Beyond Your Application: What Makes Someone a Great Fit for Ivey? - ChaseDream

An application is sometimes the first introduction we have to our Ivey MBA candidates. On paper, we’re looking for a strong package of quality work experience, GMAT score, references, academic history — just to name a few. In our interviews, we evaluate professionalism, verbal communication, and overall business sense and presence, not to mention calm under pressure! But what about those other personality traits that make a successful MBA candidate — those x-factor characteristics that make someone a great fit for Ivey?

This isn’t exactly a personality trait, but some candidates really struggle to articulate this point and it’s at the core of any successful MBA student. Consider why you are doing the MBA. If it’s simply because someone has suggested that you should, or because you’re not sure what else to do at this point in your career, perhaps a re-think is necessary to decide whether it’s really the avenue for you. Any MBA program is intense, and if you are not truly interested in business issues you’ll have a hard time keeping up.

Do you know what your strengths and weaknesses are? Have you spoken to work colleagues and friends about it? Have you identified which skills will add value in the Ivey classroom and which ones you will need to strengthen during your MBA? In this team-intensive and interactive environment, we’re looking for candidates who recognize how they can add value and what they need to learn from others. We don’t expect everyone to come in as an expert in everything — we admit a diverse range of students so that you can both learn and contribute to each other’s MBA experience.

There’s no room for hiding here; doing the homework and keeping up on assigned readings/cases and current events is critical to being successful in the Ivey classroom. Class contribution makes up a large percentage of our students’ grades and is determined based on the value of what you say and contribute in class, not how many times you speak.

A strong candidate needs to have a steadfast willingness and openness to listen and learn from his or her classmates, just as much as he or she is willing to teach them.

Everyone in our MBA class is intelligent, successful, and accomplished — we set the bar high for the quality of our candidates; however, our MBA classes are also made up of a diverse range of students with varying levels of experience, cultural backgrounds, and areas of expertise. We choose such a broad student base so that our MBAs can leverage the contributions of their classmates for their own learning. Recognizing the diverse talent, intelligence, and value of what those around you have to offer is the best way to be successful and to make the most of the MBA program.

We’re certainly not asking that you carve your future career goals in stone before you arrive at Ivey. But, as one of the only business schools that incorporates Career Management into the interview process, we are looking for candidates who can recognize how elements of the MBA will supplement their goals post-MBA and who can provide some educated and researched thoughts about their short- or long-term career aspirations. Ambition is a key indicator of the drive and persistence that candidates are willing to contribute in order to achieve their career goals.