University of Western Ontario, Ivey Honors Business Administration

11/16/2020

Written by Mihika Tarini Vyas

The University of Western Ontario's business program, offered by the Ivey Business School, provides undergraduate students the ability to receive an Honors Business Administration (HBA) through an immersive 4-year program. Business at Ivey is categorized by the freedom to select and explore academic interests- different from those associated with business. Through the program, you'll be provided with the opportunity to explore programs other than those related to your business degree. Additionally, the program emphasizes providing students with the opportunity to network with their classmates, access to personalized career management related resources while prioritizing a high-engagement learning experience.

The Honors Business Administration is divided into two halves. Through years 1 and 2, you'll study in a faculty at Western or one of its other affiliated universities. This means that you will be able to build your undergraduate business degree in programs and faculties that interest you. Years 3 and 4 will be the first and second year of the Honors Business Administration program in which you'll study an intensive general management program in required and elective Ivey courses.

Do you want to apply to Ivey? Here's how you do it.

You can either apply to the Ivey program straight from high school via the Advanced Entry Opportunity (AEO) or apply from another university after your second year.

Applying to Ivey from High School

The Ivey Advanced Entry Opportunity proffers qualified high-school students conditional, pre-admission status to the HBA program. In order to go about applying, you'll need to first apply for admission to Western through the Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC). Upon choosing the program you wish to pursue for the first two years of your university experience you will need to indicate your intention to apply for the Ivey AEO status by clicking 'yes' on the radio button titled 'Ivey Advanced Entry Opportunity'.It is important to note that your Ivey AEO is a status separate from your application to the University of Western Ontario.

Below is a brief overview of what the application will look like.

1. Personal Information

This is where you enter in your full name, contact details, etc/.

2. Ivey Alumni Reference

If you have any references or are related to somebody who completed the Ivey HBA program, you'll need to indicate it here.

3. Special Circumstances

Should you have experienced an extraordinary circumstance that might have an effect on your overall application, you can mention it in this section.

4. Education

Enter all records and details of previous and current educational experiences in this section.

5. Grade 12 Math Prerequisite

Here, you'll need to demonstrate that you've fulfilled the math component required for the HBA program. You can find more information about this in our "Academic Requirements" section.

6. Awards

In this optional section, you can list up to 15 awards you've been given in your last few years of schooling and extra-circular activities.

7. Activities

You'll need to mention and describe two main activates that you undertook in the last four years. Remember that you'll need to provide references too- so make sure to have this information.

8. Additional Activities

This optional section is for you to highlight any other additional activities you think are important.

9. Work Experience

Similar to the "Activities" section, here you'll cite and briefly describe any work experience, internship opportunities, etc/. that you fulfilled.

10. International Experience

In this optional section, you can highlight any activities or experiences you participated in outside your country of residence.

11. International Experience

Here you can briefly mention the languages you can speak and/or write.

12. Essay Question

For this portion of the application, you'll need to write 3 essays. For 2 of the essays, you'll need to write about an experience you completed. The third essay is a response to a prompt that you will be given. Each essay is about 500 words each and progress can be saved- so there's no need to write them in one go!

Grade Requirements

In order to be considered for Ivey's AEO status, the following grade requirements need to be met.

Ontario High Schools

Admission Requirements

English 4 U (ENG4U)
Completion of an additional 4U or 4M course

One 4U Math course such as

Advanced Functions (MHF4U)
Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U)
Mathematics of Data Management (MDM4U)

International Baccalaureate

Admission Requirements

Completion of the entire Diploma including the Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay
Passes in a minimum of 6 subjects of which 3 must be at the Higher Level
A minimum grade total of 28 including points awarded for the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge
No mark less than 4 on any individual course
IB Math Applications, or IB Math Analysis at either the HL or SL level

Applying to Ivey from university

If you would like to apply directly to the Ivey HBA program upon completing two years of university study, here's what you need to know to transfer.

Be sure that you:

Maintain a full course load over your two years of university- equivalent of 10.0 Western courses.
Achieve a minimum average of 70% in your university courses including Business 2257.
Complete a secondary school mathematics course for students bound for university or an equivalent.
Complete Western's Business 2257 course or equivalent.

Experience at Ivey

Sonia Kishinchandani, an HBA candidate graduating in the year 2022 was drawn to Ivey's program for two main reasons- the class structure and the case method. "Ivey's classes foster a learning environment in which I get to engage with my classmates and actually go through a real-world situation. Being able to hear the diverse perspectives of my classmates and engage in lively discussions adds value so much value to my learning. The case method allows me to develop a deep understanding of the concepts, as well as apply them to business situations."

Reflecting on the highlight of her experience at Ivey so far, Sonia notes her most memorable experience to be her first 48 Hour Report. "It was an experience that taught me so much about working in teams, and especially how to navigate a virtual group setting."

Having applied and been accepted to the program after high school through the AEO, Sonia believes she stood out as a prospective student because of how passionate she is. "I believe I stood out as a candidate because of the passion I bought to all of my pursuits. Throughout high school and my first two years of university, I challenged myself to commit to activities that I am truly interested in and worked hard at becoming knowledgeable and skillful in these areas. This helped me focus on my personal development and build up my leadership competencies, which became a defining factor in my HBA application."

Like Sonia, if you have a passion for pursuing a degree in business- Ivey at Western could be just for you! Narrow in on what you enjoy doing, there is nothing better than pursuing a course or activity that you love.

Works Cited