This year's Full-Time MBA Admissions Essay is all about something we call the 'spike factor' - and we're really excited about it! Our hope is that this essay prompt encourages you to share even more of your authentic self in your application so we can really get to know you well. We pulled this idea from best practices in corporate recruiting, and it becomes the ultimate differentiator in highly competitive environments. Here it is.

"Our admitted students stand out by doing interesting things with their personal and professional lives — something we describe as the ‘spike factor’; what are the things that you have done in your life that demonstrate Passion/ Grit/ Resilience/ Innovation/ Drive/ Ambition and more? This can cross all or any aspects of life outside of work – hobbies, volunteerism, awards, entrepreneurial ventures, sports and the arts. We believe that exposure to a rich diversity of viewpoints makes for a superior learning experience, and pride ourselves on building a diverse class of exceptional individuals who will go on to make the School proud as professionals and alumni.

Please upload 1-3 of your 'spikiest' pictures and use the essay to tell us why you have chosen these particular images to illustrate your ‘spike factor’. ( use up to 1000 words)

* Note: Your photos must be uploaded as a single PDF.

Click here to start your application

There are no year-over-year changes to the reflection question, professional references, the resume requirement, or transcripts. And, video responses are still a staple of the Rotman application. We love seeing applicants come to life through the videos and continue to use this element of our application to ask you two questions about your values/interests/experiences so that you can really be yourself on camera.

Finally, we have dropped our 5th round application deadline. So, prepare and apply early this year! Here are the application and decision deadlines for the 2019 application. 

• Round 1 Application Deadline: October 1, 2018 
• Round 1 Decision Deadline: December 14, 2018 
• Round 2 Application Deadline: January 7, 2019 
• Round 2 Decision Deadline: March 8, 2019 
• Round 3 Application Deadline: March 4, 2019 
• Round 3 Decision Deadline: May 3, 2019 
• Round 4 Application Deadline: April 29, 2019 
• Round 4 Decision Deadline: May 31, 2019