Calling all Desautels (McGill) Applicants:(2017 Intake) Class of 2019

Yup, life in Korea is tough. My work experience actually consists of working overseas mostly, but I have many friends who work at Samsung and the likes, so I have a good idea of what it is like. I am also looking to immigrate to Canada. I ruled out Ivey when I was choosing programs to apply to as it is only a 1-year program, which means you get 1-year work visa instead of 3-year work visa you get after graduating from 2-year program. I think having a full year of full-time work experience in Canada before applying for PR is highly beneficial as far as I could tell from my research thus far. Definitely something to consider since you are considering immigrating to Canada.

ROI is definitely something to think about, and yes, Montreal's cost of living is considerably cheaper than Toronto's or Vancouver.'s I am bringing my wife and child with me to Canada, so it is more of a factor for me than for a single person as it would have costed me around $40k more to go to Toronto considering the difference in tuition and cost of living. Then I got accepted to McGill with a sizable scholarship, so this almost seals the deal for me. I am just waiting to hear back from Rotman at this point to see what kind of offer I can get, but I will most likely end up at McGill.

I also reached out to all the ambassadors from the 3 schools I applied to, and only McGill's got back to me. McGill's ambassadors were very much willing to help and I think it shows the kind of community they have among the students and alumni.

McGill's brand name is recognizable in Korea, although not as much as some of top US schools. I read in a newspaper that most of LG group's executives are McGill alumni, so there seems to be a reasonably good network of McGill alumni in Korea. I don't think Koreans know many Canadian schools other than McGill and UofT, which is part of a reason why Schulich (York U) was my last choice among the three, in case I ever had to return to Korea. Yes, Koreans love rankings so I am a little bummed about McGill falling out of FT's top 100, but it is a trend for all Canadian schools as all other schools also experienced huge drops in FT rankings. Good thing about McGill and UofT is that their overall university rankings are quite high, which Koreans also care about.

I've spoken to McGill's ambassadors and to a friend of mine who got his undergrad degree from McGill, and French does not seem to be much of a concern unless you want to work in Montreal after graduation. Since McGill places pretty well in Toronto, I do not think it should be an issue for me. I am also willing to learn French but I know that I will not get to a level needed for professional work environment in 2 years of studying the language.

You have exactly same GMAT score as I do, BTW. What is the breakdown of your score? I think as long as your work experience is good, you stand a good chance of getting at least some scholarship.

I also see that you are applying to Sauder. While it is a great program, you have to consider that the job market in Vancouver is not big which can affect your placement. I was only going to apply to Sauder in R3 if I wasn't accepted at any of the 3 schools I applied to in R2.

Again, good luck and feel free to ask me any questions!