An Amazing Experience - Of Course, With Ups And Downs

Experience during the program

McGill is an amazing brand, even if Desautels Faculty of Management is not as great a brand. The program has had some management changes and let’s just say as with any new management there are some gaps. If you come into the program assuming a great label (McGill MBA) is going to make things super easy for your career, you may be in for a surprise. The things I’ve enjoyed so far are - small diverse class, some amazing professors, the city, and the overall flexibility and experience. There is a sense of community, hands down. You will find a family within the larger Desautels family and it will sweeten your experience. You will know and hopefully get to work with mostly everyone in the program, including part-time MBAs. This will give you an immense opportunity to learn. The class is highly international (with a distinct Indian bias, which the program is attempting to change), and the exposure to different cultures and backgrounds is a huge advantage.
As you might have read recently, Montreal keeps getting in the headlines as the best city for student life. There is a gazillion various things you could do both on and off campus, adding to your overall student experience at McGill. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, you will get all the support you need through McGill. The international study trip at the end of year 1 would be etched in your memories, there is no doubt about it. A fantastic way to cap off the first year, it will be an intense immersion into how business works in an international context different from Canada. Overall, the experience is unique in its way and gives you the opportunity to learn a lot. So far I’ve enjoyed the program a lot and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an experience more than just a job. I’ve made some really good friends and the network is strong. Everyone here is super-friendly and will be more than willing to take time out for a coffee chat or a phone call to discuss the program and their experiences with you. So feel free to reach out to anyone and you’d be assured to get a response.

About professors, classes and curriculum

As in any university or college, there are a few professors who stand-out, not because of their academic and research credentials (come on, seriously, students don’t care, to say it politely) but because of who they are and how they helpful they can be in your student life. The ones I mention below are people who I’ve studied under or have had verifiable and trustable reviews from my classmates. Philippe Levy will be one of the first professors you’ll meet as part of the basecamp, and he will help you look at accounting in a completely different way. He is an amazing professor, and one you will want to talk to when you see him later anywhere in the campus. Sujata Madan's classes will be unlike any you take and her warmth and infectious joy add to the personal touch of the program. For people like me who dread the word economics before b-school, she makes it livable. Corey Phelps' lectures are really good ones in the MBA core. Hearsay is that, you have to at least one marketing class with Louis Gialloreto, if you do not intend on graduating with a marketing concentration. This is a view shared by the outgoing class and alumni from a decade ago. I enjoyed Margaret Graham’s (retired) ‘Managing Innovation and Strategy’ class, but my batch is the last she’s taught. These are but some of the excellent professors at Desautels. Luckily you can shop for classes and figure out which classes suit you best. Even more luckily, you can do cross-disciplinary classes to complete your concentration requirements - meaning that even if you do a dual concentration, you can mix in select important classes from other concentrations and make your MBA curriculum a lot more holistic. I’ve known students who have done way more classes than required to graduate, just because they were keen on learning from certain professors.

About job placement process

Montreal is a very multi-cultural and vibrant place to be at, especially as a student. In fact, it has often been named the best city for student life. But, if you do not speak French, it is not the best place to be in when looking for jobs. Career services will extend support to you, but only to the extent to which you seek support. The better the rapport you have with them, the better aligned you are, the better help you will get. It is simply a matter of getting a return on the effort you put in. The key is to work hard from day 1, if you need an internship/job, especially in the Montreal scene. It gets harder to land a job if your efforts are not sincere from the beginning. Just don't expect things to be handed to you on a platter here - job placements are tough to secure and the Canadian market really values word-of-mouth recommendations and personal connections.
Having said that, there are folks who have landed opportunities in companies such as: RBC, TD, Scotiabank, CIBC, BMO, Rogers, Telus, Bell, Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney, CGI, Facebook, Ford, etc. McGill Business Consulting Group is an interesting option to consider for those who are not keen to convert their internships into a full-time opportunity and are after an experience. If you are smart enough and connect with Part-Time MBAs, Alumni (not just from Desautels, but from McGill as a whole), and do your homework, internships and jobs are easy to find. People also look to Toronto for options, which works out pretty well for non-French speaking students. In a nutshell, a brand can only get you so far, and just getting into a good school does not guarantee a job. There is work to do thereafter..

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (3.0)
Classmates rating (3.0)

Strengths of the program:

Student body, diversity
Brand/Ranking
Admissions Team

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Investment Banking
Entrepreneurship

Can be improved:

Alumni Network
Career opportunities provided by school
Facilities