gmathopeful08
rotmanite
I am a recent Rotman Grad and would like to share my experience about the program.
My experience can be summed up in the next 4 points
1. The cohort was not really the best. It was like the school didn't even have any vetting process. They just took very average people from all around the world. On average, the calibre of the students would be comparable to Tier 3 colleges in India. The average GMAT is 670. And it seems like anyone who could pay $100K was taken in.
2. There is no GPA non-disclosure policy here, due to which people were focusing on studies rather than socializing - the point whole of an MBA was missing.
If you have similar background and aspirations as I did, I would highly recommend that you do not apply to the program or best, make this your last option. Unless you have $100K lying around.
This being such a huge investment wrt time and money, your experience is so important for everyone to make an informed decision.
Which schools would you suggest to a person looking for a tech role/general management role after MBA (in Canada or US)..
Not having studied in another school, I would not be able to answer your questions since I do not have the data point required to guide you, but I can suggest a way you can do your research to figure it out:
1. Look for data points on what percentage of students of the school are placed in technology sector. A good percentage of this will be technology consulting. So you would need to separate the wheat (Google, Amazon Microsoft, Uber etc. and tons of product startups in post series B phase) from the chaff (Infosys, Accenture, wipro, CGI or any other service company).
2. Look at what kind of roles Alumni are placed in. If you find a lot of alums in in product leadership roles in product companies its a good sign. It generally leads to a general management position in those companies
3. If they are in support roles (compliance, Business development, marketing etc. ) it might not be a good sign (unless you are interested in those roles, in which case Tech is not a qualifier for you, it can be done in any industry)
The reason I am specific about product roles is because in good high growth product companies, product metrics define strategy and not vice versa. Which then enables you to become an expert in that domain (e-commerce, social media etc.) in the shortest period of time. These industries are gaining market share like anything!
Most of these topics are still being taught from a "Porter's five forces" lens at b-schools. Now, 50 year old professors with tenure will not change the curriculum to meet market needs. But as an MBA graduate, you can get ahead of the curve by just getting the right job that enables you to be a leader in the space, assuming that is what you are interested in.
During your interviews with companies as well, if the interviewer is not asking product questions, its typically a red flag