Experience during the program

What I love about this program:
- the diversity of the student body: I have developed great relationships at Rotman. I met incredibly smart people from different countries and professions. This has easily been the best part about my experience.
- Self Development Lab is amazing and has helped me to identify parts of my personality and skill set that I needed to work It also helped me identify subtle changes to my communication style that worked wonders for me.
- Toronto one of the most dynamic and multicultural cities in the world and a great place to live and work.
-The schools alumni network is good, but it could be better.

I was admitted to other schools in Canada and in the States and I am very glad I chose to go to Rotman.

About professors, classes and curriculum

-About professors, classes and curriculum. The professors at Rotman are all top notch. The curriculum might be a bit too finance and consulting focused.

About job placement process

Canadian companies and banks have traditionally been the largest recruiters at Rotman. Over the last 4 years, almost all associate level IB positions were filled by Rotman students.
All in all, if your goal is to work in Consulting or in Finance in Canada, Rotman should be at the top of your list.
Rotman has also started a flexible Internship option that allows students to do an internship at any point in their second year.

Overall BSchool experience	(5.0)
Schools contribution	(5.0)
Classmates rating	(5.0)

Experience during the program

I would like to point out my reasons for coming to Rotman, and I believe everyone should consider these two key factors - its location in Canada and its outstanding faculty.

Location-wise, there are two aspects worth mentioning. The first one is the fact that it is in Canada. Toronto is a thriving city, and the more the US will turn inwards, the more will Toronto thrive. It also helps that Rotman is Canada's best business school and located in a beautiful campus near downtown.

Second, the Rotman faculty is very research-driven and truly outstanding. Although this was no factor in my decision to come here, I started to appreciate it when I took my first courses. You're not going to a business school for your first job after graduation; you'll hopefully get some good lessons for your entire career. Having great input from great professors helps.

Now to the shortcomings. Obviously, its ranking could be better (and the weak Canadian dollar doesn't help as a major part in calculating those rankings is the post-graduation salary in US$). Also, most job opportunities are in Canada or of Canadian companies. Therefore, if you're looking to make a career in Canada, Rotman is the place to be -- the career centre has excellent contacts. However, if your end goal is the US, Rotman offers you limited help, and you have to invest more time on your own. I am sure that in the near future, Rotman will be one of the top business schools in North America, but that time hasn't come yet. Therefore, when you are graduating in a few years, your job opportunities will not be as good as for Ivy League grads (they are, however, still very good!).

Overall BSchool experience	(4.0)
Schools contribution	(3.0)
Classmates rating	(5.0)

Experience during the program

Rotman has a very strong research faculty. No doubt that its world class but the biggest problem is the fact that they cant teach very well. I really hope that they hire faculty based on how effective they are in delievering a lecture than based solely on their research competence.

I really feel that the crowd at Rotman is very polluted. They have student with less than 520 GMAT. None the less the experience level is not at par compared to some of the other B schools.

I would highly encourage future applicants to look either into a B school which is not as expensive as Rotman or look for schools in US or elsewhere.

Overall BSchool experience	(2.0)
Schools contribution	(1.0)
Classmates rating	(2.0)

Experience during the program

You have to take ownership of your own experience. Although all the resources are available on campus to successfully achieve your goals, no one will spoon feed you. You must guide your own path. I enjoyed my time at Rotman and it definitely met my expectations however there is always room for improvement. Rotman has the potential of being listed at the top based solely on its diverse alumni base. The career center needs to use this valuable resource in order to develop stronger relationships with corporations. The student body should be encouraged to connect with alumni who will always provide a supportive hand.

Overall BSchool experience	(5.0)
Schools contribution	(4.0)
Classmates rating	(4.0)

Experience during the program

Great:
- Fantastic courses in Strategy and Finance: such as Tiziana's Power and Influence, Anne Bower's Corporate Strategy, Dr. J. O'Dwyer's and Brendan Calder's GettingItDone, and Tim Rielly's Case Analysis and Presentaion!
- Fantastic support for professional development from their Self Development Lab, Industry Clubs; all of which help your presentation skills, resume writing, case preparation

Opportunities for Improvement:
- Marketing courses were subpar at best (e.g. Marketing Strategy, Branding), except for Delaine's Marketing research, where she brought in industry experts. It was unfortunate that the mediocre marketing courses, I that decided to drop my marketing specialization to pursue one in strategy
- Industry Advisor's did not have the alumni network power as communicated. I was extremely surprised to see that some of the network to be dated
- Perhaps similar to many schools, but the job employment rate, whether it's internship/full-time, is not as rosy as it sounds (e.g. 85% for internships, this number is inflated by small jobs, some of which last a week). I would say that it's important to be honest with your students as it is very stressful for them who have taken a lot of risk to enroll in such an expensive program

About job placement process

Rotman has a very good network with finance and consulting, and given their location, they bring in lots of opportunities in these spaces.

Overall BSchool experience	(3.0)
Schools contribution	(3.0)
Classmates rating	(4.0)

Experience during the program

Going into the program, I pictured life as a management consultant, although having never worked in consulting before. As the program started and the networking opportunities commenced, I realized soon enough that management consulting is not my cup of tea and that I had to pivot. Even if I had stuck with that end goal, I'm not sure if I'd have made it, since it's fairly difficult for career changers to make it work here in Toronto.

Having said that, I've enjoyed every bit of the MBA experience so far, and Rotman being in the thick of things here in Toronto, it's fantastic. Be it the location, the professor's, your peers, or those frequent visits from Justin Trudeau, life is good, but also stressful. Rotman is known to have a demanding course and boy do that m they deliver! Life in year 1 has been extremely hectic so far, in pursuit of that decent grade, and the hunt for the summer internship. Life isn't easy, but if you work hard, it is very rewarding.

To those considering to apply, be realistic about switching careers completely and how you want to go about it. I'm not saying it won't happen, but a lot of groundwork is necessary before going into the program. Once classes start, you won't know what it you. On the other hand, interacting with your peer group with such diverse backgrounds and interacting with industry professionals is what sets rotman apart and make sure you make the most of it.

Overall BSchool experience	(5.0)
Schools contribution	(4.0)
Classmates rating	(4.0)