Canadian MBA now or US Next Year

[pberry]

Hi All,

(I already posted this in the expert evaluation forum but saw this forum and thought it was a more appropriate place. Sorry for the cross post).

I have a bit of a dilemma on my hands. I have been accepted to University of Toronto Rotman for the fall 2013 intake. At the same time I have been offered a pretty interesting promotion at work from a tech engineering role to a business development role. I know I do want to take an MBA but I am trying to decide whether to go to school now or wait and apply in R1 for top US schools. I have a 740 GMAT, 4.5 years WE at matriculation for 2013 (5.5 years for 2014) and 3.1 GPA in engineering. I am currently 27 years old. Also I am Canadian so Visa advantages in Canada don't really matter. I am a technical engineer in the energy efficiency industry but like I said I am making a move right now to BD.

My post MBA goals are to work with a top management consulting firm (eventually specializing in energy) or to work in internal strategy for a clean tech related energy company. The reason I am considering waiting and going for top 15 is they have much better recruitment to top consulting firms and they get more interest from top clean tech companies.

In terms of where I live, I am pretty adaptable to working wherever I find the best opportunities.

My target schools are all top 15. Do you think waiting and applying to a top 15 is a better career move than attending Rotman this fall?

Any guidance you can give is very appreciated.

Thanks!

[CriticalSquareMBA]

Hi pberry,

While Rotman is a great program (and congrats on the admit!) yes, I absolutely think you should wait for next year and take a pass at the top 15 in the US.

Your academics are ok (a 3.1 in engineering, while not high, is fairly respectable). Your GMAT is above average for all the top 15 so that's fantastic. Finally, your work experience will greatly benefit from your promotion in two ways. For one, your application for next year will be stronger for it and you will be able to fall back on not only a promotion but also a set of experiences to pull from that have strategic focus. However, equally important is the impact of the promotion on YOU. Getting that business development angle will open you up to new experiences and ways of looking at things. These will allow you to get more out of your MBA and from a personal choice I think it's the right thing for you to round out your experiences.

One additional thing to consider is also the impact this additional year will have your resume as you look for an internship and a full time job. If you're looking to get into strategy consulting with purely IT experience, that can be something to overcome. But if you can speak to other aspects, then that greatly improves your candidacy.

I hope that helps - if you have any questions, let me know!

Bhavik