In an earlier post this year I talked about going through the mba process. I have of course slacked off on this process and have as yet to even think about taking my GMATs. After a recent trip to Europe i realized that if i don’t live out there for at least a year I’d regret it for the rest of my life. How to fit that in and get an MBA without incurring massive amounts of debt? Simple, combine them both and get an MBA abroad.
Some of the Key Benefits to doing an MBA abroad are obvious, but here are some the things that come to mind.
- You gain more of an international perspective and exposure to new cultures
- Cheaper schooling costs
- Typically programs last about a year and half, so I can get back to work sooner
- More access to Europe and other emerging markets
- International networking
- Good foundation for a career abroad
Some of the Top Schools in Europe I’ll be considering:
- IE Business School in Madrid
- HEC School of Management
- London Business School
To check out some school rankings check out this website http://www.eduniversal-ranking.com
I’d like to open it up for discussion, though. When hiring a potential mba, would you give more weight to someone coming from a top US MBA program or someone coming from an equally prestigious?
Do you think any less of international MBAs? Experience-wise I think an international MBA definitely trumps getting an MBA here. Thoughts?
Cheaper schooling costs? With the exchange rate, most of those programs cost significantly more than their European counterparts.
I'm interested in this as well. I'm a huge fan of INSEAD. They have a campus in Singapore, which opens up opportunities in Asia.
Did you mention this or not?
You save so much more money by doing a 1 year MBA.
Ill bite on this one-if you're a European that's doing his mba somewhere others than insead, lbs, imd, (maybe iese), it's basically the equivilant of getting your mba at a Georgetown or similar. Also Europeans are alot less prestige happy than Americans, that being said-a top (m7) ranked mba from the us will be held in much higher regard in Europe, whether you're European or not. I think an m7 or similar will open pretty much the same european doors for you as any European MBA- except you'll run into visa/work permit issues due to sponsorship.
But how does the European MBA look as an american looking to come back to the states post-MBA to pursue a career in banking/consulting? Would you be trumped by M7 generally speaking? Assuming you can get into both M7 and top Euro MBA programs it seems like you have to trade the intangibles of the international program (international perspective and exposure to cultures) for recruiting preference....
Depends how much prestige plays out in your life. You could do T20 in USA and go work in high finance/consulting and feel guilty taking time off as you get fat ... or you could do a T20 in Europe and work in the same field or do something else and enjoy your time off.
To each their own. Just don't discount European MBA programs.
It'd be remiss not to include INSEAD in your list. HUGE HUGE fan of the school, and have every intention of applying to them a few years down the road. Spoke to only 3 former INSEAD MBAs so far (and they're all at MBB now) but have to say they're incredibly nice, surprisingly humble, and VERY international!!!
INSEAD's always seemed to me like more of a consulting school than a banking one - their placement in MBB (especially M) in Singapore is insane.
INSEAD's MBB placement numbers are inflated due to the large number of sponsored MBB students. Lots are looking for the "quick 1 year, international experience" and go to INSEAD, then back to MBB.
I won't deny that they're strong in consulting, though.
"Inflated" depending on how careful the MBA students look at INSEAD employment report. Sure if you only read the headline, the percentage of their students going to consulting is huge (39% according to their employment report for the 2011 class). However, INSEAD is quite transparent with their MBB placement. Still using their employment statistics, these are the numbers at MBB, number in brackets are their former consultants:
McKinsey: 107 (50) BCG: 61 (18) Bain: 52 (23)
We can see that although half the incoming MBA consultants at Bain and McK are their former employees (and two thirds for BCG), the absolute placement numbers for the career switchers are still very competitive compared with other top business schools. I also like the fact that you can bond/network with your future colleagues at INSEAD. In a high-pressure, competitive environment at MBB, having both a personal and professional relationships with your colleagues can go a long way.
Update: Slightly puzzled with the departure of their dean Depak Jain (http://poetsandquants.com/2013/01/24/dipak-jain-resigns-deanship-at-ins…), dude's there for only 2 years??? Sigh
Their numbers are impressive-but you should note that insead doesn't place into 1 specific country-more these are basically MBB placements for the entire world (except us). As a concentrated office placement-the us is better, I just feel that top mba candidates in the us want to stay in the us after graduation (most likely). If they were willing to be placed in MBB office in South Africa, Poland and Thailand like the insead candidates are-I feel top us mba's would have alot higher MBB numbers. Even at this rate, inseads numbers are only slightly greater that kellogg and Wharton-the top us MBB placers. (Who knows about hbs and gsb-although I'm fairly certain that they're more)
Wholeheartedly agree! I think if you're a US citizen and committed to the North American market in the long run, stick with the US schools. I'm not US-centric and slightly biased towards 1-yr program for cost reason so INSEAD makes sense.
I'm an Oxbridge alum, so am biased, but would really recommend considering Oxford and Cambridge. To be honest, the MBA experience is largely commoditised wherever you do it, but the Oxbridge experience is truly unique. While their MBA degrees are young and aren't top ranked yet, the universities have awesome networks and prestige value that opens doors.
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