UPDATE: This article was originally posted on October 14, 2022. It has been updated with new information and tips below.
Recently, the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business has been earning its place at the top of business school rankings. The school’s location near the offices of Amazon and Microsoft makes it a great place to study for those interested in tech. In fact, it ranks first among all schools for post-MBA tech placement — 45% of MBA graduates end up in the tech industry. (Read about the experience of one of our former clients, Camila, at UW Foster here!)
Because UW Foster is becoming increasingly competitive to get into, it’s important not just to excel at the application essays, but also the video essay.
In addition to giving the admissions committee the chance to “put a face with a name,” the video essay is an essential part of the UW Foster application, as it allows committee members to determine if your communication style and values are a good fit with the Foster community.
In fact, in our experience helping our UW Foster applicants secure a place at the school, we have noticed that the video essay is as influential in an applicant’s admissions decision as the admissions interview.
That’s why we’ve prepared this guide to help you understand how the UW Foster video essay works and have shared a list of Foster MBA video essay questions to ensure you put your best foot forward!
Why does UW Foster require a video essay?
UW Foster requires all applicants to complete a video interview because it allows the admissions committee “to get to know you better and to assess your communication skills and your ability to think on your feet,” according to their website.
The video essay also gives Foster a chance to assess your personality and delivery. The adcom will be judging your ease of speech and presence in addition to the content of what you actually say. Because Foster funnels so many graduates directly into employment, they also want to see how you will appear to a potential employer.
With that in mind, it’s extremely important to make sure you fully understand this component of the application.
How does the UW Foster video essay work?
After sending in the MBA application, you will receive an email within 3-4 business days with instructions on how to record the video interview.
Once you receive the video interview invitation, instructions, and deadline via email, you have 4-6 days to complete it. During this time, you should test your video and sound, prepare your practice video interview questions, and, if needed, ask for technical support.
Remember: applicants must complete this requirement in order for their application to remain under review. You will be contacted if you are selected for an admissions interview later in the application review process.
The format
Like many MBA programs, Foster’s video essay uses an automated system to feed you randomly picked questions on the spot. For example, you may be asked to talk about your strengths and weaknesses, a time you succeeded in a work project, or how you try to positively impact your community. You can see a list of past questions below.
Once you submit your application, you will receive an email with a link to the online platform where you will complete your video essay. You will have access to an unlimited number of practice questions, allowing you to check your tech and feel more confident with the format.
Once you decide to start the video essay itself, you cannot stop or re-do questions. You will receive 2 questions and have 1 minute to answer each question.
Though you only have to answer 2 questions, we suggest you set aside 30-60 minutes to complete your video essay, just in case.
Technical requirements
You can do your interview at home, or anywhere with a stable internet connection. You can use a laptop or desktop computer; phones and tablets are not supported (including iPads or Surface Pros).
You’ll also need to download software and ensure it is up-to-date prior to beginning the interview. Make sure that you have a functional webcam, microphone, speakers, and a stable internet connection. You must also ensure Flash is enabled on your computer, and that you have disabled any adblockers, notifications, and firewalls.
When you receive your post-application email, you will receive a URL for the interview website (video essays are conducted through Kira Talent), and you can register with your email ID.
You will have the opportunity to test your equipment in practice sessions prior to the interview.
Which types of questions are asked?
Because Foster’s video essay questions are chosen from a long set of questions, it’s hard to determine what questions you will be asked in advance. But, generally, the interview questions are meant to evaluate your personal qualities, soft skills, and characteristics, determining whether you are a “good fit” for their mission, vision, values, and educational priorities.
Reviewers will also be looking for things like collaboration, communication skills, passion and motivation, professionalism, empathy, and so on.
Some example questions that might show up during your video essay for UW Foster:
- Describe a situation where you were a team member and not a leader. How did the result impact you?
- Imagine you were transported to the year 1900. How would you explain a smartphone to a person from that era?
- Describe a situation where you had to defend a decision you made. What was the outcome?
- How important is integrity to you and why is it important in the workplace?
- What is the best professional compliment you received?
- Tell me about a time when you had to make a quick decision. What were the circumstances and what did you do?
- Talk about an activity and how it changed your perspective.
- Describe an accomplishment that has given you the most satisfaction and why.
- Tell about a setback you experienced, how you dealt with it, and the results.
- How would you describe yourself?
- Tell us about a difficulty you have faced in your career. How did you handle it?
- Describe a time when you showed great resilience and tenacity and it paid off. What were the results?
- Tell us about a time you encountered an individual who was resistant to change. How did you deal with it and what was the outcome?
- Explain a situation when you have to change your communication style. What was the outcome?
- Give an example of a situation where you had to change your priorities due to an unexpected task and what was the outcome?
- If you had unlimited time and resources, what would you do?
- Describe a recent unpopular decision you made. How did you handle it?
- Discuss an impactful achievement from your professional life. Why was it meaningful for you?
- Describe an academic or extracurricular activity that helped you shape your personality. What did you learn?
- Describe the attributes of what you think makes a great leader.
- Describe a time when you set a target that you couldn’t achieve and what did you do?
- Tell us about a time when you handled a task for which you had zero information. What was your strategy and what were the results?
- Describe your most stressful situation at work. How did you respond?
- Tell me about a time when you were the only person holding an idea you felt strongly about. How did you share your position? What was the outcome?
- Tell us about an experience working with a team where members didn’t get along well in the beginning. What did you do?
- Tell me about a time when you and another individual had to compromise to reach an agreement. How did you reach the agreement?
- Do you think social responsibility should always take precedence over profit? Why or why not?
- What is the key ingredient for building and maintaining business relationships? Provide examples from your life.
- Describe a situation when you had set your sights too high and were unable to achieve the set goals. What was the outcome and how did you handle it?
- Share an example of a time when you were given new information that affected a decision you had already made. How did you proceed?
- What was the biggest risk you took at work and what was its outcome?
The difference between a good and great Rotman MBA video essay
Given the importance of the video essay in your University of Toronto Rotman application, it’s crucial to make sure you don’t just have a good video essay, but that you have a great video essay.
Now that you’ve learned how the video essay will work, we’ve gathered our top 5 tips here to ensure your video essay performance brings you one step closer to reaching your goal of attending Rotman.
Make sure you get into the Foster MBA
You have stressed about every aspect of your UW Foster application, and now you are ready to record your video essay! With the right preparation, this can be your chance to shine and get a highly-coveted spot.
However, maybe you don’t know where to start in preparing, or maybe you ramble on and lose your focus while answering. Especially as you can’t determine what questions will be asked, preparing for UW Foster’s video essay can be especially daunting..
Luckily, our team has everything you need to prepare and go into your video essay feeling confident. Our video essay prep focuses on helping you determine how to present yourself to Foster while using appropriate, impact-driven language without being artificial, or worse, robotic.
That’s why our video essay training is completely personalized for you. Regardless of where you’re from or what type of experience you have, we are focused on helping you do your best.
Want to put the Ellin Lolis advantage to work for you? Schedule your preparation session with our team of interview experts today!
Real MBA Essays That Got People In
School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted
