Most candidates know why they want an MBA before they apply. What they rarely anticipate is what they will carry with them long after they graduate.
The way you think changes
While the MBA certainly teaches foundational business and leadership skills, the real differentiator for students is the new perspectives that open up to them. Being immersed in a highly diverse cohort can do wonders for that. Professionals share their expertise from different industries and roles, which creates an atmosphere that cannot be replicated in a textbook or lecture.
At Ivey, the case method accelerates this further – every session requires students to form a position, defend it, and reconsider it when someone in the room sees the problem differently. Over time, that practice becomes instinctive.
“Every classmate brings a perspective you wouldn’t have encountered on your own, and you absorb that across every discussion. Years later, when I’m working on a problem at RBC and instinctively ask, ‘What would someone outside finance see here?’ – that habit came from Ivey.” – Ryan Wang, Accelerated MBA ‘21, Ivey Business School
For Ryan, who moved from public accounting to corporate strategy at TELUS and then to growth strategy at RBC, the most portable skill from his MBA was not a framework or a finance model. It was a way of approaching problems that stayed with him long after the coursework ended and that he draws on daily.
Read more: How This Accelerated MBA Grad Built His Strategy Career
The network works differently than you expect
Beyond the learning that takes place in the classroom or through projects, the most significant benefit graduates point out about their MBA is the community. It’s something they often fully realise only after graduation. In the moment, it feels like intense shared experience – high-pressure presentations and weekends spent with classmates who quickly become close friends. Only later does it become clear that those relationships are also a professional resource unlike anything else.
“From making my first connection with PAL Aerospace at the MBA Get Connected event to receiving support from Ivey alumni throughout my recruitment process at Partners in Performance, the Ivey community has played a meaningful role in my journey.” – Rawaiz Sheikh, MBA ‘25, Ivey Business School
Rawaiz came to Ivey from a career in engineering and business development across Qatar’s energy sector. The MBA gave him the business perspective and confidence to pivot into management consulting in Toronto. And the Ivey network gave him the connections that made it possible. The alumni community, he notes, is something you return to, and contribute to, throughout your career.
Read more: MBA Alumnus Turns Engineering Curiosity into Global Consulting Career
The degree gives you purpose
For many students and graduates, the MBA proves transformational for their life and their mindset, not just their career. It’s an opportunity to keep growing as a person and experience a kind of fulfilment that a demanding professional role can gradually erode. The structured time away from the pace of everyday work – even for those who study part-time – creates space to ask bigger questions about where you are headed and why.
“Completing my EMBA as a single mother working full-time was transformative – it taught me what resilience, grit, and determination can accomplish. That experience also inspired This Woman’s Work Foundation, which I hope will leave a legacy of powerhouse female leaders. Ivey didn’t just shape my career; it sparked a broader purpose.” – Caryn Maxwell-Smith, EMBA ‘17, Ivey Business School
Caryn’s story is a reminder that the returns on a business degree are not always the ones you plan for. Sometimes the most significant outcome is not the promotion or the pivot – it is the conviction to build something that did not exist before.
Read more: From EMBA to Founder Caryn Maxwell-Smith’s Full-Circle Story
