Darmika Nithianandan, Host, Rotman MBA Student: Hello and welcome to MBA PodTV. I’m Darmika Nithianandan. We’re standing right outside the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and in just a moment, I’ll be taking you inside to take a closer look at the MBA program. I’m a second year student here at Rotman and today I want to share with you the things that I considered before making that decision to come here. I’ll also give you some application tips and introduce you to some of my classmates. Today, you’ll hear from associate deans Mihnea Moldoveanu and Anita McGahan, admissions director Niki da Silva, and you’ll also meet some current students.

When I was in your shoes gathering information on the MBA degree, I spent a lot of time researching business schools. I looked at the curriculum, electives, the faculty and the main thing that drew me to Rotman was the Rotman brand.

Mihnea Moldoveanu, Associate Dean, Full Time MBA Program: Rotman’s curriculum gives students a set of skills that is unique among management schools. It teaches them not only to solve technical problems, it teaches them to pose problems, it teaches them to frame problems. It teaches them to not only become takers of other people’s models and users of other people’s theories, but it teaches them to build their own models of business situations and predicaments.

Anita McGahan, Associate Dean, Research: We really have I think the best of both a global and a Canadian identity. Canada is a very progressive country with a real commitment toward innovating collaboratively between the university sector and the industry environment, between university and government so we really are very much on the ground looking to make a real impact on the communities that we serve here in Toronto, in Ontario, and in the country. But we’re also a fantastically global school. We have a very high proportion of international students here at the school. We think about global problems, very important global problems from which we can contribute for Canada.

Darmika Nithianandan, Host, Rotman MBA Student: As I mentioned before, I’m a second year student here at Rotman and having spent a year here, I can tell you that business school is challenging academically and yet a lot of fun. Some of my classmates have come here from all over the world like my friend, Alex.

Alex Yeo, MBA Student, Rotman: I was working at McDonald’s in both Singapore and China in a number of senior management roles basically looking after quite a few functions from supply chain, HR to general management. I think, you know, I and my partner discussed and decided we really wanted to settle down in North America in particular in Canada which was more welcoming to immigrants as well as international students. So when we start looking – when I and my partner started looking at where we wanted to settle down, Toronto was one of our first choices and when I started looking at which schools would help me make that transition, Rotman became really the clear choice. You know, one thing I was looking for in terms of making a transition in Canada was really looking at how to build up my own networks and my own professional networks within Canada so I can make a much smoother transition to the Canadian job market, and that’s why going to a business school that’s right downtown that has a great network in the financial and consulting and strategy sectors was a big draw for me and I think Rotman has that advantage over any other business school.

Darmika Nithianandan, Host, Rotman MBA Student: Before coming to business school, I was working in risk management with and undergraduate degree in science. At one point, I realized I needed to broaden my business knowledge in order to move my career to the next level. One of the things I love most about Rotman is that I’m surrounded by people with different backgrounds and experiences.

Terri Block, MBA Student, Rotman: One of the things that makes the Rotman School different for me is that it’s serious about its nontraditional creative students. I think a lot of schools talk up the fact that they welcome nontraditional backgrounds. Rotman really treats us well and sort of includes us in a lot of things. The curriculum so far has been very business focused but there have been a lot of opportunities outside of class to get involved with Business Design, Net Impact, and Rotman Outreach. So those were things that really drew upon my creative background and my experience in the nonprofit so it’s allowed me to blend my past world and my current world together.

Sam Newman-Bremang, MBA Student, Rotman: I worked as an engineer for the last three years and so I really wanted to go from solving technical problems to solving business problems. For me, the career that encompassed that was strategy consulting. So I came to Rotman with an eye on that industry and have been able to or will be starting in that fulltime. What Rotman has really provided me is two major things. One is access so access to these companies. Some of the largest strategy firms have offices in Toronto and recruit actively from Rotman and even before coming to Rotman, I had called around and asked, you know, how is the Rotman brand, do you guys recruit from Rotman and they all said for sure and they all said that it’s a great place to do an MBA and I’ve really found that being here. And then secondly, it’s really provided – it really teaches you in classes and with these great profs that Rotman has, it really teaches you how to think, how to think strategically, how to think like a business leader and that’s going to be something invaluable that I bring to my career going forward.

Darmika Nithianandan, Host, Rotman MBA Student: When I was applying to come to business school, I spent a lot of time thinking about why I wanted an MBA and why I wanted to come to Rotman. I reached out spoke to current students and alumni and that really helped me write my essays. If you’re serious about applying to Rotman, my advice to you would be to set aside some time and come visit us at the school. It will make the difference with your application.

Niki da Silva, MBA Admissions Director: A few different words maybe that I think students should think about in understanding the culture of Rotman  one is that it’s very much a place where we appreciate and value individual contribution. So that means that we are looking for students who have a diversity of experience. There’s no cookie-cutter approach to finding MBA talent. We have a large program and we really look for students that are going to add something unique and contribute a different and diverse perspective to classroom conversation. The other component I think that makes Rotman really fantastic is that the culture of the school. There’s a real intellectual curiosity amongst the students and just generally at Rotman. How that translates to the admissions process is we actually screen for intellectual horsepower, we screen for intellectual curiosity. So we look for not just things like did you all right on the GMAT, do you have a competitive score, what’s your GPA like, but evidence of a real desire for continuous learning. I guess one additional component that we look at in knowing if a student is going to be a good match for the school here is someone who really takes an active approach to managing their own career. They take ownership over their career. So we can see evidence of that through the admissions process when we screen for things like self-awareness. So an ability to manage and articulate what your strengths are, what your development areas are, demonstrate that you’ve had some successes but some failures too. Learn from those failures and can reflect on what you do better and differently next time. So at the end of the day whatever school you go to should be a place that in the short term you’re inspired by the faculty that are at the front of the room, you’re motivated by and challenged by the caliber of your classmates. It’s going to be a place that you in the short term invest two years of your life and should be somewhere you’re excited about getting up and going to classes in the morning and spending, you know, morning, noon, and evening on campus. And in the long term should be a place and a brand that has the trajectory behind you that actually is going to help you navigate the rest of your career.

Darmika Nithianandan, Host, Rotman MBA Student: Well that’s it for this episode of MBA PodTV. I’m Darmika Nithianandan. If you’d like to learn more about the Rotman School of Management, please visit us at Rotman.utoronto.ca. Join MBAPodcaster.com to register for audio and video shows. Join us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest news and insights on your MBA application process. Good luck and we hope to see you here at Rotman.

There's a reason that the Financial Times consistently ranks Rotman as Canada's top business school. Their faculty - which includes globally-renowned professors like John Hull - are experts in their fields. Their students - ambitious professionals from across Canada and around the world - graduate to find employment in some of the world's leading firms across a range of industries. Companies like Nike, McKinsey, IBM, P&G, Johnson and Johnson and Microsoft know that Rotman is where they can find top talent.

By the Numbers

• Rotman is the #1 business school in Canada, according to the Financial Times
• The University of Toronto is the #1 university in Canada, according to the Shanghai Jiao Tong rankings
• Canada is the #1 country in the world in which to do business, according to Forbes
• Toronto is the #2 ‘city of opportunity’ according to PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Toronto has the 3^rd largest financial district in North America
• Rotman faculty are ranked in the global top 10 for their research, according to the Financial Times

The Current First Year Full-Time MBA Class

• 313 students
• 46% international
• 28 – average age
• 4.5 average years of work experience
• 673 average GMAT score