rajmisramba wrote:
I recently obtained my Canadian permanent residence visa and am only considering Canadian schools for my MBA. I am planning to apply to Rotman for their R3. As part of my research, I use rankings to evaluate and compare the criteria important to me in my decision. Rotman has long been referencing their ranking in Financial Times as an indication of their international reputation. The ranking is used heavily in all of their marketing material and a presentations I attended at the QS Fair and online. It was one of the reasons I began to strongly consider Rotman as one of my choices.
Financial Times released their 2018 MBA rankings today. Rotman was ranked #1 in Canada for 11 consecutive years until this year when they dropped significantly in the rankings. For those interested the link is at:
There were three Canadian schools ranked: Ivey, McGill and Rotman. The following is a summary with some of the criteria important to me. What does everyone think of rankings and how they contribute to your choice of program? Should I be concerned about the drop in the Rotman rankings and what does it say about their program? I do not consider rankings the “be all and end all” in my decision. However, I have been including rankings in my research to help determine the best program for me.
McGill
Ranked 78 and #1 in Canada
Ranked #1 in Canada for: salary percentage increase; aims achieved (tied with Ivey); and career progress
Ranked 100 globally for career services
Rotman
Ranked 86 (down 21 spots from last year. The third largest decline of any school and the largest decline of any North American school)
Ranked top 10 globally in the world for faculty research
Ranked last (101 globally) for value for money
Ranked 92 globally for career services
Ivey
Ranked 90 (up 4 spots from last year)
Ranked #1 in Canada for weighted salary; career services (ranked top 50 globally at 32); aims achieved (tied with McGill), and value for money (ranked top 50 globally at 48).
First off, congrats on your Canadian PR!
As for the rankings, I believe it is the first method many candidates use to filter out colleges as it is the most accessible information out there. However, all publications use different methodologies for determining the rank - many of them black box and featuring a lot of variation year on year (especially in the lower ranks).
QS ranks Rotman at 43, ahead of Tuck, Emory and Darden in the US!
The Economist doesn't rank Rotman in the Top 100 at all.
But sticking to your reference of the FT 2018 rankings, if you're considering schools ranked between 78 to 90, then the rank in itself becomes irrelevant so low down the order. You should make your decision based on what current students and alums are saying and what the college can do for you. While working on my application, I had to chance to interact with two Rotman alums currently working in the McKinsey Toronto office and they had nothing but great things to say about the program and placement cell. Also, Rotman is located in downtown Toronto which gives you unparalleled and faster access, which could be a serious competitive advantage.
Additionally, the reason for the drop in rankings isn't always based on the indicators on the ranking website. Stern dropped from 11 to 20 in the US News rankings for 2017 because they forgot to reply to one of the survey questions!
Since you're only considering B-schools in Canada, you really have only four good options (Rotman, Ivey, Schulich and McGill). So don't focus on the rankings. Visit the campuses if you can and reach out to current students and alums and let them tell you the story of what's actually happening on campus.
24 Jan 2018, 07:41
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