maroliv12 wrote:
Hi, yeah so I wouldn't know too well about Asia or the Middle East, but I find what you say completely believable. I think outside of Hong Kong, where there's also an Ivey school and people in Finance or Consulting in the US (and not even a large proportion of that), most people wouldn't know what Ivey is. Ivey undergrads place really well in the US, so that's the only reason Ivey is somewhat known in finance circles there. Even then, not really. Actually, for people who aren't in Finance or Consulting in Canada, they probably know Rotman better too because its U of T, but for those in the know, Ivey has always been the best b-school in Canada. So if the original poster is not staying in Canada, I'd recommend going to a US b-school. lol
Also, watch out for Schulich. They offer you a spot without interviews if your stats are good- if you see what kind of adverse selection occurs when that happens, you'd be horrified. Being in Toronto is a benefit, but the Ivey program is very small and tight, so we do everything together. Also, the parents school, Western, has some of the most unbelievably attractive people in the country. Rotman is much more of a commuter school, and you won't be as tight. Schulich is located in the area in Toronto with the highest rate of murders and rape, so consider that as well.
maroliv12, you do bring up some interesting points. Western, by virtue of being the top party school in Canada tends to attract the party types to their programs, so there are definitely some good looking people at Western. No doubt, Ivey students do very well in Finance, but I do feel that there's more to a business education than just learning how to be an investment banker and these programs should be judge more as a whole rather than through a niche sector.
Schulich wasn’t a program that the TS is considering but since it’s mentioned, I’m obligated to dispel a couple of myths associated with the school.
First, the area around Schulich does not have the highest rate of murder in Toronto. Everyone think that but it simply isn’t true when you take a look at the data.
https://www.cbc.ca/toronto/features/homicide2012/ The area to the South West of the school, affectionately known as “Jane and Finch” does have a sizable immigrant population so the area is poorer compared to the rest of the city, but it is still quite safe. I’ve walked about the area many times at night without problem. Toronto is one of the safest city in the world and calling area around Schulich dangerous is akin to calling Donald Trump poor because he’s on the lower end of the billionaires net worth chart.
Second, Schulich interview all international applicants, and usually give domestic applicants a free pass. While the admission department is lazy in this regard, I really do think that admission interviews, especially with the Canadian business schools, are a bit of a horse and pony show. Just about all the interviewees get in and the values of these “interviews” are questionable. Benchmarking with different graduate programs such as law shows that law schools, including the top institutions such as Yale and U of T law schools, refuses to participate in this charade and doesn’t do admission interviews. I think calling the results of Schulich not interviewing domestic applicants as “horrifying” is a bit of fear mongering especially since you don’t attend the school and don’t have firsthand account of the results.
With that being said, I do think highly of Ivey and Queen’s MBA program. Their 1 year programs are certainly appealing for those who want to minimize opportunity cost. However, I am of the opinion that the business educations from these 3 programs are comparable and the differences are minute (7 placements vs 9 in IB for example). Ivey, Rotman and Queen are all respectable program so what separated them apart for me is their location. It is true that being in a big city like Toronto, people have a lot of options in terms of living location, cultural and entertainment so they don't stick as close to their classmates. I think this is a good thing. I rather have the freedom to chose than be forced to stick with my classmates because there isn't any alternative.