Conestoga College, Advanced Diploma in Business Administration- Accounting, Auditing and Information Technology
Reviewed on Oct 16, 2025(Enrolled 2023)What Students Say
Likes
- They offered students their own selection of timetable from about 100+ choices. It means that I can study at my preferred time from about 100 options.
- Conestoga offers both online and hybrid mode of study in almost all the business courses and even asynchronous classes.
- Apart from studies they have a large network in the business industry which helped me secure job after finishing my graduation.
Dislikes
- Conestoga college has usually more students per class than any other college in Canada which is sometimes an issue for the learners.
- Students have to commute to another campus for their classes in various cases due to equipment availabilities which is inconvenience especially in winter times.
- The building is always under construction at various parts which is an inconvenience to the students at times.
Course Curriculum
10
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The difficulty level of my programme increases as the semester level goes on, like the 1st semester is the easiest, while the last semester is the most challenging. My programme is 80% theory and 20% practical. It gets more practical when you transition from diploma to degree.
- Positively, it provides hands-on practice while studying from all the super-qualified professors.
- On the other side, the structure of some courses is not very good and doesn't make sense.
- There are no more than 3 classes a day and no more study than 20 hours a week; that means no everyday classes.
- The number of students in my class was 35 on an average and only 7 people were Indians among them.
Admission Experience
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I applied to the following universities:
- Conestoga college.(Accepted 2022) Admitted
- George Brown College. (Accepted 2022).
- I applied after my 12 grade and I was never rejected by any of the colleges in Canada. I was confident that I would be getting accepted but I was patient after the process. I did my whole process through an agent in India who guided me through the whole process.
- Conestoga college had a bigger campus than any other college and it had degree options for my programme after finishing my advanced diploma. That matched my pathway to achieve CPA designation, which I am currently on.
- The admission process at Conestoga college is pretty simple and easy, which can be found on their website. When you visit Conestoga college's website, browse for the programmes and choose the best programme for you and then apply as an international student and follow the steps. The documents required for the application would be your school's or college's marksheet and leaving certificates. For the marksheets, you should convert them to foreign transcripts, which can be done at local stores.
- The eligibility criteria for admission to my college is a minimum math requirement, which is high school math, which is matched from 12th-class math when scoring 55 or more. Also the English requirement is there, which you can fulfill by IELTS which you need score at least 6 bands each module (changes every year; check ircc.ca for that).
- My admission process was very smooth.
- I applied for the January intake, which is also called the winter intake. I had the option to take 2 breaks or 1 break in such a way that if I go for the September intake, I have two breaks, while I can finish it faster in January with only one break.
- The admission process can take up to 6 weeks while your credit transfers are being processed, while mine was smooth and nice and everything was completed in 4 weeks without any hurdles.
Faculty
10
- Per faculty there are about 60 students and that's one of the weak points of Conestoga college. The ratio should not be more than 40 else it ruins the quality of education because of overload.
- The course content is properly explained by the professors and it is really connected to real-life examples of my job.
- Almost all professors at Conestoga are highly qualified and with great connections in the industry and they are always eager to connect you to jobs as per your requirements.
- I admire my programme coordinator Patty Gateman because she helped all the students beyond studies. Anything happens go to her.
Campus Life
6
- My college has more than 5 campuses that are in Doon, downtown Kitchener, Reuter, Cambridge, Waterloo, and Guelph.
- College has a recreation campus that is available to students for Doon and Cambridge, esports at the Waterloo campus, medical facilities for everyone at Doon, and libraries at all of the campuses for students. They have food banks for the students and farmers' markets at different locations.
- Business networking, General award application, Garba night, Bhangra night, Job fairs, Sports days etc are some of the main events for the Conestoga college.
Part Time Jobs
- Top 10% students at the college can secure the good positions at the college, while the pay range is $21 for the beginners. There are food service jobs at the college, such as subway sandwich artist. The maximum hours that are allowed for work on campus during the full-time studies are not limited but off campus should not exceed more than 20. The usual wages for jobs at the college are the minimum pay for the beginners. It is pretty easy to secure an on-campus job if you apply at the right time and with the right resume.
- Students can easily earn $1200/month while doing proper part-time jobs. It is pretty simple to obtain a part-time job if you have the proper resume aligned with the job requirements. Students can find jobs through references, online sites, billboard advertisements, etc. The process is also quite easy, such that after application, if you get selected, you are shortlisted for the interview, then after the second interview and then after onboarding, if selected.
Placement
10
- About 90% of students are able to find full-time employment after finishing their programme and in a good company. The average salary is $50,000 per annum a student can expect upon graduation.
- Students can apply to the jobs that are offered in the job fairs; faculty reference is also another great option. Sometimes there are contract-based jobs which are considered internships and are also counted towards CPA work experience. Companies such as Deloitte, Grant Thompson LLP, BDO are often at the campus for their campus hiring.
Accommodation
Off Campus
10
- I found my accommodation through one of my friends who was already in Canada at Conestoga college before me. My monthly rent was about $600/month which included utilities and wi-fi charges. Most of the students at Conestoga college doesn't find it a challenge to find housing because it has great transit from and to the college. Also, there are many condominiums near the college location which are rented out to the students.
- Most of the Indian students strive to stay in their communities, while the white people stay at the college residence and the black students live in the condos. Everybody prefers to live as near as possible. I was 20 min away from college via transit.
Exams
- IELTS is generally accepted as a part of the English language requirement in the college. All other exams, such as PTE, TOEFL, and Duolingo, are accepted in the college.
- Yes, documents such as STATEMENT OF PURPOSE and LOR are required for the admission process. Transcripts are the main documents required for the application, which are a must-have consideration for no mistakes.
- LOR can be optional in some cases, while it is necessary for students to submit their statement of Purpose.
Fees
- Fees for my programme were $18000 for one year, which is two semesters or 8 months. Moreover, the first time for the fast quota for the visa should be paid for one year; thereafter, it can be paid as per semester. There is also a seat guarantee fee, i.e., $1500 that will be deducted from $18000.
- If any student is struggling with funds, there is the option of per-month payments. It goes like this: you have to pay half of the semester money at the beginning and the rest in instalments every month. For example, From $9000 a semester, you have to pay $4500 and the rest you can pay in instalments every month.
- There is no charge for transportation based on new rules if you are a full-time student because a bus pass is included in the fees.
- The rent expenses would be around $500-$700 and the groceries would be around $200 for every month. Phone bill would be around $50/month.
Scholarship
- Unfortunately, I didn't receive any scholarship during my course. There is a general award application every semester which can be awarded to the student on the basis of their performance either in the curriculum or co-curricular. 500 students are awarded $500 each as a part of the scholarship.
- For academics, a student should achieve more than 85% in their programme in their previous semester to be eligible for the award.
