Ivey Class of 2015 Calling all applicants!

i submitted before R1 deadline. how about you seedy ??

I'll be submitting in a couple weeks.

Did you get contacted for an interview?

Hi Kunzi!

Thanks for pointing the error.
I changed the thread and the tracker!

Let me know if I need to change anything else

I applied on sept 23rd which was the R1 deadline.

Haven't heard a word since. But at one the info sessions they pointed out that they start contacting abt 2 weeks after receiving apps. So I'm guessing later this week or early next week.

Received (and accepted) an offer from them today, which is ~2 weeks after interview which was ~2 weeks after I submitted my app. Perhaps a bit longer for the folks who submitted apps right at the R1 deadline. Offer came via phone call, no change to Inside Track prior to call.

Congratulations, osc! I guess Ivey was your first choice then?

It would be incredibly helpful for future applicants if you could share your basic profile/stats. Thanks and congrats!

Ivey was definitely first choice. Was only looking at Canadian schools and put applications in there and Queen's. Queen's is in adcom this week but haven't heard outcome there yet.

Everything I understand about the admissions process at Ivey is that its all about your overall profile and then how well they think you'll fit. Reducing things to GPA / GMAT is really not at all how Ivey looks at applicants. They are more bars to clear than prime factors driving your admission decision.

On the profile side, understand the strengths / weaknesses of your application. What makes you unique? For me, I have unique work experience and lots of it so I didn't feel I needed to focus as much on the GMAT (mine was below median but above 600). I'm also writing the CFA in Dec so was pinched for time. If you think you have a more typical background it is probably good to differentiate yourself via GMAT score - just keep in mind lots of applicants I talked to have crazy high GMATs.

On the fit side get to know the people there. This is probably most important. Can't stress this point enough. Because everything is case based you have to talk in class and interact with peers. They want to see this, so start with the recruiting team! Go to events, do the class visit, web sessions, email them, take them up on phone calls if they offer, ask intelligent questions. Don't creep them out or waste their time but make an effort to know people. Find out who all is on the adcom (they will tell you) and introduce yourself to all of them. Last thing you want is someone reviewing your app who doesn't know you. By doing this you'll also get a sense of how your stats look and if you need to say re-write the GMAT or get some more work experience.

That's such a cool advice osc.. thanx for this.

Can you also share your interview experience, and the questions that were asked.

Ivey is my top choice too.. but could apply in R1.

Glad you found it helpful Kunzi!

I had one pre-application meeting and one interview. You may not have to do the pre-app meeting but definitely take them up on it if it is offered. For international students the pre-app might be via phone or skype but mine was in person. It was friendly and warm but make no mistake - its an interview! Bring your A game. I got to ask any questions I needed to about my particular app prior to pulling the trigger. At that meeting we discussed what would happen next and I made my preference for an in-person interview known, assuming I made it that far.

I got an email a few days later to confirm an in person interview and a pre-interview phone call to discuss the content of the interview. I believe most interviews are done via Skype but they graciously accommodated my request for in-person. They weren't sure who my interview would be with even on the call but the content was explained - it would be a member of career management and topics would center around that type of stuff.

Interview itself lasted for about 45 minutes. Interviewer was an adcom member who I had introduced myself to at one of the events. That introduction wasn't the easiest because they were being hounded by students but it definitely paid off come interview time. I knew them and they knew me and things were more relaxed as a result.

There was a mix of non-scripted chatting about who I am, my background and that sort of thing. Then there were formal questions on which your answers would be compared to others. They have a large bank of questions they can ask about 4 categories. I forget the names of them but the point here is that everyone will get asked a different combination of questions, though still 1 from each category. The only question I recall was actually the same as the #2 essay question.

My advice for preparing for the interview would to have good clean answers for Why Ivey?, Why an MBA? and What are your career plans after Ivey?. While these weren't asked directly, it was important to be very comfortable with those answers as they all came up in conversation some way or another. Another thing I found helpful is to make a list of notable business experiences you've had since graduating. Have some interesting stories / scenarios to draw upon. I found it helpful to write these down beforehand. You won't know what questions will be asked but you can apply your experiences to the answers for sure.

2 other points I'd suggest is that if you're doing an interview by Skype, make sure you're on a good connection and the room is well lit and reflects well on you (ie. no clutter in the background, you look professional on camera). Had to do this method for Queen's and took a little work prepping to make sure things looked proper. Also don't be late and don't be too early!

Otherwise just be yourself. If you get to the point of an interview you should know your story, why you're doing this and be able to articulate that in a conversation. That's really what its about - they aren't trying to trick you, just making sure you know what you want and that Ivey and the MBA degree fit into that plan properly.

great points... thanx a ton man !!

Curious... What's your opinion on Ivey vs Rotman?

https://forums.redflagdeals.com/ivey-mba ... d-1382500/

^ Interesting...

Rotman vs Ivey for me was about class composition. I wanted a smaller class size and no commuters and because of that Rotman and Schulich were eliminated early. I also didn't like the idea of having classmates who weren't interviewed by the program, which happens at both those schools. Other things I prefer with Ivey are the case method and I think their alumni bonds are tighter. It's really like a family at Ivey and I didn't get that sense with the city schools. Queen's is similar in this dynamic to Ivey, which is why I applied there as well.

That redflagdeals thread is sort of funny. I'm pretty wired into the Ivey community thanks to people I know in the current class and others who work in the building and there is definitely no substance to that forum post. That being said, at this stage of the program not everyone will have jobs lined up and it could just be a person or two seeing other people getting offers and freaking out a bit because they don't have one yet.

Got an interview for R1

Congrats man..

when did you submit the application?

Thanks. I submitted the application right at the deadline on the 23rd. I received an email for an interview request on October 3rd

Congrats Domrep!!

So when is your interview set for?

Are you going down to London or over skype?