OK, though I'd post this up. I seem to be the only one applying to Asia (outside of INSEAD). Let's have a discussion about them. I'll start by listing where I've applied and why. Where i haven't and why. (not all schools listed here) Not Applying INSEAD :- The course is very short, 10 or 12 months, meaning that the whole curriculum is cramped into 10 months. Their reputation is outstanding, and their admission stats show high figures. I did not apply because the course length meant i would have limited time to spend with my family, and some sort of balance with family life is important to me. The language requirements are not an issue for me, but for others (particularly people from an English speaking country) it may be a stumbling block for admittance. IUJ :- The 'best' university in Japan. This is applicable to almost all schools in Japan. Unless you have fluent Japanese, you are limited to I-Banking, even there, they are more likely to take someone who has local language skills, because some of the companies you talk to will be Japanese speaking or custom led. This means that post-mba options are limited. On top of that Japan does not have an internship culture, a lot of companies are traditional and you will find a lot of Japanese who do their MBA are sponsored by their company. Applying Hong Kong UST :- Personally for me, I have family in HK, so that will give me some support for my kid(s). But the main feature is the huge amount of research that comes out of this university. This means there is always potential to gain new insights into whateer field you intend to focus on. Generically speaking, the school is strong in Finance, and Hong Kong, in general, isa hotbed of activity for international companies. The main negative for some people is the focus in strongly on China, meaning some post-mba options will require you to have Mandarin speaking/writing skills. However, cost of living is cheap and the tuition costs are also low. Accommodation costs outside of the campus is high! There is a big emphasis on Business plan competitions where the school will sponsor the flights and hotel costs for them. My status - Interviewed NUS (Singapore) :- I visited the campus and was highly impressed with the facilities. The courseseems nicely balanced, and it is a very well respected university in Singapore. This means, post-mba, there is plenty of local focus from the companies based in Singapore. The main advantage of this is that there are over 7000 multi-national companies in Singapore, this means a lot of potential in the recruiting stakes. School-wise, they've gained enough reputation to be invited to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire’s AGM and are constructing a new building for the Business school. They also have a strong focus on business & business plan competitions where the school will sponosr the flights and costs. Living costs are also low and accommodation outside of the campus are cheaper than Hong Kong (but suffering massive inflation). It's also a very clean environment and very low in crime. My status - Interview scheduled this week.

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700willdo

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19 May 2008, 19:45

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hey kylian,

I had stumbled upon the same bad evaluations of CEIBS on BW while I was researching on which schools to appy to and I must tell you that it was one of the major factors that kept me from applying there. I thought the evaluations were pretty genuine but it is completely my feeling because I have no firsthand info on this. I guess you will have to decide for yourself!!! All the best.

kruton

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20 May 2008, 14:28

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Kylian

I dug a bit deeper though, and saw some less than flattering reviews of CEIBS on the Businessweek forums by students who have gone on exchange there. Some cited problems were unkempt facilities, subpar faculty, and unmotivated native students. Not sure how to take this new information, but I really can't think of any reasons for people from U.S. schools to voluntarily offer such negative perspectives, unless it really was quite a bad experience for them.

From speaking to native mainland Chinese that have immigrated to the US, there is a cultural shift going on now caused by the one-child policy. All the kids in in college are most likely only children and they act like "little emperors" (coworker's words, not mine). I'm not saying that's what's going on here, but it could be a possible explanation for unmotivated students.

k

kruton

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28 May 2008, 14:02

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I just ran across this post about INSEAD (Singapore) vs. HKUST. It's sure to ruffle some feathers.

https://onwardtomba.blogspot.com/2008/05/insead-vs.html

togafoot

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29 May 2008, 21:54

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Nah, Think it sounds about right when looking at it from a pure statistical point of view.

However the sample sizes of the schools are not relative so number of nationalities isn't really an accurate comparison particularly when INSEAD is actually a dual campus school, so the Euro site attracts a lot of Europeans, who may never set foot in the Singapore campus.

INSEAD is an established top tier school, HKUST is a developing young school, so even from a 'image' perspective they are completley different as they are in different developmental phases still.

necromonger

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30 May 2008, 04:03

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togafoot

Hi Togafoot,

I wrote that post. Just wanted to point to your statement - "However the sample sizes of the schools are not relative so number of nationalities isn't really an accurate comparison particularly when INSEAD is actually a dual campus school, so the Euro site attracts a lot of Europeans, who may never set foot in the Singapore campus." That is completely not true at all - it's simply what many think, or hear from somewhere. It's just not like that - the 2 campuses are very similar in terms of nationality composition, and keep in mind they are not really 2 separate "institutions" as such. Nearly 70% of us switch, professors move around, curriculum etc is all same. The structure gives you a chance to experience both places. In fact, most of us will tell you that you really haven't experienced INSEAD if you haven't done both campuses. Typically most people try both campuses, and a larger % will eventually do the last term in Fonty (bigger campus) and do the graduation - it's simply more fun with all your classmates in one place. I think INSEAD can do a better job of this perception that people have - I wrote that as a FAQ long ago - appreciate if you take a look. https://onwardtomba.blogspot.com/2007/12 ... myths.html

(PS - forgive a bit of the harsh language in that post, it isn't directed

)

From your posts, you seem to have gotten into the next school of your choice (sorry about Kellogg), and I hope you have a great time. Business school is a lot of fun (and stress

) and I was in HK for a casual trip, it's an amazingly energetic place. Good luck!

togafoot

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31 May 2008, 17:44

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cheers,

I was actually considering INSEAD, language requirements were not an issue for me, however the 10 month length of course was the key factor in me not applying. I have to be able to have some sort of balance with family life because of my kids.

Anyway, the much larger class size at INSEAD (and its reputation) should ensure INSEAD gains more nationalities. HKUST does very well for international representation considering its class size. This years class so far of around 70 students represent 20 countries. As stated, INSEAD is in a different league to HKUST, i don`t think anyone can question that. I`m just glad to get into a school which appears to be heading somewhere and building momentum in a region i intend to stay in post-mba.

This years students internships include :-
3M
ABN Amro
AXA
Blackrock
Citibank
Deutsche Bank
HSBC
ING
Lehman Brothers
Methanex
Merrill Lynch
Softbank
TPG

(that was the data given to me).

Lastly, quantative measures used to compare most things are too mechanical in my opinion. Qualitative measures are just as important, but a re much more difficult to measure. In others words, What the result is only 50% of the story. How it was achieved and under what circumstances is the other 50% Unfortunately when doing a statistical comparison, all you get is half the answer. Unfortunately most people do not attend 2 schools to be able to effectively compare the qualitative capabilities of a school.
For what it`s worth, these measures influenced my decision to attend HKUST, in Vault.com, there were several reviews from students who did an exchange to HKUST from top US B-schools and all of them were saying the courses they attended were just as good as the ones from their school.

As an example, a Manager who achieves and exceeds the results that are needed but at the same time, destroys motivation, burns out his staff due to his negative approaches can`t　really be seen as trully succesful because the long term issue of keeping highly skilled employers is being undermined and effectively reduces the competitveness of the company down the line. Leadership retention and development is a key strategic area for companies.

700willdo

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31 May 2008, 20:01

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the most important factor that kept me from applying to Insead is the extremely high (in my mind) application fees and the exorbitant tuition (again in my mind). I guess this coming in the middle of this serious discussion is a little funny. I meant it to be that way though!!!!! Seriously, for me with my career goals post MBA, it just didn't make sense for me to spend so much money on a 10 month MBA. :wink:

necromonger

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01 Jun 2008, 04:33

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700willdo

700willdo - I agree with you on the fact that some applicants are dissuaded from applying to INSEAD due to the high school fee. This is one area where INSEAD could do a lot better (hopefully as we increase endowments in the next few years, there will be a lot more available as grants for needy students/scholarships etc.) and the school probably loses out some deserving and interested candidates to US schools (which usually are way, way better than European schools when it comes to endowment)

kruton

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01 Jun 2008, 17:58

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necromonger

Nearly 70% of us switch, professors move around, curriculum etc is all same. The structure gives you a chance to experience both places. In fact, most of us will tell you that you really haven't experienced INSEAD if you haven't done both campuses. Typically most people try both campuses, and a larger % will eventually do the last term in Fonty (bigger campus) and do the graduation - it's simply more fun with all your classmates in one place.

necromonger,

Kudos. Thanks for the additional info here. Your blog post filled in a lot in my mind about how INSEAD operates, so I was really happy to read it. I have the same problem.. work and family balance will probably be out of whack if I go to INSEAD!

kr

necromonger

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01 Jun 2008, 23:10

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kruton

necromonger

Kruton,

There are many "family people" at INSEAD - the way they manage is typically they socialize less than the others and are therefore able to spend time with their families. But I'm sure it's a hard balancing act - the first 3 terms especially are quite stressful, the 4th term gets stressful due to recruitment. The last term is better. But you have to go with the choice that you are most comfortable with, so good luck!

rahuljaiswal

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04 Dec 2009, 00:13

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Why is there no mention about AIM Manila? doesnt it fall even into the regional elite category??...i have heard its a excellent school in Asia...kindly provide some comments...

asimov

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21 Dec 2009, 21:58

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I've always wondered is it better to get MBA from top Asian MBA granting schools or get a Chinese MBA-equivalent degree from Tsinghua or Beijing University?

Does anyone have any opinions and/or pros and cons regarding this?

DrSatisfaction

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22 Dec 2009, 22:06

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asimov

if you want a job in asia, then definitely do INSEAD in singapore as a first choice. then probably programs like CEIBS and HKUST. however if you want to work in china strictly, then tsinghua and beijing university both open a lot of doors...probably a bit more so tsinghua than beijing university, but fairly similar.

i was accepted into the tsinghua/MIT joint international MBA program last yr (for fall 2009), but i didn't go cuz i talked to some friends of the family in china, who all say that if i want to do business there, i should aim for a big name north american or european school and then go to china. if you read my post in the INSEAD thread, this is also a major reason why i'm leaning towards oxford over INSEAD at the moment...simply because the brand name is worth so much in asia...

levfin2003

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23 Dec 2009, 12:48

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DrSatisfaction

if you read my post in the INSEAD thread, this is also a major reason why i'm leaning towards oxford over INSEAD at the moment...simply because the brand name is worth so much in asia...

You sure Oxford has a bigger brand name than INSEAD in Asia with recruiters? I'm no expert on how Asian recruiting work, but this sounds synonymous to saying that Yale SOM has bigger brand name than Chicago, which is definitely not true in North America and Europe.

asimov

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23 Dec 2009, 22:38

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I think Oxford is definitely a more recognized brand. I know I've never heard of INSEAD before applying for b-school. And I would choose Oxford over INSEAD just to experience the atmosphere surrounding the top British educational institute.

I don't know if Oxford has more pull for companies targeting MBA students. I can see how Oxford will have more pull for companies not familiar with MBA rankings. Kind of like people might think any ol' Aston Martin is faster than a Corvette ZR1.

asimov

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13 Jan 2010, 13:33

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I got a GMASS e-mail from Tsinghua. It made me a bit curious.

I wrote a response to Student Ambassador link in the e-mail. The e-mail got bounced back. Checked their international website, it listed a variation of the e-mail address. This time it when through. I got a response from a student ambassador full of flagrant misspellings and grammatically errors. The response dodge many of the questions I asked, which were about employability of Tsinghua MBA graduates.

I've always held Tsinghua University with the highest regard. Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed at the quality from my interaction.

DrSatisfaction

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14 Jan 2010, 13:31

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asimov

that's kinda odd, as i applied and got in last yr to their IMBA program, and the student they put me in touch had pretty good english skills (he was korean).

ghk

Joined: 08 Apr 2009

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18 Jan 2010, 13:44

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Thats surprising indeed. I applied for their IMBA program this year (btw i've been waitlisted). Their email response was pretty quick and i was put in touch with a student ambassador who provided excellent support and answered all my questions. FYI, he is an American.

adcxaway

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11 Feb 2010, 19:29

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Hey hey!!

Well, I'm curious to know who's applied to an Asian MBA program, and where they're attending? Personally, I'll be attending Tsinghua SEM's IMBA program and would love to know anybody else who's decided to go there.

asimov

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12 Feb 2010, 14:29

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adcxaway

Hi abcxaway, you can start a thread for Tsinghua students. It'll be more visible that way. Also, it can help bring attention to Tsinghua for recruiting purposes, next year.