ESADE - Sept 2011 intake

Decided not to apply based on cost and zero recognition in America, although I liked what I saw about the program and atmosphere. Also heard some Spanish school admin people talk at an MBA fair and it discouraged me in terms of job opportunities for non EU citizens. Why apply when it's hard to get a job there post grad and the name is useless in your home country? Obviously if you're a citizen of the EU it's another story. I'm trying to get into LBS or a top US program and do a 4 month exchange at IESE to enjoy the Barcelona life for awhile.

I'm not sure what is going on with ESADE. I applied in Round 1 and the essay questions changed just hours before the deadline to submit. They didn't time the IT rollout with the submission deadline.

The interview decision date was Friday Nov 5, but I have yet to hear if I have an interview or was dinged. I sent an email but no response yet.

Hi all ,

I have an admit to ESADE's september 2011 session.Profile : 30/M/Indian,7 years Work ex,GMAT =660(Q=47,V=34,AWA5.0).

I was admitted to this year's intake but had to defer my admission till next year for various reasons.Throughout the admission process I found the admission directors to be very friendly and willing to help.Additionally,the admission process from submitting the application to acceptance took just 3 weeks.If I can be of any help then please let me know.

I look forward to meeting you guys in barcelona next year.

Hi Raahviemba..

Congratulations on your admit! Have heard great things about ESADE marketing..
Planning to apply in R2 for Sep 2011.
My profile is 28/M/Indian/GMAT 700 Q-50 V-37 AWA 6/WE 6 yrs in sales and marketing.
However, I do not have any international WE although I have travelled to multiple countries. What do you think my chances are for ESADE??

Thanks..

Hi mbafall2K11,

I cannot comment on your chances of admission to ESADE as the ADCOM takes into consideration factors like recommendations,essays ,interviews etc.You seem to have a solid GMAT(40 points higher than mine ),which should give you an edge while applying.
Did you work ex involve work/interaction with people from different cultures/countries?

Hi raahviemba2011, Congrats on your acceptance. I have an interview on Nov 24th. Can you share your interview experience with us?

Thanks Raahviemba for the quick response..
My work ex has been with large MNCs, and has involved some amount of interaction with people from different countries..but obviously, its not comparable to an IT company where projects are mostly with international clients. Have traveled to over 6 countries but that has been for leisure.

warumnicht - Congrats on the interview invite and good luck!

raahviemba2011 - Congrats on the admit! Have you had any interaction with their financial aid office? Do you know how competitive the scholarships are? And have you had any interaction with current students or alumni? Any thoughts on these? Any insight would be appreciated!

Hi warumnicht,

Congrats on the interview invite! My interview with ESADE was more like a discussion about my application.We started with a discussion on my essays.After that there were the usual questions like why MBA?Have I visited Barcelona before?What are my strengths and weaknesses and which strength I value the most.In particular they were interested in my post-MBA goals as I am planning to change careers(from telecom to Finance) so they wanted to know about my backup plan.Interview concluded with them asking if I had any questions about the school.There were no tricky questions in the interview and it lasted about 30 minutes.These are few of the things I can remember as the interview was in April.I would suggest having a read through your application(in particular your essays) and just relax.
ESADE doesnt have a reputation for making you feel uncomfortable..They are the most friendly people I have come across in the whole admission process.Good luck for your interview and let us know how it goes.

Hi BigRedEnvEng,

Yes,I have been in touch with Financial-Aid office.I am still waiting for scholarship essays to be announced as they will be released by end of this month.40% of the scholarship budget is awarded in January 14 deadline.According to the brochure,maximum scholarship awarded after getting admitted is 10-20%. Other scholarships(which are awarded along with acceptance) can go upto 50%.However,you are eligible to apply only one of these.I havent yet been in touch with ESADE students.Normally,after acceptance they send out a list of people you can contact.I will let you know my experience once I am in touch with current students.

Hope this information is useful.

Thanks raahviemba. I agree, the admissions people are really nice. I met the man who'll interview me in Zürich at an MBA fair and he really puts you at ease. Thanks for the interview tips. I'll be sure to post my experience here. I'm also visiting the school on the 26th for the open day so if someone has something in particular they'd like to know - post it here and I'll see what I can find out for you.

Hi warumnicht,

I would say there are 2 general things that I would love to know.

One is to get a general feel for Barcelona. And I do plan to visit all the schools to which I'm applying, but I wouldn't mind a preview from your perspective

The other would be to get a feel for the student population. What are they like? Are they pretty active in the program and the school? ESADE is also the most expensive school to which I'm applying - does this translate in any significant fashion to the student body? Any insight you could gain would be fabulous

And, of course, we'll drink up any other tidbits you bring back from your trip!!

Thanks and enjoy!!!

Good luck with your application. Esade is not a snobbish school and it´s more expensive than for instance HEC but less than Iese.

If you visit them you will seee what I am talking about.

Barcelona is fabulous! I visited once a few years ago and loved it. Also true about this latest visit. It's very easy to get around and lively. Food is amazing and less expensive than many European cities. The culture is really one of going out and socializing at really all hours of the night/early morning.

I think ESADE students are some of the most involved in the school, in fact that is something admissions seems to look for. They want students who want to help continually improve the school by contributing ideas and time through club development, etc. Many students appreciate that they can have a direct impact and their suggestions are always considered (as opposed to some other schools that are more established and don't want to change anything).

ESADE is really about teamwork (about 40% of your grade is based on group marks) and they don't grade on the curve. So helping others get better grades doesn't hinder you at all. The environment is really cooperative/collaborative and less competative.

Okay, downsides. ESADE is still evolving in my opinion and while it's great to be a part of change, it would also be nice to be a part of a smooth running machine. A lot of the professors are Spanish and while they are incredible individuals with great education/experience/ideas etc...it came across that they aren't always that great at communicating/getting concepts across to those in the English track.

If there is something else you are curious about, let me know.
I'll write about the interview experience later.

Hi there,
I am a current student at ESADE - started a few months ago and it's great! Barcelona is a fabulous city -it has everything (nightlife, culture, fashion, arts, beach, you name it)...plus it's also 19 degrees next week!

My classmates are super nice and cooperative. It is true we are not graded on a curve so you're not at a disadvantage if your classmates also perform well. The club development is also very true - this year alone, we started a photography club, a design and innovation club, and we're ramping up the other clubs as well. Even our student association has 10+ members on the board so that shows a lot of students want to give back to the school. The great thing about this school is the ability to 'leave your mark', input new ideas, etc. The downside to that is it takes time to tweak things to perfection and not everything will run smoothly the first time around. The administration needs some work, but overall, can't really complain.

So the school is not perfect, but for me, I wanted a school where I can have a direct impact vs. other more 'mature' schools who are unwilling to change or listen to new ideas.

If you have any questions, I'm more than happy to help.

Hi folks, submitted my ESADE app for R2 hours before the Dec 10 deadline. Profile - M/India/GMAT 730 Q 49 V 41/WE 6 yrs sales & marketing MNC.. Though I did get an auto reply post the submission, there's been no reply to my e-mail where I sent soft copy of passport and soft copy of payment receipt. Also, when I try calling on the ph no mentioned on the site, I get a recorded message in Spanish, and I have no clue what it means! Any idea - Application submitted, what happens next ?

Just wanna write that I got my admission today!! See you guys in barcelona!

Hi,

I have an admit for the Sept 2011 intake
If you have any questions regarding the application process, I would be glad to assist!