A 31-year-old applicant (B.Com 2012, employed 2013–2016, digital-marketing course in 2017, then running her own digital-marketing business) was refused a study permit for a supply chain management program, and now held two offers: an MBA at one university and a digital-marketing program at a college. Which to pick to reduce re-refusal risk?
- The earlier refusal was predictable, members said — the program didn't fit the profile. A digital-marketing professional applying for supply chain management left the officer no coherent career story. The lesson generalizes: officers refuse when the program doesn't follow from the applicant's history.
- Majority advice: take the program that continues her actual career. "Digital marketing profile going for supply chain doesn't make any sense" — by the same logic, the digital-marketing program is the natural, defensible choice, letting the SOP present one straight line: education → work → own business → advanced study in the same field.
- The MBA wasn't ruled out. One member noted a spouse got a visa for the same university's MBA despite a 10-year study gap — so an MBA with a strong file can succeed. But it demands a heavier SOP lift to justify the pivot from running a marketing business.
- Whichever program you choose, the reapplication must visibly answer the first refusal — a coherent program-to-profile match is that answer.