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

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.

 

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