Schulich September 2011 - Intake

I'm a Schulich student and I can answer some of your guys' concerns.

I went through the same dilemma as you guys in deciding between admits to Rotman and Schulich. I visited both campuses and found Schulich to be a master in tailoring my visit to what I was interested in (Arts & Media and Marketing). They took me around the campus and building and gave me all the haps on what I could expect. Rotman, however, didn't seem too interested in anything besides telling me what a great reputation they had.

I eventually chose Schulich because they are a better business school brand and they really allow you to explore. Rotman is heavily financed focused. They basically told me that I would eat, sleep, and breathe quantitative courses. Schulich has a lot of quantitative requirements (two accounting courses, a stats course, a finance class, and an economics class), but nowhere near what Rotman requires. Rotman has limited options for studies, whereas Schulich has several which are exclusive to their school in Canada (such as Not-For-Profit, Green Business, and Arts & Media Management). Another big plus is that all 5 major bank and the four largest media conglomerates CEO's all came from Schulich (of course - they aren't the ones recruiting, but it helps ).

By saying it is a business school brand, I mean that it is the only school in Canada known more for its brand as opposed to its university brand. Desautels, Ivey, and Rotman all come from very reputable schools, but I guarantee you if you say Rotman or Desautels, you will always have to present it as McGill or UofT. Schulich, as part of York, is not one of the most respected universities in Canada, but it has allowed the school to develop a masterful business program and a brand that is on its own. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, it's pretty subjective. I like it because I can say Schulich and everyone knows where the heck I am and what kind of business school student I might be.

The full time MBA has two course types - required and optional. In your first semester, you are split into a section of students which is between 40-60 people. In the classes I sat in at Rotman, it was exactly the same - but Rotman does this the entire first year while Schulich is only half of the year. Optional classes are anywhere from 15 to 50 students, depending on the subject matter. A class like Negotiations is super popular and always waitlisted, but classes like Managing in the Broadcast World would be more along the 15-25 people range.

The IMBA class is one of Schulich's bread and butter. They get a lot perks and attention the wider MBA class doesn't, but they are together the entire year as well. They have a heavier workload than regular MBAs, but I don't think it is unmanageable.

Schulich has a HUGE piggy bank that it gives scholarships from. Most of my friends received entrance scholarships or bursaries if they applied early enough. These range anywhere between 2k and 20k.

One thing I can say is much better at Schulich than Rotman is the social life. The Graduate Business Council has a bar night every week and there is a large amount of clubs at the school who also facilitate social events. I know Rotman has had a huge problem doing this and students often feel isolated. I think this is mainly due to the fact that most Rotman students are from the GTA, whereas 90% of Schulich students come from other areas of Canada or the Globe.

Essentially, the decision is up to you. I don't think basing a decision on brand recognition is a necessity since the only three real biz-schools with strong brands in Canada are Ivey, Schulich, and Rotman. Desautels and Sauder are Tier 2 in Canadian terms, but I'm sure they offer as good of an education as Schulich.

I can answer any other concerns you guys have, just post 'em here (or if I didn't give enough info about something).