Schulich BBA Supplementary Application: Video and Written
Schulich’s BBA supplementary application has three parts: a Leadership Profile you write at your own pace, four recorded video answers with 45 seconds to think and 90 to speak, and a five-minute written exercise. The video and written parts are one attempt each. Here is the format, what Schulich says it evaluates, and how to practice.
The format
- Leadership Profile. A Word template listing a minimum of three and a maximum of five experiences, each with your role, the organisation, a reference, and the learning outcomes in 1,000 characters or fewer including spaces. Schulich asks you to show initiative, collaboration, impact and personal growth. You submit this first, on Kira Talent, before the timed parts unlock.
- Video interview. Four randomly generated questions. For each, 45 seconds to think and 90 seconds to answer. One attempt per question; no re-recording. Unlimited practice questions beforehand so you know the interface.
- Timed written exercise. One random question, five minutes in total, 350-word limit. Schulich’s own suggested split is about 90 seconds planning, three minutes writing, 30 seconds review.
What Schulich says it’s looking for
The published language is leadership potential, integrity, resourcefulness, resilience and an understanding of collaboration, and for the Leadership Profile specifically, initiative, collaboration, impact and personal growth. Schulich also leans on its international identity: exchanges, a Toronto campus, specialisations from international business to social sector management. Questions that have appeared in the public record include whether you’d rather be well liked or well respected, how you are making a positive impact, and the challenges of working in a diverse team. Expect a mix of story questions and opinion questions.
Ninety seconds is the awkward length
Forty-five seconds is too short to answer and too long to be forgettable. Ninety seconds is enough for a complete story if the setup is one sentence, and it’s exactly long enough for a rambling answer to expose itself. Two habits fix most of it:
- Use the 45 seconds for two decisions: which story or which side of the opinion, and what your last sentence is. Nothing else.
- Start with the answer. For an opinion question, the first sentence is your position. For a story question, the first sentence names the situation. No “that’s a great question.”
Fifteen practice questions in the Schulich format
AcceptMe’s practice questions, written to Schulich’s themes: cross-cultural work, global business awareness, building things from scratch, and social responsibility. Not Schulich’s questions. Draw four at a time on a 45/90 timer.
- Tell me about a time you had to adjust how you communicate to work effectively with someone whose cultural background or first language was different from your own.
- Describe a global business story you have followed recently. What is your take, and how has it shaped the way you think about business?
- Tell me about something you built or started from scratch and the hardest decision you faced getting it off the ground.
- Describe a time you and a teammate strongly disagreed about the way forward. How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a time something you were leading went wrong publicly. What did you do in the moment, and afterwards?
- Schulich offers specialisations from international business and finance to marketing and social sector management. Which are you most drawn to right now, and what have you done to test that?
- If you could study anywhere in the world for a term, where would you go, and what do you hope to learn that you couldn’t at home?
- Tell me about a time you noticed someone being left out and what you did about it.
- Name a company you admire for how it handles its social or environmental responsibilities. If you sat on its board for a day, what would you push it to do better?
- Describe a time you had to convince a group who initially disagreed with you. How did you win them over, or fail to?
- Tell me about a time you put something real on the line, money, time or reputation, for an idea you believed in. Was it worth it?
- Describe a way you have contributed to your community over a sustained period. What did it teach you that a classroom never could?
- Tell me about a time you had to give something up to protect something that mattered more.
- Describe a time evidence forced you to change your mind about something you were confident in.
- Would you rather be well liked or well respected? Give a specific reason from your own experience.
A worked answer
Respected, and I learned that the hard way. In Grade 11 I was captain of our soccer team and I wanted everyone to like me, so when two of our starters kept skipping the Tuesday practice I didn’t say anything. By mid-season the players who did show up were resentful, and I’d lost the thing I was trying to keep, because being liked by everyone meant being trusted by no one. So I set a rule with the coach: miss two practices without a reason and you don’t start the next match. One of the two was furious. He sat out one game, came to every practice after that, and at the end of the season he told me it was the right call. I’d still rather be liked, honestly. But if I have to choose, respect is what lets a group actually function, and being liked tends to follow it anyway.
First sentence is the answer. One story with a decision in it. An honest last line that doesn’t pretend the trade-off was easy.
The five-minute written exercise
Three hundred and fifty words in five minutes is not a real constraint; most people can’t type that fast under pressure. Aim for 180 to 250 good words. One point, one example, one closing sentence. Never spend the planning time writing an introduction. Practice with unseen prompts and a five-minute timer; AcceptMe interviews can include a timed written question with a word cap for this.
- Identify one global problem you believe business is better positioned to solve than governments are. Make your case and acknowledge the strongest argument against you.
- Pitch a product or service for international students arriving in Toronto for first year. Who pays, and why do existing options fall short?
- Write about a person from your own life, not a public figure, who shaped your understanding of good leadership. What do they do that you are trying to learn?
The Leadership Profile
A thousand characters per experience is about 150 words, and the field is called “learning outcomes,” not “description.” Most applicants describe the activity. Write instead what you did, what changed because of it, and what you can do now that you couldn’t before. Three strong entries beat five thin ones. Choose experiences where a reference can honestly say you did what you claim, because references are contacted.
Mistakes specific to Schulich
- Not answering opinion questions with an opinion. “Both have merits” wastes the first thirty seconds.
- Nothing international, nothing global. Schulich’s identity is built on it; if you have a cross-cultural story, use it.
- Trailing off at seventy seconds. Ninety is long. Have a second beat ready: a reflection, a number, a what-I’d-do-now.
- Missing early consideration. November 23 is early. If your Profile is ready, submit.
Where to go from here
Schulich’s videos run on Kira Talent; the Kira Talent interview guide covers the platform and the one-attempt rule. The setup guide handles the room, and the Ontario supp app guide shows the November 23 early date against everything else on your list. Four videos at 45 seconds of prep and 90 of answer is a specific rhythm: set an AcceptMe custom interview to exactly that, draw four fresh questions, and read the transcript for the answer that trailed off at seventy seconds.
Keep reading
- Supplementary Applications in Ontario: Every Program Compared Every Ontario business and engineering program with a supplementary application: what each asks, the video and written timings, and all the deadlines.
- University Video Interview Questions: How to Prepare What a timed university video interview actually looks like, twelve questions that come up, and how to prepare when you get one take and a countdown.
- Rotman Commerce Supplemental Application: Questions and Tips Rotman Commerce supplemental application format, a sample pre- shared video answer and fifteen practice questions for the random video and written parts.