Target school vs Scholarship
Hey. I'm an international student who has a really difficult decision to make till next week. I got into UBC Sauder around early Jan. It was my top choice for a while: the courses sound interesting, the campus is beautiful and it starts directly from first year. But then I got into Ivey (UWO) around late Jan, and since Ivey SEEMS to be a better target for banks and consulting firms (MBB, Alvarez and Marsal, OW, LEK etc etc), it replaced Sauder as my top choice. I'm leaning more towards consulting btw.
But, and here is where the problem lies, UBC very recently (like a week ago) offered me the OIS (25k in scholarship money). 25k to an international student is a big deal (it helps take a massive financial load off). While I understand that I might not get the same opportunities in UBC regarding consulting, they do have good mentorship programmes for the capital markets and consulting. Now I'm thinking of attending UBC for the first two years and then transferring to Ivey/Queen's for the last two. My main question boils down to this ig - Should I go to UBC for the scholarship money (and the campus vibes and stuff) or should I attend Ivey (with no scholarship), seeing how it is a better target?
I've also read from wso how finance/consulting recruiting begins very early, and many firms do not prioritise AEO students (they're not perceived on the same level as HBA year 1/2 students). Does all this slightly diminish Ivey's programme (or Ivey itself as a target school)? But Vancouver doesn't have the same opportunities as Toronto in terms of banking/consulting.
As, I'm sure, is clearly evident I'm very confused regarding what to choose. Any insights would be hugely helpful!
Hi thevelveteendream, just trying to help:
More suggestions...
I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.
As a Canadian, let me give you my opinion (take it with a grain of salt).
Assuming that culture wise you would enjoy both equally - if I were you, I would take the UBC offer (with the 25K scholarship). The reason is that UBC is an amazing school and perhaps it might not be as strong as Ivey, it's still pretty damn strong in Canada. Look at the MBB website, they have a UBC Captain (see below) and on Linkedin, there are a TON of UBC alumni at MBB and Big4 in Toronto (McKinsey also has a Vancouver office and BCG a Calgary office so those will be possible too). If you want to work in Canada, for either finance or consulting, I don't think it matters. What will matter A LOT more will be your GPA, your experiences, ECs, and networking. Int Students usually struggle a little bit breaking into consulting in Canada as the language barrier can be troublesome (cases are all about communicating) so ensuring that won't be a challenge (assuming you are from a non-English speaking country).
I'm om the IB recruiting team of a Big5 bank in Canada and I find that the gap is closing more and more as the firms are realizing that there is talent everywhere. 10 years ago, I would've said Ivey or if you wanted IB in the US, the same thing.
I wouldn't have the mindset of depending on transferring to Ivey/Queen as there are so few seats (for example Ivey's standards for transfers are a lot higher and 30 out of 600+ student were transfers last year I believe). I would try if that's what you want but I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket
Trust me, UBC is a great school so I don't think the advantage is so great that you will be struggling to get interviews. My advice for consulting is to focus on things you are generally interested in (and not only for the resume), make an impact in whatever you do and network like crazy and things will work out for you.
Wishing you the best!
https://www.mckinsey.com/ca/careers/how-to-apply
Hey, thank you for your response. I have decided to commit to Western with AEO status. As a big 5 bank recruiter, when do you think that an incoming freshman should start networking? And how would I go about doing that, since I'd be in London for the duration of my degree and all the major firms have alumni and offices in Toronto which is more than 2 hours away from London? Should I begin by talking to Ivey representatives and MBB Captains (as per your link) and then branch out to Ivey alumni in Toronto?
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