Hi Guys,

I am really interested in the Sloan Master’s program held at Stanford, MIT & LBS, I just wanted to ask a question and get a piece of advice if possible...

I am a UK citizen, and my background is 11 years in sales and marketing management with the last 5 at director level in a blue chip firms mainly covering business strategy and country management. I am curently working on secondment in Hong Kong as the regional Managing Director of an EU telco tasked with setting up our APAC business so I have leadership experience in Asia also. I have a BA(Hons) 2:1 Business & Management, an MA in Sales & Marketing Management (Merit) and an MBA from a top 5 UK, triple accredited elite business school. I haven’t done the GMAT however I would expect to get 700+ (im not afraid to study for it!). Firstly do you think I would be accepted into/be a good fit at these programs, do I have the right profile? Fastracked career progression into leadership roles at fortune 500 firms.

I now must add that my future wife (we marry in a few months) is American and we will be moving to the US after my assignment is finished (and the visa comes through!). So my next question is which school's program is best, ok so they are all top global B Schools, but my worry is that LBS will not be as 'accepted' when I move to the US by employers? (However it is $50,000 cheaper than MIT!). Is it best to do a US program or due to the Sloan degree does it really not matter?

I really appreciate any advice from people who have done this degree, and if so why they chose their particular school!

Also, while I have you, are MBA's from the UK 'recognized' so to speak in the US by employers? (My B-School was Manchester Business School)

Thanks

I looked into the Sloan Fellows program a bit. Since you already have an MBA, you'd be going for the Masters in Leadership degree that each Sloan Fellows school offers.

I researched the one at MIT fairly thoroughly and also researched the LBS one a little too. I also got to talk with a Sloan Fellows grad from each of those schools. One thing I found interesting is that for my friend who did his degree at MIT, his class was 70/30 company sponsored vs. self sponsored whereas my friend at LBS said his class was definitely more self sponsored. I've never done any research to see if this is a trend, but I definitely think having so many company sponsored students changes the dynamic a bit. While I wouldn't say that Sloan Fellows is like a fun camp since it is very rigorous and hard on sleep, I can imagine how being sponsored can change the motivation of some to be fully committed.

If you google "Ian Lamont" and "Sloan", you'll find Ian's blogs where he talks about his experience. I also chatted with him on the phone and he has a lot of information.

You mentioned the cost, and I can't remember the LBS cost, but the MIT Sloan Fellows cost is really hard to stomach--$121,000 for 1 year.

I asked my friends about the recognition of the degree, and for those who got the Masters in Leadership, my friends inevitably always had to explain it. But once people hear the prestige of the program, there are usually no issues after that. That said, I always think that if you want to work in the US, you're almost always better off going to a US school in terms of recruiting (obviously one school may be preferable to you for other reasons relating to other parts of the experience.)

You should also look into speaking directly with the school. I spoke to Marc O'Mansky at MIT and he is very candid about telling you whether he thinks you would be a good fit, and will answer all your questions.

Ultimately, I decided that I wanted a regular MBA, so I didn't go for the Sloan Fellows. I am looking to change my career a bit, and also I didn't want to do everything in one year.

If you PM me, I can also give you details of my friend who did the LBS Sloan fellows program. Sorry, I don't know anyone who did Stanford.