Business Management at Ryerson University
Updated: Aug 1, 2020
Aleema (Year 4)
aleemaakhaan@gmail.com
What did you wish you knew before going to your university? What made you choose this institution over all others? What are advantages and disadvantages of your institution or campus? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your university.
I chose Ryerson over other institutions because of its location. It's located in the heart of downtown Toronto and at the centre of Canada's business district. So you know that you are going to be in the heart of a place where many great things happen. This provides students with many opportunities especially when they join the co-op program.
What did you wish you knew before choosing your specific program? What are the advantages and disadvantages of your program? List any advice for incoming first-year students about your program of study.
Before choosing my program I wish I knew how manageable the courses within this program can be depending on what major you choose to pursue. I would have considered taking a minor as the number of electives we have to take are required for most minors. Also, I wish I knew all the resources and support that was available for the students. It was hard to figure out who to reach out for advice and support when you were struggling during your semester.
What was your favourite university experience?
My favourite university experience was building my network. One way was through being a part of the co-op program that the business management program has to offer. It was a great experience to be a part of co-op because the mentors were very encouraging and supportive. The co-op team made sure that you had all the resources available to secure a job position. I had the privilege of working with an amazing co-op team and it was really them that made this experience as amazing as it was.
What was your least favourite university experience?
I think my least favourite university experience is running from class to class. At Ryerson, the campus is split up with buildings in every corner. It was hard to have a class finish at 3 and another start at 3 when both classes were in completely different buildings about 3-5 min walk away. Classes usually start 10 minutes after the time it says but it was still stressful to pack up and leave a class only to run to the next.
What is the hardest part about your program and what were the steps that you took to overcome any difficulties?
The hardest part of my program was during first-year when all mandatory courses were different rather than focusing on one specific major of business management. It gets better when you go to second-year but in first-year you were learning about human resources, marketing, law, accounting etc all at once so it was hard to keep up and to remain focused on the course. To overcome this difficulty I found that communicating with your classmates and professors was effective as they helped you in every possible. By communicating and letting them know how it's hard to focus you get recommendations and advice that help you. Another thing that was hard about my program was that since it was fairly heaving in class it was hard to stay focused and organized. To overcome this difficulty I developed a weekly schedule with time dedicated to my university work and me. This helped me be more balanced in my life and I had enough time to myself and also to complete my assignments and study.
If you were able to take electives, what was your favourite elective? If you were not able to take electives, what was your favourite course and why?
All human resources courses were enjoyable and interesting. My favourite course would have to be MHR 741 (Managing Interpersonal Dynamics) because it was a really fun and interactive course. The course involves a lot of self-awareness and understanding of the dynamics with others. This course has material that is very easy to understand and the assignments were really easy and fun to complete. The professors and teaching assistants for this course are really encouraging and helpful when you are having problems with an assignment.