jasmithy
GoalsMy goals are to pivot from my current industry into a finance based one, either in investment banking, trading, or consulting.
I also value some entrepreneurially based electives, as a future goal is to start a business.
From an MBA program I would hope to expand and develop my network, choose electives that I could actually build and learn genuine skills from, and change career path as mentioned but also not rule out the possibility of finding a passion that I would like to ultimately pursue afterwards. Also coming in to play is the potential for work after graduation and the opportunity to get an internship as part of the program.
ConsiderationsRotman has a mandatory internship program that pays on average $4,000 - $5,000CAD.
I have spoken to current Miami students and internships are harder to get as an international with fewer companies sponsoring visas lately.
With regards to visas, post grad, a US MBA offers a 1-Year OPT Extension, compared with Rotman that has a 3-Year extension.
I have many friends in Toronto that I could live with, one friend in Miami, but would need to find my own accommodation.
Questions- How much weight should I place on the ranking/prestige of the institution when comparing these two?
- Is a U.S. MBA more valuable than one from Canada?
- Are there any other key metrics I should consider other than affordability, career prospects, academics, & network?
- Would any of the name brands listed be a game changer on my resume since my undergraduate university will not be recognised?
Of course, I will have a bias vision here, but let me try to help you with real info from Rotman. Maybe it can help you in your thinking process.
From your goals, I understand that Rotman is a good fit. The school has a lot of entrepreneur activities (CDL is amazing and really connects with what you wrote about having your business in the future). IB, trading and consulting also happen in the school. Some people go to MBB and other to 2nd tier companies (Accenture, Deloitte and etc). Also, if you want to work in a financial segment, Rotman helps a lot! A lot of financial companies (all the major banks in Canada, some Equity research firms and etc) recruit internships and full time at Rotman.
Regarding being an international student, it is harder than if you were Canadian but not impossible at all (you prior expertise will help you and your grades will help you either). This is not an exclusive thing from Rotman, but for all the schools (I have friends At Kellogg that suffers from the same problem)
Talking about brands: my personal opinion is that if you are not in the top 20 in the world, brand will not matter that much. Of course that if you are in the number 1 school in a country helps a little more than being in the number 50 of another country. But, in general, after top 20 it wont matter that much.
US x Canada: of course the US market is bigger (no brainer here). But, at the same time, US has many more schools to pick the best candidates (how many schools from the top 100 are from the US? 70? 75? From Canada? Only 2). So I dont know if, in the end, the number of MBA candidates by posts available will be that different. Maybe they are the same, maybe they are little different (and I dont think you will find a true answer to that question)
Metrics: you are fine with them. You got all correct on this subject.
Game changer: again,
maybe in Canada Rotman can be a game changer (outside Canada I dont think so). But, in my opinion, game changers are top 20. After that what really change the game is how you perform in your work on a daily basis. That will help you to achieve your dreams and goals, not only the name of your school in your resume.
I think you have good options in your hand.
Let us know what you decided!