INSEAD vs Yale SOM

I'd say this is really a tough call but I'd lean toward Insead given your goals of living in Singapore/HK long term.

Insead has a very strong brand globally and Yale is making great strides with their program, I just think it will take years / decades(?) to match Insead's global brand (likely much less to match it in the US though given Yale's strong brand name here).

Good luck and congrats either way!

yale's name speak louder in asia

yale is a better known brand, but when it comes to recruiting its not the average joe that's evaluating you

i think from people in finance, even in HK/singapore, Insead is better known than Yale SOM

If you want to work in Europe or want to do something technical, INSEAD is a no-brainer. For NYC investment banking, it becomes a much tougher choice.

Edit: for someone outside New York, I would lean towards INSEAD. Yale has a very nice campus and a well-known name as an undergraduate institution and law school, but it does not really have the same reputation of INSEAD as a B-school.

for buy side placement.. isnt insead known to be more of a consulting school? youll have all of the hedge funds in fairfield county next door at ysom to badger.. however i dont think either is a big buy side school ;x

this is actually tough. if you wanted to work anywhere but Asia, INSEAD would be a clear choice, but i've read in multiple sources (gmatclub, yale students, alumni, outsiders) that the Yale brand is very strong in Asia. Allegedly SOM places extremely well and opens lots of doors (SOM, not just Yale undergrad).

alumni network is 5kish vs 50kish, but there are pros and cons with that.

did you look at alumni of both schools - do any of them work in firms where you'd want to work? are there senior people on the buy-side you can speak with? any current SOM students that are going to the buy-side in Asia that can talk about their exp? what about INSEAD?

honestly, a lot of ppl in asia never heard of insead, believe or not

purely from an education point of view, I think Yale and the two year format will better serve you since you will have so much more time to choose electives in your area of interest and to learn from NYC monkeys coming to campus.

I don't think you can go wrong with Yale.

Insead has its own campus in Singapore. I find it hard to believe that they dont have a lot of alumni working there

I believe Yale has no/does not disclose grades.

I was in the exact same position as OP, Yale or INSEAD, and I chose INSEAD. Yes, when people ask where I am leaving for, and I say INSEAD, the first reaction is, Huh? Then again my peers are not in business, and we're in the US. However, in reality, for people who will make a difference for OP in the future, INSEAD's standing is clear. Yale is going to improve over the years, but there are two clear advantages; a much larger and more established alumni base, and the quality and international breadth of the classmates. Also, most of the benefits of an MBA is extracted in the first several years afterward, so even if one does care about prestige and connections, look ahead at most 5 years. I was looking for a business school with an international focus, and I cared less about the name of the greater institution of Yale, and more about what a program could deliver. I already satisfied my prestige seeking parents with my ugrad... (on that note, don't let your parents decide for you, because most likely, they will say Yale given the two choices). Just keep in mind, not everyone knows INSEAD, but the reason it is known is important. Everyone knows Yale, but it is not the reason you are seeking. At least not soon enough to impact you. Best of luck on your decision making. Hope to meet you in either France or Singapore come Sept, if you choose INSEAD.

short vs trail

I agree with a lot of the comments made here, and OP has a good dilemma on his hands.

There's a lot of factors that should play into this:

INSEAD: 1 year MBA, cost savings, size of alumni network, strength of network abroad, great placement in consulting and PE overseas, opportunities to study in Fountainebleau, Singapore, and Wharton (with access to Wharton's OCR), greater international diversity in student body, less well-known brand to people that aren't in the know

Yale SOM: 2 year MBA, small alumni base, good momentum in the rankings, proximity to NY for finance related jobs, better brand (to the average joe, not in terms of business schools), better US recruiting than INSEAD

Given your long term goals abroad, I'd take INSEAD and time it so that I could spend a block at Wharton during recruiting season and get access to their OCR.

Yale, but then again I'm pretty racist.

lol james

INSEAD, not even close.