Queen's 2013 - Calling all applicants

Dear all,

I am from India and I have been observing this thread for quite some time now. Congrats to all the admits of Queen's. I have been accepted to Queen's.
I got the acceptance mail yesterday only. The joining is in May and I have only two months time with me. Therefore, I would need the help of you guys. Kindly let me know what are the next steps. And how long does it take for loan approval and how long would the visa process takes. Realistically talking, am I within the timelines to complete the whole process and join the college in time?

On the contrary, my elder brother has sent me the link of FT b school rankings, saying that Queen's does not even feature in it. He is asking me to apply to US and only US schools. He says that the US schools are anytime better than the Canadian schools and the US market is big enough to absorb the graduates after they finish their schools. He wants me to defer the joining of Queen's and apply to the US schools next year. If I don't get into a decent US school then I would still have Queen's as a backup, that is what he says.

Also how is Queen's regarded in the US, given that it is only a one year program.

I am very much confused guys. I badly need your help.

BR
Mandeep

If I understand correctly, you wish to move to the US after the MBA, right? If that is so, even those international schools at the very top of the rankings (like Insead or LBS) would still not be the way to go, in my opinion. Definitely Queen's would be a terrible choice for that.

Now, if your goal is to stay in Ontario, Queen's is a solid school. I would say it is the second best 1-year program in the province (after Ivey) and the 3rd overall.

So, in conclusion, it sounds to me as if you are about to embark in a project that you have not thought about. You would leave your job, move to a new country, get in massive debts and still, not sure if this is something you want or that would help you in your career. Without knowing more about you, trying to defer the offer sounds like a good plan to me.

Thank you Ducksworth for your insight.

Basically I want to settle down in Canada but suppose in the future if I would like to move to the US, how would my Queen's degree be regarded, that is what my apprehension is. I understand it is the work-ex, which I would gain after my graduation from Queen's, that would matter when I would like to move to the US but an MBA degree would add credibility to my work-ex. And if Queen's degree is not recognized in the US, then I would be on a back foot.

All this is assuming I do my MBA from Queen's and work in Canada for some time and then later on move to the US.

This is what I found on one of the forums:

"This is what I had replied to a similar post a few months back-

As somebody, who has been in this country for over a decade in the professional/management sphere and who regularly recruits and hires MBAs, I am giving you my unbiased opinion. Doing a MBA from a Business School is not a golden ticket to a successful career in Canada. Your past experience, education and the specific industry will be the major determinants of what kind of career you will have post MBA qualification.

Last year, I was interviewing candidates for a junior level position which paid around 50-60K and had 4 Richard Ivey Graduates applying. Now, Richard Ivey is ranked as the top B-Scool in Canada and it costs close to $80 K in tuition. All of them were white,Canadian born and educated with 5-6 years of solid work experience. One person had three degrees - B.Pharm from U of T, CFA and MBA Finance from Ivey.

In one of my previous companies, a really smart desi guy who had done his BE from India (IIT-K) and came to do MBA from Richard Ivey was lamenting that his first job post MBA was a 35K entry level position, because he did not have the relevant "Canadian" experience. The most this person was able to progress to was a 60K job (compared to the 100K plus jobs that you keep on hearing in the media) and ultimately got married to someone from the US and left Canada.

It would be extremely "brave" of you to invest $75,000 upfront on an education where there is no guarantee of getting a ROI for several years.

Not to discourage you, but this is the level of competition you will face in the market today and the ground reality of the job environment. The biggest obstacle is this whole "Canadian" experience, that cannot be mitigated easily with a top MBA. Think about it from the employers perspective- you have a "nice", white Canadian educated person who has atleast 3-5 years experience in the Canadian job environment and can furnish local references versus a new immigrant with a foreign accent, who has no Canadian experience with a MBA(albeit a top one). Why should he or she choose the unknown?

In terms of the effect of recession, you will be surprised to know that enrollment in B-schools is actually up during recession as people who have been laid off with a severance decide to do a MBA to further their prospects. So you have a large MBA cohort, who will be looking out for employment at the same time.

Another point to be noted is that your prospects in the U.S will be brighter as Americans are not as hung up on the source of your degree and local experience as Canadians. Also, given that the U.S is the world's largest economy, it is easier for them to absorb potential employees. It is ironical that a Canadian MBA would have better prospects in the U.S, than a U.S MBA holder in Canada."

Hi there everyone,

It looks like this thread has been inactive for a while, but I thought I'd post something here anyway. I've just accepted my offer for a place at Queens starting May 2013 (I also received offers from Rotman and Chicago, but Queens impressed me much more than these two throughout the process), and so thought I'd try to connect with some of my future classmates.

Congratulations to Nikhilsrl and Charles, I look forward to meet you guys soon. I notice you work in energy Charles? That's my field too.

Regards
Tom

Hi Tom,

Congrats for your Queen's admit.
By Chicago, you mean Chicago Booth? Correct me if I am wrong.

BR
Mandy

Hey guys. I have applied for the class of 2017. Can you guys elaborate on you interview process please? Also on the sort of video questions asked.