Queen's University - The first look

Ashok is one of the admits to the class of 2007. An Indian IT Engineer, he has been working in the United States for some time now.He got admitted to Queen's MBAst program in the month of November. Since he had some time, he decided to travel to Kingston and visit the Queen's university.He was kind enough to share his first impression about the University with us.He liked the place and is convinced that the Queen's MBAst is the best fit for him.
His campus visit trip (in his own words) is mentioned below. Thanks Ashok for the write up.


Queen’s school of Business - Campus Visit (DEC 17- DEC 19)

I was greeted by cold wind in Toronto after a quick flight on an Air Canada jet. After immigration and a two hour layover, I took my Coach Canada bus to Kingston. Four hours later, I reached the City of Kingston.

I headed to Frontenac club inn, a beautiful bed and breakfast inn located within walking distance of the Waterfront and Queen’s University.

Next morning, after a hearty breakfast I started to walk towards the university. Only then I realized the mega-tons of snow that was around. The couple of blocks that I had walked were bleach white.

Queen’s University established in 1842 has a wide array of buildings named after people with a variety of different roles in history. The campus map below gives you an idea of the sprawling campus.



Campus Layout

John Deutsch University center (JDUC) serves as the information center for the University. Apart from the various campus offices it also serves as a place for students to meet over a snack and coffee in the 24 hour coffee shop.


Queens School of Business – Goodes Hall. Our home for the next year, Goodes Hall is a renovated 25 million dollar facility which preserves the buildings heritage
While equipping it with the latest in technological tools.


Goodes Hall

Goodes hall has two floors to it; the lower floor is for the commerce students while the upper is for MBAST students. The facility is equipped with Wi-Fi. The lecture hall where most of the classes are held is an auditorium. Every desk is ear-marked for a student. The seating is changed on a term basis.

Students are provided with a team room. The team room has 5 cubicles where each team member has his own desk and also can work with his team. Students often bring in their flyers, coffee-machines to make their room unique and a fun-place to work in.

MBA coursework invariably translates to tons of paper-work. MBAST students have access to printer room equipped with a copier and fax machine.



Lecture Hall at Queen's MBAst

Students also have access to the student lounge and kitchen. It was interesting to note that the refrigerator had foodstuff from all over the world. Diversity in your MBA class sure does help.:)

Key advantage of having class strength of 70 students translates to personal attention. The MBA administration stuff is really helpful and is always there to help you out.

Typical day-in-the-life of an MBA student starts at 8:30 AM for the classes and goes on till 4:30 PM. You will re-group with your team and have meetings until 9:30 PM. Debates, Discussions, research all packed in to a single day leaves the students exhausted but exhilarated.

Accommodation

The graduate student residency offered by the university is in JDUC is just a couple of minutes away from Goodes hall. An apartment style one bedroom is comfortable. The students share the kitchen. Kitchen is present for every floor and is equipped with an electric stove and a refrigerator.

I hope this write up helps you get an insight regarding the University and the town. Feel free to mail Ashok.raghupathy@gmail.com for your queries.