Desautels (McGill U) 2013 - Calling All MBA Applicants

btw, Carl, here you go

desautels-september-2011-intake-105893.html

if you scroll down a bit, you can read about an accepted applicant's interview experience and check out the questions. all the best.

echelon 99,

So I had my interview with Jonathan, I think it went well. The questions were straightforward and honest; Jonathan seemed more interested in getting to know me than to necessarily test me. I actually really enjoyed sitting down with him, he had a lot to say about the program and I was happy to hear it from the source. I was told that I should find out if I'm accepted within two weeks - I'll let you know what I hear back then. I hope it works out!

And to answer your question, my account still says "Ready for Review".

Carl

Hey Guys,

I applied in early November and was admitted to the program early December. If you have any questions about the interview or application process please let me know !

congrats man!

that's a very decent turnaround.

i submitted mine early dec. still waiting to hear back.

I'm sure you're going to hear from them real soon. Don't forget that the admission's office was closed for the holidays.

wow !! congrats ... it would be great if you give us a briefing of your experience throughout the whole application process starting with file preparation until the interview . This will really be quite helpful

Hello Carl , I am really sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy just saw you question NOW and just noticed that the forum by default gave me the location of US despite I am actually a fellow Montrealian . In fact , I landed as an immigrant in Laval last September where I stayed with some friends until obtaining my PR card . I returned back to my country of birth to fix some personal arrangements intending to return permanently to Montreal in late March , and in order to save time I scheduled my GMAT on Feb. the 13th so most probably I will submit my application before returning back . Wish me good luck

Last year I visited Desautels and spoke to Jonathan. I also had the chance to talk to several students and to attend a class. My overall impression is that Desautels genuinely takes into consideration all aspects of the application, and does not really care much about GMAT or GPA. Instead, they really want to understand what you can bring to the table and where Desautels fits in your career progression. These are things not measured by a couple of numbers. I don't want to say that it is a safe school, far from it, but if you can convince yourself that it is a good option, I reckon you can convince them to accept you.

Anyway, I insist Montreal is the best city in the continent and a great place to spend a couple of years, and even the rest of your career. Do take into consideration that education in Canada is very regionalised and most likely your job opportunities will be limited to Montreal. In other words, if after the MBA you intend to move to New York or New Delhi, this might not be the best place to be. If you are positive about a life in Quebec, by all means you will get a great education that will open many doors.

TheNona - I am actually a re-applicant from last year. I was interviewed last year by Antoinette Molino and everything went extremely well. However, the admission committee felt that I needed to get one more year of work experience before entering the program as I would have had only 2.3 years of work experience upon entering the program in September 2012. I took their advice as a sign of encouragement and decided to re-apply this year and was admitted ! I had a brief interview with Jonathan this year which also went well. I remember it took me 3 weeks to get an interview from the moment I submitted my application and received the admit one week after the interview. Both Antoinette and Jonathan make a serious effort to make you feel comfortable during interviews. They want to get to know you better as a person and they want to have a better understanding about your professional career. The interview was very conversational which was great !

Ducksworth - Thanks for your input ! I wouldn't say that McGill doesn't care about the GMAT or GPA. Their average GMAT is 670 and that would be much lower if they didn't care about it. I would rather say that they might put "less emphasis" on the GMAT if they feel that other areas of your application are strong. The way I see it, a good GPA can offset an average GMAT and vice versa. International experience is a strong asset to have at McGill as well.
I am also going to disagree with you on the job placement I am a McGill alumni, I graduated with a B.Eng. and I have many fellow classmates who ended up getting jobs in the US, India, Middle East and East Asia. I don't know much about the Desautels career center but I can say that I was very satisfied with the engineering career center. There were so many job openings and not just in Canada, but all over the world. McGill has a very strong brand across the world which opens many doors. I will agree with you that Montreal is a great city to live in Congrats by the way for getting into INSEAD and Oxford !

I agree. McGill has a great reputation that will open many doors to recent graduates. Actually, several members of my family have attended McGill (not me though) and they are all very happy. My comment was targeted to more senior roles post-MBA.

I got the e-mail today: I'm in! Looking forward to meeting the rest of you in August.

Congrats Carl ! Do you mind sharing your background?

temuod,

I was an infantry reserve officer with the CAD Forces while attending my engineering undergrad, worked as an investment advisor after graduating and then transitioned back into engineering and construction. My work experience, not counting the military, will be four years when I begin the MBA in August.

Hope that helps. Plz share your own experience/profile/reasons for applying to McGill.

Carl

Carl, I'm currently the project manager for the construction of an 87MW power plant in Kenya. I graduated from McGill in 2010 with a B.Eng in electrical engineering, therefore I'll have about 3.3 years of work experience upon entering the program. I chose McGill for different reasons: first of all I did my undergrad there and was extremeley satisfied with the education they provided me with. The diversity of students at McGill is amazing and they have a program that focuses on international business which is something that I am definitely looking for as I will be working in different countries later on. The small class size is also attractive to me because the teachers will be more accessible which translates to a personalized MBA. With a small class size, you get to know your classmates a lot better as well. Last but not least, McGill's has a great reputation around the world.

Hi Everyone,

I had been a silent observer all along. I have also been admitted to Mcgill(Desautels) class of 2015. Congrats to all those who are selected, best wishes to all whose application are under process.

A brief Profile:

GMAT 690, B.Tech (ECE) and a Masters; approximately 4 years of work experience by August 2013 primarily in Finance.
Good extra-curricular in sports and had some leadership roles as well.

My interview Questions(whatever I remember):

Why MBA; Why Now?
Why CANADA?
What is your daily routine at work?
Explaining my work profile?
Outside work what all do you do?

My interview was taken by Jonathan Khayat, I must say he is extremely supportive in everything.
The turnaround time for me was exactly 1 month....I submitted my application on January 7, 2013 and I got the final offer on February 8, 2013.

I hope the post helps other people as well...Open for further discussion

Hi Saisan,

Congrats on your admit! Is McGill your first choice or are you still waiting on other applications?

Thanks Temuod!

I have got a call from Schulich as well.... have still got some time to decide...but I have a slight bent towards Mcgill for some reasons...If you have something to chip in it would be great!!