So I was thinking....
Since I don't like my savings, where to go for B-School in Europe?
I am 2.1 Master's Degree holder (Valedictorian) from South Africa (like Greg Smith of Goldman Sachs NY Times resignation fame ), with a CFA, 720 GMAT, 3.5 GPA equivalent and 5 years IB experience at global firms with International experience, speak 4 languages and entrepreneurial experience with solid extracurriculars.
Which one is the best "fit" for me?
I wonder which one is generous on Scholarships for "poor" Africans?
Not sure if the extra year and USD 90,000 is worth spending at Stanford ( Greg Smith went here for free! ), Columbia or Wharton. But hey if they are more keen on sponsoring Africans I'm down.
not trying to be rude/noisy, but 5 year IB experiences and you can't pay straight up or at least half of it yourself?
to answer your question: there is a world of difference between eu and us schools. ultimately do you want to work outside the states?
i researched euro schools a lot, went to networking events, spoke with admissions directors/had informal interviews at IE and IESE and have friends at INSEAD/Oxford/LBS so somewhat educated opinion and i'd rank them like this
LBS + INSEAD large gape IE/IESE IMD SAID
LBS better for finance. INSEAD for consulting and industry. consider location, cost of living in london etc. I'd reckon that LBS and INSEAD are equivalent to the caliber of the M7 in the U.S. sans hws.
IE and IESE are solid. IE is entrepreneurial/spain/1year. look at where they place - not that strong in finance if thats what you want. IESE is modeled after HBS. case study method/2 year program/class demographic is most similar to the u.s. schools. if you want an american bschool experience in EU consider IESE
SAID has the oxbrige brand, but is new and lagging in rankings. i am not sure what that does to the placement. its somewhat like the Yale of EU, except they dont seem to be gaming the rankings by cherrpicking high gpa/gmat candidates
IMD is weird. 13 essays. average age is like 33. 90 entering class....go look at their brochure. nobody is attractive. most everyone has unimpressive backgrounds. i could be wrong obv, but i def. can't see myself there.
I am keen to work in emerging markets, so if I do work in the US it would have to be short-lived. Unless I'll be doing much EM touring for the job, like my current job.
IB pay grades in Africa are lower than their US/Euro counterparts unless you're at VP/MD level. Plus, have you met a banker not keen to stretch margins by cutting costs?
I'm also eyeing shorter programs and weekends in Nice, Rome, Amsterdam, Manchester and Barcelona.
So far LBS, IE and Said are attractive.
So, now to ponder the likelihood of my acceptance... How does my profile compare to your pals at Said and LBS and your perception of IE candidates?
think your profile is competitive. go for it. definitely apply for lbs/insead.
consider posting in clear admit/mba apply (alex chu) threads to get their opinion. possibly throw in your hat in the poetsandquants.com blog for sandy's opinion
I would go for LBS IMD and INSEAD reputation wise although each school has different approach.
Obviously if you want to work in finance, LBS and INSEAD are good. IMD is far more reputated on industry. The three qualifiy for consulting.
So depends on what you want to do after, and what you want to have as a learning experience. LBS is London. Quite a nice environment. INSEAD is more the "holiday" type of MBA. IMD is extremely intense.
I don't think IE or IESE competes with any of the above three schools. Personnal opinion. And regarding the comment above on IMD, it's actually the only school that publishes the profile of its participants. That may say a lot about the other schools. I heard quite funny comments about Insead participants' lack of maturity for example.
Hope it helps. At the end you should not hesitate if you really get to know the program of each school. You will then see what's the best fit for you.
Pls look for my response below.
Personally from a banking standpoint , if thats where you see yourself than you should look at LBS as your top choice. Your profile is good and has a decent chance. IMD and Insead are both top notch schools and depends where you want to go after graduation for example Insead has Singapore campus where as from a small class, leadership and general management focus IMD is by far the best.
@ clever_username
Regarding the comment about the batch profile of people in IMD. Get your facts right:
I would be interested in knowing what do you mean by impressive batch quality.
Please get your facts straight before you speak about any business school in a disreputable manner. IMD and Wharton are the only schools who publish their batch profiles , that says a lot about their confidence in picking the guys.
Incase of any further doubts feel free to see the batch profile again http://www.imd.org/programs/mba/upload/MBA-class-profiles.pdf
Cheers,
V
LBS and INSEAD are certainly on the list but I'm a fan of Oxbridge so Said and Judge are on too
Since I need 5 schools to send GMAT scores to, I'll add Columbia as they are obviously a good choice for finance and they have a specific scholarship for people from holding one of my passports.
Amazingly enough many people are willing to borrow USD 180,000 to go to Columbia!!! That surely seems quite crazy! That's a bubble waiting to blow up in the students and the economy's faces. That alone makes Europe seem very lucrative.
Perhaps am I being a cheap banker?
But hey if bonus season is benevolent, I may not be too concerned about the price tag.
I like the idea of a holiday MBA but alas the price tag inspires some conviction whilst on holiday, the "holiday" MBA is till quite rigorous but the scenery is quite inspiring.
Posted with MBAapply
IMD is a great school. I have bosses that are alumni, they are great people and speak highly of the institution (albeit with an obvious bias). I think we all know it is a good school.
The candidates at IMD are a tad older than the 27-29 year olds at most European business schools, but I think IMD is to make CFO's and CEO's not Associates and VP's. If I were older, IMD would be a top choice.
I have the luxury of much time before I apply I was thinking of studying a great deal and retaking the GMAT, to shoot the lights out.
I could, perhaps, improve my chances by trying Stacy Blackman consulting as well.
Both options may seem excessive but I think I might benefit from such. Or am I mistaken?
Thanks for the comments so far
Well, definitely you have a first cluster: LBS INSEAD and IMD
For IB I heard that the big banks don't really hire at IMD but they do place some folks there every year Insead is top notch specially for africa LBS also top notch but mind the competition, they all go to LBS aiming an IB position post MBA
About the reputation of IMD. I think that the small class entails small alumni network and then not so many people knows about it. However in leadership and general management it is truly one of the best school in the world.
Actually, I have just accted IMD's offer and rejected Insead's one!!!! It is also a matter of fit.
Btw most of the students at IMD are accepted at LBS and Insead and choose IMD over them so I don't think there is a difference between those schools students profile
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