Rotman vs Simon

Hello All, Following is my profile:- GMAT Score: 650 TOEFL: 107 Work Ex.: 50 months(30 months in Japan Onsite) Profession : Software Engineer in Finance Domain Academics: B.E. Computer Sc. and Engg. passed with distinction Extra Curr…

Hello All,
Following is my profile:-
GMAT Score: 650
TOEFL: 107
Work Ex.: 50 months(30 months in Japan Onsite)
Profession : Software Engineer in Finance Domain
Academics: B.E. Computer Sc. and Engg. passed with distinction
Extra Curricular: Good

After an MBA I wish to manage the IT of a top Investment Bank hence a financial background would be god. I have admits from both rotman and simon with no scholarships. I am confused which school to join :dontgeti:. Below are the positives and negatives of both school which come to my mind.
Rotman:-
1. It is No.1 college in Canada and in recent FT ranking slipped from 27th to 40th but that does not concern me much. 6th best in Finance.
2. Expensive with total cost coming to $137,000.
3. Less visa hassles with PR availability on graduation.
4. Most top finance companies come to Rotman but Business Week claims not very good fo career switchers like me.
5. Located in Downtown Toronto which is 3rd largest financial hub in North America after New York and Chicago

Simon:-
1. Ranked 28th in US and in recent FT ranking slipped from 38th to 47th. 3rd best in Finance
2. Cheaper with total cost coming to $112,000.
3. Visa hassles to switch from F1 to H1B.
4. Has recruiting hassles as claimed by Business Week
5. Located in New York State 6 hr away from New York City. I wonder if this distane is of any concern?

Please I would be grateful to any inputs by all you people out there. Tell me how correct or incorrect is my understanding of the two B-schools is and finally which would be the better B-school for my future career

I thought I share some important information.Some of you may try finding on your own.I have contacted many of the current first year and second year students at Simon.I didnot get good feedback about the school.I am considering 2010 intake for b-schools.Now i have decided that Simon is off my list.The students I talked to feel that the current drop in rankings in businessweek does reflect the state of affairs there.

I supposed that its one of best for finance etc etc.But when i contacted the current first and second years i was shocked.They say that school does a sweet job when you get admitted my calling, sendin nice emails and all . But the administration slacks completely after that.The desis there donot seem happy with anything. You all may consider asking the desis there.Thats the feedback I got. You may get your own by contacting them

Have a look at graduate comments below, many sound pretty bad
University of Rochester: Full-Time MBA Profile ? BusinessWeek

It seems not even 4-5 desis out of maybe 30-40 have a job till now.I have
confirmed that.Its not so bad in other 'top' schools sought by desis.

For 'Finance' as we believe we can read in the above link

Simon School is unable to attract recruiters to its campus for recruitment. Despite the school's proximity to NYC and Boston, the school is relatively unknown to recruiters. Career Services staff at school is ineffective and does not engage potential recruiters actively through the alumni network. Recruitment opportunities are virtually non-existent at the school. Every year, on an average, only 50% of the students are able to secure job placements by the time of graduation. -- Finance

University of Rochester places great emphasis on research and academics but fails in the one aspect that matters most to students: Finding a competitive JOB!! The recruiters they line up are sub par and the career management center is a joke - they are either lazy or incompetent compared to other schools who rank lower than this school. -- Finance

They sound similar to what desis I contacted told me..

I decided to stay out of Simon and rest is anyone's call.

All the best for all your applications.

Firstly, this probably is a thread started in a wrong group. Request the mods to move it to the appropriate section.

Just my $0.02:

1. Getting into IB from Wharton and Harvard is tough. My take you have next to nil (never say 0 there is always hope ) from Simon and Rotman. Especially given your a software background (albeit finance domain is a positive).

2. $137K v/s $112K is not a biggie. I mean it is like choosing between a D&G; suit and an Armani suit. When you are anyways splurging don't bother about the 20K difference. It is the worst parameter you can keep.

3. Your bigger concern should be US v/s Canada. The fact is (though others might deny) that Canada is Mithunda and US is the Big B. I have not been to Canada but can speak about the US. So keeping Simon totally out is perhaps a bad decision.

4. However Rotman vis-a-vis Simon debate is best understood by talking to people from both the schools. PM me if you want to get into touch with someone from either of the schools.

5. I think your bigger concern right now should be: Loan Crisis Hits the MBA World - BusinessWeek

Hope this helps,

Arun