Monthly Archives: August 2013

Orientation Camp rocks!

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The Rotman Full-Time MBA Class of 2015 has arrived in full force on campus today for the first of two days of a mandatory on-campus Orientation. With 350 students, half of whom are international, it’s our biggest (and one might say best!) class ever.

The on-campus Orientation program consists of a series of interactive and information sessions designed to introduce our students to the Rotman community, the MBA project team experience, and the key aspects of what it means to be a Rotman MBA.

20120901-IMG_6671Once the two day program is complete, but before our new students dive into classes after Labour Day, a team of our second-year students host a three-day Orientation Camp for first-years at a summer camp two hours north of Toronto. Orientation Camp is optional, but it really should not be missed! Not only is it a great chance for those new to Toronto to experience the beautiful cottage country which surrounds the city, but it is an amazing opportunity for students to get to know their future classmates in an informal setting. Yes, there are trading and marketing games to ease into life as a business school student, but also many other games, sports, and laid-back time to just hang out together. The evening programs are always a fun time, including a legendary themed costume party where people really go all-out on their costumes. The bonds that are cemented during this long weekend form the basis of relationships that span students’ time in business school and for years afterwards. Attending the first day of classes with new friends and familiar faces really helps you to settle in to classes on Day 1. If you are planning on joining us at Rotman next fall, I highly recommend you attend!

 

Rotman Joins the Forte Foundation!

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Niki da SilvaWe continue to scout for new opportunities to identify strong talent to support Rotman’s growth plans, and the Full-Time MBA Program recently signed on to be one of only three new School Sponsor’s of the Forte Foundation, an incredible non-profit organization defined as a “consortium of major corporations and top business schools working together to launch women into fulfilling, significant careers through access to business education, opportunities, and a community of successful women.”  We are very excited to be joining this esteemed group of top schools and corporations with a shared vision/interest in the leadership development of women, a key priority for Rotman and an area that I am personally incredibly passionate about!  As part of our committment to Forte and recruiting amazing women into Rotman’s Full-Time MBA Program, we are also very excited to announce our financial committment to extending two Forte Fellow scholarship opportunities a year, each valued at $40,000.

We are very excited about this new partnership!  Not only does this provide an opportunity for Rotman’s Admissions team to build a strong pipeline of female talent and to actively target strong female candidates who are engaged with Forte for our Program, but this membership also offers important support, mentorship, and career opportunities for Rotman students and alumni.

Forte’s MBA events for prospective students begin next week and I am looking forward to meeting candidates in Chicago, Boston and Washington as we begin this exciting new chapter with our Forte partnership!

Niki

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Is 2014 the ideal year to pursue your MBA? Time to start your research!

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DSC_9140If you’d like to start your MBA in 2014, this time around is the right time to start your research. Think it’s too early? Not really! All of the top tier business schools have already released their round deadlines and published their revised application processes. For Rotman, we have already announced our new essay questions.

Of course, targeting the right business schools is not limited to just the application process and rankings. There are many factors you should consider. Ask yourself: Why do I want to do an MBA at this point in my life? As an admissions professional, I can assure you figuring out the reason will help you with at least one of the essay questions to any business school.

When you ponder your reasons, you should think about your career. The MBA is a professional degree and will significantly improve your employment prospects. Think about what you have learned so far in your roles to date and determine if there is a gap — will your current role take you where you want to go? If the answer is no, I’d say it’s time to pursue an MBA to enhance your technical knowledge, improve your leadership capacity, and demonstrate you have the hard and soft skills necessary for senior level positions.

You can initiate your research online, but by no means should you limit yourself to only the websites of your target business schools. Always keep in mind: the most effective networks are developed in-person! All good business schools are quite active on campus and around the world. Even if you are not located in the same city where your dream business school is located, you can still meet with someone from the admissions team. At the Rotman School, we make sure all of our events around the world are published well before the actual date. Please take a minute to browse our events page to see if we will be in your neighborhood. If you see an attractive event, go ahead and register!

For those of you who are located in the GTA, or will be visiting us in the near future, I cannot emphasize the importance of booking a pre-application meeting enough. A one-hour meeting can help you get to know the school, understand the program you are considering better, and build your relationship with the person who might be reviewing your application — attending an information session is a great way to leave the admissions team with a positive impression! Furthermore, these meetings are the best venues to discuss your candidacy and identify potential growth areas to strengthen your application. This way, you can clarify all the admissions related concerns so that you can have more time for more in-depth questions during the admissions interview.

We also conduct meetings via Skype so that our candidates living outside of the GTA, or who don’t have the opportunity to visit us in person, can still take advantage of this great opportunity.

Last but not least, you should seek our students’ insight to complement your research! Take a look at this great article on Financial Times by one of our incoming students Alexandra Fitzgerald. She has some great advice for you.

 

2014 Intake – Announcing This Year’s Admissions Essay Questions

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Niki da SilvaWith the month of August officially underway, and our International Orientation programming now in high-gear, our Admissions team is ready to kick-off the recruiting year for our 2014 intake!

I’m writing to announce our essay questions for this cycle, and have also provided some comments and direction below on how to think through your responses to ensure you are addressing the core of these questions in your application responses.

 

Essay 1 (250 Word Maximum)

At this point in your career, why have you decided to pursue your MBA at Rotman and where do you envision your career going post-MBA?  

In this reply, we will be looking for candidates to talk to the decision point to pursue an MBA, and to connect this specifically to the opportunities at Rotman.  In addition, reflecting on where the MBA may take your career after graduation will help the Admissions Committee better understand if our career coaches, self-development lab, and employment opportunities are a good match to get you to your next meaningful career opportunity.

 

Essay 2 (250 Word Maximum)

The Rotman School of Management is uniquely located in downtown Toronto, the heart of Canada’s business and financial centre. Toronto is the world’s most multicultural city, and is the fourth largest city in North America. How do you plan to maximize the opportunities available to you by studying in Toronto?

In this response, we hope to see candidates articulating the individual value they believe our very unique and strategic location can provide throughout the course of their MBA experience.

As you may have already read (http://poetsandquants.com/2013/07/30/video-screen-tests-come-to-admissions/) we are continuing the use of our video interview this year with similar questions designed to feel like we are getting to know one another 🙂  I’ve referred to these as “first date” type questions and the content will be similar again this year.  All applicants will be required to submit answers to two questions and will also have an opportunity to get prepared using a practice question.  We have found the combination between the self-reflection in our essays, and the individual personality and stories conveyed in the video component combine to create a very rich picture of an applicant as an individual, far beyond the stats and data submitted on paper, and we are anxious to meet you!

Last but not least, we are transitioning to a new application system over the course of this long weekend, so the new application link for the 2014 intake will be Wednesday, with our first deadline date set for November 4th.  We will post the active application link here, and on the Rotman website.  We look forward to working through the MBA journey together!

(Note: The Rotman School is closed from Friday August 2 – Monday August 5 for the holiday weekend!)