International experience is a must for a future manager in today's interconnected business world. For a European seeking an internationally oriented solid business education, North-America is the only place to look at. The choice between the US and Canada was simple. My decision criteria were 'value-for-money' and 'cultural fit'. Overall, from tuition to cost of living, MBA programs in Canada provide more value than US programs by delivering education that can easily withstand any comparison to American Schools. From a cultural perspective, the incredible combination of a North-American business environment with an open-minded, multicultural and welcoming culture can only be offered by Canada. Canada has a liberal policy for partners of students - reflecting the unbiased mentality of the country: My girlfriend is a fully qualified and experienced civil engineer in Switzerland and she received an open work permit for the duration of the MBA program within two weeks.
I had more than seven years of work experience when I decided to pursue an MBA, four of them as Senior Consultant, IBM Business Consulting Services in Zurich, Switzerland. Therefore, business schools that applied case-based teaching methods were very appealing to me as it reflects real world problem solving. Efficient case-based teaching requires students with significant work experience and that was what I was looking for: People that were successful already and returned to school to hone their already fine skills.
The Richard Ivey School of Business was the only school in Canada that could accommodate my requirements, and with Ivey I made the right choice.
There is no other country in North-America that can match Canada's value proposition and within Canada there is no other school that can match Ivey's value proposition.