DeGroote (McMaster University): Calling all applicants!

Congratulation omega11 and dubeysitanshu. I have just passed the admission interview and gonna take the co-op interview within next week.
Could you guys share your experiences of this very-long interview? Which questions did you face and how did you nail them?
Thank you in advance!!

Hey Thanks!!
My Co-OP interview was for about 2 hours 30/45 minutes. It was quiet long I must say. So be prepared. Do keep a glass of water, just in case.
About the interview, It was like the first one, but with lot many questions. At the start you get chance to ask questions to the interviewer. Ask good questions and do reserve few questions for the end. After the introduction part, there is an activity to be performed. Dont worry much about it, it will be doable. Third leg of interview consists of behavioural questions. Lasts about 45 min. Lastly be prepared for a trick question in between, it could be to check your general awareness.

To get a fair idea of what behavioural questions are, you could browse online. Basically, the premise of the questions is, if you have taken good decisions in past, you would continue to take it in future. You could be narrating an expereince from your grad school or job. Just be honest. The interviewer can judge when you are trying to bluff. Be confident in your replies. The Co-OP interview is just like any other job interview.

All the very best... !! Do let us know the outcome and share your expereince... Cheers..

Thank you so much for your advice, dubeysitanshu. Can you reveal the activity and the trick question that you experienced? Your description triggers my curiosity so much and I really want to know what they are.

I have found a very good list of behaviour questions in the file attached. Hope it helps for other candidates like me!

Hello haihai89..

Dubey's explanation was eloborate....just a few pointers....

Make sure u look at the camera of your computer and not the screen.....
Its important that u maintain eye contact...
The interview will generally take more than an hour.....depends..
.

With respect to the activity... Make a note of ur pros....u will be asked to sell urself for a position....
U will be given 20 min...so don worry...u will have enough time to prepare.....
Ensure u keep ur speech short and concise as u will be given just 2 mins

With respect to behavior questions.... Make sure u have good stories lined up..(if u don have one..cook up something) ..

Maintain ur cool....and impress the interviewer....

All the best...

Posted from my mobile device

Pankaj has covered the activity part. About the trick question, I was asked about latest business news. I was supposed to talk about any latest international business news.
While I wouldnt recommend you cooking up story, because you will be able to relate most of the questions with past experiences. However, if you are being asked about an experience which you cant relate to, dont try to craft an inconsistent story. Please do your homework, should be "easy-pessy" one.

Hey Pankaj, what was the duration of your interview?

Wow, 2 hours and 45 minutes. I know pankaj and dubey are international applicants, I'm assuming haihai89 you're international applicant too? Interestingly though, at the open house they told us that co-op interview is only 15 minutes long including the little roleplay activity at the end.

Haihai89, I haven't been admitted just yet but pray that I do get in so I can meet you guys in person!

Hey dubey....

Mine was around 1 hr 35 mins

Posted from my mobile device

Hi omega 11
Do well....be urself....
It will be a walk in the park
U ll get thro...
We ll meet

Posted from my mobile device

Many thanks for the info posted above. I had my international admissions interview in March and have subsequently gotten late april as my co op interview date. I just had a few questions and would be delighted if someone could help me out.

1. If my co-op interview is unsuccessful, will I be offered admission into the full time program? Can anyone confirm this?

2. How much time did it take for you to receive an admit letter after your co-op interview? Was it immediate or was it at the end of the month? Please indicate whether you are an international applicant or not.

April is the last month for co-op interviews and very few international applicant are admitted into the co-op program. This makes me wonder whether I am at a disadvantage as compared to the international co-op applicants before me who were given an earlier date for the interview.

Hi Zizzy,

1) In my case, the answer is 'Yes'. Because right after my first interview, in about 2 hours, I got to know that I am through for the next round of Co-OP interview. There was an email sent to me with an invitation for interview and it also said that if I fail to qualify Co-OP, I will be offered place in FT-MBA. For more info you can check Degroote's website : https://mbarecruit.degroote.mcmaster.ca/ ... you-apply/ for possible outcomes.

2) International applicant. It took about a month.

I cant comment on if you are at disadvantage or not, since it depends on your profile. They dont seem to be rigid on international student cap. So if your profile is exceptional, you will definitely be selected.

Just give your best shot in the interview. Dont get bog down anticipating the result, even before giving interview. Because right now, its just the interview which is in your control, do that right.

All the best!!



Hey omega11,

Sure!!.. all the very best for your GMAT and application..

omega11, yup. I'm from Vietnam. I will have my coop interview this Wednesday. Thank all of advice from helpful members in this forum. Gmatclub is always wonderful place for sharing

I gained admission from Carleton University in Ottawa yesterday and I really love the location. The tuition here is also more affordable than Mcmaster.

I am waiting for the result from Alberta University. For this school, the world ranking is much higher than both Mcmaster and Carleton. The tuition is equal to Carleton. The only downside is its very cold weather.

IF GIVEN A CHOICE, WHICH SCHOOL WOULD YOU PICK FOR YOUR MBA?

PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR OPINION, BROs :D

Best luck for all of us! And once again, many thanks to all of helpful advice!

Hey HaiHai89,

To start with I havent heard of Carleton Uni program and neither done any research on that. So sorry I wont be able to help you with that. But yes, while applying I did my research between Alberta and DeGroote. So this is how I thought, may be it should help you give perspective. Hope it doesnot sound biased.
Lets break it down:

Why MBA? and post MBA plans: Since I am career switcher, I have worked in investment banking IT counsulting for about 3.5 years now and ready to transition into finance sector. I think DeGroote aligns with my goal better. Since with DeGroote, I will be spending my time living closer to Toronto, Canada's financial epicenter. While Alberta's economy seems to be energy and oil based, not something i want to be in. As per Alberta's employment report, 89% of graduating folks are placed in and around Alberta. I didnt want to live in Alberta either. Edmonton is smaller town compared to Toronto. From recent reports, seems like Energy sector is not doing well either. But thats for later.
Infact when I compared employment reports of 2014 of both Alberta and DeGroote, DeGroote seems to be more transparent with the stats and companies visited. You can also do that. Just google for employment reports.

ROI: When you say "affordable" tution fees, did you consider the work terms salary? Well at first even I was quiet skeptical about the tution fees. But then if you consider CoOP work term salary, then ROI of DeGroote is better. Infact, if you can secure a position above the stated average of $4000 pm, you might as well recover your tution fee even before you enter formal workforce. Do your math!!.

Ranking: Arguably Alberta is ranked above DeGroote in FT. But then hey, its just a number, which in some of cases swings invariably between 1 to 100. Fail to understand how can a program rank 100 a year, 55 another and knocked out of list the third consecutive year. I have seen such variations. On the otherhand, what we need to understand is the criteria of ranking? Ranking criteria also includes number of international students attending, with Degroote having a cap in its CoOP program on international students. I wonder if they are comparing FT of DeGroote to that of Alberta or CoOP DeGroote to that of Alberta. Anyways its debatable on many fronts. Also average GMAT of Alberta is less than DeGroote.

Alumni: I found DeGroote alumini to be more active and also successful. Went through linkedin profiles.

Bottom line is, in terms of ROI, if you gotten into CoOP and Alberta, then I think COOP has better ROI and if FT DeGroote and Alberta, Alberta is better and affordable.
Ranking should not be sole criteria of selection.

The major criteria should be what do you want out of your MBA? Where do you see yourself?

Hope it helps. All the best for your endevours.!!

Dear dubeysitanshu, thank you so much for your detailed analysis. I really appreciate all of your sharing. I have just received the admission from Alberta University this morning and am feeling so good right now.

You're absolutely right about the salary co-op at Mcmaster. Because the co-op here lasts 28 months (12 months longer than the traditional MBA), I hope that I can apply for a job after my graduation if I study the normal program at Mcmaster or other universities. That is the reason why I think the tuition does not matter a lot.

From what you share, is it true that you made the Mcmaster coop as your final decision, isn't it?

Again, thank you a lot for your sharing

Congrats on Alberta admit ..
well as of now I am leaning towards Degroote.
Hard to decide between Degroote CoOP and Sauder.

Sauder is an amazing school. If given the chance, I would go their in a heartbeat. In a general sense, their reputation is among the top three in Canada. First being UofT and then UBC Sauder.

Yes it is good school but again I want to work in Toronto but not Vancouver. Might not even help me transition into new career. Just a difficult choice.
Ranking does matter, but for me is not sole indicator.
Dont know how it works.. From FT 2015, Schulich, which ranked consistently around 50s, has been directly knocked out. Plain wierd!!...

Anyways that was off topic, do let us know how your Degroote interview went? I guess its today, isnt it? All the best!!

Hey HaiHai, please share your interview experience in as much detail as possible. Was your interview similar to those of the above regarding to trick question and activity? My interview is fast approaching and would love to gain some more knowledge from your experience. Thanks.