Dear All,
First of all, warm regards from Barcelona. I would like to address some of the misconceptions I have seen posted on this forum, to give all candidates the opportunity to participate in as transparant a process as possible.
I am Mary Granger, Associate Director of Admissions and Career Services, APAC Region, for ESADE Business School. In this capacity, I am responsible for recruitment of candidates working/living in the APAC Region prior to application, as well as Corporate Relations with companies in the region. As such I have perhaps more "insider" information than some of the candidates...
I already wrote quite a long response, but given my technological inept self, have managed to erase it before posting, and therefore I will be briefer than I was the first time!
The first thing I would like to clear up is that ESADE has NOT reached its quota of Indian candidates (or any other nationality or region) - because we do not have quotas for ANY nationality. In fact, we gave an admission just today to an Indian candidate, and I had an Entrance Interview for an Indian candidate this afternoon (and have several others scheduled) - and I certainly don't have time to conduct useless interviews. If we shortlist you for an interview, it is because we still intend to admit more students...
Having said that, we do try to preserve the diversity which is a priority for our students, and this is based on three criteria:
- cultural background
- educational background
- professional background
Obviously, the closer to the end of the process, the more likely we are to start seeing larger numbers of similar profiles, which would lead to more competition for the remaining places.
To address some of the issues raised in the posts - at the present time I only have 7 Indians who have confirmed their place (we are graduating 18 this week, to put things in perspective). The average GMAT of the students who have accepted our offer is a whopping 654, to put paid to the idea that we only look for high GMATs to hurry up and make offers. This is below our overall average for Indian applicants, as well as below our average for all enrolled students...
We are very quick in our process, as from the feedback from candidates this is something they value. We have Admissions Committee every week, so if we get your application at the right time, you might hear from us within 1-2 days of applying. Of course, you are always free to delay the interview if the timing isn't convenient for you!! But just remember - one thing we ARE looking for is for our students to have a commitment to ESADE - we are looking for students who WANT to come to ESADE, who are PASSIONATE about the program - not just using us as a backup. That's why we have such a high reserve fee - partially because we want to see your passion for ESADE, and partially because any last-minute reject of a confirmed place throws us into a tizzy, having such a small cohort. We try to select each participant based on the overall picture - so trying to come up with an adequate "substitute" for someone who backs out is very complicated!!
Re: Spanish language classes - they are only required for 3 months (and I feel this is not enough, given that candidates/students frequently target positions in Spain, where the Spanish language is pretty much essential). I find it interesting that someone would point this out as a negative, as in Spain there is a saying that "knowledge doesn't occupy room in your brain" and it could be a competitive advantage when looking for a job post-MBA...
Re: application form - given the proliferation of falsified documents, yes, we do require original transcripts. Electronic copies are even easier to falsify and thus to ensure the integrity of the process, we do want to assure that our students are holders of the appropriate degrees. However, the recommendation letters can be sent electronically, and it was NEVER required for them to be filled out by hand. Regarding lack of space - a Word version of the recommendation letter has been available for years, and we also accept freeform recommendation letters if they contain the same information we are requesting from the standard format. Finally, the reason for requiring candidates to complete all the sections before moving on is simple - when we didn't require this, many candidates left information blank - thus delaying their process needlessly!
Ah - finally - the price issue. Since the number of credits/class hours is exactly the same for the 12- 15- or 18-month options - and the final degree is the same - the price is uniform. We are competitively priced in our region, and over 30% less than our closest competition here in Barcelona...
I hope all of this information is of use, and encourage you to contact me for any additional information.
Best regards,
Mary Granger
Associate Director
Admissions & Career Services, APAC Region
ESADE Business School
mary.granger@esade.edu