Research MBA Programs

Hi guys,

I have recently been admitted into both McGill Desautels and Concordia John Molsons. I have applied to a third school in the Montreal area, HEC Montreal, and am waiting to hear back. I am wondering if anyone can offer me any advise on best programme fit for me. A little bit of background on myself:

35
10 years of experience in advertising
Undergrad from U of Michigan Ross School of Business, GPA 3.75, MKTG & FIN concentrations
GMAT 670

I am planning on specializing in MKTG with a second concentration in Global Strat, would you have any advise on which of the three schools fit best with my profile? My plans for post-MBA are to find a brand management/ consulting position and I probably will remain in Canada.

I would prefer to stay in the Montreal region, but I have also sent my GMAT scores to York Schulick and Toronto Rotman (I am originally from Toronto).

Any help would be much appreciated! I have done a bit of research online, but I would love to hear from fellow applicants, current students, or industry insiders.

Thank you in advance!

Since HEC gets a lot of jobs in Quebec area, its good for you.

I would have also preferred HEC but JMSB is also great.

Thank you. However, I heard that McGill has more of a nation-wide and international reputation. As well, which programme fares better in terms of strategy and marketing?

Mcgill has a bigger brand name, admits with higher GMAT but lesser placements. But the teaching in JMSB is superior. You can check that by visiting the faculty list.

Thank you. I just received the admit decision from HEC Montreal and a very generous entrance award offer. I'll really have to decide what is best for me taking all of this into consideration. It is a tough one.

Congrats on the admit!

I too have applied to HEC and am anxiously awaiting a response. I only applied mid December though and it seems they are slow with their admissions. I was admitted to Schulich already but I am still awaiting HEC's response.

I feel HEC has a better program then JMSB and is as good as McGill's program, especially if you plan on staying in Montreal. The price difference between McGill and HEC is also a factor that cannot be ignored in my mind, which is one of the reasons i applied to HEC and not McGill. But I would take a look at the faculty at each school and decide on which school has the professor(s) that will best provide you with what you are looking for.

Here's a bit about me:

24
GMAT 690
2.5 yrs exp. Engineering Consulting
GPA 3.0 (B.Eng. from McGill)

hi Lanky,

Thanks for your reply. For me the decision is down to between McGill and HEC Montreal. I've received an entrance award to both, but as you can imagine, HEC costs significantly less. I have done just what you suggested. I have gone through the faculty list as well as the relevant electives. It will still be a hard choice for me. I think I have to take into consideration the following factors: cost, programme reputation, internship, long-term return, faculty/electives. Are you in the Montreal area or Toronto? When do you have to reply to York? Cheers,

DC

Hi guys,

If the cost factor is not to be taken into account.

Which b-schools do you guys think stand better mc gill or HEC specially for an international student ?

Have heard that HEC is only famous in montreal, and outside montreal , it hardly stands out.

And noticed that placements of mc.gill as per latest FT ranking are better than HEC.

please help

thanks

hi appking,

I would agree with PrecisionEssay that overall McGill enjoys an aura of prestige from the university as a whole (McGill has very strong medical and engineering programs). A few years ago it was even said that the business program itself was floundering. However, Desautels had made critical changes to its curriculum and as evidenced by recent years rankings (FT, BW, Forbes, Economist, etc) has steadily made ground and is now fairly comparable with the Canadian Big 4 (ie. Ivey, Rotman, Schulick,and Queens). HEC is a good school as well, but it is a one-year program, so comparing McGill and HEC is not a 100% perfect comparison. It would depend on your post-mba career goals (are you changing career path? etc). I actually have done exactly what PrecisionEssay had said in terms of popping by both schools. I was impressed by both and I think from a learning perspective both would serve my purposes, but ultimately I made my decision based on my post-mba career goals.

hope that helps!

DC