Richard Ivey MBA Admissions Team's Interview with GyanOneWhile applicants to top US B-schools often look at the Ivy League, those looking at Canada instead compare with the “Ivey League”. The “Ivey League”, as we at GyanOne call it, is the group of top Canadian B-schools, which includes (and gets its name from) the Richard Ivey School of Business. As noted in an earlier post, Ivey is one of Canada’s best B-schools, and is noted for its excellent focus on learning, its 12-month duration, and the high salaries that its graduates command in Canada and even outside. GyanOne caught up with Greg Yantz, Director, MBA Recruiting and Admissions at Ivey Business School (University of Western Ontario), to get his views on the school, admissions and financial aid, and post-MBA careers for Ivey students and graduates. Thanks Greg, for your time and patience, and for your excellent perspectives that will help applicants evaluate the Ivey MBA better.
The school and the program
GyanOne: The Richard Ivey MBA has been growing in leaps and bounds, and its students currently enjoy the enviable position of being Canada’s highest-paid B-school graduates (source: Financial Times MBA Ranking 2013). What are the key parameters for which top students choose Ivey over other options in Canada and the US?
Greg Yantz, Ivey MBA Admissions Team: There are 5 distinguishing characteristics of the Ivey MBA, which are exciting opportunities for individuals who are considering where to pursue an MBA and which attract students to Ivey:
1) Experiential learning, or “learning-by-doing” that makes use of the Ivey Case-Method;
2) Who Ivey students learn with, namely the high quality of classmates who have a diversity of work experiences to share with the class;
3) What is learned, meaning the important practice of decision making on a daily basis and the overall leadership essentials that Ivey teaches;
4) Access to the global network of Ivey alumni; and 5) the importance of Ivey Career Management where the mandate is to provide the tools and resources necessary to navigate one’s career well into the future.
GyanOne: The case method of instruction is Ivey’s hallmark. Yet, many feel that a learning methodology that is entirely case-based will not be as effective as others that involve a mix of other methods. How true or false is this notion?
Greg Yantz, Ivey MBA Admissions Team:Ivey MBA classes use much more than just cases; we make use of textbooks, journal articles, simulations, and other types of learning materials. But cases are a focus of our philosophy of teaching and learning, and we are one of just four truly case-method schools in the world. Using over 300 cases during the program allows students a hands-on, decision-based approach to problem-solving; not only understanding or thinking about a problem, but actually practising how to solve it. Ivey Case-Method is a collision of theory and practice and is part of individual, small team, and classroom learning at Ivey
Richard Ivey MBA Admissions