Hi everyone,
Great thread, I've been searching for more information about ESADE (especially prospective students opinions) for a while and the lack of information on other forums left me somewhat disappointed.
I attended an MBA fair recently and had a great conversation with the admissions staff, they really did a great job of conveying the 'feel' of the school and also reassured my belief that an MBA will help me reach my future goals.
I am currently studying for the GMAT and hope to take it in January, although the fact that I have to take a 2 hour flight to the nearest city with a test center makes it quite a bit more of an event.
cesque wrote:
* As most of you have already said, there's a personal touch and that there's a close bond between students.
I have also come to this conclusion after meeting with the admissions staff and alumni and along with the flexibility regarding the length of the program, it is one of the main attractions to this school.
cesque wrote:
* In the class of 2009, about 70% had jobs 3 months after graduation. And about 70% of the 1st year students got internships. Percentage of students having jobs 3 months after gradually is usually 90% but due to the financial crisis, it's less this year, like most schools.
The admissions officer told me that as there are 3 finishing dates for each class (one for the 12, 15 and 18 month students) it is difficult for for them to compile data for each year. Nonetheless, 70% finding jobs 3 months after graduation is quite worrying...financial crisis or not. ESADE is one of the more expensive European MBA programs (I think only IESE and IMD are more expensive) and as someone who wants to change both job function and location the placement situation is a very important factor for me when making the decision on which school to attend.
I had noticed in 2 of the 3 ESADE blogs that I read that the students did not get an internship and if this is a continuing trend I will have to do some more thinking about my application. While not crucial, I feel an internship would give me a good chance to gain some experience that would help with a career change.
cesque wrote:
* Scholarships are given out based on merit and usually range between 15% and 40% of the tuition fees. About 30 to 40% of the students get scholarships.
Do you know what exactly 'merit' consists of? Is it a combination of GMAT, undergraduate GPA and work experience?
I am studying for the GMAT now and it looks like I will only get one crack at the whip before applying. I wonder if there is much chance of a scholarship with a GMAT score less than 700-720? (Hopefully I can get up that high, got to work on this damned quant section!) With a 20-40% scholarship, ESADE becomes a much sweeter deal!
cesque wrote:
* Good entrepreneurial focus. The school selects the best entrepreneurial idea and rewards the team with a cash prize and an office space in ESADE's new campus which houses ESADE (not MBA) as well as companies (this prize was given out in 2009 but not sure if this applies every year)
This is interesting, sounds like a great way to promote entrepreneurship at the school.
cesque wrote:
I will be submitting my application by the Dec 11th deadline.
Thanks for the information and all the best with your application! Keep us updated with how it all goes.
To everyone who has been accepted, congratulations!
To all the rest who are now applying, good luck!
I'm going to get back to studying, and procrastinating if the advantages the ESADE MBA has over schools like Cranfield and Vlerick are worth the extra 30-40000 Euro.