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Interview with Jackie Brito - Assistant Dean (Rollins MBA)

Crummer Graduate School

Rollins MBA1.What is the biggest misconception about Rollins Early Advantage MBA program?

The biggest misconception about the Early Advantage MBA program is that students need work experience or an undergraduate business degree to pursue the program.  The average amount of work experience of each incoming class is eight months, while 60% of our students did not major in business during their undergraduate careers.  In fact, our curriculum is designed to fit all undergraduate majors.

Another misconception is that the program is only for recent graduates.  Our program is also a good option for career transitions.  In the past few years, we’ve had several students join our program after completing 5-10 years of military service, who are now seeking a professional transition from a military to a civilian career.  In addition, we’ve had students who have experience in one area of business, who now seek a complete change of direction.  The focus and full-time engagement of our Early Advantage MBA program, including the many experiential learning opportunities, and services and resources from our various Centers of Excellence, aid them in making these transitions.

2. What are some of the networking opportunities provided by Rollins MBA Graduate School of Business?

We believe a key aspect of the MBA experience is building your professional network, so we work hard to fill our students’ calendars with broad-based networking opportunities, which include:

Career Development Center 

• Corporate Reception –This unique reception is hosted annually to welcome local recruiters and our corporate partners, to facilitate a more intimate and personal introduction.

• Company Information Sessions – One-hour lunch or evening sessions hosted by employers seeking to provide students and alumni valuable information about their organizations and the type of employees they seek.  Recent Information Sessions have included Disney Finance and various Federal Government agencies.

• Business Etiquette Dining Simulation – Not your ordinary etiquette dinner!  During this dining simulation with executive coaches at each table, students enjoy and learn the proper etiquette for their next business luncheon or dinner.

• Seminars with area business leaders, with topics such as Recruiter’s Perspective featuring a panel of experience recruiters, Salary Negotiation, and Take Control of Your Career, featuring Pat Williams (Senior Vice President of the Orlando Magic).

Center for Leadership Development 

• Bagels with the Board – Students meet and interact with members of the various Boards that support and advise the Rollins MBA School.  Enrollment in these sessions is limited, thereby providing opportunities to network with community leaders while learning about their insights and philosophies of leadership.

• Bright House Lunch & Learn Series – Experienced business professionals are invited to talk with students about a leadership topic in their area of expertise.  These workshops include a Q&A session and a wrap-up in which students discuss what they learned and how they can apply this to their own leadership development.  Bright House Networks is a sponsor of these programs.

• Leaders on Leadership Lecture Series – Business leaders from a variety of industries and organizations are invited to campus to address students, faculty, staff and the community.  In these programs, speakers share their leadership insights and experiences. 

• MBA Nonprofit Board Program – In partnership with the Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center, students may apply to serve as full voting members on the boards of Central Florida nonprofit organization. 

Rollins MBA TeamworkCenter for Advanced Entrepreneurship

• C.E.O. (Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization) – This student-run group organizes our Venture Plan Challenge and Elevator Pitch Competitions.  Both of these events are judged by successful entrepreneurs in our local area, giving students the chance to interact and network.  C.E.O. also hosts roundtable events with advanced entrepreneurs.

• The Entrepreneur Consulting Program - This provides students with substantive experiential learning opportunities within an entrepreneurial company and has proven to be a useful source of jobs upon graduation.  Teams of four-to-five students are assigned to both domestic and global companies to assist in solving problems on a variety of business issues.

Center for Alumni Relations

• Alumni Networking Receptions - Ongoing events both locally and in major cities across the U.S.  All current students are always welcome to join our alumni, to begin building their connections.

• Mentorship Program – Students are paired with a Rollins MBA alumnus to provide support and guidance for the duration of the program, and possibly beyond.

3. How is the student life in Rollins MBA Graduate School of Business?

Student life is very strong for our MBA students.  Our programs are team-based, and we work hard to integrate students from all backgrounds, both geographic and academic, so no one population feels disconnected or excluded.  Our international and domestic students work together on teams, and spend time as integrated groups outside of the classroom.

Through our Student Associations, students are able to participate in a range of events, from annual conferences to meetings with professionals in the community.  Associations are available in a number of areas of interest, including Entrepreneurship, Toastmasters, Women’s MBA, Finance and Marketing.

We have graduate housing available exclusively for our Early Advantage MBA students, which provides convenient, comfortable living, along with the chance for students to forge even stronger connections.  Our school is also located in beautiful Central Florida, which provides students several opportunities to participate in many outdoor activities year round, from pick-up soccer games, to tennis and golf, and water sports.  We are also within driving distance to beaches and world-class tourist attractions, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and Sea World.
 
4. Every school promotes its MBA program based on its Accreditations, ROI, Job prospects and Unique learning methodologies. What makes Rollins MBA stand out from the competition?

Other schools are now admitting younger students, however our program is designed with recent graduates (as well as those in career transition) in mind.  The Rollins MBA Graduate School of Business has been offering the Early Advantage MBA program for over 15 years, and feature many experiential learning opportunities for students, particularly through internships, and domestic and global consulting projects.  Our Career Development Center provides executive and career coaching and strategy sessions to our students, and we incorporate Career Management into the curriculum as a required course.  We also emphasize global business competency, through a required international study trip, and through a number of optional international experiences.

Another thing that makes us stand out is our dedication to our alumni.  The Career Development Center’s services are available to alumni throughout their careers. We also offer “free classes for life” to our alumni, allowing them to audit courses on a space-available basis at no cost.

5. What are the entry criteria in terms of the number of years of experience/GMAT/GPA for Rollins Early Advantage MBA programs?

We take a holistic approach to admissions, seeking students who will add value in the classroom, in the workforce and to their communities.  In terms of numbers, we do not require work experience.  Our average GMAT for our most recent incoming class was 574, with an average GPA of 3.49.  However, meeting these requirements does not guarantee admissions.
 
6. What are the post-MBA opportunities available for Rollins MBA Grads?

Most of our Early Advantage MBA students enter with little to no work experience.  However, they gain experience through the Career Development Center’s structured MBA internship program, and make substantial gains in terms of employment upon graduation. 

Some of the employers who have recruited our students in the past two years include:

• Darden
• Gartner, Inc.
• The Nielsen Co.
• Lockheed Martin
• The Walt Disney Co.
• Royal Caribbean International
• Federal Agencies
• Citrix Systems
• Regions Bank
• J.P. Morgan
• Nomura
• BlackRock
• Siemens
• Deloitte
• Toyota
• CHEP
 
The types of positions our Early Advantage students have been hired for include:

• Financial/Business/Reporting Analysts
• Leadership Training Programs
• Client Partners
• Commercial Banking – Loan Underwriter
• Consultants
• Management
• Marketing Specialists
• Entrepreneurs
 
Types of Industries our Early Advantage students have pursued:

• Technology
• Financial Services
• Pharmaceutical/Healthcare
• Energy
• Media/Entertainment
• Consulting
• Real Estate

8. Apart from the Full-time MBA program, what are some of the other MBA programs offered by Rollins MBA Graduate School of Business?

We offer one MBA, but with four different formats.  Our Early Advantage MBA program is a traditional, full-time program that takes 16-21 months to complete.  We also offer three part-time programs for working professionals.  At this time, the Early Advantage MBA program is the only one available for F-1 students.  Our part-time programs include:

• Key Executive MBA – Designed for senior leaders.  This program requires one weekend per month in residency on our campus for 20 months.

• Saturday MBA – Geared for mid-level managers, the Saturday MBA program meets each Saturday for 19 months.

• Professional MBA – This program is for working professionals at all levels with an organization. It is a truly multi-generational program, perfect for a multi-generational workforce.

About Jackie Brito

Rollins MBAAs Assistant dean, Ms. Brito is responsible for increasing awareness of the Rollins MBA program and attracting candidates.  In this role, Ms. Brito will oversee marketing for the Rollins MBA, direct admissions for the school’s working professional MBA programs and is responsible for all aspects of the full-time MBA program. Ms. Brito joined the Rollins MBA in 2008 as director of the Full-time MBA and Career Development Center.  Through her leadership, the school has more than doubled the number of applications to its Early Advantage MBA program. She has also worked to ensure that students and alumni receive the skills and resources needed to compete in today’s business environment by overseeing the professional development for the school’s MBA students in each of their four programs, providing career resources for alumni and monitoring employment trends.

Ms. Brito brings over 15 years of professional experience to Rollins MBA. For nine years, she served as an HR consultant at the Orlando Sentinel, where she helped develop the company’s recruitment and retention strategy.  Prior to the Orlando Sentinel, she was an internal auditor at the Orlando International Airport.   

Winning MBA Essay Guide - A Complete Guide for M7 and Top 15 MBA Application Essays 


F1GMAT's Winning MBA Essay guide will teach you how to transform your essay into a life journey with trials and tribulations that will move the admission team.

+ Over 245 Sample Essays (Read Previews of F1GMAT's Winning MBA Essay Guide Sample Essays here)

+ Top 15 MBA Programs (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Booth, MIT, Kellogg, Yale, Haas, Darden, INSEAD, LBS, NYU Stern, Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Ross)
+ The Art of Storytelling 
+ Leadership Narratives
+ Review Tips
+ Persuasion Strategies
+ The Secret to "unleashing" your unique voice
+ How to prepare and present for the Video Essay
+ How to write about your Strengths
+ How to write about your Weaknesses
 
 

Want to try the individual school Essay Guides before upgrading to the Winning MBA Essay Guide? Try below.

F1GMAT's Essay Guides

  • Harvard MBA Essay Guide (20 Sample Essays)

    Growth-Oriented Essay: Curiosity can be seen in many ways. Please share an example of how you have demonstrated curiosity and how that has influenced your growth. (up to 250 words) 

    Example #1: Persistence Narrative 
    Background Information: The applicant – a design and music talent, shares her journey through several setbacks. She attributes curiosity to her growth.  
    Curiosity: Philosophy  
    Curiosity (Explained): Curiosity as a philosophy is tough to translate into a narrative unless you are from the creative industry or your contributions had an influence on a solution or an initiative.  
    MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to capture the humanity of the applicant and her influence in music instead of just highlighting how she overcame multiple roadblocks to gain attention as a designer.  
    Theme: Persistence  
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Life Starts at NO (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example) 

    Example #2: International Community Building 
    Background Information: The applicant, a Machine Learning (ML) entrepreneur specializing in healthcare diagnostics, shares how his curiosity to learn other ML algorithms’ evolution in diagnosing Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease transformed his platform into a global community. 
    MBA Essay Strategy: I wanted to show the applicant’s contributions in diagnostic from 2020 to 2024 by citing two events. Such examples build credibility instead of engagements that were recent. The evolution of the platform from an AI development community to a community for discussing the application of AI in diagnostics is captured through a ‘curiosity’ angle.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Growth through Collaboration (AI in Healthcare) (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #3: Culture
    Background Information: The applicant, an Entrepreneur from India narrates his first entrepreneurial experience – facilitating exchange of stamps in the late 1990s.
    Theme: Culture
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Instead of addressing the biases in the investor community that could turn preachy, I wanted to focus on the applicant and his entrepreneurial journey by citing two entrepreneurial experiences – a platform(club) for stamp collection and his Grocery delivery App.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – The American Dream (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #4: Addiction
    Background Information: The applicant – a beneficiary of the foster home system, captures the sacrifice his adopted grandparents made to save him from a path of addiction. Paying it back through early intervention among teenagers and community engagement is the curiosity narrative.
    Theme: Addiction
    MBA Essay Strategy:  My strategy is to capture a gratitude narrative in the first one-third of the essay to demonstrate motivation for starting the venture and dedicate the latter part of the essay to the unique solution
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Drug Addiction and Gaming (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #5: Scarcity
    Background Information: The applicant, an education major, recognizes that 70% of all students in Kenya don’t have a computer. The curiosity that drives him to pivot from one solution to another is the growth narrative.
    Theme: Innovation
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Often, innovation is captured with a ‘hero’ narrative where the applicant is the sole originator of an idea. I wanted to break that cliché and include a person from whom the applicant learned to use a concept called ‘scaffolding.’
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Scarcity (Growth-Oriented HBS Essay Example)

    Example #6: FinTech
    Background Information: The applicant captures a vulnerable moment of a beneficiary to compare his journey of side hustle before a technology giant noticed his talent. Although cryptocurrency is not a flavor for the year, capture niches where innovation is still happening. 
    Theme: Education, Child Welfare
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Empathizing with a techno solution is tough without a strong backstory around the beneficiary. For the essay, I wanted to clearly establish the beneficiary – Rami, before the applicant narrates the similarities to his journey and finally shares the solution that emerged from his curiosity.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – FinTech as a Tool for Good (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #7: Learning from the best
    Background Information: The applicant – a Remote Engineer in the Oil and Gas industry, reflects on a value that has helped her learn from the best regardless of her geographical limitations.
    Theme: Learning
    MBA Essay Strategy:  The effectiveness of the case-study method depends on the assumption that peers in a Harvard MBA class will help elevate your learning experience. For the essay, I have highlighted the applicant’s recognition of this value proposition with three examples.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Learning from the Best (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #8: Military & Search for IMPACT
    Background Information: The most common narrative for US military applicants is to quote 9/11 and the reaction your immediate family had while watching the events unfold. The horrifying moment is captured as a motivation to join the Military. On digging deeper, most applicants would share that their motivations were diverse.
    Theme: Career Choice
    MBA Essay Strategy:  I wanted to quickly highlight that the applicant had the choice of entering any industry. One achievement to demonstrate his curiosity that I shared in the first half is the invention of a game. Since the game is mentioned in the resume and verifiable through search, I didn’t quote the name. By clearly highlighting the person’s curiosity and career options, the family legacy is used as a factor in joining the military.
    Read: Harvard MBA Curiosity Essay – Career Choice after a Military Career (Growth-Oriented HBS MBA Essay Example)
     
    Leadership-Focused Essay: What experiences have shaped who you are, how you invest in others, and what kind of leader you want to become? (up to 250 words)

    Example #9: Small Business Values
    Background Information: The applicant - a second-generation Asian American, is familiar with the values of fiscal conservatism, building relationships, and understanding the daily struggles of the community through his family’s department store.
    Theme: Customer-Centric
    MBA Essay Strategy:  The applicant’s role in developing an App for the store is highlighted in the essay at a crucial part of the narrative so that the essay is not all about his father. I have also humanized the journey – by sharing how upset the father was when the revenues fell by 40%. The essay is about the transformation in the applicant’s value from a person chasing productivity and optimization technique to someone who is truly thinking about the customers. 
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Small Business Values (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #10: Breaking Away from Family Business
    Background Information: A unique challenge that applicants whose parents are public figures or CXOs of businesses or entrepreneurs are the pressure to live up to the parent’s standards or milestones. For the leadership narrative, the burden of legacy is established before the narrative addresses his leadership principles.
    Theme: Authenticity  
    MBA Essay Strategy:  For the essay, I want to capture an entrepreneur’s journey to rise above his entrepreneur father’s image. But I didn’t want to make the entire essay about this complex dynamics. The narrative is around the applicant’s focus on customers and surrounding with teams who keeps him grounded. 
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Breaking Away from Family Business(Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #11: Creativity and Communication 
    Background Information: When the overall percentage of users with internet access is 62% in South Africa and the inequality accentuated by the rural and urban divide, the applicant endured the lack of digital infrastructure, and spending close to 22% of the family income on gaining relevant information on schools, global exams, and financial assistance. 
    Theme: Creativity, Communication
    MBA Essay Strategy:  The strategy is to share why the applicant values no distraction in a child’s home for optimum education experience. Then I highlight the many roadblocks the applicant’s non-profit faced in receiving fee waiver for their cooperative run ISP.
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Non-Profit (Telecom) (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #12: Mental Health
    Background Information: The applicant like most didn’t pay much attention to the mental health epidemic until tragedy hit home.
    Theme: Communication, Innovation
    MBA Essay Strategy:  A question we frequently get from applicants is whether they should cite tragedy in the family as a motivation for a venture or a non-profit initiative. As long as you don’t linger too much on the tragedy and offer a balanced narrative, there are no restrictions on leveraging unique stories from your life. 
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Mental Health (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #13: Trauma, Healing & Finding Authentic Self
    Background Information: The applicant narrates the absurdity of war in the narrative about the duties in Kabul, and the trauma. Instead of wallowing in on the horror, the applicant takes what makes military applicants strong and guides unprivileged children build life and leadership skills.
    Theme: Resilience
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Capturing PTSD in an essay, the healing process, and the cues that helped the applicant are too sacred to be shared in a Harvard MBA application essay. However, with the right motivation and narrative arcs, you can capture the essence of your journey without sharing the darkest secrets. That is what I did by merging two stories – the horrors of the war with a non-profit engagement.
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Military & PTSD (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #14: Addiction, Setback and Leadership Mantra
    Background Information: In this narrative, the applicant captures Peru’s Silver mining boom of 2006. The growth experienced in her father’s business shifted the family’s economic status to a new stratosphere. Through the changing economic and family dynamics, the applicant finds her voice in a unique way, initially to record her unheard voice but later as one of the youngest subject matter experts in mining and commodities.  
    Theme: Failure
    MBA Essay Strategy:  For the essay, the strategy is to show how life’s unpredictability is a blessing. By narrating two setback events, the essay demonstrates the applicant’s resilience and her acknowledgment of people who made a comeback possible.
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – Addiction, Setback and Leadership Mantra (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Example #15: War, Immigration and Starting Over Again
    Background Information: Despite a raging war in Syria, the family of the applicant was unblemished by the chaos. The strategic government assets near the applicant’s house would have made the region an easy target, but it was not. The calmness of her journey is shattered in one event. From the privileges of a cocooned life, the applicant is forced to think about survival, her sister’s future, and her future in the US. The second half of the narrative captures the change that was forced on her. 
    Theme: Gratitude, Resilience
    MBA Essay Strategy:  I consciously chose not to start the essay with a dialogue or trauma. Two lines are allocated to set up the narrative before the trauma event.
    Read: Harvard MBA Leadership Essay – War, Immigration and Starting Over Again (Leadership-Focused HBS MBA Essay Example)

    Harvard MBA Business-Minded Essay: Please reflect on how your experiences have influenced your career choices and aspirations and the impact you will have on the businesses, organizations, and communities you plan to serve. (up to 300 words)

    Example #16: Creative or Finance
    Background Information: The applicant starts the narrative with the origin of her talents. The unbridled enthusiasm receives a reality check when in high school, the applicant’s father has a conversation with her about academics. While the applicant picked up her quant skills, she was reaching over 50,000 loyal fans, and her videos captured 1 million views. 
    Theme: Passion, Talent
    MBA Essay Strategy:  Capturing vulnerability is the toughest part for Harvard MBA applicants. For this essay example, I have captured the applicant’s uncertainty about career choice throughout the essay. Here the goal is to show vulnerability in the career choice essay while for leadership and growth essay, I could capture one example each from creative and PE industry respectively to balance the narrative. So don’t follow this example without a strategy.  
    Read: Harvard MBA Business-Minded Essay – Creative or Finance (Business-Minded HBS MBA Essay Example)

  • Stanford MBA Essay Guide (24 Sample Essays)
  • Columbia MBA Essay Guide (21 Sample Essays)
  • Wharton MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
  • INSEAD MBA Essay Guide (19 Sample Essays)
  • Darden MBA Essay Guide  (21 Sample Essays) 
  • Yale SOM MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
  • Tuck MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays)
  • Haas MBA Essay Guide (18 Sample Essays)
  • NYU Stern MBA Essay Guide (15 Sample Essays + 6 Examples - Visual Essay)
  • LBS MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Essays)
  • MIT Sloan MBA Essay Guide (6 Sample Cover Letters + 3 Sample Video Statement Scripts + 3 Sample Optional Essays)
  • Kellogg MBA Essay Guide (11 Sample Essays)
  • Chicago Booth MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays)
  • Ross MBA Essay Guide (31 Sample Essays)
  • Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Guide (10 Sample Essays + Two 25 Random Things Samples)
  • Cambridge MBA Essay Guide (12 Sample Essays)

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