Toronto Rotman 2012 - Calling All Applicants

I scored a 700+ GMAT and received the Diaminds book too. Initially Rotman was my top choice but I ultimately not ended up applying for the following reasons:

1) I want to do investment banking. Even though Rotman is an excellent finance school with top-notch faculty, Toronto has only about 15-18 positions in investment banking every year. This is all the Big 5 banks and top boutiques put together. At Rotman typically half the class is interested in finance, so basically there are 120 people gunning for the 20 odd positions. Btw, your competition also includes folks from Ivey, Schulich, Queens and Canadians at top US MBAs who want to come back. Hence for my career goals, the problem wasn't Rotman, the problem was the Toronto job market. And plus Ontario's economy is pretty darn crappy and isn't poised to get better anytime soon.

2) A Rotman alum I met himself told me that CCC at Rotman isn't as the good as the career management at Ivey. He said that Ivey's career management is more involved. A student I talked to said that apparently only 60% of people found jobs in the summer of 2011. Another student I talked to said "try for Wharton/Columbia/Stern if you want to work in finance. Come to Rotman if you have no other choice". Again, this is primarily because of Toronto, not because of Rotman.

3) For those interested in consulting, Rotman (and Ivey for that matter) are not core schools for M/B/B. Each take 0-1/2 students from Rotman/Ivey every year.

4) Finally the price tag. I would have applied to Rotman if it cost $60,000. But I can't justify paying $85K for a Canadian MBA. It's just not worth it for me, a person who already went to UofT for undergrad. I personally was disappointed by my undergrad experience and didn't want to hand over to UofT that much money all over again. For international students it's $100k. For that kind of money one can go to a comparable school like UNC-KF, Georgetown, UT-Austin and get access to a much bigger job market. Of course US has its visa issues and all, that's something for you to decide.

5) I have been in Toronto for a decade now. I wanted to make a move to the US. Hence if I got a UofT degree, my life would be here. I can't see myself in Toronto in the long term. Hence didn't end up applying. For the international who are trying to migrate to Canada, Rotman obviously is a good choice, although Schulich might be cheaper.

Take my opinions for FWIW.