Here’s another article I thought you might find interesting.

DeGroote business students tops in North America

MBA and undergraduate commerce students from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University scored among the highest business schools in North America in a recent Major Field Test (MFT) conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) – the largest educational assessment organization in the world.

For the second time, both DeGroote’s undergraduate and MBA classes scored in the 95th percentile – the highest category available.

“This is an outstanding achievement for McMaster and provides independent evidence of the student-centred teaching culture and quality of curriculum we uphold here at DeGroote,” said Paul Bates, dean of the DeGroote School of Business. “The fact that both programs continue to be tops among their peers is very gratifying and proves that our graduates are top notch.”

The MFT program is an innovative battery of tests that is used by schools and departments at more than 700 colleges and universities globally to measure student academic achievement and growth. Academic departments benefit from the use of the tests as the scores allow for detailed curriculum review, benchmarking and evaluation. Students benefit from the tests by having an effective metric to determine their own level of achievement, comparing their scores with those of other students in the program and with international comparative data.

DeGroote administered the first set of MFT exit exams during December of 2003 and has followed with tests in April and December of each subsequent year. One test is targeted for commerce undergraduate students and another for MBAs.

During the most recent examination in December 2009, DeGroote’s Commerce students scored an average of 165 out of a possible 200 points placing them in the 95th percentile in North America for the eleventh consecutive time. The MBAs scored an average of 265 out of a possible 300 points placing them in the 95th percentile for the second time.

“I was ecstatic when I saw the results. This is the second time both programs reached the top performance level. In addition to our very strong institutional scores, we can also be proud of our extremely high student achievements,” said exam coordinator Nick Bontis, associate professor of strategy. “Undergraduate students Patrick Shulist and Praveen Perera scored 195 out of 200 while MBA students Mark Stewart and Petras Vaiciunas scored 285 out of 300, placing all four of them among the highest scoring students in North America.”

“As a graduating student, I am very proud of these results,” said Shulist. “I credit both my own performance, as well as the performance of my classmates to the high quality of the professors at DeGroote.”

Re-posted from McMaster’s Dailynews

Our friends at Queen’s refer to it as a PSE (Personal Statement of Experience). Laurier calls it an ABS form (Applicant Background Summary). At McMaster, we refer to it as a Supplementary Application. No matter what you call them, they are an important part of the admission process for a number of programs at several Ontario universities.

If it seems like you’ve been receiving countless emails reminding you to complete these forms (or you’re worried that you haven’t been receiving email reminders), I’d like to take a moment to shed some light on McMaster’s Supplementary Application form(s).

First, we’ve made things easy for you!!! You DON’T have to complete a supplementary application, UNLESS you have applied to Midwifery, Health Sciences, Arts & Science, or Integrated Science…OUAC codes: MY, MNS, MX, or MIS respectively. These programs have a mandatory supplementary application. You have until February 1, 2010 for Midwifery and February 5, 2010 for the other three programs. Links to the actual forms are listed here.

If you have applied to programs not listed above, you don’t need to worry about missing any deadlines, McMaster’s decision on your application depends solely on your grades…pretty straightforward right?!?! I think so!

How about optional supplementary applications?

In the past, some McMaster programs have used optional supplementary application information forms to review students below the cut-off average. If you’re worrying about deadlines, whether or not you have to (or if you’re even allowed to) complete an optional form…DON`T!! Once again we`ve made it easy for you! If a program decides that it wants you to submit the optional form, we will contact you and make it bluntly obvious about any due dates.

With that said, sit-back, relax and if you’ve recently wrapped up your mid-terms or finals, why not fire-off a text to a friend and make some plans to use any time-off you have have!! With all the rain, it’s a great day for some puddle stomping in Southern Ontario (or puddle splashing if you have a car/license…just remember to watch out for pedestrians on the sidewalk).

Bye for now!

Today is January 13, 2010, the recommended deadline for submitting your application to McMaster and every other university in Ontario.

As I have been highlighting in earlier posts, submitting your application to McMaster by the end of today will ensure that your application is processed without delays.  If you don’t submit your application by today, it might take a bit more time to:

• receive your application confirmation of receipt from our Admissions Office
• transmit your grades to McMaster
• identify any issues with your application (e.g.  incorrect information, etc.)

Though you can still apply tomorrow, I  strongly recommend submitting your application today (for the above mentioned reasons).

If you have already applied…stay tuned! You’ll be hearing from McMaster very shortly! While you are waiting, your next step should be reviewing the Next Steps section of this site to learning about upcoming deadlines.

Anyway, good luck with your application; I hope you receive an offer of admission for every choice on your app! Cheers.

I’m sure you’ve heard this many times since 12AM on January 1st, but I’m going to say it again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! On behalf of the entire team at McMaster Student Recruitment & Admissions, I wish you the very best in 2010 and the 10s (that’s right…the new decade)! Can you believe that it’s 2010 and a new decade!?!…After spending some time to reflect, I predict the 10s and 2010 will be epic!

If you analyze the last 10 years to predict the next 10, you’ll see that my prediction can’t be wrong. Simply looking at the growth of the Internet from 10 years ago (compared to 2010), it’s easy to see that it wasn’t as widespread or fast for some (remember dial-up). Google, MySpace, Facebook and many other things that play a huge role in our daily routines didn’t exist. We’ve also seen four Olympic games, three (soccer) World Cup tournaments, several federal elections as well as other major events such as the 9/11/2001 bombings and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami (to list a few).

On a more personal level, this will be an epic year for you as you’ll finally receive your diploma and officially become a high school grad. If you’re reading this blog, it’s likely that you’re also going to be starting another academic journey (university), shortly after finishing the current one that has been 12 to 15 years in the making.

While there’s a lot excitement ahead (relating to post secondary education), I feel that it’s necessary to remind you to apply to university (if you haven’t already done so); the recommended deadline is coming up on January 13th. Failing to take this important first step will definitely derail the landmark nature of this year/decade. You don’t have to apply by January 13th but doing so will ensure that you meet the internal deadlines of McMaster (and probably most other Ontario universities), thereby saving you a lot of headaches.

If you have applied, you should probably start preparing for end of semester (term) exams and tests. Early preparation is more likely to result in higher grades than hurting you. With higher grades, your academic goals for 2010 (and the 10s) will have a greater chance of being accomplished!

Again, I wish you the best of luck and success in 2010 and the 10s. In the words TVs Barney Stinson, SUIT UP…this year is going to be LEGEN–wait for it…DARY!

Hi everyone, I hope you’re having a fun and relaxing Christmas break! I wanted to write a quick post to inform you that McMaster University will be closed until January 4, 2010.

On behalf of everyone at McMaster Student Recruitment & Admissions, I also wish you a safe and happy holiday season.

Cheers!

Although the Vancouver 2010  Olympic games are still months away, the excitement, preparation and journey to the games (including that of the Olympic flame) is well underway and  McMaster is already seeing its part of the action!   After it was lit in Greece earlier this year, the Vancouver 2010 flame landed on Canadian soil back in late October. Since then the flame has made its was through numerous communities. Over the weekend, it’ll be passing through Hamilton as well as making a brief stop on the McMaster campus at the McMaster Children’s Hospital.

Helping to carry the flame to Vancouver through Hamilton and Ontario are several members of the McMaster community. Nathan Butterworth, one of McMaster’s Liaison Officers (aka the guy that sits right next to me here at the Student Recruitment & Admissions Office)  will be one of the proud bearers of the torch as it makes its way through Hamilton. As outlined in yesterday’s Hamilton Spectator newspaper, Nathan was given this honour after participating in a contest that involved answering skill testing questions and writing an essay on how he lives “green” and “Olympic.” You might remember Nathan from a visit to your high school earlier this fall and can see him again as he carries the flame across the Queenston Road overpass at Hamilton’s Red Hill Valley Parkway on Dec. 20.

Having worked next to Nathan as we answer your admission-related telephone calls everyday, I could not have selected a better candidate. Nathan definitely lives “green” and “Olympic.” Last year, he sold his car and opted to bike to campus for his daily commute. He also promotes active living through his weekly spin classes at our Pulse Fitness Centre and also participates in an annual cycling fundraiser to Montreal (from Toronto) to raise funds for people living with HIV-AIDS. Next year, he’ll be spending several months biking across New Zealand and Canada!

Aside from my immediate colleague, several other members of the McMaster community have also been granted this once in a life-time opportunity. Among the torchbearers are  Nick Bontis, an associate professor in the DeGroote School of Business. He will run with the flame starting at Hamilton’s Main Street and Kenilworth Avenue on Sunday. Dr. Bontis is also a 2009 3M Fellowship recipient. The 3M fellowships  “are the most prestigious recognition of excellence and leadership in Canadian university teaching.”

McMaster graduate Adam van Koeverden will take the torch down Oakville’s Sixteen Mile Creek by kayak on Saturday, while Olympic bronze medal-winning rower Melanie Kok will run with the flame in Welland on December 21. Kok is currently working towards her master’s degree in McMaster’s Integrative Neuroscience Discovery & Study (MiNDS) program. Alyssa Fenuta, a third year kinesiology student, will also run a segment of the relay though the city of Vaughn.

While Canada is competing in February, I hope everyone will be cheering on our athletes to gold! As the listed members of the McMaster community are helping in this part of the Olympic experience, I wanted to make a quick post cheering them on. Though most torchbearers will only be moving for approximately 300 metres, their actions are truly symbolic; demonstrating that by working together and doing our small part, we can accomplish much larger goals (e.g. successfully carrying the flame one end of the country to another)!

Go Canada (& Go Mac)!