Queen's vs Waterloo AFM
Hey everyone,
I’ve applied to Queen’s Commerce and Waterloo AFM and am currently waiting on my results.
My goal is to break into IB or Asset Management and I’m pretty much set on a career in Finance.
I wanted to get some perspective on the current landscape. There's a lot of talk about the tightening visa situation in the US, and some say this has made Ivey less dominant than it used to be, while some saying Queen's is now the top undergrad business program in Canada.
On the other hand, it seems like Waterloo AFM is doing really well lately due to its co-op program.
While I wait for my decisions (hope I get into both lol), I have two questions:
1. Which program would you choose for a career in finance?
2. How would you rank the top Canadian business programs given the current hiring climate and the visa difficulties in the US?
Cheers!
Hey man,
it all really depends on your current situation, both are decent programs and you probably wouldn't regret either one.
When it comes to breaking into IB or AM your choice is mostly just do you want co-ops + extra year (afm) to prep for recruiting or do you want strong pipelines. Queens has the benefit of stronger pipelines through their clubs which means networking will be easier and more firms will most likely have spots reserved for queens students. AFM has the advantage of letting you recruit for off-cycle co-ops which has less competition compared to summer, and also your grad date will be 1 year extra, meaning you recruit in 3rd year with more work experience.
thats just my 2 cents, but obv do your own research, talk to students at those schools, visit the campuses, etc.
best of luck on your applications man.
Thanks man, leaning toward AFM because they have more technical courses but as you mentioned, pipelines matter much too
Queen's > Waterloo imo but if you're good, you'll be fine in either
I can second this. Queens has way more funding and much stronger alumni/pipeline.
Waterloo kids just put in work to create opps as semi-target.
For IB specifically, I'd go Queen's. The alumni network (QUIC/Limestone) and direct pipeline to Bay Street is hard to beat. That said, AFM is no slouch the co-op structure gives you earlier deal exposure and makes off-cycle recruiting easier. Top AFM students are placing at Evercore, PJT, Blackstone etc. The honest take: Queen's has a higher floor, AFM's ceiling is similar if you're in the top 10% of the class.
Canadian Program Rankings (Current Climate)
With US visas tightening, the gap between Ivey and Queen's has narrowed since Ivey's edge was always heavily US-pipeline driven. Right now I'd rank it roughly:
Get into Queen's if IB is the goal. AFM is the move if you want co-op optionality and are open to AM/capital markets too. Either way you're in a strong spot.
Good luck on your decision!
Id argue AFM has a higher floor. With the coop structure, basically every student graduates with a well-paying, well-regarded job, even with minimal effort.
The same cannot necessarily be said about Queens and Ivey, where you only have 3 summers with little school-provided support to land a role.
Waterloo can be more of a safe bet for students to try various roles with a safety net, while Ivey and Queen’s has a higher ceiling but lower floor.
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