Hi,
I would like to peruse MBA in Canada. Plan is to join in July/August/Sep 2021.

In brief, I am Chemical engineering graduate with work experience in General Insurance as an Underwriting Manager (Energy & Engineering) for 14 years and have a professional certificate (ACII) from CII, London.
I am Indian national and residing in Bahrain and ; therefore, I would like to know below details

- My undergraduate score is 53%, Is this ok to meet GPA. I am yet to write GMAT.
- Is there any age limit for doing MBA in Canada? i am now 37 Years old
-Best colleges you suggest considering my work experience
- How long my visa will allow to stay in Canada after completing MBA to search for Job.
-Do I have to give IELTS ? (As I have done my complete education in English)

[Edited by CHELLARAPU on Jan 14, 2020]

Usually Canadian B schools (some more so than others) are strict about having a B+ equivalent / 75% during undergrad (or is it 70?). I was turned down at my safe school at Concordia. When in doubt you can always use something like WES to evaluate and convert your undergrad. Schools like Schulich and McGill didn't ask for it.

No age limit, this is not the airforce

What are you career goals? Best schools could be googled easily. In no order: Ivey, Rotman, Schulich, McGill, Queen's, Sauders

Post study visa is 2 years i thiink, could easily google and cross reference

IELTS - yes, look at admission criteria for your target schools they'll mention specifics.

I think the visa length might be related to the length of the MBA, e.g. 1 year versus 2 years.

https://find-mba.com/articles/working-in-canada-after-an-mba

"Students in Canada who complete a two-year master’s program can automatically receive a three-year work permit."

While its totally your decision, you have a lot of experience, and not sure what type of profile you have in mind, but just a heads up for you that i always see folks with 10+ year experience who almost have to start from entry level position (Same as somebody with 2-3 years of experience), notwithstanding the B-school they go to here. So pls keep that in mind for CDN markets

My feeling is if MBA grads were landing entry level jobs, the salary reports would show much lower salaries. I mean, Rotman grads are landing jobs with around $100k CDN salaries, on average, which means that they are certainly not landing entry-level jobs. 

Not sure about your background, but that's a classic trap i have seen may international students falling into over the years....Generally speaking, one should be very careful about how to interpret those employment/internship stats. Lots of nuances, and i would highlight a couple:
- As a former MBA grad at one of those schools, i know how the figures can be skewed (To be clear, i don't think schools do that), but everybody falls for those >$100K salary when a good majority of international students have quite a different experience...
- >$100K (say $8K-10K/month) is indeed entry level for banking/consulting jobs ( i actually made even more during my summer internship), but completely different dynamics at play, where they tend to hire younger lot! and work them long hours, Not sure if this individual would have a good shot simply because of the "age bias" in certain industries/roles. Hate to say this, but i know this exist (Does not matter whether you are local or international student), i say this because i now happen to be on other side of interview table, and have been fortunate enough to see how CDN employers think, and make decisions
- Finally, would highly recommend spending time on Statistics Canada website, to appreciate what does $100K in compensation mean... and how many of white collar entry or even mid-level jobs actually pay >$100k, and you will see. Again very different labor market/comp structure vs. what we see in US!
All said, this is not to suggest that folks moving here with significant experience will not make >$100K, as each candidate is different, and they may have different parths/timeline to achieve such a goal!
 

Absolutely, there is most certainly age bias in fields like financial services and consulting. And it's not just in Canada: these are industries where it behooves the firms to recruit young candidates who are more easily moldable (and who can work long, grueling hours.) In that sense, older / more experienced candidates would probably not have an advantage.

Re age discrimination - I think this affects most countries.  But the good thing in Canada or the US is that age discrimination is less a hurdle than say a developing country like the Philippines where if you hit your 40s you become unemployable if you get laid off.  

Re entry level MBA jobs regardless of experience or age:

 I think this applies to most full-time MBA programs in the world.  When I was in the US, the prospects and salaries were the same for my classmates regardless of whether they had 2-3 years or 12 years of experience.  Basically, the recruiters are hiring people for specific post-MBA positions and they will not add "plus points" for more experienced people.  That's why most top MBA programs in the world have a separate suite of programs (executive MBA, Sloan programs (MIT and LBS) or an executive development program) for older and more experienced individuals.   Older students who go for full-time MBAs are usually those who want to pivot to a different country/position/industry and I don't think they have any illusions they will achieve all 3 + enter at director level.  

And that's why it is important to check the class profiles and program goals before enrolling in a program.  In a program where the average age is 25, don't expect recruiters to be looking for experienced executives.