Help with program and uni choice

[Sdmj33]

I see now, thanks. For some reason, the link I went to before listed everything in a very strange way. Those prices are really a steal.

For a year long program its cheaper than the NAU. So idk if i should go with this or the MCIT since in theory I could finish that in 6 months.

If you live in the United States, and the U.S. program is less expensive, I think it's a no-brainer to go with the U.S. program. The only time I would say otherwise is if a foreign program is well-known internationally and more prestigious than the U.S. program which I don't think is the case here.

I dont live in the US. Rovira Virgili is a well known Spanish public university though.

Being from the U.S., I was looking from a U.S. perspective. I doubt Rovira Virgili is known much if at all in the United States since this is the first time that name has ever been uttered here, and only twice at the other board--14 years apart--with each time bringing up scrutiny due to lack of familiarity. That says nothing bad about the school, just one country where people don't know about it. 

If you live in a country where Rovira is well-known then that's something to factor in since NAU may not be known at all where you live as most U.S. universities aren't well-known internationally just like most schools internationally aren't known in the United States. Heck, most U.S. schools aren't even well-known in the United States outside their surrounding communities for that matter.

How well known a uni is doesnt matter to me personally. I just want a masters program that would be considered equivalent to a canadian masters.

[eLearner]

From WES Canada:

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From WES Canada:

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I tried to get the information as close as possible. These are not to be taken as official evaluation from WES, but they give you a general idea of what you could expect.

[Sdmj33]

From WES Canada:

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From WES Canada:

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I tried to get the information as close as possible. These are not to be taken as official evaluation from WES, but they give you a general idea of what you could expect.

Thank you.

The thing is the spanish masters is 10 months and the american one could be 6 months depending on the effort i put in.

[eLearner]

Time is something you'll have to weigh and go with based on what's best for you, but I would say the NAU degree will have more utility in North America just because it's from North America.

[BBryant165]

From WES Canada:

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From WES Canada:

---

I tried to get the information as close as possible. These are not to be taken as official evaluation from WES, but they give you a general idea of what you could expect.

Thank you.

The thing is the spanish masters is 10 months and the american one could be 6 months depending on the effort i put in.

Timeline should also be a large portion of your decision making. Currently, only you know why the canadian equivalency is important. However, I would offer the opinion that if the universities appeal, well-knownness? (haha maybe reputation or perception are better) are not as important that is fine. However, if there are more important factors that influence this such as gaining Canadian employee sponsorship or Canadian visa/immigration I would choose the quicker option as sometimes in this day and age policies change drastically, quickly. The NAU program being quicker may offer the opportunity to cut down on time all around and ultimately provide better long term return on investment if decisions like these influence your choices. Just FWIW, i'm not sure of the situation.

[Kab]

If you live in the United States, and the U.S. program is less expensive, I think it's a no-brainer to go with the U.S. program. The only time I would say otherwise is if a foreign program is well-known internationally and more prestigious than the U.S. program which I don't think is the case here.

Universitat Rovira i Virgili is between 751-800 world ranking according to this page:

https://www.topuniversities.com/universi...-i-virgili

or here: 601 to 800
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/wor...-i-virgili


Northern Arizona University 727 world rank or 175 in USA
https://cwur.org/2018-19/Northern-Illino...ersity.php

or better here 501 - 600 world
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/wor...university

I will not consider any of them bad. Both are respectable universities. Consider cost, accreditation later on and known factor between employers.

[eLearner]

School rankings tend to be questionable. Employers are not using them, hiring managers have an idea of which schools are at the top and the ones they're unfamiliar with will attract their scrutiny.

The world rankings are a nice idea if you plan to be living or working internationally but most people aren't going to do that. I'm sure Rovira is a fine school, but if I'm trying to gain acceptance in North America it just makes sense to get a degree from a place that will raise the fewest questions. Now, if Canada is the aim, a Canadian school would be most ideal, but if you have to choose between an American school like NAU that would more than likely communicate familiarity immediately versus a Spanish school that pretty much every employer in Canada has never heard of and by name draws the person to have to look it up because it doesn't look like a name from a school in that region of the world, well, now that's a question and it may not work in your favor when someone with a degree from an instantly familiar school like the University of Toronto walks through the door.

[Sdmj33]

School rankings tend to be questionable. Employers are not using them, hiring managers have an idea of which schools are at the top and the ones they're unfamiliar with will attract their scrutiny.

The world rankings are a nice idea if you plan to be living or working internationally but most people aren't going to do that. I'm sure Rovira is a fine school, but if I'm trying to gain acceptance in North America it just makes sense to get a degree from a place that will raise the fewest questions. Now, if Canada is the aim, a Canadian school would be most ideal, but if you have to choose between an American school like NAU that would more than likely communicate familiarity immediately versus a Spanish school that pretty much every employer in Canada has never heard of and by name draws the person to have to look it up because it doesn't look like a name from a school in that region of the world, well, now that's a question and it may not work in your favor when someone with a degree from an instantly familiar school like the University of Toronto walks through the door.

I will not be using those degrees for employment. I just need one to bump up my score on the express entry list. I will be enrolling myself into a Canadian uni once I get permanent residency.

I am even considering ENEB masters and MBA with a pathway into a UCN DBA or even an MBA validation.

[Thorne]

School rankings tend to be questionable. Employers are not using them, hiring managers have an idea of which schools are at the top and the ones they're unfamiliar with will attract their scrutiny.

The world rankings are a nice idea if you plan to be living or working internationally but most people aren't going to do that. I'm sure Rovira is a fine school, but if I'm trying to gain acceptance in North America it just makes sense to get a degree from a place that will raise the fewest questions. Now, if Canada is the aim, a Canadian school would be most ideal, but if you have to choose between an American school like NAU that would more than likely communicate familiarity immediately versus a Spanish school that pretty much every employer in Canada has never heard of and by name draws the person to have to look it up because it doesn't look like a name from a school in that region of the world, well, now that's a question and it may not work in your favor when someone with a degree from an instantly familiar school like the University of Toronto walks through the door.

Even I've heard of Rovira before, and I've lived in Texas half of my life.

Plus, I highly doubt anyone in Canada is any more likely to have heard of Northern Arizona University than Rovira because it's not exactly a prestigious school. It's not bad either, just not prestigious. You're acting like the difference in name recognition between NAU and Rovira is the difference between John F Kennedy University and Johns Hopkins 

[eLearner]

School rankings tend to be questionable. Employers are not using them, hiring managers have an idea of which schools are at the top and the ones they're unfamiliar with will attract their scrutiny.

The world rankings are a nice idea if you plan to be living or working internationally but most people aren't going to do that. I'm sure Rovira is a fine school, but if I'm trying to gain acceptance in North America it just makes sense to get a degree from a place that will raise the fewest questions. Now, if Canada is the aim, a Canadian school would be most ideal, but if you have to choose between an American school like NAU that would more than likely communicate familiarity immediately versus a Spanish school that pretty much every employer in Canada has never heard of and by name draws the person to have to look it up because it doesn't look like a name from a school in that region of the world, well, now that's a question and it may not work in your favor when someone with a degree from an instantly familiar school like the University of Toronto walks through the door.

Even I've heard of Rovira before, and I've lived in Texas half of my life.

Plus, I highly doubt anyone in Canada is any more likely to have heard of Northern Arizona University than Rovira because it's not exactly a prestigious school. It's not bad either, just not prestigious. You're acting like the difference in name recognition between NAU and Rovira is the difference between John F Kennedy University and Johns Hopkins 

Even I've heard of Rovira before, and I've lived in Texas half of my life.

I believe you, but let's not make it as if Rovira I Virgili is a well-known or even mildly-known school to the overwhelming majority of people in the United States or Canada. It just isn't, like at all, and I'm not sure what the motivation would be to make it seem otherwise.

Plus, I highly doubt anyone in Canada is any more likely to have heard of Northern Arizona University than Rovira...

I don't doubt that one bit myself: First, Canadians are far more aware of American geography than Americans are of Canadian's (which is kind of a commentary on a separate issue with the American education system, but I digress) so something from Northern Arizona is not going to sound odd to a Canadian.

Secondly, it's not going to come across as odd to a Canadian that someone came from Northern Arizona University--an English-speaking American state school--versus a Spanish school with very few (if any) ties with the country and even fewer if any graduates of the school living there. I'm not saying NAU is a big deal in Canada either, but a school named Rovira I Virgili from Spain absolutely isn't a deal in Canada, and having lived on the border of Canada for 4 decades and being in Canada often during that entire amount of time (I should have citizenship, lol), I think I have maybe a little insight into the school conversation climate in a number of places there.

You're acting like the difference in name recognition between NAU and Rovira is the difference between John F Kennedy University and Johns Hopkins

At least in this context, it more than likely is, except Rovira is faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar less known here than John F Kennedy University and JFK U isn't even that well-known here if we're going to be intellectually honest about it, so that speaks volumes.

I'm not convinced at all that Rovira I Virgili isn't going to raise some questions in this part of the world versus an American state degree with the name of an American state attached to it. Sorry, just don't buy that one. This is the same kind of conversation we had about Isabel, and while I'm on board with the Isabel deal I'm not pretending that it being on a resume won't raise questions because it is a Spanish school and not familiar to the overwhelming majority of people in this part of the globe. Rovira has a longer history than Isabel, but in this part of the world neither school is in the normal conversation about schools and the reason is simple: Americans are almost entirely going to American schools, and Canadians to Canadian schools. When both sets start going en masse to Spanish schools, then this will be a much different conversation.

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School rankings tend to be questionable. Employers are not using them, hiring managers have an idea of which schools are at the top and the ones they're unfamiliar with will attract their scrutiny.

The world rankings are a nice idea if you plan to be living or working internationally but most people aren't going to do that. I'm sure Rovira is a fine school, but if I'm trying to gain acceptance in North America it just makes sense to get a degree from a place that will raise the fewest questions. Now, if Canada is the aim, a Canadian school would be most ideal, but if you have to choose between an American school like NAU that would more than likely communicate familiarity immediately versus a Spanish school that pretty much every employer in Canada has never heard of and by name draws the person to have to look it up because it doesn't look like a name from a school in that region of the world, well, now that's a question and it may not work in your favor when someone with a degree from an instantly familiar school like the University of Toronto walks through the door.

I will not be using those degrees for employment. I just need one to bump up my score on the express entry list. I will be enrolling myself into a Canadian uni once I get permanent residency.

I am even considering ENEB masters and MBA with a pathway into a UCN DBA or even an MBA validation.

Well, at the risk of a reply such as "I'm independently wealthy and will never need a job for the rest of my life while living in Canada" (I'm kidding, but it's just the way the thread has been going, lol), I would just say that at some point you may need a job while in Canada and these things may matter to you at some point during that time, so it's never a bad idea to cover your bases.