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Learn what truly sets the UC Riverside MBA apart and how it helps in your professional growth
26 Aug 2015, 06:29
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Rotman MBA AdCom Asks Applicants to Be Creative and Do Things Differently
The Rotman MBA program has been ranked #1 in Canada by the Financial Times Full-Time MBA Ranking for 9 out of the last 10 years. The school is known for its strength in finance and innovative approach to business education. The program’s location in downtown Toronto, the hub of Canada’s business activity, gives the Rotman MBA further leverage with top recruiters. The full-time MBA program now has a class size of 313 (and growing), which makes it larger than most other top Canadian MBA programs. GyanOne caught up with Sheldon Dookeran, Assistant Director, MBA Recruitment and Admissions, and Erin Miller, Associate Director, Career Coaching & Education, at the Rotman School of Management. Sheldon and Erin shared key insights into the USPs of the Rotman MBA, Rotman MBA admissions, and career opportunities for students at Rotman.
GyanOne: Rotman is the top ranked MBA program in Canada (FT Ranking 2013). Over the last few years, the Rotman MBA has also become a top option for international candidates looking at an MBA in Canada. What are the key factors that you think contribute to this ranking and that make the Rotman MBA stand out among other top MBA programs?
Sheldon Dookeran: Rotman is by no means a traditional MBA school. We encourage our students to display their creative side and do things differently. Let me substantiate through three specific examples along three different dimensions.
The first differentiating factor is that we teach our students Integrative Thinking, giving them the skills they need to create innovative business models when traditional business models conflict or don’t fit. We do not take a case study approach to teach Integrative Thinking, because case studies can limit creativity. Instead, our students solve real problems for companies with confidential and live data. This trains students to make real-time decisions with live data whereas case studies remain static. Top teams present their Integrative Thinking solutions to the firms CEO.
Second, Rotman teaches student’s the concept of Business Design – another innovative approach to problem solving that applies the concepts taught at design school to business school.
The third is the Self-Development Lab at Rotman, which is a series of voluntary workshops run by a personality psychologist to ensure students pursue in life what they want to do, can do, should do. No other school invests in your personal and professional development like that.
Our main aim is to train our students to be creative problem solvers.
Our USP is therefore that we train people to be problem solvers, and excel at being business managers and business leaders in the positions they take up after the MBA.
GyanOne: The Rotman MBA Admissions process is interesting. You are one of the few schools to be pioneering the concept of video essays as part of the MBA application. What are the critical elements that the video essays test? How can one hope to do well on them?
Sheldon Dookeran: Admissions processes are getting more competitive, creative and innovative, and they aid a business school in building a good MBA class. These video responses (not essays) help the adcom get a glimpse of the candidate, wherein the candidate is asked impromptu questions (with 30-60 seconds to think about the answer), which are not aimed at inducing stress, but are fun questions. Through these , we aim to see how the candidate thinks on his/her feet, communicates, and shows his/her personality. At the moment, this is just a pilot project, and Rotman is not placing too much of weight on this aspect of the MBA admissions process.
The online software does give candidates appropriate practice to be ready for the real video. To prepare well for this essay, we recommend practicing random questions over Skype, timing yourself and doing a mini presentation (with an introduction, content, and conclusion for each response). Also, the candidate should dress professionally and have a clean background behind them. Other than this, the candidates should just be themselves and showcase their personality in the best possible manner for the video.
GyanOne: Quite a few applicants looking at Rotman come from technology / IT backgrounds. Some of them also feel that because they belong to an over-represented pool of applicants, they start off with a disadvantage in the application process. How true is this notion and what are some of the steps that IT applicants can take to submit stronger applications?
Sheldon Dookeran: International candidates with a background in technology are not at all at a disadvantage, but are in fact, looked up to for their strong quantitative abilities. The general pool that they come from is large, though. To shine through in this large pool, IT candidates should focus on finding ways to differentiate themselves and showcase various initiatives taken up by them in and outside of work.
Rotman MBA Admissions
GyanOne has helped hundreds of applicants gain admission in top MBA programs. With our detailed MBA Essay Editing service and experienced consultants, it aims to help you create the best MBA Application, a strong resume and focused recommendation strategy to get accepted into top MBA programs. Contact now to get started!
This interview was originally published on the GyanOne MBA Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of GyanOne.
For more resources, visit GyanOne Blog
The Rotman MBA program has been ranked #1 in Canada by the Financial Times Full-Time MBA Ranking for 9 out of the last 10 years. The school is known for its strength in finance and innovative approach to business education. The program’s location in downtown Toronto, the hub of Canada’s business activity, gives the Rotman MBA further leverage with top recruiters. The full-time MBA program now has a class size of 313 (and growing), which makes it larger than most other top Canadian MBA programs. GyanOne caught up with Sheldon Dookeran, Assistant Director, MBA Recruitment and Admissions, and Erin Miller, Associate Director, Career Coaching & Education, at the Rotman School of Management. Sheldon and Erin shared key insights into the USPs of the Rotman MBA, Rotman MBA admissions, and career opportunities for students at Rotman.
GyanOne: Rotman is the top ranked MBA program in Canada (FT Ranking 2013). Over the last few years, the Rotman MBA has also become a top option for international candidates looking at an MBA in Canada. What are the key factors that you think contribute to this ranking and that make the Rotman MBA stand out among other top MBA programs?
Sheldon Dookeran: Rotman is by no means a traditional MBA school. We encourage our students to display their creative side and do things differently. Let me substantiate through three specific examples along three different dimensions.
The first differentiating factor is that we teach our students Integrative Thinking, giving them the skills they need to create innovative business models when traditional business models conflict or don’t fit. We do not take a case study approach to teach Integrative Thinking, because case studies can limit creativity. Instead, our students solve real problems for companies with confidential and live data. This trains students to make real-time decisions with live data whereas case studies remain static. Top teams present their Integrative Thinking solutions to the firms CEO.
Second, Rotman teaches student’s the concept of Business Design – another innovative approach to problem solving that applies the concepts taught at design school to business school.
The third is the Self-Development Lab at Rotman, which is a series of voluntary workshops run by a personality psychologist to ensure students pursue in life what they want to do, can do, should do. No other school invests in your personal and professional development like that.
Our main aim is to train our students to be creative problem solvers.
Our USP is therefore that we train people to be problem solvers, and excel at being business managers and business leaders in the positions they take up after the MBA.
GyanOne: The Rotman MBA Admissions process is interesting. You are one of the few schools to be pioneering the concept of video essays as part of the MBA application. What are the critical elements that the video essays test? How can one hope to do well on them?
Sheldon Dookeran: Admissions processes are getting more competitive, creative and innovative, and they aid a business school in building a good MBA class. These video responses (not essays) help the adcom get a glimpse of the candidate, wherein the candidate is asked impromptu questions (with 30-60 seconds to think about the answer), which are not aimed at inducing stress, but are fun questions. Through these , we aim to see how the candidate thinks on his/her feet, communicates, and shows his/her personality. At the moment, this is just a pilot project, and Rotman is not placing too much of weight on this aspect of the MBA admissions process.
The online software does give candidates appropriate practice to be ready for the real video. To prepare well for this essay, we recommend practicing random questions over Skype, timing yourself and doing a mini presentation (with an introduction, content, and conclusion for each response). Also, the candidate should dress professionally and have a clean background behind them. Other than this, the candidates should just be themselves and showcase their personality in the best possible manner for the video.
GyanOne: Quite a few applicants looking at Rotman come from technology / IT backgrounds. Some of them also feel that because they belong to an over-represented pool of applicants, they start off with a disadvantage in the application process. How true is this notion and what are some of the steps that IT applicants can take to submit stronger applications?
Sheldon Dookeran: International candidates with a background in technology are not at all at a disadvantage, but are in fact, looked up to for their strong quantitative abilities. The general pool that they come from is large, though. To shine through in this large pool, IT candidates should focus on finding ways to differentiate themselves and showcase various initiatives taken up by them in and outside of work.
Rotman MBA Admissions
GyanOne has helped hundreds of applicants gain admission in top MBA programs. With our detailed MBA Essay Editing service and experienced consultants, it aims to help you create the best MBA Application, a strong resume and focused recommendation strategy to get accepted into top MBA programs. Contact now to get started!
This interview was originally published on the GyanOne MBA Admissions Consulting Blog, the official blog of GyanOne.
For more resources, visit GyanOne Blog
