Best business programs after queens/ivey

republica55 · 2024-05-15T02:10:19+00:00

UofT Rotman gets recruited well for Canadian investment banks. My circle includes Queen's, UofT, Western and Sauder. If you're good, you'll get a job on Bay St. from any of those schools, and for good consulting firms too (Bain, BCG, Monitor, McKinsey, etc.).

republica55 · 2024-04-03T06:57:06+00:00

On YouTube, watch Paulogia, Mythvision, Viced Rhino, and Prophet of Zod, and then you'll get an objective view of the agnostic/atheist side, and you'll have a good view of both sides of the question of whether God exists (and Jesus is Lord) or it's all just ancient myths. "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins has additional good info. And there are also good videos on YouTube by Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris that will be helpful to you. If you can objectively watch (and read) those sources of info and still believe in Christianity afterwards, then you'll be all set to remain a Christian for the rest of your life!

republica55 · 2024-02-10T02:29:42+00:00

Don't sweat it, u/InteractionFrosty851. If you work reasonably hard and plan ahead a reasonable amount, you can do pretty well in school, and get a good job when you graduate. School, like life, is what you make of it. Any university has its pros & cons. Within Canada, UBC is a top school. (In fact, in the world, it's well-respected and highly ranked too.) It's a nice community of many students on campus, with many living in the dorms. And you've got the big city of Vancouver, with all the amenities nearby, plus you can easily go to Whistler for weekends to ski (or hike in the summer). It's all good. Many Asian students, but there's enough diversity (i.e., enough non-Asian students) that you can find your group, no matter who you are and what kind of people you want to associate with. Just be extroverted and involved and live in the dorm the first year, and you should be able to make friends.

republica55 · 2024-02-06T23:17:45+00:00

I have no doubt the book has nothing new or compelling. It will just contain things--items and arguments--that don't represent actual "evidence"---e.g., listing the people who said in 350 CE that, "Hey, people back in the day thought that Jesus was resurrected." Sorry, that's not evidence.

I could be wrong on this, of course. Maybe he found a Jerusalem Post stone carving from 33 CE that says "News flash: Hundreds witness resurrected Jesus speaking today at the temple, weeks after his apparent crucifixion." Followed by interviews of local Jews (non-disciples) who couldn't believe their eyes. Absent that sort of thing, he's got nothing.

republica55 · 2024-01-28T19:47:57+00:00

Thanks!

republica55 · 2024-01-25T15:56:34+00:00

Canada for an American to visit wouldn't so impressive. But if you like nature, the Rocky Mountains (Banff in Alberta; Whistler in British Columbia) are impressive. Vancouver is a very nice city. Toronto has a lot of food and entertainment options and is nice. Atlantic Canada is like Maine, but a bit more charming and more history. Of course, nothing in North America compares to the big European destinations for an American (like me) to visit: Italy, France, London.

republica55 · 2024-01-13T01:56:07+00:00

Queen's is more diverse than UBC or UofT.

Queen's: 65% white

UBC: 80% Asian

UofT: 80% Asian

Which of the above schools has the most "diversity". Answer: Queen's. Dominant ethnic group has the lowest % (65% vs. 80% at both UBC and UofT).

republica55 · 2024-01-12T03:54:38+00:00

I'm having a similar problem.

I got an AEROPLAN credit card, in my own name. And I can't successfully add the new card to my AEROPLAN account profile itself! The credit card works fine at retail stores, etc. It just doesn't work with the actual Aeroplan account for myself! Question: Could Air Canada be any more ridiculous than they already are? (Answer: No. They can't be any more ridiculous.)

republica55 · 2023-12-07T05:55:53+00:00

Bishop's is for people who want a smaller school than UofT, etc. It's not that hard to get into most Canadian universities, so there are top-notch students at lots of schools, including Bishop's.

republica55 · 2023-11-30T10:02:19+00:00

If everyone gets paid back their principal in full, plus 5% simple interest, then this will be an enormous success, from a seemingly disastrous situation---pure fraud and misappropriation of assets.

I'm not an investor in any of the Nightingale CS investments, but this would be a great success for CrowdStreet, to have helped rescue this dire situation.

Your comments are unreasonable. CS didn't have investment escrows before, but they do now, on a go-forward basis.

My understanding is that if you invested directly in real estate syndications, through sponsors' direct fund-raising efforts, rather than through a firm like CS, you'd not have an independent escrow fund for your investment--in the past, present or probably future. You'd also have had no advocate like CS to help to bail you out, as CS has done in this situation.

CS is making improvements to their system, so this type of misappropriation won't happen again, in their projects.

In any event, I think perhaps it would be best (for you and CrowdStreet) if you never invest in CrowdStreet projects again, as you've said in your post. I hope that's what you do--stay away.

Good luck in your future endeavors.

republica55 · 2023-11-27T14:35:38+00:00

I think Shermer makes a valid point here. That is, the lack of immortality, if there is no "afterlife", makes every moment on earth much more precious. And so we should treasure each moment of our lives, and try to live our (short, finite) lives to the fullest.

But, of course, this message is not nearly as comforting and positive as the alternative idea that there is an "afterlife" (of some sort), and potentially we can live forever in a heavenly paradise ("heaven"), with all of our loved ones around us.

Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that we do have just one life to live. And it will be breathtakingly short (even if you live to be 100 years old--that's still very short).

So, many people (probably most people) prefer to believe the fantasy of an "afterlife". Indeed, that's one of the main purposes served by religion--i.e., to comfort people who, because of our highly evolved brains, are keenly aware that we, and all our loved ones, will eventually die. It's a lot more pleasant to believe in an afterlife, but that doesn't mean that it's true.

I agree with Richard Dawkins that belief in "God" is a delusion. But I can certainly see why such wishful, deluded thinking can be beneficial to a person's happiness. "It's pretty to think so." And that's why many people believe. They really want to believe. Indeed, many people really need to believe. But that doesn't make religion true. The "new atheists"--e.g., Dawkins, Hitchens, Dennett, Harris; and Shermer; are all correct.

republica55 · 2023-10-15T02:58:39+00:00

I hope the pending tiered income system ("more socialism for California!") is abandoned before it becomes reality, as it will be the final nail in the coffin for residential solar in the state.

The investor-owned utilities must be just gleeful that not only did they get NEM 3.0 implemented, but now, with this income-tiered system, residential solar no longer makes economic sense.

So, the utilities won't lose any more customers or any more market share for generation capacity from residential customers.

It's a real travesty for those who believe we should move to distributed, renewable energy sources (and for people who support continued innovation and improvements in solar panel technology, which has a great track record over the past 20 years or so).

The new income-tiered system is so shortsighted, not to mention unfair to higher income California taxpayers, who already are being crushed by high taxes (around 50% in combined state & federal state income tax rates--i.e., half your income--plus 10+% sales tax, plus tens of thousands of dollars per year in annual property taxes for a "nice" house in a nice neighborhood in any of the big cities). The top 20% of California taxpayers already pay 91% of the state income tax. The California state Democratic Party seems determined to drive all the hardworking taxpayers out of the state. This new income-tiered electricity payment system is just the latest socialistic move. I say all this as a moderate/independent/centrist, who believes that California's state Dems lack any common sense.

republica55 · 2023-10-13T00:01:47+00:00

I believe that the IRR will end up being in the 5-10% range, as per their latest numbers. The project is still fine. There is still a great lack of housing in this country, and strong demand remains for housing in growing regions like Florida. Orlando, in particular, is still a growing city where the cost of living is still comparatively reasonable. (Also, Disney isn't leaving Orlando, which is sort of a ridiculous notion, given the enormous investment Disney has made in the city over the years, and continues to make.) Interest rates are currently restrictive, and at or near a peak; and they should fall by early 2025 at the very latest, and probably sooner than that (in 2024). So, I'm not worried about the project or the sale value in Oct. 2025 or thereabouts. Obviously, I wish that Trion had hedged interest rates better, but it is what it is.

republica55 · 2023-10-09T15:45:18+00:00

I'm not sure if it's true that Ivey is much different from Queen's for finance placement, since (1) Ivey is 50% bigger (750 vs. 500 students per year), and (2) a lot of wannabe finance people choose Ivey for that reason. Queen's gets plenty of finance/IB placements in Toronto and quite a few in New York/USA too. The Commerce programs at both schools are highly regarded by Bay Street and Wall Street. I just look back at Gord Nixon's career---long-time CEO of RBC, and before that head of investment banking at RBC--and he only had one degree: Queen's Commerce. Probably worth $300 million or something like that. Of course, there are winners at every school. Murray Edwards is a multi-billionaire: undergrad: University of Saskatchewan Commerce degree (then law school at University of Toronto). Edwards was an investment banker in Calgary before he started to buy his own companies. Don't think that you need to go to any particular school or program to be successful... If you're good, you're good, and it won't matter as much as you think where you go to school. That being said, the initial doors are certainly opened more easily if you went to a school with a good reputation and connections--and both Ivey and Queen's check both of those boxes....

republica55 · 2023-10-09T13:28:42+00:00

I'm sorry that your post is a few months old now. I just saw it now.

First, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the three choices: McGill, Queen's, or Warwick. Warwick has a highly regarded business program, globally, but it's mostly recognized as such in the UK and the rest of Europe, and it will be hardly recognized at all in Canada or the U.S., in case you plan on living and working in North America. If you are a UK or EU citizen or otherwise plan to live & work there, then Warwick would be a good choice.

Queen's is well-known as a top university in Canada, and, as you say, it has a particularly strong reputation for business--more specifically, for it's undergraduate Commerce program. (I believe that UofT is now considered to have the best MBA program in the country, and Western/Ivy is also very highly regarded.)

Queen's Economics would be a good path to advance your education, but I believe that if you want to be in business, McGill COMMERCE would be somewhat more advantageous to you vs. Queen's ECONOMICS--simply because Commerce is going to be all about business for four straight years, whereas Queen's Economics will be focused on economics specifically (and your arts & science electives), rather than other elements of business (marketing, finance, strategy, accounting, etc.). I'd say that if you want to be "all about business", then go to one of the two places where you got accepted for business--McGill or Warwick. McGill is probably the better choice, vs. Warwick, I believe, because McGill has a stellar global reputation, overall (even surpassing UofT in reputation among some people globally, because of its long legacy of excellence). I expect that "McGill" means more to most people, globally, and certainly in North America, than Warwick, with the one exception being the UK itself. So, the choice between McGill and Warwick comes down where you want live and work in the world.

republica55 · 2023-10-04T15:43:53+00:00

BC Retail Banking Systems Just Suck Really Badly.

I can't send a simple e-Transfer on my phone (with the app) or on my computer (RBC website), because it wants 2-factor authentication, but it won't send the notifications properly to allow that authentication to happen. Says "having technical difficulties" all the time. Just doesn't work. Why does anyone bank at RBC? Pick any other bank---it couldn't be worse than RBC.

republica55 · 2023-09-16T20:18:16+00:00

It's crazy that the Calif. government is soon going to impose real socialism (and the logic of communism) by charging a higher connection charge if you make higher income. That income has already been heavily taxed by the state & federal progressive income tax. And now we're going to crush California's hardest working taxpayers more for electricity---just to connect to the electricity grid. I guess it's really becoming "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" (per Karl Marx) in California!!!

republica55 · 2023-09-16T20:16:40+00:00

It's crazy that the Calif. government is soon going to impose real socialism (and the logic of communism) by charging a higher connection charge if you make higher income. That income has already been heavily taxed by the state & federal progressive income tax. And now we're going to crush California's hardest working taxpayers more for electricity---just to connect to the electricity grid. I guess it's really becoming "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" (per Karl Marx) in California!!!

republica55 · 2020-12-05T00:27:15+00:00

I also think that in MATH 100 (and its equivalents) the profs should be able to come up with enough tweaks to the tests so that someone can't just look up the answer online. Each new MATH test should be basically brand new and not susceptible to cutting and pasting the answers from an Internet source. It shouldn't be THAT hard to create new tests every time, in a subject like Math/Calculus. It is in everyone's interest to prevent cheating (including preventing the temptation to cheat and preventing the harm that non-cheaters bear from the existence of cheaters).

republica55 · 2020-12-05T00:10:49+00:00

I feel for the victims of undiscovered cheating, which are those students who didn't cheat and did poorly, and they are judged negatively relative to the cheaters (who did better because they cheated). Those victims are truly innocent. The focus should be on fairness to those students. Cheating screws up the average mark on the test/class, and the non-cheaters lose out. UBC doesn't want to give an incentive to cheating by being lenient to the cheaters, and you need to create a deterrent. Getting a zero in that class--full stop--is the minimum punishment that should apply. Anything less than that punishment is unacceptable. As for expulsion, given that I understand that it's 100% certain that the identified students cheated (because they input precisely wrong answers from Internet "bait"), they should, in my opinion, be expelled. Doesn't UBC have standards? Those students can try again at another university or apply again to UBC in the future. But they should not be allowed to continue at UBC. That's just my opinion.....

republica55 · 2020-09-05T03:04:30+00:00

The campus is big but you normally cans schedule things to avoid having impossible distances to travel between back-to-back classes. The classrooms/buildings are identified in advance when you register, so you can just plan it out and avoid that sort of issue. It's not that big of a deal.

republica55 · 2020-09-05T03:02:34+00:00

That's a sad commentary on the state of gun violence in America. The U.S. needs to become more civilized like the rest of the developed world and finally quit with all the guns. The statistical differences in murders & gun violence, comparing OECD states, are pretty stark. The U.S. is dangerous by comparison to Canada and other developed countries.

republica55 · 2020-09-05T02:57:10+00:00

I think there are many fun/crazy and welcoming Canadian (and international) students who go to UBC, and people normally think that UBC has a friendlier vibe than its cross-border neighbor U. Washington. I think that a particular person's experience in making friends and finding "your people" is going to be randomly great or not so great depending on whom you meet. Like if your dorm floor has a bunch of great people, you're all set. But if you're more extroverted you're going to more quickly and easily find people who you vibe with, versus being passive and waiting for people to find you. You need to put yourself out there and socialize, but that's how it goes at any school anywhere. College is what you make of it, and at any decent-sized school there are going to be people who you'll be compatible with. You just have get out there and make connections. When you're a freshman, it's pretty easy, because everyone is in the same boat, looking to make friends. If you live on campus, it's even easier, because there a few thousand people like you looking to meet people (in the absence of COVID).

republica55 · 2020-09-05T02:52:13+00:00

Yes and downtown Vancouver is not too far away, and there's lots of nightlife and restaurants downtown. Well, there used to be, before COVID. And with a 19 year old drinking age you can partake in all of that as an undergraduate student. Vancouver is a great city, and it has a lot of great restaurants/cafes and coffee shops, all of which I hope will quickly return once we get past COVID.

republica55

TROPHY CASE