Nicholas Hoy of Canadian business online presents an answer to the most sought after FAQ: How do Canadian Business Schools stand against US Business Schools?
The following are some excerpts from the article.
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Schools with the best reputations don't necessarily offer the best educations, but the brand recognition of any graduate program — and particularly in the high stakes competition among business schools — is a major determinant of a student's future employment prospects. Go to Wharton or Harvard or Stanford, the logic goes, and doors will be opened. Attend Rotman or Ivey or Schulich, and you'll have to push the doors open yourself. Even Canadian business schools admit that getting noticed by recruiters can be more difficult north of the border. "We are able to place our students in all the top companies — but our students may have to work a little harder to generate and close the opportunity," acknowledges Jim Fisher, Associate Dean, MBA Programs at Toronto's Joseph L. Rotman School of Management. Wiser points specifically to the strong alumni networks and recruitment possibilities at Stanford — and indeed stories of intense battles among recruiters for talented students are legion at elite American business schools
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One key benefit is that recruiters often perceive elite American schools more favorably than elite Canadian schools; Stanford GSB grads like Wiser and Stark can expect enhanced future earnings by virtue of the institution they chose to attend. "I think the decision on where to do an MBA is too important a life decision to base on financial reasons," says Stark. "If you can gain admission to a top U.S. school, you can make it work financially."
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Prospective MBAs elect to enroll in a specific program in part because they plan on finding employment wherever that program is located. And MBA students who weren't planning on working where they were schooled often find that the most comprehensive recruiting and alumni links are just around the corner. Prospective MBAs, therefore, had better approach the decision of which school to attend as a broader decision — and a bellwether moment — that could define their future career paths........An MBA from Rotman or Ivey will have strong brand recognition in Toronto, but it will have far less global cachet than an MBA from Harvard. Canadians who are lost to elite American MBA programs are often lost forever.
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But although location is — and should be — a compelling factor on which prospective MBAs base their decisions, students and administrators alike suggest that the qualities of the program are more important than the school's location.
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The best advice: "talk to as many students and alumni as possible at the schools you're considering," suggests Killingsworth.
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The most accomplished prospective MBAs face a tough decision whether to attend school in the U.S. or to stay in Canada. It is the responsibility of top Canadian business schools to make this decision even tougher.
Read the entire article here
