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Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)?

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Aech
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Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink] New post   27 Mar 2018, 13:52
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Hello. I have been admitted to both Rotman and Simon (still waiting on a couple of other schools).

Financial aid: Rotman offered me 20000 Canadian dollars while Simon offered me a scholarship equal to 50% of the full MBA cost.

About me: I am Brazilian, graduated from an Ivy League undergrad in the US with a Major in Economics, worked in the financial department of small consumer product companies both in the US and in Brazil and I plan on pivoting my career towards marketing with my MBA. Currently living in Brazil.

I have already researched employment data for both schools, as well as starting salaries (accounting for the exchange rate of CADxUSD and living costs of the USA and Canada), class sizes, networking opportunities, etc.

My main issues regarding making this decision are the substantial difference in financial aid and the fact that Canada offers 3 years of work authorization for international MBA graduates vs. the one year of OPT the US offers, and the fact that getting an H1-B visa (the work visa) is still dependant on a lottery, so luck-based, so the process is simpler and more reliable in Canada.

Thank you in advance for any input.
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Re: Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink] New post   27 Mar 2018, 14:31
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I am an international applicant myself and I absolutely understand the fact that finances are a HUGE part of the deal while finalising any MBA program. I STRONGLY vote for Rotman. The additional money isn't worth giving up Rotman for Simon. Rotman is a very strong brand in Canada. It is very difficult to get into(especial this year). No matter what your Post MBA industry be, you will always find someone from Rotman. Plus, H1b is kind of a mess.

Final Thoughts -> It is absolutely CRIMINAL to compare THE BEST school in Canada(Rotman) to a Tier 2 school in the US(Simon).
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Re: Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink] New post   27 Mar 2018, 16:07
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Aech wrote:
Hello. I have been admitted to both Rotman and Simon (still waiting on a couple of other schools).

Financial aid: Rotman offered me 20000 Canadian dollars while Simon offered me a scholarship equal to 50% of the full MBA cost.

About me: I am Brazilian, graduated from an Ivy League undergrad in the US with a Major in Economics, worked in the financial department of small consumer product companies both in the US and in Brazil and I plan on pivoting my career towards marketing with my MBA. Currently living in Brazil.

I have already researched employment data for both schools, as well as starting salaries (accounting for the exchange rate of CADxUSD and living costs of the USA and Canada), class sizes, networking opportunities, etc.

My main issues regarding making this decision are the substantial difference in financial aid and the fact that Canada offers 3 years of work authorization for international MBA graduates vs. the one year of OPT the US offers, and the fact that getting an H1-B visa (the work visa) is still dependant on a lottery, so luck-based, so the process is simpler and more reliable in Canada.

Thank you in advance for any input.


I see the dilemma is either Canada or the US. I would choose Canada with Rotman over Simon. While the starting salaries are less in Canada, it will provide more secure life. I always believe that life doe sot give everything. You can choose more secured life style with less salary over high risk with high payment in Simon. It is all up to you.

Good luck
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Re: Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink] New post   27 Mar 2018, 17:37
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I am biased (obviously), but I agree with Mo2men about the first question to think about: US x Canada.
If you choose Canada you still can migrate later to the US (I believe it will take you about eight years to do that) and the 3-year visa helps a lot (besides that you can always try to get your PR later - an MBA in Canada will help you to get it). In the US you can work for one year and later try to get the HB1 visa, but remember that the lottery can get smaller in the next few months.

Regarding the scholarship, you got 20% at Rotman and 50% at Rochester, right? I don't know if the difference is that large and you need to calculate your living costs in both cities. Toronto can be expensive, but all the Brazilians here have a good life and don't spend a lot of money to have it. I don't know how it works at Rochester.

About MKT roles, you can find good jobs here. I believe one of the Brazilians got a spot for an internship at P&G this year and the upper batch worked in great companies also.
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Re: Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink] New post   18 May 2018, 04:00
Hi!
I am in a similar situation as Aech. International student from India. Got into both Simon and Rotman. I was leaning towards Rotman because it was the safer option (H1B), but Simon offered me a great scholarship (80%), while I got nothing from Rotman. Target career is tech/consulting.

Additionally, I have only worked in small companies in India, not really known internationally, so I imagine that when looking for internships/jobs, recruiters will give more emphasis to my school's reputation and academic results, given they won't recognize my previous employers. So the school has to have a strong brand, right? So I imagine that Rotman wins in this regard (great brand in smaller Canadian market) as opposed to Simon (good brand, but in a much larger US market with 300+ business schools). Or is that not really the case?
If Toronto really is the better choice, is it good enough to justify the difference in financial aid?
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Re: Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink] New post   18 May 2018, 06:36
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Aech wrote:
Hello. I have been admitted to both Rotman and Simon (still waiting on a couple of other schools).

Financial aid: Rotman offered me 20000 Canadian dollars while Simon offered me a scholarship equal to 50% of the full MBA cost.

About me: I am Brazilian, graduated from an Ivy League undergrad in the US with a Major in Economics, worked in the financial department of small consumer product companies both in the US and in Brazil and I plan on pivoting my career towards marketing with my MBA. Currently living in Brazil.

I have already researched employment data for both schools, as well as starting salaries (accounting for the exchange rate of CADxUSD and living costs of the USA and Canada), class sizes, networking opportunities, etc.

My main issues regarding making this decision are the substantial difference in financial aid and the fact that Canada offers 3 years of work authorization for international MBA graduates vs. the one year of OPT the US offers, and the fact that getting an H1-B visa (the work visa) is still dependant on a lottery, so luck-based, so the process is simpler and more reliable in Canada.

Thank you in advance for any input.



Hi Aech, congrats for your admission offers!

I would go to Rotman, I believe the school has a better overall reputation, and your chances to stay in Canada after the MBA are much better. I also believe that Toronto is a better place to live than Rochester. Finally, I am pretty sure that more companies recruit at Rotman, since it is the best business school in Canada (while Simon is a top 35 in the US), it's located in a larger center and has a bigger cohort (I have heard that one of the reasons that not as many companies recruit on campus at Simon is that the class is too small). On the other side, I would say that the US offers better career opportunities; its economy is much stronger and it hosts the headquarters of much more companies. I don't believe Amazon, for instance, recruits many post-MBA Product Managers in Canada.

If you haven't visited the schools, I could share my experience of visiting Simon and Rotman. Feel free to DM me.

Abraços
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Re: Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink] New post   19 May 2018, 05:08
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Libra2020,

While Rotman is the best school in Canada (arguably), it does not guarantee anything. Canadian employers do prefer work experience and do not put as much value on the MBA as US companies. Keep this in mind as you choosing. While you may be a part of the best Canadian school and possibly be in a better position than at Simon, you still have to outdo your classmates at internships and job/recruiting opportunities. You need to have some ammunition to be able to beat others out. My suggestion would be - max out your speaking and y presentation skills.

P.S. Do you have a personal network either in the US or Canada? You need an anchor point to network and engage with people, employers, etc. If you have some friends or family in one of those countries, it is a good way to help you networking.
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Re: Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink] New post   19 May 2018, 09:49
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Adding to the points that bb and mbaclass2020 already wrote and that can be good for you: Toronto is growing (a lot!) for tech (startups, fintechs and etc).
I have some friends that decided to pursue tech and got pretty good internships (like Blackberry) and one of them got a full-time offer (although he is still in his second year - he will work part-time this next year and then be a full-time when he graduates). Rotman itself has the CDL where the school helps a lot of small/startup companies to launch their products/companies and most of them are related to tech.

I don't know if these sectors are what you want to work. If you want to work for startups Rotman can be a good path for you.
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Re: Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink] New post   19 May 2018, 12:22
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Libra2020 wrote:
Hi!
I am in a similar situation as Aech. International student from India. Got into both Simon and Rotman. I was leaning towards Rotman because it was the safer option (H1B), but Simon offered me a great scholarship (80%), while I got nothing from Rotman. Target career is tech/consulting.

Additionally, I have only worked in small companies in India, not really known internationally, so I imagine that when looking for internships/jobs, recruiters will give more emphasis to my school's reputation and academic results, given they won't recognize my previous employers. So the school has to have a strong brand, right? So I imagine that Rotman wins in this regard (great brand in smaller Canadian market) as opposed to Simon (good brand, but in a much larger US market with 300+ business schools). Or is that not really the case?
If Toronto really is the better choice, is it good enough to justify the difference in financial aid?



Go with Rotman!
Arguably the best Business school in the US with excellent resources. Simon doesn't have those resources or the pedigree.
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Re: Rotman (Toronto) or Simon (Rochester)? [#permalink]
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