We visit Canada in this Admissions Director Q&A to meet Mohammad Salhia, the Managing Director, Recruitment, Admissions and Business Development at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management.
Prior to joining Rotman, Mohammad spent his career working in healthcare, predominantly focusing on education strategy and operations in the health professions. He was previously a Director of Continuing Education. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Science and a Master of Education, both from the University of Toronto. Mohammad is currently a PhD student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, also at the University of Toronto. His research interests are in the operationalization of equity and inclusion in higher education systems.
Keep reading for his take on how to put together the best application you can, what to expect from the Rotman admissions process, and his favorite aspects of the program.
Clear Admit: What is the one aspect of your program that you wish applicants knew more about?
Mohammad Salhia: Our program offers many diverse opportunities to prospective business school students. That includes experiences like our 4-month Flexible Internship Program (FIP). FIP allows students to apply their classroom learning to real business problems in many different organizations. It’s a great vehicle for students to start transitioning their skills and expertise into business environments. This is one form of experiential learning, in addition, we have other diverse opportunities like Global Practicums, Global Consulting Projects, and courses like OnBoard, where students get to work with and advise not-for-profit boards. The Creative Destruction Lab is another game-changer at Rotman. Founded in 2012, the CDL, as it is known, is a place to scale seed-stage, science-driven startups. Think of it as a platform for commercializing research. Here, founders and inventors are connected with scientists, experts, investors, prospective partners, successful entrepreneurs, and MBA students. In the CDL, MBAs act as strategic advisors, getting their hands dirty in real world market research and financial analysis.
Rotman’s experiential learning, combined with over 100 elective courses, means that MBA students can get depth and breadth of knowledge and expertise in areas they are most interested in – and to get the best value out of their MBA.
CA: Walk us through the life of an application in your office from an operational standpoint. What happens between the time an applicant clicks “submit” and the time the committee offers a final decision?
MS: Our office is dynamic, and we do our best to stay in contact with applicants to answer their questions. Reviews can take between 6 to 8 weeks depending on how quickly an applicant can get their documents submitted. Once an application and relevant documentation is submitted, we schedule one-on-one interviews to learn more about applicants and why they want to pursue an MBA at Rotman. A complete application is important so that we can do the most comprehensive review possible. After an interview happens, our admissions personnel meet with a committee that includes the Academic Director to present candidate files. We consider all aspects of the application as part of our decisions. Once an application is submitted and ready to review, we aim to get decisions out the week of our admissions reviews.
CA: How does your team approach the essay portion of the application specifically? What are you looking for as you read an essay? Are there common mistakes that applicants should try to avoid? What is one key thing they should keep in mind as they sit down to write?
MS: Let’s start with what applicants should keep in mind – be yourself and write your own essay. It’s easy to use tools like ChatGPT to write an essay. Avoid doing this. The essay components of our applications are meant for us to assess a variety of things. It’s not just a writing assessment. It’s a tool for us to see how you put your thoughts and ideas together, your creativity, the things about which you’re passionate, why you want to be here, and what value you think you add to the program. Essays are an opportunity for you to make the most compelling case to us.
CA: Could you tell us about your interview process? Approximately how many applicants do you interview? Who conducts the interview (students, admissions officers, alumni) and what is the nature of the interview (resume-based, application-based, behavioral)? Will your admissions interviews be in-person or virtual for the 2024-2025 admissions season?
MS: Our interviews are all conducted one-on-one by our admissions staff. That personal touch is important to us here at Rotman. You invest the time in preparing your application, and, in turn, we invest the time in really understanding your profile and getting to know you. These interviews are done either virtually or in-person, depending on proximity and availability. We try to make the interviews as applicant-centric as we can.
CA: What is your testing policy? Do you offer exam waivers? Why or why not?
MS: We have implemented a GMAT/GRE waiver under the following circumstances, and at the discretion of the Academic Director:
- Passed at least the Level II examination of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, or equivalent designations in other jurisdictions at the discretion of the Academic Director.
- Passed the Common Final Exam (CFE) (or former UFE) for a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) designation, or equivalent designations in other jurisdictions at the discretion of the Academic Director.
- Attained the professional designation in Engineering (PEng) or in Actuarial Sciences (ACIA or FCIA), or equivalent designations in other jurisdictions at the discretion of the Academic Director.
- Graduated their first entry undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto with high distinction (cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher), subject to final approval by the Academic Director.
We implemented these waivers recognizing the incredible work that many of our strong candidates have done to credential themselves.
CA: In the application data form, many schools ask for information about work experience, activities, hobbies, and much more. What advice would you give to applicants as they approach this component of the application process?
MS: Tell us as much about you as you think will enhance your application. We account for various extracurricular activities, hobbies, etc. through elements like “Spike Factor,” and also look to see how important skills can be developed through a variety of different professional and lived experiences.
CA: Tell us briefly about two popular courses at your institution.
MS: We have so many great courses here – it’s hard to limit the list to just two! There is a lot of interest in courses like Strategic Change and Implementation: In this course, students will learn about aligning strategy to the context and aligning the various elements – organization’s formal structure, people, reward systems, processes, and culture- to its strategy and drive strategic change. In this course, we take the view that there is an interactive relationship between strategic intent and strategy implementation. In short, this course is about translating strategic intent into organizational action.
Catastrophic Failure in Organizations is another. This course seeks to train students to recognize the inherent vulnerabilities of organizations to catastrophic failure, to understand why the risk of such failure represents both a profound challenge and a potential opportunity, and to become more effective decision-makers in general.
There are so many other great options across multiple emphases (like majors), and excellent global and experiential learning opportunities, such as the Global Manager Initiative and our Global Consulting Projects.
CA: Is there anything else you’d like to highlight about your MBA program or Rotman admissions process?
MS: We pride ourselves in our high-touch and prospect-centric approach to admissions, and we want to hear from you! If you have any questions about the MBA at Rotman, or how Rotman can help you meet your goals, we are always excited to talk to people. Visit our website, drop us an email, or join us at in-person or virtually at one of our many events and recruitment travel destinations!
