i have 3.1 yrs of workex currently in IT as senior software developer and would have 4.3 yrs in fall 2013 in which i want to join full time mba...but my gmat score is prettly low at 590...with this low score( though have a decent acads with 3.8 cgpa and 82 and 88 % in 10th and 12th std and loads of curricular activities while in college and won awards twice for consistent and hardwork in my projects in IT cmpny...) , not eyeing the ivy leagues but still 2 tier cllges with good repo would be ok...is Haskayne school good enough to apply as i heard oil/gas sector exp. is must in there to get a decent job and diffclt for consulting...kindly advice...

"I cannot agree with you any more' means "I completely agree with you" :)

Dear Uniwander, I wouldn't mind your being disagree with any one, not only with me.
Quite contrary, People who are not sure what they want, can not excel anywhere. Before applying to any Univ. One should be aware of such (Placements, salary, sectors etc) factors. I applied to Calgary because of my Prior work ex. which is in Oil & Gas.
Best of Luck wherever you go.

Dear Uniwander, I wouldn't mind your being disagree with any one, not only with me.
Quite contrary, People who are not sure what they want, can not excel anywhere. Before applying to any Univ. One should be aware of such (Placements, salary, sectors etc) factors. I applied to Calgary because of my Prior work ex. which is in Oil & Gas.
Best of Luck wherever you go.

Buddy, I cannot agree with you any more...

It's very likely that I won't go to Haskayne. From what I know, if you don't have a good background in oil&gas; industry, it will be very difficult to find a decent job in Calgary. Of course, if the main goal is to immigrate to Canada, Haskayne might be a good choice considering the relatively low tuition.

I have decided to attend GWU only. Still I would love to know the Haskayne community. There is no harm in that.
Aside from US or Canada Univ. remember one thing, for an international student it hardly matters wherever you go (Except Ivy leagues), you gotto prepare yourself for the job search. There are no campus placements as such for international students even in top notch US Universities. Students get the job by their own effort with the help of career services or other contacts. Since we are Indian, its a fact very hard to digest...:-). I can understand that..!
I think that in such case when you are going to a mediocre Univ., ROI should be the top most priority.

I have decided to attend GWU only. Still I would love to know the Haskayne community. There is no harm in that.
Aside from US or Canada Univ. remember one thing, for an international student it hardly matters wherever you go (Except Ivy leagues), you gotto prepare yourself for the job search. There are no campus placements as such for international students even in top notch US Universities. Students get the job by their own effort with the help of career services or other contacts. Since we are Indian, its a fact very hard to digest...:-). I can understand that..!
I think that in such case when you are going to a mediocre Univ., ROI should be the top most priority.

Hello VJReliance, have you changed your mind? You mentioned earlier in your post that you denied the offer from Haskayne and decide to got to GWU in US...

Is that true? If so what changed?

Hey Guys..
I have created a close group exclusively for the Haskayne Class of 2014 on Face book. I request you alll to go through it and join the group.
here is the link for the group
Log In | Facebook

Hey Guys..
I have created a close group exclusively for the Haskayne Class of 2014 on Face book. I request you alll to go through it and join the group.
here is the link for the group
http://www.facebook.com/groups/431812976839920/

Hey VJReliance, do you have more updates on the fellows in Haskayne? Have they located any jobs or internships?

I may or may not attend Haskayne...If all you hear is bad news, I'm probably more convinced not to go to this business school...

Overall, if you don't have local work experiences or you don't have a background in oil&gas; industry, Haskayne may not be a very good choice..

Dear uniwander,
You put it correctly about the states and its tight immigration policy. It has never ever been so easy to enter the states. Besides, the the cost of attending a US Business school is almost 2 to 3 times that of a Canadian Business School.
What distinguishes both countries from a student point of view however, is the wide acceptance of Brand America, specially back home in India. Amrican Univs are so open-mindedly accepted in India that it's not possible to compare the value on your investments with those of Canadian Univs..Just my 2 cents!

Take the recent example of this year's ISB class configuration.. Two of my seniors (@ my Co.) from Purdue University were admitted without much hassle to the class, having scored in lower 600s in GMAT. The success saga dosen't just stops there man! The salary package and the growth prospects for people having an MBA from quality American Business Schools are way too high compared with any Indian Bschools except IIM A & B. In fact I have worked with people from IIM Indore & Lucknow.. and believe me guys I never could have knew if they were IIM alumnus had I not seen their CVs incidently.

Off-course the job search in USA is also fierce, but one can rely on his own, provided he/she is having some quality work experience under his/her belt. Supplemented with a quality b school degree, one should be fine in his job search. Moreover, given the no. of companies, this seems realistic at least for me.

if we have to pay 1st term tution fee, then we are in soup.

I haven't started visa yet but waiting to start from 1st week of june.

once visa thing gets over, we can breathe easily as I am not sure how tough/easy is candian visa

I am getting my loan done from State Bank of Patiala....so being a government bank it would take some time....most prob it would be done by this weekend.

Have you started ur VISA process. In the checklist it is given that we have to attach a copy of first sem tuition fees deposit. Have you deposited the same in UofC account or any update on the same.

Looks like your bank is taking lot of time to finalize loan.

hey,
here is mail from my mentor regarding my question about internships,job prospects,

"
As for MBA internships, unfortunately I don't have any first-hand experience with that because my background is mostly science-related. I will ask around, though, and hopefully I can give you a good answer. But from my general observations, I don't think the job market for MBA's should be too difficult, especially in Calgary. The U of C has a very respected Business program and they offer several opportunities for internships and jobs. Also, we are a huge Oil and Gas city so it shouldn't be difficult to put your MBA to use here... But again, this is just my own guess!

here is the e-mail for the MBA Career Consultant at the U of C: moira.lemke@haskayne.ucalgary.ca
"

Just getting the Loan formailities completed

Hi,

Has anybody started applying for Visa yet?

..Gmatwarrior

Dear uniwander,
You put it correctly about the states and its tight immigration policy. It has never ever been so easy to enter the states. Besides, the the cost of attending a US Business school is almost 2 to 3 times that of a Canadian Business School.
What distinguishes both countries from a student point of view however, is the wide acceptance of Brand America, specially back home in India. Amrican Univs are so open-mindedly accepted in India that it's not possible to compare the value on your investments with those of Canadian Univs..Just my 2 cents!

Take the recent example of this year's ISB class configuration.. Two of my seniors (@ my Co.) from Purdue University were admitted without much hassle to the class, having scored in lower 600s in GMAT. The success saga dosen't just stops there man! The salary package and the growth prospects for people having an MBA from quality American Business Schools are way too high compared with any Indian Bschools except IIM A & B. In fact I have worked with people from IIM Indore & Lucknow.. and believe me guys I never could have knew if they were IIM alumnus had I not seen their CVs incidently.

Off-course the job search in USA is also fierce, but one can rely on his own, provided he/she is having some quality work experience under his/her belt. Supplemented with a quality b school degree, one should be fine in his job search. Moreover, given the no. of companies, this seems realistic at least for me.

This is basically what I heard..check my previous posts...

without a oild&gas; background, it's really difficult for international students to find a job in Calgary...

But keep in mind, it's very tough in the states too...especially when the economy is bad and the immigration policy is very tight

Hi Guys..I am sorry to share this but this is the utter reality which no one could deny. There are no jobs at all for international students. Specially for Indian IT bckgrd People.
I don't know what the source of Mr Preet's greatly misguiding information about placements or other stats. It just appears to me as if some guys are trying to justify their decision, deceiving others as if everything is fine. I have posted the same issue in my previous mails also in the moth of March when I too was considering the Haskayne. Talk to real people guys. Pankaj kapoor, Farmaan Khan, Ankur wadhwa, Adi Gupta and some few more are the guys who are still looking for internships. ( one can easily find those people @ LinkedIn). Let me make you aware about the fact guys- if you are not in case, though I am pretty sure almost all of you might be aware of this- that search for an internships should be completed at least a month in advance prior to commencement of the internship. Internships start from May 1st every year in almost all of the north American Region.

I am not disheartening anyone, nor am I preaching. just requesting every body to weigh every aspect of your forthcoming life discerningly.
Attached is the mail I received from career services office regarding the state of placements for 2012 students. those who are graduating in 2013 are facing even more alienation from Calgary Business community. This is damm true!! I can attach so much of the evidences, for justifying my claim that it would be hard to even go through all those docs at once.

Always remember guys there is a subtle difference between facts and stats. Placement stats are contrived keeping in mind only those students who were able to receive the job. Now what was the source of that job what other factors were working behind is never very clear in stats.

I wish you all very best of luck for your future. Just told haskyne admin about my denial for admission today. I would rather prefer to go to GWU, Washington DC.

This looks disheartening.

Actually,keeping Haskayne in mind, I didn't proceed further with one of my American University, Rutgers, I was supposed to send some document, since i got Haskayne, I didnot proceed.


looks like now, i am in soup

Rutgers is a great Univ Man! there can't be any comparison between the two. above all, Canada and USA are two different economies. New Jearsy is full of Desis.. Lots of part time work opp. are available after first sem.. You just check with them if any thing can happen..I am sure there might be some hope if you approach them positively.
Best of luck.

This looks disheartening.

Actually,keeping Haskayne in mind, I didn't proceed further with one of my American University, Rutgers, I was supposed to send some document, since i got Haskayne, I didnot proceed.


looks like now, i am in soup

Hi Guys..I am sorry to share this but this is the utter reality which no one could deny. There are no jobs at all for international students. Specially for Indian IT bckgrd People.
I don't know what the source of Mr Preet's greatly misguiding information about placements or other stats. It just appears to me as if some guys are trying to justify their decision, deceiving others as if everything is fine. I have posted the same issue in my previous mails also in the moth of March when I too was considering the Haskayne. Talk to real people guys. Pankaj kapoor, Farmaan Khan, Ankur wadhwa, Adi Gupta and some few more are the guys who are still looking for internships. ( one can easily find those people @ LinkedIn). Let me make you aware about the fact guys- if you are not in case, though I am pretty sure almost all of you might be aware of this- that search for an internships should be completed at least a month in advance prior to commencement of the internship. Internships start from May 1st every year in almost all of the north American Region.

I am not disheartening anyone, nor am I preaching. just requesting every body to weigh every aspect of your forthcoming life discerningly.
Attached is the mail I received from career services office regarding the state of placements for 2012 students. those who are graduating in 2013 are facing even more alienation from Calgary Business community. This is damm true!! I can attach so much of the evidences, for justifying my claim that it would be hard to even go through all those docs at once.

Always remember guys there is a subtle difference between facts and stats. Placement stats are contrived keeping in mind only those students who were able to receive the job. Now what was the source of that job what other factors were working behind is never very clear in stats.

I wish you all very best of luck for your future. Just told haskyne admin about my denial for admission today. I would rather prefer to go to GWU, Washington DC.

I have a few relatives in calgary and according to them Calgary is well connected with train and even university have its own station......

Although the plus point of university residense are immense but its costly...I have searched a few sites and found that indian food is available for 150-200$ monthly..its similar to tiffin service in india...

My friends are staying in rented accomo...for example 3 friends have rented a basement and pays around 700-900$ monthly as rent/electrivity/maintenance etc....

so we have to weigh all the oppurtunities before deciding......

Appreciate your comments Preet.

Is any of guys applying for Campus accommodation? I am still debating to take expensive campus accommodation vs Off campus inexpensive but with transport hassle accommodation.

Campus Accomodation:
Pros:
can Access Library easily
Walking distance to classes
Not much hassle in Winter to walk to classes
Not required to venture to town unless for fun on weekend
Cons:
Expensive around 700-800$

RentingOut in Calgary Town
Pros:
Inexpensive around 400-500$

Cons:
Travelling to Classes by Bus in Winter seems Not so Pleasant considering Canada is Snow fall country compared to US
Need to cook as eating out not accessible and expensive
need to go to groceries,cleaning etc is time consuming as our goal is to maximize study and minimize waste of time other than for fun


Appreciate your thoughts and I would continue to use PG as token of appreciation for PG as this is forum how we all met and found PG immense useful for MBA aspirants.


Thanx

I think you are right gmatwarrior....I also consulted one counsellor and he just asked me that why I am so eager to apply so early......I think my loan process will take some time and would apply by first week only......

regarding ur link I already had read it ....thx for posting again...i think much depends upon ur own abilities to satisfy ur potential employer with ur thoughts.....nice to see such a positive person here in u.....thx always.....pls join the facebook group to stay in further contact

Hi guys,

I spoke to one Visa counselor, it seems even we apply for Canadian student visa before 120 days, Canada Consulate put the application on hold till relevant 120days window kicks and then take up for review it seems.

so, we are better off to apply for visa in the first week of June.

thought to share this

Thanx Preet for the info.

some good positive reviews about program. I like to stay away from -ve reviews.


Haskayne MBA - beyond.ca car forums community for automotive enthusiasts

let me know if u guys like it

..classmate

Hi GMATWarrior

I received an email regarding mentorship in march end and I enrolled for the same by filling a form for the same

I think the mentor assigned to me is giving some really usefull information which is good for anyone coming to a new country

here's the link

Mentor Request Form | UC International

Hi GMATWarrior

I received an email regarding mentorship in march end and I enrolled for the same by filling a form for the same

I think the mentor assigned to me is giving some really usefull information which is good for anyone coming to a new country

Hi Preet,

Can you let us know how you were assigned mentor whereas myself and i believe others have not received any invitation for mentors or assigned any one as mentor.

Are you ahead of game?

..MbaWarrior

out of a class of about 60 students I think about 10 Indians have already received admit offers....I am also in contact with 2 people from Dubai having offers......so the numbers given by the website or not correct....also Macleans and one more site are giving the numbers at 36% international students.....difficult to beleive which one is correct.....

I personally also hope that employment situation in Haskayne is great but heard the situation is completely different for domestic and international students...

Agreed that last year was a bit difficult for international students....According to a few asian students they have found difficulty in arranging internships but a few non-asian students have also maintained that the oppurtunities available is tremendous ......thats bcoz my mentor is from south africa and he is doing internship in some retail organization...


Also the numbers that you are giivng is not from Haskayne website....All the elite universities have already slammed Macleans,FT and a few others for projecting incorrect numbers......

I personally also hope that employment situation in Haskayne is great but heard the situation is completely different for domestic and international students...

Check here:

University of Calgary (Haskayne) Calgary MBA Programs | Executive Financial Post

International Students:9%

i think ur guess work is not going in the right direction

the overall % of international students at Haskayne is about 30% and about 40% of the students enrolled are female......

Also Haskayne allumni is working in 60 odd countries......

Request you not to misguide others.........

one more guess

seems like about 90% students are domestic and 10% are international

but almost all domestic students find a job while none of the international can find one

In this case the overall placement rate is still 90%. Looks pretty good, isn't it?

i think ur guess work is not going in the right direction

the overall % of international students at Haskayne is about 30% and about 40% of the students enrolled are female......

Also Haskayne allumni is working in 60 odd countries......

Request you not to misguide others.........

one more guess

seems like about 90% students are domestic and 10% are international

but almost all domestic students find a job while none of the international can find one

In this case the overall placement rate is still 90%. Looks pretty good, isn't it?

good to know

maybe the key is the right background...

not sure if non-oil&gas; guys can get good placement...

good to know

maybe the key is the right background...

not sure if non-oil&gas; guys can get good placement...

An update from a faculty at University of Calgary..............

///quote
in Canada,there is no placement strategy here.All students sstudying in any discipline have to fetch jobs based on networking & we have networking fair,career fair where company's representatives come.Students drop in their CV at that time.Anotherr thing I wud like to add,that there r no racial discrimination in any aspect.Deserving candidates fare well.
///unquote

She has also given some details of indian origin faculty at Haskayne and I would be contacted them soon to get some input...Time and again she pointed out that Haskayne provides enough oppurtunities of networking and it depends upon individuals to get the maximum out of it.She was pretty excited and also told that many research analysts and faculty at UofC are of asian origin and are happy withe the atmosphere provided.

An update from a faculty at University of Calgary..............

///quote
in Canada,there is no placement strategy here.All students sstudying in any discipline have to fetch jobs based on networking & we have networking fair,career fair where company's representatives come.Students drop in their CV at that time.Anotherr thing I wud like to add,that there r no racial discrimination in any aspect.Deserving candidates fare well.
///unquote

She has also given some details of indian origin faculty at Haskayne and I would be contacted them soon to get some input...Time and again she pointed out that Haskayne provides enough oppurtunities of networking and it depends upon individuals to get the maximum out of it.She was pretty excited and also told that many research analysts and faculty at UofC are of asian origin and are happy withe the atmosphere provided.

Like the student in my email said, it's actually pretty easy for an undergraduate student to find a job, but the situation for international MBA students are totally different...

I'm a little scared by the fact that very few international students have located a job until now...hope they have better news in a few weeks..

yes budy......

we are in touch with a few old students (not last year) and are also chatting continuously with mentors and they all have agreed that Haskayne provide a great atmosphere to learn and provide lots f oppurtunities to interact with industry....

Placements will surely come if one have the potential to satisfy potential employers.....

yes budy......

we are in touch with a few old students (not last year) and are also chatting continuously with mentors and they all have agreed that Haskayne provide a great atmosphere to learn and provide lots f oppurtunities to interact with industry....

Placements will surely come if one have the potential to satisfy potential employers.....

yes budy......

we are in touch with a few old students (not last year) and are also chatting continuously with mentors and they all have agreed that Haskayne provide a great atmosphere to learn and provide lots f oppurtunities to interact with industry....

Placements will surely come if one have the potential to satisfy potential employers.....

agreeed

this seems to be a common problem in Canada other than a particular university..there is a difference in culture between US and Canada..but the green card situation is US is way too bad...

Some pretty negative feedbacks........

The mentors assigned to me have also mentioned that this year the university have saw a decline in arranging internships.....but he also pointed that the counter measures to tackle have already started.....as he is an undergrad he told that the career centre have started arranging seminars and sessions with corporates to tackle the situation........

People having admit from Suaders and Ottawa are also pointing towards the same story in other forums....Is it a common problem........

Some pretty negative feedbacks........

The mentors assigned to me have also mentioned that this year the university have saw a decline in arranging internships.....but he also pointed that the counter measures to tackle have already started.....as he is an undergrad he told that the career centre have started arranging seminars and sessions with corporates to tackle the situation........

People having admit from Suaders and Ottawa are also pointing towards the same story in other forums....Is it a common problem........

From another international student:

Calgary unviersity keeps in 40-50 students in one class so it should be good. I thought Master student does not have intership either so we are harder to get a first start in career.I applied to intership in my grade one year but they refused to accept me (I also hold PR).

The best way to get into oil&gas; industry is to get an undergraduate degree in that area. I have a foreign follow who reach 128,000 after six years in oil&gas; industry and this salary is much higher than any other industry. Even you can get a manager position in constuction, average is 90-100K. Caglary is a oil city! think about that. the best way for foreign guy is doing some tech skills. Business and presentation is not our strength here. of course, you might be different. MBA is improving our leadership, not tech skill at all! I did not learn any tech skills in MBA class, but lots of presentation and leadership class. Ivey is a classic example. Do not go to doctor. in canada, the higher the degree, the harder will be to find a job. New York has lot of header office so qualitive analysts are popular and they need masters and doctors. Toronto, may be the same. Calgary, just sales divisions here except oil gas company. consider about it, the economic structure! even apply a master degree in engineer will be easy to find a job after graduatioin. keep staying in ur career path

Email from an international student in Haskayne graduating this year:

My suggestion is to choose the university fits your background and located in the city where has right company for you to choose after graduation.

Calgary---oil gas city and choose oil gas major; you also could consider to take the engineering courses and find a job in BC or Tor, but it will not convinence.
Queen---best engineering university and located in Tor.
Tor unvi--best financial university as most of the financial headeroffice located there

To choose the right unviersity or major for you.

My classmates: engineer background and white people is very easy to find a job here; average salary 117k; international stu and no right background stud--no one got a job now; last year, there is an international student with GMAT 760, found a job in Tor and the salary is only 48k.