Admission season is surely stressful for students, but if they know what they need to really focus on, then their energies and potential can be directed towards what’s really important. Like the admission process, GRE, applications and beyond. Director of Recruitment and Admissions at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Canada, Imran Kanga, in a Q&A with EdexLive, talks about evaluation and the importance of analytical and critical thinking skills.
Kanga also lists out advice that will hold you in good stead, whether while attempting GRE or how B-schools assess applications. Excerpts from a conversation:
What are some of the top skills that you are seeking in the MBA cohort during the admission process?
We assess four key competencies during our admission process — academic ability and achievements, quality of work experience and career progression, communication and presence, and extracurricular or community involvement including personal achievements, hobbies, interests outside of work and academics — something we refer to as Spike Factor.
How effective are GRE General Test scores during the student evaluation process?
The GRE is a very useful tool that we rely on during the admissions process to assess an applicant’s quantitative ability and analytical ability. We receive applications from a diverse group of applicants from over 40 countries with varied education and work backgrounds so standardised tests like the GRE are important for us to be able to assess applicants with common testing metrics. We also pay close attention to each of the sections of the GRE and we look for well-balanced scores across the Quant, Verbal and Analytical Writing sections.
What advice would you give to Indian admission aspirants aspiring to study at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto?
My advice to all applicants is to invest both time and effort in all aspects of the application and not just focus on the GRE. It is important to do well on the test as that improves the competitiveness of your application but getting a high-test score does not mean you are going to be successful in the admissions process.
Most business schools will assess applicants holistically so while it is important to do well on the test, it is equally important to write a good essay, pick the right referees, prepare for the admissions interview and dedicate time to work on the application essay.
How relevant is it to test analytical and critical thinking skills in B-school applicants?
I believe it is very relevant because so much of the learning in the MBA classroom revolves around strategic problem solving, data analysis and case analysis for which analytical and critical thinking skills are paramount. Our data shows that there is a strong positive correlation between standardised test results and students’ performance in the programme, so these skills are highly relevant in the context of business school.
