Life as Indian Student at Western University London, Ontario

DeGroote School of Business

Ted Rogers School of Management

Reason for choosing my college

• UBC-Sauders School of Business : Course alignment with my computer science and engineering background (2012-2016)
• An MBA is an expensive degree in Canada.
• Data Analytics has seen growth during last few years and I was hoping to see more opportunities in analytics after I complete my masters from Canada
• Ted Rogers School of Management—Toronto—Highly competitive business school even though it is not the top MBA school in Canada
• Due to the prime location of Ted Rogers in Toronto's Financial District, it is well known among top employers, which further makes admission challenging but you get to study with top minds.
• Previous professional years of experience may be required .

The University of British Columbia

7.1(106 Reviews)

Reason for Rejection

• The top-tier university acceptance rate is low—the course I applied for was UBC-MBAN, which would bridge the gap between business and the technical analytics space but it was highly competitive.
• I got rejection stating I have less #years Experience during application.

• Please include all relevant information in bullets/pointers.
• Take help from AI tools to structure your writing.
• Best to prepare some base work for LOR or share samples with professors to save their time.
• Always refer to online sample for CV/SOP Do not forget to mention your intent to come back to India in the SOP [mandatory].

• I chose Western University, London Ontario—Canada has been an immigrant-friendly country and it has been known to provide permanent residency relatively easily as compared to other countries.
• Socioeconomic life in Canada is adjusted to Indian immigrants, due to which one can expect Indians working blue- and white-collar jobs across Canada.
• Canada is one of the developed nations with good natural resources, better economic conditions, good job opportunities, and social upliftment Academic reputation and rankings.
• The University of Toronto is the best university but it has an equally hard admission process and coursework.
• Ivey Business School shares the same league as MBA schools—University of British Columbia, Waterloo, and McGill follow the second top league universities with competitive admissions.
• The University of Western Ontario, McMaster University, the University of Montreal, Simon Fraser, Queens University, and York University are next in line with really good course recognition.
• University of Windsor, Guelph University, and Lakehead University are next best universities Courses Coming from a computer Background and want to transition into analytics space.
• Below are good courses:
  • MDA from Western University
  • MBAN from UBC, Vancouver
  • Big Data Analytics—York University
• Universities are located in or around downtown areas of Toronto/Vancouver/Montreal but Vancouver is expensive.
• Toronto is popular destination among international students. Career opportunities for IT professionals have been good overall but have now become time-consuming.
• Good options for SWE/DS/ML engineers/Data Analyst/Acturial Analyst/Financial Analyst in Fintech/IT/Banks/startups/Retail/Commerce
• Overall experience: transitioning into new country is challenging but it is short-term; there will be benefits in long term
• Recommend working part-time Student life: be prepared to study/work/cook by yourself Campus offers gym/pool/buses, which is great Focus on skills.

• Weekly Classes Course to course basis. For MDA- classes everyday of week. Really busy coursework.
• Class timings- Can Vary morning/evening but average 2-3 hours per class
• Strength of class 21 students out of which 6 Indians , others are from China,Philliphines,Egypt.
• Apart from regular class MDA coursework is tough and would require 2 hours daily apart from classroom to learn, understand and submit assignments.

• Faculty members are good overall.
• Easy approachability to faculty through Campus portal
• Teaching Assistants usually cater to coding issues/assignment submissions
• Best Faculty: Dan Rizoletti for Data Science Applications Good material, friendly flow of teaching, use examples and give answers to doubts during and after session.

• Western University has a main campus and affiliated colleges—Huron and King College.
  • Facilities: libraries and main building reading rooms.
  • Sports: Football field, TT courts, ice hockey courts, International club, students club
  • Medical Facility: Western University Hospital but need student insurance since medical bills can be huge in case of minor injuries as well.
• Other events are at university level: FOCO event, spokes club meets, and international club social gathering Western is known as a party university with students from well-off backgrounds.
• There are small meetings/events for undergrads regularly happening around campus, which is pretty fun and exciting. Campus has diverse and decent international crowd .

• Most Indian students prefer getting jobs in food chains MacD, Tim Hortons, Wendy's and other local restaurants Or in bigger stores like Walmart, FreshCo, No Frills, Canadian Tyre, and Rona's, there is no restriction on store preference.
• Most students prefer to take jobs near their accommodation within walking distance or accessible through public transit.
• A limited number of students buy secondhand cars and do food delivery jobs or Uber/Lyft taxi services once they get a driving license.
• Some students end up taking cash jobs if the market is tight, like in 2024-2025, finding jobs has been harder and with stricter immigration rules, you may find students doing jobs an hour's bus drive away from their homes.
• I recommend doing pre-research on transit options and job availability around your campus.
• Usually students would hand out resumes by walking in stores/employers but nowadays, due to increased competition and market saturation, an increased number of employees are encouraging students to apply through job portals like Indeed.

• TA roles are available on the job portal and campus portal. In some cases, you might get to know in person as well. Typical pay for TA's is higher than standard jobs—stores/retail/essential grocery store where standard Ontario rates are ~18$/hour. Maximum hours to work has been varying but is usually 20-24 hours per week.

• After completing my course, below were different options available and profiles that my classmates have been selected into decreasing order of #students in each category:
  Data Scientist
  Data ENgineer
  ML Engineer
  AI engineer
  SWE
• During 2019-2020, almost 80% of the class secured jobs within 2-3 months of completing course work since we had a mandatory co-op requirement to complete the degree.
• Note: In some cases, if a student does not land a job, they can get unpaid internships as well but our admission department would evaluate the authenticity case by case.
• Average salary range ~50k-70k annually with a 3-month probation period.
• Students might get places through campus or can find offline jobs in GTA regions.
• As new comer there would be higher chance to get hired in startups unless you have referral to big orgs like TD , RBC,BMO,Intact, Aviva, Deloitte, PnC,EY, CanadaLife, Qualcomm
• The highest can range from 80 to 90K and lowest can be 40 to 50K, depending on company, the number of years of experience of the candidate and job role.

• I stayed off-campus almost 5Km from campus at Wharncliffe Road North. This has pretty old houses with rent around 600-800 per month for a single room.
• Direct bus to Western University and lots of student accommodations in the area.
• Before landing in Canada, I talked to my then-college junior, who had room available in her house. I eventually lived there for 2 months and found better accommodation nearby.
• Most students find something on the Facebook Marketplace/Kijiji app or through friends.
• The lease is usually 1 year with options to transfer the lease or sublease your room incase you decide to move out early. Preferably go with month-to-month lease options.
• As international students, it is best to live with international students, as it is easier to shop for groceries, handle medical emergencies, manage mental health, and cook. While these do not seem like a priority at first, these basic necessities need attention for the long term.
• Please beware of scams, fraud postings and calls. NEVER give money until completely sure about the whereabouts of the place through online video calls/chats/previous tenants.
• Most owners/landlords do not force you to give money as they have plenty of options. Try finding accommodation that offers transit to university.