Hi everybody, I appeared for my interview yesterday for Sauder. It went pretty well. I have been told that I should expect some response within a couple of weeks. I applied in R2.
@SoumyaKSen
Hello Soumya,
Question for you, where abouts did you rent your two bedroom place.
Does the school itself have any resources/websites for off-campus housing availability.
I live in Langley, BC and am looking to move closer to UBC,
Thanks for your help
Hi,
I am a recent graduate of the Sauder MBA program and finished in December 2011. Congratulations to all those who have secured an admit from Sauder this year. I am available to answer queries regarding visas, accommodation, travel etc. Hope that my experience will be of some good use to you folks.
Cheers,
Soumyak Sen
Hi Soumyak,
Thanks a lot for offering help to the the class of 2014!!
I have the following queries on which I need your help:
1) What is the strength of UBC MBA program per you - is it specific function like Marketing/Consulting/Finance/Operations(Supply Chain Management)?
2) Is UBC MBA good for career switchers? How was the experience of your class with respect to this?
3) Could you please tell about what apartment/neighborhood did you actually live into while studies and how was your experience with that locality? I found that it takes around 50 mins one way by bus from Fraser to Sauder - so did you find it difficult to commute in everyday travel to Sauder?
4) What are your views about opting for on-campus accommodation - such as Acadia or Fairview (I am looking for family housing options)??
5) Is there anything you want to recommend to be done prior to joining Sauder in Aug?
Thanks!!
Swapnil
AartiR1982 SaysHi everybody, I appeared for my interview yesterday for Sauder. It went pretty well. I have been told that I should expect some response within a couple of weeks. I applied in R2.
Hey Aarti, would you be so kind as to share some details about your interview experience. Anything would help.
Also, and this question is for everyone, I assume we need to take the academic IELTS and not the general IELTS for visa processing, correct? Please advise.
Hey Aarti, would you be so kind as to share some details about your interview experience. Anything would help.
Also, and this question is for everyone, I assume we need to take the academic IELTS and not the general IELTS for visa processing, correct? Please advise.
Some of the interview questions that I could recollect are:
1) Tell me about yourself
2) Why Sauder?
3) What is the Career track that you are interested in?
4) What are your short term and long term goals?
5) If a book is written on you what would be the title and why?
6) What are the advantages and disadvantages of team work?
7) Which was the most difficult project that you worked on till now and what was your role in it?
What are your extra curricular activities?9) Any community activities that you are involved in? Please expand.
@Swapnil and @skinnybob,
My combined response to your queries-
1. The Marketing department of Sauder is well known the world over. Entrepreneurship and sustainability are the other two strengths of the school. This is because of the conducive startup environment in Vancouver and the green movement in the region (Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver).
2. By now you are surely aware that placements at Sauder do not take place as it happens in Indian Bschools. The career centre will only facilitate the process like resume editing, career guidance, company info sessions, job postings etc. The onus of applying to a company and following it up lies with the student. So, if you are switching careers, be prepared to market yourself well and fight it out. Lots of people in my class did manage to do so.
3. I was staying at Main and 49th, which was about 40 mins by bus in heavy traffic. This place is centrally located to go to school, the airport, downtown and is basically known to be the Indian area. It is also close to the Canada line metro. Lots of Indian grocery stores and restaurants around. Chances of having an Indian origin landlord are very high, and they do not fuss about rental agreements, bachelor tenants and food habits.
4. The MBA house is a good option for family accommodation. You can also consider Thunderbird. But, I didn't find them to be worth the money. That said, I know of people who stayed off-campus during Core and then moved into MBA house because of its close proximity to school (It is inside the UBC campus and is about 15-20 mins walk from Sauder). I am not sure if MBA graduate students are eligible for Acadia or Fairview. Trust me, you do not want to stay with undergrads around :nono:
5. Recommend what? Courses, travel arrangements, cooking skills?? Please explain.
Hope I ave been able to answer your queries sufficiently.
Cheers,
Soumyak
Hi Soumyak,
Thanks a lot for offering help to the the class of 2014!!
I have the following queries on which I need your help:
1) What is the strength of UBC MBA program per you - is it specific function like Marketing/Consulting/Finance/Operations(Supply Chain Management)?
2) Is UBC MBA good for career switchers? How was the experience of your class with respect to this?
3) Could you please tell about what apartment/neighborhood did you actually live into while studies and how was your experience with that locality? I found that it takes around 50 mins one way by bus from Fraser to Sauder - so did you find it difficult to commute in everyday travel to Sauder?
4) What are your views about opting for on-campus accommodation - such as Acadia or Fairview (I am looking for family housing options)??
5) Is there anything you want to recommend to be done prior to joining Sauder in Aug?
Thanks!!
Swapnil
To add to what Soumyak said on the housing options. This is what we (me and my wife) considered when we were evaluating on-campus vs. off-campus:
University housing is typically more expensive than off-campus accommodation. Also, if you check the MBA house floor plan, we found it to be small for two people. We were also not comfortable with a common kitchen (one huge kitchen is shared by all the residents on a particular floor).
The University is not close to downtown. In case your spouse finds a job, it will be a long commute for him/her.
Your friends' circle would be pretty much your classmates, and by default, this will be your spouse's friends' circle as well.
Indian groceries are pretty far from the university.
On the other hand:
Staying on-campus ensures you can get to school pretty quickly (a boon if you have an 8 AM class).
There are no maintenance/landlord issues, everything is taken care of.
For us personally, the negatives outweighed the positives, hence we chose to live off-campus. Hopefully this helps you make a similar assessment based on what your personal priorities are.
Cheers.
@Swapnil and @skinnybob,
My combined response to your queries-
1. The Marketing department of Sauder is well known the world over. Entrepreneurship and sustainability are the other two strengths of the school. This is because of the conducive startup environment in Vancouver and the green movement in the region (Greenpeace was founded in Vancouver).
2. By now you are surely aware that placements at Sauder do not take place as it happens in Indian Bschools. The career centre will only facilitate the process like resume editing, career guidance, company info sessions, job postings etc. The onus of applying to a company and following it up lies with the student. So, if you are switching careers, be prepared to market yourself well and fight it out. Lots of people in my class did manage to do so.
3. I was staying at Main and 49th, which was about 40 mins by bus in heavy traffic. This place is centrally located to go to school, the airport, downtown and is basically known to be the Indian area. It is also close to the Canada line metro. Lots of Indian grocery stores and restaurants around. Chances of having an Indian origin landlord are very high, and they do not fuss about rental agreements, bachelor tenants and food habits.
4. The MBA house is a good option for family accommodation. You can also consider Thunderbird. But, I didn't find them to be worth the money. That said, I know of people who stayed off-campus during Core and then moved into MBA house because of its close proximity to school (It is inside the UBC campus and is about 15-20 mins walk from Sauder). I am not sure if MBA graduate students are eligible for Acadia or Fairview. Trust me, you do not want to stay with undergrads around :nono:
5. Recommend what? Courses, travel arrangements, cooking skills?? Please explain.
Hope I ave been able to answer your queries sufficiently.
Cheers,
Soumyak
@ Soumyak & Jeeka: Thanks a Ton for your exhaustive and very informative replies!! I highly appreciate it.. 😃 :clap:
And regarding "5. Recommend what? Courses, travel arrangements, cooking skills?? Please explain.": Anything you would like to recommend based on your experience. For example, any major do's/dont's in visa application/travel plan/accommodation search/etc..
Thanks!! 
Hi guys,
I got wait-listed at Sauder 
. Do anyone else got the same response?? Can anyone tell me how much time do Sauder take to finalize the results?
Hi everyone!!
I have got an offer from UBC! My interview was conducted on 25th. I am late on the forum because I was very busy with my office.
Anyways, thank you to everyone for providing valuable insight on the school in this forum. For all those who had questions on my interview :
My Interview questions were:
- Why Sauder, Why MBA now ?
- My leadership style
- Accomplishments
- goals
- how important in the program for me to achieve my goals.
- Title of your biography
My interview lasted 27 mins and was on Skype. all the best to everyone who is yet to appear of the interview, and i would say just be confident and have a clarity on your goals, and why you chose Sauder. If you are sure on the above, I think you will be able to crack it.
Hope this helps. let me know if any more questions.
Has anyone offered a scholarship ? If yes, when did you receive that?I have got the offer in the e-mail. They would send me the complete documents through e-mail.
So, does the mention of scholarship come with the e-mail or the couriered set?
arjunfadnis87 SaysI guess we'll have to wait at least till Apr. 13th. The website says that the final notification to R2 applicants will be sent on or before apr. 13, so i guess the w/listed ppl will be considered only after that. But the concern is final notification to R3 applicants will be sent on or before May 25! so if it's so that they consider w/listed ppl after everything is over, the wait get postponed till May 25th! You have any other admits btw? Also looking at the posts on PG what is the no. of w/listed ppl?
Hi Arjun,
Any news on when we waitlisted guys can hope of any answer ? did you talk to the adcom ?
Hi guys,
I got wait-listed at Sauder. Do anyone else got the same response?? Can anyone tell me how much time do Sauder take to finalize the results?
Yup me too man !! When did u get your waitlist confirmation ?
Hi Everybody,
I have a few questions on the Sauder MBA program. It would be helpful if anyone could answer them.
-- What is the general schedule of classes? What time do we have our class, how many days a week, how many hours a day? Does that vary ?
Students get enough time to work on case studies?
-- Has anybody stayed in the MBA house? How has the experience been ?
What challenges does one face during the program?
What is the best time to book your room there?
Has anyone offered a scholarship ? If yes, when did you receive that?I have got the offer in the e-mail. They would send me the complete documents through e-mail.
So, does the mention of scholarship come with the e-mail or the couriered set?
@AArti
Hi Aarti, congrats on your offer, great job
If you qualified for a scholarship, you should receive it with your email, if not there is none being offered to you. atleast that was the way it was with me
- Congrats again
George
Hi AartiR82,
In the core, classes are held everyday from 8 am to 4 pm. There are 12 subjects and lectures are for 2 hours each. Mondays are dedicated for case discussions. There are case studies for individual subjects as well integrated ones. The schedule for post core depends on the modules you take. You might end up in the 8 am class or the evening 6-9.30 class, based on your module selection. Word of advice - the core is really hectic and teaches you a lot about time management, group dynamics and working smart(not just hard).
I had opted for off-campus housing, so cannot say much about MBA house. You might want to go through the posts in this thread and the ones from previous years, to know more about it.
Hi Everybody,
I have a few questions on the Sauder MBA program. It would be helpful if anyone could answer them.
-- What is the general schedule of classes? What time do we have our class, how many days a week, how many hours a day? Does that vary ?
Students get enough time to work on case studies?
-- Has anybody stayed in the MBA house? How has the experience been ?
What challenges does one face during the program?
What is the best time to book your room there?
Thank you for the answers!
Has anyone started the visa process already?
Hi soumyaksen ,
Could you also tell me if we have classes on weekends or the course runs 5 days a week ?
Could you also tell me if we have classes on weekends or the course runs 5 days a week ?
Hi Soumyak,
i would like to know how has been the placement record so far for your batch. How's the placement market this time around compared to last year?.From what I've heard getting into the top consulting firms is not easy, talking from a strategy/ consulting point of view. Also,for the SCM area, UBC is well known for it I think. Has that helped the placements for the SCM guys or its pretty much similar to the other areas.
Thanks,
Mihir
In the core, there are no weekend classes. But, you will end up studying or having team meetings throughout the week (all 7 days). During post core, the full-time modules run Mon through Fri and there are some weekend part-time modules (you are allowed to attend those). Since this is effectively a one-year MBA, don't expect to get free time on weekends for too much of other activities, until after your internship is done.
Hi soumyaksen ,
Could you also tell me if we have classes on weekends or the course runs 5 days a week ?