Round 2 and currently been put in the waitlist category.
Is there anything that I can do now to improve my chances at getting an admit?
And by when I can expect a decision on my application status?

Thanks,

RotmanMBAMichael

Hi
I was going through the "Application Requirements" section on the website.
It lists a minimum GPA of 3 in the final year. It also gives "International Degree Equivalencies", under which, the requirement for India is 7.5/10 for IITs and 8/10 for other institutes. I'm from a NIT, and have a 7.86/10 in my final year. Is that a red flag?
Or can this shortage be offset by the GMAT score or other factors of my application?

Big news for our international admits! We are excited to announce a new partnership with the Bank of Montreal where you can take out a loan for up to full tuition without a cosigner!

Get the details here:
https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/Degrees/M ... tance.aspx

preeti, there is no need to do anything else if you have been placed on the waitlist. We review the waitlist frequently and if your status changes we will be sure to let you know as soon as it happens!

Ronnie, you are correct. If your GPA is below the minimum requirement it definitely does not mean you are disqualified from applying! If the rest of your application (GMAT, essays, etc) are sufficiently strong, they can offset a not-so-high GPA.

Hello, I have just finished my undergrad degree, and am thinking of re-taking a couple of courses to boost my last year's overall GPA, and wanted your expert opinion on whether you think re-taking 2 more courses could really boost my chances of admission. Here is my situation:

Current situation:
Final year's GPA on 4.0 scale: 2.8
Final 2 years' GPA on 4.0 scale: 3.0

Now there are 2 courses I could re-take from my last year, that if I DO re-take would boost my overall averages to this:
Hypothetical Final year's GPA on 4.0 scale: 3.3
Hypothetical Final 2 years' GPA on 4.0 scale: 3.45


Now my current situation based on averages isn't very ideal, however I do have a 3.0 average over my last 2 years. My OVERALL CGPA is a 3.0 as well, if that helps at all. So would re-taking these 2 courses significantly increase my chances of getting accepted (of course along with a W.E and a good GMAT score)?

Thanks!

Hi Khazaal,

It’s hard to evaluate a candidate’s profile without having the entire application in front of us but here you can see our admission requirements:
https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/Degrees/M ... Apply.aspx
We weigh all components of a candidate’s profile equally. So say, for example, you have strong work experience, GPA, etc but a not-so-high GMAT score, the work experience,etc can offset the GMAT score. Conversely, if a candidate has an exceptional GMAT score but the rest of their application isn’t so strong, we might not admit such a candidate.

As well, the reason why we typically require work experience to ensure students have enough experience to draw upon and share with others in class and teamwork discussions and ensure students do not feel left out in these interactions. Having a few years of work experience is also something employers that hire our students prefer so it gives you a better chance at securing a job post-MBA as well.

Thanks for your quick reply Michael!

Now I have obviously done my own research, however regarding the GMAT or the GRE test...how does MBA admissions view both of these tests? Is there one you guys actually prefer?

We weigh the GMAT and GRE the same. So say for example, you wrote the GRE and did amazingly, we would treat that as if you did amazingly on the GMAT.

Something important to note though, is that depending on what you want to do post-MBA should influence which exam you take. Consulting firms use the GMAT (NOT GRE) as part of their screening process. So if you are interested in working in consulting, take the GMAT. If you are interested in working in any other industry, which of those 2 exams you take is less important.

khazaal, and everyone else applying: keep in mind that it isn't enough just to meet the requirements. hitting the minimum requirements are fine and dandy, but remember that Rotman is the top b-school in Canada... make sure your application is competitive. that being said, i have colleagues in my year with GPA like yours, but they do have 5-7 years of work experience and high GMATs.

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Hello MBAStudent 2015,

Something important to note is that while we are neighbours with the US, our government, laws and foreign workers policies are completely different and totally unrelated. I’ve read some news about the US tightening its immigration rules. This is unrelated to Canada. For the latest on Canadian immigration policies, you should check the Canadian news about Canadian immigration policies.

Because international students that study at Rotman automatically get a 3-year work permit, employers do not have a bias for domestic over international students since employers know they can hire Rotman grads and keep them for at least 3 years, regardless where they are from. (and usually within those 3 years, our international grads end up getting permanent residency or citizenship here in Canada making work permits no longer an issue)

Hopefully that makes sense! As always, for the latest scoop and insight on studying at Rotman, career opportunities post-MBA, etc, feel free to email us at mba@rotman.utoronto.ca! We respond to all emails pretty quickly so you can be sure that your questions will not be left unanswered!

Regards,

to follow up on that comment above, i am not sure if rotman tracks domestic vs international career placements. or if they do, they don't publish it. also, an american student still counts as international, so even if they track domestic vs international, i'm not sure if they track where internationally.

as a member of the student body though, i can tell you that there's a "feeling" that it is harder for internationals to get summer placements. and my international friends feel that this is because there's a cultural difference, and perhaps a language barrier. it is of note that my friends who came over from asia are finding it more difficult than my friends from europe, especially if you have trouble with english. that being said, just because there's a "feel" that it's more difficult for internationals, doesn't mean that the numbers support that. i do have international friends who are in top firms for the summer, and will more than likely convert to full time.

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again, i'm not speaking on behalf of the rotman school, i'm just airing out what i see as a student here.

i can't speak for investment banking, as i'm not going down that path. but for consulting, i would say that yes, it's much more difficult if you don't do a summer internship. the question they'll ask is why. is it because you couldn't get one and gave up? is it because you went and did something else, like a start-up? it all depends on what you're doing over the summer, and if it is impactful and career-progressing. even if you don't get into a external consulting firm over the summer, just doing a strategy internship somewhere else (think corporate strategy for a company or something along those lines), it would help you tremendously for full-time recruitment especially if what you did is similar to the experience they're looking for.

also remember that rotman is increasing the size of the class. more students every year, but about the same number of placements (at least for consulting). you have to be increasingly competitive, and i think this might be why internationals are finding it difficult to get a placement. i mean, it's not just the culture and language, but the networking too. an international student arriving in august before school starts will have no network. whereas someone like myself who has been in toronto a number of years may already have an established network to build on (prior to even considering doing an MBA, i already knew at least one person in most of the major consulting firms).

for one-year MBAs, i'm guessing that you'd have to rely on your pre-MBA work experience. i think it's also more difficult to switch careers because you don't have that internship. not only for full-time recruiters (since they don't see your experience), but for you too, since you don't get to "try out" that career path. i'd say if you're switching careers, do a two-year MBA. my opinion though.

again, i'm not speaking on behalf of the rotman school, i'm just airing out what i see as a student here.

i can't speak for investment banking, as i'm not going down that path. but for consulting, i would say that yes, it's much more difficult if you don't do a summer internship. the question they'll ask is why. is it because you couldn't get one and gave up? is it because you went and did something else, like a start-up? it all depends on what you're doing over the summer, and if it is impactful and career-progressing. even if you don't get into a external consulting firm over the summer, just doing a strategy internship somewhere else (think corporate strategy for a company or something along those lines), it would help you tremendously for full-time recruitment especially if what you did is similar to the experience they're looking for.

also remember that rotman is increasing the size of the class. more students every year, but about the same number of placements (at least for consulting). you have to be increasingly competitive, and i think this might be why internationals are finding it difficult to get a placement. i mean, it's not just the culture and language, but the networking too. an international student arriving in august before school starts will have no network. whereas someone like myself who has been in toronto a number of years may already have an established network to build on (prior to even considering doing an MBA, i already knew at least one person in most of the major consulting firms).

for one-year MBAs, i'm guessing that you'd have to rely on your pre-MBA work experience. i think it's also more difficult to switch careers because you don't have that internship. not only for full-time recruiters (since they don't see your experience), but for you too, since you don't get to "try out" that career path. i'd say if you're switching careers, do a two-year MBA. my opinion though.

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