Forum: School selection (2 Comments)
Selection between two good schools
Posted by - pratik99bhide - on 23 May 2013 - 9:29am
Hello Mr. Thomas,
I have been through many of the posts on this forum and have seen some very helpful tips from you.
I am currently a little confused between which b-school to select for MIM program.I have been admitted to 1)HEC Paris, and 2)Sauder School of business (univ of British Columbia).
While I know HEC is without a doubt more recognized as a business school with lots of exciting opportunities and probably one of the best MIM programs in the world, UBC Sauder have offered me a 'business leader of tomorrow scholarship award' of 10,000 $ given to one person annually. Also this is made confusing as UBC is a reputed name in north america and canada is more tolerant n easy for getting work visa, but at the same time I will not a chance to do a specialization at Sauder which I can get to do at HEC.
Kindly let me know your inputs too sir as I think they will be helpful too.
Regards
Posted by - Thomas Graf - on 23 May 2013 - 12:01pm
Hi there,
first of all, congratulations for the acceptance at HEC and Sauder, also for the scholarship. Now you have two great choices and can make a decision based on your preferences.
You mentioned the specialization at the end of your post. The question is: How important is that for you? More precisely, how important is it for you to have one or two courses in a specific subject area? If it is very important, have you ever considered doign a specialized Master?
I am asking because you dcided for Masters in Management - programs that are per definition not specialized even though they may offer some specialization in the advanced stages. For most MIM people, therefore, the opportunity to specialize is less important.
Length
The Sauder MIM is a very short program and takes only 9 months. Can be an advantage (less costs, more intense, faster job entry); can also mean, however, that you learn much less than at HEC (18 months program). If you want to build up strong management skills, maybe HEC would be better.Next, where do you want to work? I always recommend to study in North America if you want to work there later on. Conversely, the HEC is a great name in Europe. On the other hand, there may be firms in the US that know HEC very well and there may be firms in Europe that know Sauder. So, try to find out if your favorite employers know and like HEC or Sauder and ideally come to campus. Putting it around: Try to find out which employers recruit at HEC and Sauder and where the graduates end up working. This will help you.
Money
Well, that's another important question. Do you have the budget for HEC and are you willing to pay for it? Clearly, a 9 months program with a scholarship will be cheaper than 18 months without scholarship.Final recommendation: Ideally you would visit the campuses before you start to study - to dind out if that's the place where you want to spend time of your life.
Best wishes
ThomasBy Thomas Graf
