Calgary or Western - Canadians/Nayls?
I sent this to Nayls in a PM. Since he's Canadian, I figured he would have some sound advice, but no reply yet. I'd like to open up to the rest of you. I also realize that there have been quite a few threads regarding Ivey, but I believe that none of them have yet addressed my situation.
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Hi there, I recently began browsing through WSO due to an interest in a potential career in finance (marketing is also a possible endeavor).
I have recently graduated from a Calgary (the Alberta Oil boom) high school and will be pursuing a business degree. I am currently trying to decide between attending the University of Calgary or UWO. Keep in mind that I am not in Ivey AEO. This is my fault as I was an idiot and did not fully rehearse myself with what AEO specifically was at the time of applying. Additionally, I did allow my grades to drop somewhat in my last year, although my extra curriculars may have made up for it in hindsight.
Regardless of which university I ultimately choose, my goal is to get into Ivey after 2 years. If I remain in Calgary, I would be saving money and may find it easier to keep up my extra curriculars and/or grades while living at home. However, I suspect that attending UWO would give me an edge over a U of C graduate, although I'm basing this on reputation (even with the regular management & organizational studies program). I'm sure you can see the risk of going to UWO with the final goal of Ivey, when I could just stay here in Calgary and transfer.
Ivey's list of equivalent courses to Business2257 at the U of C is also inaccurate. I am in contact with someone from their admissions regarding this, but they have essentially given me the responsibility to act as a middle-man between the two universities to help them work out the conflict.
I found some results regarding Ivey's applications for 2007. 70 applicants outside of UWO - 30 accepted. It seems that 120 within UWO applicants were accepted. They have told me that they have no quotas as to how many applicants they accept. Therefore, I'm reluctant to conclude that UWO applicants would have an easier time getting in than someone from, say, U of C (although it seems that way).
I'm hoping that some of you would be able to shed some light on this issue. Considering your experience and what you've seen in employees, applicants, etc. which university would you recommend? Furthermore, if I began a finance career in Canada, would that experience make it easier to obtain a job in the U.S? And lastly, would a dual specialization/major be beneficial to my job placement?
Thanks for the help.
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Western, for sure, Im an
Western, for sure, Im an alum of Ivey, and I, not to long ago landed a FT analyst position of Greenhill and Co.
Recruiting is much better, and Ivey ranks higher than Haskayne if every ranking imaingable, the alumni network is very excellent at western, and it will be much easier to land a finance job. The career services at U Calgary are non existent but Ivey's are hands down the best in Canada. You can apply for AEO, which requires lots of ECs and a 90% average, or you can go to another accredited campus on western or somewhere else for 2 years before going to Ivey (Ivey's UG program, HBA lasts 2 years only). If you begin a finance career in CA, it would depend on where you worked. Some HFs and PEs automatically go for NY BB to fill their ranks. For people's long term goals that are NYC, I recommend going to Greenhill, GS Canada, MS Canada, Merill Lynch Canada, ManGroup, Bain, Etc. IN investment banking, Ivey is the most represented Canadian B school, and is a "canadian target" along with Schulich, and Rotman. Where I work, there are 4 Ivey grads, 1 rotman grad, and 2 Queens U grads.
FINANCE
Allstate Insurance Company of Canada
American Express
Barclays Capital
BDO Dunwoody LLP
Berkshire Securities
Blackmont Capital Inc.
Blair Franklin Capital Partners
BMO Capital Markets
Canaccord Adams
CIBC Bank
CIT Financial Ltd. Canada
Citi Smith Barney
Citibank
Cormark Securities
CPP Investment Board
Credit Suisse
Creststreet Capital Corporation
DBRS Limited
Deloitte (Audit, Tax & ERS)
Descartes Global Asset Management Ltd.
Desjardins Securities Inc
Deutsche Bank
Diversified Global Asset Management
Drug Royalty Corporation Inc.
Dundee Securities Corporation
Ernst & Young LLP
Evercore Partners
Export Development Canada
Fidelity Investments
Fox-Pitt Kelton Cochran Caronia Waller
GE Capital Solutions
GE Commercial Finance
Genuity Capital Markets
Goldman Sachs & Co.
Greenhill
Haywood Securities, Inc.
Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin
HSBC Financial
Investors Group Financial Services
JP Morgan
K J Harrison and Partners
Kilmer Capital Partners
KPMG LLP
Lazard Corporation
Loewen & Partners Corporate Services Inc.
London Capital Management
Macquarie North America Ltd.
Manulife Financial
FINANCE - CONTINUED
Maple Leaf Capital
Mawer Investment Management Ltd.
Merrill Lynch Canada Inc
Middlefield Capital Corporation
Morgan Stanley
National Bank Financial
Neal, Pallett & Townsend
Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board
OPAX Investments Inc.
OPSEU Pension Trust
Orion Securities
Pembroke Management Ltd.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Raymond James Ltd.
RBC
ReichmannHauer Capital Partners
RSM Richter (Accounting)
Scotia
Scotts Real Estate Investment Trust
Standard Chartered Bank
State Farm Insurance
Taconic Capital Advisors, LLC
TD Canada Trust
Tech Capital Partners
Tri-Artisan Partners LLC
Tristone Capital
Ubika Corporation
UBS
Union Square Advisors
Wells Fargo & Company
Oh Sweet Jesus, somebody
Oh Sweet Jesus, somebody replied!
Thanks for the input greenhill, since I first started this thread, I've decided on UWO. In fact, I just paid the first portion of my BMOS tuition fees today.
Unfortunately, I'm still left second-guessing my decision. I am absolutely determined to get into Ivey (non-AEO) after 2 years, even if that means sacrificing most of my free time to study and gain extra EC's.
Hypothetical situation: let's say that I don't get in, and pursue the regular BMOS program for all four years. How would the recruiting and job opportunities be in this case? Reputation surely helps to get one's foot in the door, so this would clearly hinder my chances to an extent. Since some Ivey professors also teach the regular business program, would potential employers recognize the closeness between BMOS and Ivey? And is there any way I could make use of Ivey alumni through the regular program?
I need reassurance that even regular UWO business surpasses Haskayne!
Thanks.
I took Faculty of
I took Faculty of engineering b4 going to Ivey (AEO). Yeah, it's true that soem ivey profs teach at BMOS, but it's nowhere as prestigious as Ivey's HBA. Unfortunately, most employer dont recognize the "closeness", they see BMOS as a Faculty of Arts and Humanitaries type program, as it somewhat focuses on human behaviour type stuff. The only BMOS grad I know, is a strategic consultant. BMOS is excellent for Management consulting,and marketing but for Finance, HBA is more revered among employers.
Eh shit. Hope I didn't make
Eh shit. Hope I didn't make the wrong decision.
You made the right decision
Western is a better school than UofC regardless of the program. I myself went to Western for undergrad, applied and got turned down from Ivey's HBA program and got my first job on Wall Street from my history program. I went to Ivey for my MBA and have been just as impressed with the MBA as the HBA program. You made the right decision.
Having said that, there is no doubt that Ivey is the better program (versus other programs at Western; I didn't even know they had another undergraduate business program but I'll take your word for it). Work hard to get into Ivey. Go to the school, develop a relationship with the program recruiters. They are expanding the program and growing it over the next few years, so you picked a great time to enter. Work hard and keep your grades high and you know to keep up your extra curriculars. The strength of Ivey comes from the strength of the applicants and the class.
Dual specialization is highly sought after, particularly in Calgary. An HBA and engineering degree would make you a top candidate for energy and mining groups (and likely others including industrials). I am not sure what other dual programs you are looking at, but soemthing like law would also be attractive.
Finally, would a position in Canada help get one in the U.S.? Yes. If you pick your spot well and time it well with the market, you can make a move within investment banking pretty much where ever you want. I know bankers that worked in Toronto and went to NYC, others who did Toronto to London (and LA, and HK and from Calgary to all these places etc). Once you have finance skills you can pretty much work anywhere at the junior level (harder at the senior levels as you are expected to have client relationships that are tougher to do in a move).
I can't log into this site from my work anymore so I am likely going to be dramatically less active on this board but will check in every now and again.