Do not overlook MBAs in Canada! European schools may be challenging US Business Schools in the news, but there are many great MBA opportunities in Canada that are worth it and at least 5 reasons to take them up!
Angela Guido is joined by Charli Taylor to talk about international outlook, low-cost, great career opportunities and all the other things there is to know about getting an MBA in Canada
Prefer to read? Here’s the transcript:
“What? Oh my gosh. Don't overlook Canada, my friends. Canada has fabulous business schools that are creating so much interesting, diverse opportunity for their students.”
Hello! I'm Angela Guido, the founder of Career Protocol, the world's best destination for no-nonsense MBA admissions and career advice, where we believe that work is supposed to be fun. This is MBA Monday, and today I have is my special guest Charli Taylor, our Chief International Officer. Charli is going to talk about the five reasons you should consider getting your MBA in Canada.
Angela: All right, Charli, let's hear it. What's reason number one, why everybody should consider getting an MBA in Canada?
1. Flexibility
- Canadian MBAs are highly-ranked and diverse
- They are more open to a-typical candidates
Charli: What? Oh my gosh. Don't overlook Canada, my friends. Canada has fabulous business schools that are creating so much interesting, diverse opportunity for their students. They have highly-ranked, academically rigorous programs, a whole plethora of options in terms of time for students. So there are programs like HEC Montréal, for example, that offers a one-year MBA, you can do sixteen-month programs, and you can even do, of course, Rotman's classic, traditional two-year program. So there's lots of flexibility. It's a really terrific option if maybe you don't quite fit that US mold, whatever that is, ever so neatly. Canadian schools are fantastic for students who may have kind of slightly different stats than maybe what US schools would offer. So for example, slightly more mature students. A number of these schools have kind of average ages of around 30, a little more work experience, but also slightly lower GMATs. So, if you are really able to do the academic work but that GMAT score is just holding you back, hey, there are some amazing schools that may not prioritize that quite as much, as long as you can manage the academic rigors of the course. That's very, very exciting.
Angela: Amazing. So, flexibility of options, flexibility in thinking through admissions criteria, really good number one reason. What's reason number two, Charli?
2. Amazing Recruitment Opportunities
- Become more interesting
- Some schools have twice the number of international students
Charli: Yeah! Great companies are recruiting from these business schools. Don't forget that the same amazing companies that are recruiting from all of the top US schools and the top European schools are in Canada too. You want to work for Mercedes Benz, you want to work for one of the big consulting firms, a boutique consulting firm, you want to go into finance, whatever! All of those opportunities to work for Amazon, to work for Google, all there in Canada for you and these incredible universities.
3. More International MBA Students
Charli: But I also want to say something else about that too, and that's that in terms of like exposure, incredible opportunities to develop yourself as an internationalist. So many of these schools just have extraordinary numbers of international students. Where we see US schools, for instance, might only have 30%, some of these other schools might have 60, 70, 80% international students. Going back to HEC Montréal, for instance, they boast something like eighty-seven thousand international alums, that massive global network. Sauder has an incredible international MBA. What? Oh, Sauder, you just won my heart, pitter patter, so exciting! It's an amazing program that partners up with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and you spend most of your time there, and then you have some weeks in Canada but very, very exciting programs. So they also boast — you'll love this, Angela — they also boast a dual-degree program with Yale for Yale's. Advanced Management degree. So, so many really wonderful opportunities to develop yourself as an internationalist in Canada.
Angela: So, reason number two is amazing recruitment opportunities. Many of the same recruitment opportunities that you would have if you went to a top US school. I mean, you've got Rotman in Toronto, you've got Ivey right there in Ontario. They are just a hop, skip, and a jump from New York state and from the Midwest. So the same companies, in many cases, are recruiting at these schools. So, it's a great way to get the same exact job opportunities, but in a very different environment, including reason number three, a much more international and global student body that participates in Canadian MBA programs. Charli, what's reason number four?
4. Post-grad Work Opportunities
- Post-grad work experience is much easier to sort out vs the US
Charli: The postgraduate visa work experience. So much easier. I think Canada really wants to welcome great brains to come in and to develop that international experience and to develop those international bridges, and so those work visa opportunities are just really prevalent, particularly for MBA students. They try to make the process really seamless, so it’s a really wonderful chance for international students.
Angela: I’ve had several clients over the years who started going down the path of applying to US MBA programs and switched to Canadian MBA programs in the middle because they wanted to emigrate from their home country. They wanted to put down roots in a new country post MBA and work there and they discovered that it was going to be much easier for them to do that in Canada with an equally high quality of life. So that’s really something to think about.
5. Cost of Living & Quality of Life
Charli: Yeah that is so hugely important. And kind of piggybacking off of the idea of that quality of life is reason number five. And that, of course, is a two-part reason. The first part is the cost of living and the sense of safety. Canada is a green and pleasant land where the cost of living is a little less expensive. Really wonderful healthcare systems. Just terrific opportunities for being able to live a very comfortable life without having to just bleed money left, right, and center. And also, the price of the MBA, is definitely more competitive and there are terrific scholarship opportunities. But Angela, the part B of number five, why Canada? I mean, let's just face it, right? It's like hunky, dreamy Justin Trudeau. Right? That is like Justin Trudeau… sorry I'm talking about MBAs…
Angela: Can't have a video about Canada featuring two middle-aged women without mentioning Justin Trudeau. All right, that's five amazing reasons why considering an MBA in Canada is a really good idea! Hopefully, you saw Charli's in my other video about what international students need to be thinking about as they're applying to business school and then as they are matriculating in business school. All of those same ideas apply to this Canadian video. These two videos go really well together. So, if you're pursuing an international MBA, if you're considering applying to business school in Canada, Charli and I in particular are wishing you the very, very best. Please subscribe to our channel so that you don't miss a single MBA Monday and I will see you next week!
Charli: Thanks Angela, good to see you! Ciao!
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