LOOKING TO DO AN MBA IN CANADA- CHANCES OF AN AFRICAN MAN

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I am a lawyer and I am also a Chartered Accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). My most recent academic pursuit was the MBA from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife, Nigeria in 2014 which I finished with a "B+".

I obtained my Law Bachelor's degree in 2007 with a 4.5 cumulative grade point average (The University I graduated from use the 7 points grading scale as against the 5 points scale popular with other peer universities.) The law degree programme lasted for 5 years.

I currently work with a national supervisor of the country's financial services sector in the last 6 years. I have handled the management and recovery of assets in my previous role and currently work in a team as a bank examiner to periodically supervise and access the overall financial health status of banks (which include regulatory capital adequacy computation, earnings, risk management, credit and advances, ICAAP, etc) using risk based methodologies.

I am just a year on the role and it has become evident to me that my new role deserves higher competence and skills of world class level as the banks being regulated are getting sophisticated with time.

Hence my resolve to enroll in a full time Co-op MBA with schools MacMaster's Degroote Business School or Brock's Goodman with the accounting specialization although the programme is going to be self-financed.

To my main enquiries:
1. Will I be too old at 35 (when I will be applying in 2018) to come to Degroote for a full Co-op MBA

2. I intend to sit for the GMAT next year (2017 with a target score of 650). How stale will a GMAT score be (3, 4 years old score) that may jeopardize my application's success?


3. I wrote Degroote (my 1st choice for several reasons) about my condition and that I have a local MBA, I was replied that I may not be eligible for the MBA because I already have a MBA. I feel something is not adding up...my local MBA will not be used to grant me exemption waivers neither can I use it to secure a job in Canada, so why will I, on its basis, be disqualified for enrollment in the programme? (If anyone has an idea about this kindly help me out with an explanation) (though I have not written the lady back after their reply to my 1st mail, I honestly want to believe it's her opinion, not the programme's stand on the issue)

4.Can someone kindly explain this especially the underlined (as I saw it on Degroote's website) in relation to my 5-year Law degree:...Official transcripts from each post-secondary institution you've attended, including university transcript.
WHAT WE LOOK FOR: The completion of a 4-year bachelor's degree in any discipline, a recommended B average (73-76% or 3.0 on a 4-point scale) in your two most recent years of university study and proof of graduation (if applicable).

(I have a copy of my transcript, detailing all courses taken for the 5 academic sessions and the unit weight of each course)

Thank you as you take time to address my enquiries issue by issue.[/i]

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by mbaMissionKate » Thu Nov 17, 2016 12:42 pm
Hello there!
Sounds like you have an interesting, multi-disciplinary background, and I can see why an MBA would help you to further elevate your skills. To answer your questions...

1. There's really no such thing as being "too old" for an MBA...the only requirement for most programs is that you have at least 1 or 2 years of work experience. So yes, you will be on the higher end, and often the average age is around 28/29, but as long as you can demonstrate why you need that degree at this point in your career and show qualities like openness to self-improvement and curiosity, they won't hold your age against you. Many more experienced applicants do choose to pursue an Executive MBA option, so that's worth considering in your case, but I'm not sure that will align with your goals.

2. GMAT scores are good for 5 years so as long as you apply within that timeframe, you're good!

3. I can't speak for that program specifically, but yes, some schools require that you do not already have an MBA. It's possible they could make an exception or grant you a waiver, so it's worth speaking with someone in admissions directly about this.

4. I believe all they are saying is that they look for a completed bachelor's and prefer your GPA to be in that range. I think what they mean by the "two most recent years" is that they put more weight on the second half of your degree, so if you had four years and got some bad grades in the first two years, but then trended upwards from there, they won't hold that against you. The transcript you have should suffice, though double check that they will accept a copy and don't require an official, original version.

Hope this helps, and good luck!
Kate